As we near the end of our fourth month living in Victorville, it seems like we continue to feel more at home. Don't get me wrong, Whittier still feels like home, but as we get more involved up here, it feels more like home. The girls have adjusted to their school pretty well. My work continues to go well and be extremely busy. Traci has been attending MOPS and going to the gym regularly. I've been to the hospital for my first stay since I was 3, and this week we visited a vet for the first time when Princess was obviously not acting like herself. Turns out she may have Pancreatitis. So here's a little more detail of what's been going on.
We signed the girls up for soccer since they were both very excited when we asked them if they wanted to play. They have played a few games already and have about a month left in the season. They seem to be having fun and getting good exercise. It's amazing to see the difference in skills and competition from the indoor soccer league at our church that they both played in last year. But that's good for them. Tomorrow should be fun since I will be coaching Skyler's team for the game since the coach and his family are out of town.
The soccer field has been brutal so far, though. Everytime we are there, it is very windy and cold. Last week was the worst. According to my phone, during the first game, we were watching soccer with a wind chill of 35! By the time the second game was over a couple of hours later, the wind chill made it up to 40. Very cold to say the least. Tomorrow will be much different however. We have been in the 90's the last couple of days so it should be pretty warm. At least the first game is at 8:45 so it shouldn't be too warm.
This week, we took Princess (our dog) to the vet for the first time. Actually, that was just yesterday. She was very lethargic and didn't want to move, eat or drink. Today she got lots of tests and x-rays done to see if they could figure out what was wrong. From the sounds of it, she might have Pancreatitis. She has one medication and a bland diet for the next few days. Tonight, she was already acting a lot better than last night. She's still not herself, but definitely on the road back.
Traci has been attending the one MOPS group there is up here in the High Desert and seems to be enjoying it. She has also been hitting the gym regularly and getting results. She makes me so proud. She has an amazing work ethic and motivation.
My work has been really busy, but I have been cranking out contracts lately which feels good. However, since one of our purchasing colleagues is refusing to move out here for the project, they are removing her from the project. All of her work is coming to me, which my boss confirmed with me today. That's fine since my load has been getting a little lighter lately after completing so many contracts.
I was able to make my first trip to the site where the solar field is being built (in Hinkley). It was pretty cool to see that there is really nothing but land there now, knowing that it will be completely different 2 years from now. The car ride out and back had to be the most fun car ride I have ever been on. There were 7 of us packed into a car (SUV), blaring rap music and laughing the whole time with everyone acting crazy. I can't describe how fun it was, but trust me, it was a blast!
Another thing about work that has been fun to see is how the company has grown since I was hired about 6 months ago. When I hired on, there were maybe 15 people in the office. Most of us were in one small suite. now we have filled that small suite, a huge suite across the hall and have knocked down the wall for a new suite that now connects to what was the small suite. All of the engineers for the project are moving out here next month, so that's another 30-40 people from what I hear. That means we should be about 100 strong in the Victorville office. And that doesn't count the people that are working out at the site itself. There aren't too many right now, but even that groups is growing as they prepare for activity to ramp up quickly pretty soon.
How can I forget to talk about my Dodgers?! They are off to an 11-3 start, which is crazy, but if they can keep this up, it will be a very fin season. Matt Kemp is off to an amazing start, leading the National League in average, home runs and RBIs. He may even lead all of the Majors in those three categories. I'm excited that that the team's ownership will be changing hands in just over a week too. The only bummer is that Frank McCourt is not completely gone as he has formed a joint ownership for the Dodger Stadium parking lot. If they can figure out a way to get him out of that deal, the Dodgers will be better off. Regardless, despite my distance from the stadium now, I am still as big a fan as ever and am enjoying this hot start while I can. Who knows what the rest of the season will hold. That's what makes the long season so fascinating and fun to watch!
It's getting late so I should head off to bed with the busy day we have tomorrow. Besides, knowing what is coming up this next week, I want it to get here quicker!
