working 9 to 5?

So it is 9:33pm and the construction work on the building outside our window is going strong. Obviously it is pitch black outside, but that is why they flip on high-power floodlights, including ones attached to a crane that swings around randomly to focus on various projects going on around the roof. This does not bode well. Not well at all. The last two times this happened, I managed to go to sleep with what basically felt like a flashlight in my face (our bedroom window looks out right on this lovely housing project in the making) and when I woke up around 2am to feed Emily, IT WAS STILL GOING ON. That's right, people. I said 2am. What in the...? Seriously, I am at a loss for words. Who does that? The only other time I have seen construction at that time of night was when Utah was in a mad scramble to finish work on I-15 before the Olympics and they had to work at night because, obviously, people are driving on it during the day. OK, this building is VACANT. It is in a residential area. Their only pressing demand would probably revolve around a lack of labor because they never know when their crew will be hauled away because they are all illegal immigrants from Indonesia.

That reminds me of something else you'd never see in the States. Michael was driving with a friend the other day, coming home on an expressway that we love because it is a toll road and people here are cheap so it is always pretty empty. But still, when we pull in to pay the toll we usually have to sit behind 5 or 6 cars until we can get through. But they have other express lanes where you can scan a card that has money stored on it that will automatically deduct and lift the arm for you to pass, and obviously these lanes are faster than the pay-as-you-are lanes. Anyway, they were going through the express lane and there, waiting in our usual SLLLLLOOOOOOW toll lane was an ambulance, lights flashing, sirens blaring, just sitting behind cars waiting to pay the toll. Oh. My. Heck. I hope whoever was in there didn't bleed to death while they waited for the drivers to PAY THE TOLL!!! The problem is that most hospitals are privately owned, which means their ambulances are private drivers that only go to their specific hospital, even if it's on the other side of town, and people have been known to die while they sit in traffic. Yeah, it's that bad. But seriously, if you had an ambulance for your hospital, don't you think you'd give them an express pass for the toll? Just another reason why we're glad we got a car. (Although I may change my mind about that since we found more roaches in the car. Yes, again. And yes, we already switched the LAST car because it had roaches, so this is the SECOND car we've found them in. I've killed more than my fair share of spiders in my life and I can handle a lot of different bugs, but roaches are not one of those bugs. Yick.)

Anyway, we see stuff on a regular basis that makes us look at each other bemusedly with slightly open mouths while we shake our heads and say, "Well, there's something you don't see every day" so we're happy to share our amusement/horror with you.

Oh, yes, and here are some pictures of my kids because they're cute.

Went to lunch at my friend Jacy's house who helped her aunt cook us the most delicious Indian meal. They fawned over Emily and I had to take a picture of her with her cute Indian auntie.

This is John saying "more jam sandwich pleeeeeease."

This is the adorable face I wake up to in the morning. Michael's face isn't bad to wake up to either, but it's certainly not this fresh at 7am.

I LOVE THIS LITTLE GIRL!


Ahhhh...sweet relief. It is 10:07pm and they just switched off all the construction lights. Hallelujah, I am going to bed.