Helaman and "The Test"

Hello friends, family, co-horts, and anyone else who's sanity I question because you choose to entertain yourself by checking out this blog. Yep, check out this pic. It's Elmo, the Cherry-Headed Conure, picking the remanents of lunch out of Helaman's teeth. Sheesh, these two should be in the circus!

As you probably know, Helaman has been hired by the USPB and has been stationed in Nogales, AZ. He passed the academy (which made the other academy look like a complete joke) but once he was stationed, he has to work hard at the post-academy. He has to memorize every road, street, lane, hill, canyon, stream, and landmark from Nogales to Green Valley, and he doesn't have very much time to do it. He also had to take a 7-month exam to see how well he remembered what he learned duing training. This is just a test on the law part of his job, but if he didn't pass, he didn't have a job with the BP any longer. Just wanted to let everybody know that HE PASSED this morning with an 86%!!!! He has to take the spanish part on Wednesday, June 13th, but he doesn't seem to be as worried about that one. ; )

Helaman has been working and studying very hard for the past 3 months and we've really missed doing family things together. He gets up at 6 a.m., leaves by 7 am, gets home around 7:30 pm, eats, showers, studies, and sleeps. The weekends are filled with honey-do's around the house and more studying, so passing this test is a welcome reward for his hard work. The sad thing is that he still has to take another test for his 10-month exam (in October), which, if he does not pass, he will not have a job either. After that, NO MORE STUDYING and he will be able to take some time off.

We are doing well in our new home and can't wait for some of you to see it. We just got the back area fenced in as a temporary barrier for the dogs and Noah, and that has helped so much with the little bit of cabin fever Noah and I were suffering from.

Our ward consists of an English ward combined with a Spanish branch, so we have such a wonderful mix of awesome people. I'm a primary teacher for the Valiant 9 & 10 and Helaman is a teacher over the 12-16 year old boys (don't know what that's called) and we are loving it! The ward is a very warm and loving one with lots of hugs and kisses on the cheeks for greetings. Overall, we are so happy here and just trying to adjust to our new digs. I would love to keep in contact a little more about our cute family, but we just aren't there yet, so stay tuned for the next instalment of Livin' Life With The Lambsons

Don't know when I'll be able to update next, so I will leave you with the newest Noah-dote:

Mama: "Noah, honey, you have your flip-flops on the wrong feet!"

Noah replies after a moments' hesitation and a perplexed look on his little face:

"But Mama, these the only feets I have!"

Oh!! Here I Am!! Look At Me!!

Hello! I am totally still alive and breathing and don't have any broken limbs or fingers or anything! I have been one of the sadest, pathetic creatures without my link to the outside world through my computer. So I think to myself, "Hey Self!! Just get your boooooo-tay down to the local library and check your mail there and maybe (just maybe) you can give a little update to all the peeps who have stayed true and loyal *sniff* yo, love you guys!! Anyway, I get down there all excited to check out the world outside of Nogales and I get to sign in and give my DL and blah blah blah. But when I click on the internet part, it takes like 20 seconds to connect. What? You don't think that's very long, huh? Try it. Ya! Try it right now. Count all the way to twenty - with the one-thousands in between people - and tell me that sitting in front of a computer screen and waiting for a yahoo home page to appear picture by picture isn't a little aggrivating.

OH yes. Our library has dial up. DIAL UP??? What the freak? Who is running this show? I mean really...c'mon...DIAL UP? I look around for the little camera because, hello? Dial up? For reals?

It took me 15 minutes to check my one message and write back. I couldn't surf and check out the happenin's and cruise to my blog and let ya'll know that I'm just jottin' down all the AWESOME things that are happening that would make the cutest blog entries but will be totally meaningless in 4 months when we get connected to the world again. Oh well, I'm here now and will write a nice, long, informative letter about the happenings in Southern AZ and Helaman in the BP while I am visiting with the folks. Thanks for checking to see if we're still here!! You make me feel soooooo special!