Have you ever wondered what noise squirrels make?

Walt and I have had this conversation on more than one occasion. Here is one answer from a beautiful park in St. Pete, FL. (Walt loves all of God's creatures so you will hear him talking to Mr. Squirrel!)

The internet connection is spotty but I hope this uploads!

It's our Blogaversary!

One year in the blogging world! WOHOO!

Off to Florida!

Walt has his first annual officer's conference in St. Petersburg, FL, this week and today we finally decided that I would go with him. We booked through Priceline and I ended up getting on the same flight as Walt on the way out there! What a blessing!

New Frosty Shakes - ICK!

I have done so well for many weeks and not got ice cream and such delectable treats.

Last night, when we picked up Walt's blazer from the tailor for his trip next week, against my better judgment, we went and got the new hand-spun frosty shakes. He got Chocolate Fudge and I got Strawberry.

Now I am a huge Frosty fan. (both the original and the vanilla) These shakes should not even be associated with the Frosty name. They were gross! The strawberry tasted like a bad mix of Strawberry Nesquik and strawberries in syrup. The chocolate one tasted like a mix of generic chocolate sauces that would make Hershey's cringe.

For $2.49, you get a bad mix of 390 calories for the strawberry and 410 cals for the chocolate fudge.

Stick to the original Frosty, for your chocolate needs and for a great strawberry concoction, go for the Sonic Strawberry Cream Slush...perfect for summer.

LOOK WHO'S #3!

Best Cities to Live, Work and Play

Wednesday, June 4, 2008provided by

These ten great places will only get better.

Our approach this year to picking the ten best cities in which to live and work was simple: Look for places with strong economies and abundant jobs, then demand reasonable living costs and plenty of fun things to do. When we ran the numbers, some of the names that popped up made us do a double take at first. So we hit the road to meet movers, shakers and regular folks, experience the ambience and take in the sights.

We discovered that our numbers guru, Kevin Stolarick, hadn't steered us wrong. Stolarick, research director at the Martin Prosperity Institute, a think tank that studies economic prosperity, says: "Our formula highlights cities not just with strong past performance, but also with all the ingredients for future success." One key to a bright future is a healthy shot of people in the creative class. People in creative fields -- scientists, engineers, architects, educators, writers, artists and entertainers -- are catalysts of vitality and livability in a city.

The cities that made our list also represent larger surrounding areas. And because we understand that city living isn't for everyone, we've highlighted some great suburbs, too.

Pack a bag and join us on a tour of the Best Cities for 2008 and prepare for some surprises.

1. Houston

Population: 5,542,048

Population Growth Since 2000: 14.9%

Percentage of Workforce in Creative Class: 31.3%

Cost-of-Living Index: 88.1 (100 being national average)

Median Household Income: $50,250

Income Growth Since 2000: 13.1%

2. Raleigh

Population: 995,662

Population Growth Since 2000: 19.9%

Percentage of Workforce in Creative Class: 36.1%

Cost-of-Living Index: 99 (100 being national average)

Median Household Income: $56,150

Income Growth Since 2000: 10.3%

3. Omaha

Population: 821,356

Population Growth Since 2000: 6.6%

Percentage of Workforce in Creative Class: 30%

Cost-of-Living Index: 89.4 (100 being national average)

Median Household Income: $51,627

Income Growth Since 2000: 15.1%

4. Boise

Population: 568,086

Population Growth Since 2000: 18.2%

Percentage of Workforce in Creative Class: 33.2%

Cost-of-Living Index: 95.5 (100 being national average)

Median Household Income: $49,833

Income Growth Since 2000: 16.6%

5. Colorado Springs

Population: 600,444

Population Growth Since 2000: 10.5%

Percentage of Workforce in Creative Class: 34.1%

Cost-of-Living Index: 95.3 (100 being national average)

Median Household Income Since 2000: 53,486

Income Growth Since 2000: 16.1%

6. Austin

Population: 1,506,425

Population Growth Since 2000: 17%

Percentage of Workforce in Creative Class: 36.5%

Cost-of-Living Index: 92.8 (100 being national average)

Median Household Income: $52,882

Income Growth Since 2000: 12.2%

7. Fayetteville

Population: 419,455

Population Growth Since 2000: 17.3%

Percentage of Workforce in Creative Class: 31.4%

Cost-of-Living Index: 90.4 (100 being national average)

Median Household Income: $42,267

Income Growth Since 2000: 17.6%

8. Sacramento

Population: 2,067,117

Population Growth Since 2000: 13.1%

Percentage of Workforce in Creative Class: 34%

Cost-of-Living Index: 121.7 (100 being national average)

Median Household Income: $56,953

Income Growth Since 2000: 19.1%

9. Des Moines

Population: 532,425

Population Growth Since 2000: 9.6%

Percentage of Workforce in Creative Class: 32.1%

Cost-of-Living Index: 90.6 (100 being national average)

Median Household Income: $53,384

Income Growth Since 2000: 16.3%

10. Provo

Population: 474,351

Population Growth Since 2000: 20.6%

Percentage of Workforce in Creative Class: 32%

Cost-of-Living Index: 97.7 (100 being national average)

Median Household Income: $50,583

Income Growth Since 2000: 12.2%

For more places, tools and walking tours, visit Kiplinger.com's Best Cities Center.

Copyrighted, Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc.

Does anyone else ever try to pretend they don't have to say goodbye?

I feel like I've been posting on our blog regularly but then see it's been awhile!

Tonight, we had our going away party with our Bible Fellowship class. (or as I always will call it... Sunday School) McAlisters Deli, friends, adorable kids, and delicious chocolate cake...can it get any better?

It was bittersweet and while we had a great time, we were sad that after finding these great friends a year ago, we are leaving! We wish we found them sooner in our stay in Texas but then it probably would have been three times harder than it already is.

We ponder a few things everyday...will we find a great church in AZ with friends like these ??? I mean how often do you go to SS on the first day and find out everyone else has a blog too and before you know it, a week later, you have blogs for more than half the class!

It's more than that though...we tried other classes and churches but the Truth class is amazing...warm, open, and genuine.

Thank you for your friendship and throwing a great going away party! I know it seems silly but I am grateful to have blogs, Facebook, and even archaic email to keep in touch!!!! (It makes it less hard to say goodbye...or at least in my mind for now!)

Since the government is being pokey, we HOPE we can come for 4th of July!

I hope to post some pics soon that are sitting in my inbox...courtesy of Amy! :)

Take a load off, Sally!

I don't know why that popped in my head but today I took so many donations to the little outreach place, it wasn't funny! I forgot to weigh the rest of the clothes...the last batch was 61 pounds! These donations filled the back seat and the complete back area of our SUV. It feels so good to get rid of this needless stuff and not being taking it to AZ...we should have never brought it to TX!!

1-0-0!

Are you ready for it? This is our 100th post!

(Blogaversary coming up on June 23rd!)

Spacious closets = more room to store and forget how much stuff you have!

We're still here getting ready to move but also waiting for some much needed info about relocating. Please pray for us to be able to get some much needed answers this week such as where we'll be moving in about 3 weeks! The goal is still to move around June 30th.

While we aren't hammering out any firm plans these days, our hope is to spend the first couple months in corporate housing (compliments of the VA), and then depending on how fast our house sells, live in an apartment for 6 months, and then buy a house. Winter is the PERFECT time to move in AZ so we're hoping for that! :)

In the meantime, I (Sarah) am going through everything and realizing we still have lots of stuff to get rid of! Those huge spacious closets we feel in love with aren't so fun right now! I just have to tell myself that going through everything is making the wait and hopefully the move easier!

We'll keep you posted!