A visit to the Macs

On Jenna’s birthday, we visited the Macs. I had helped Mama-Mac with her birthday shopping for Jenna. Jenna and I went to Wal-Mart and she showed me a variety of things she wanted. I took pics of each item and then went back and shopped later. This was a GREAT idea because as her friends’ parents’ would begin to shop, they would call me for a gift idea and I would text them a pic of something specific she wanted. I recommend this idea to all of you with kids who want specific gifts. I would MUCH rather Jenna get items she wants and will use rather than stuff that she could live without, and stuff that junks up her room. She typically chose items in the $5- $10 range, so it actually saved some gift givers some money. They probably would have spent more money trying to guess what she wanted, but felt comfortable buying a $5 or $10 gift that she had asked for.

enough about that….
When we arrived at the Macs’ we discovered Daddy-Mac had a new birdhouse. Duct tape is his signature style.

The Macs gave Jade a gift, too. She was SO excited. Somehow I have no pics of Jenna getting her gifts, but she got a bead storage tote and lots of beads and tools. She is really into making jewelry. This provides her hours of entertainment.

Do you see the Macs new fireplace back there? It’s one of those Amish built things. They are hoping that it will reduce their power bill. After our $600 power bill this month, I think we need one, too. (yes, that’s NOT a typo! our bill is normally $250. This month it is $600. Yes, we called. Yes, they say it’s right. We have no idea what to do, but we are reviewing our usage carefully. We already have programmed thermostats, we have the pool on a timer, the upstairs heat is turned back to 58, we have a relatively new unit. We have the units services twice a year. We had them serviced in early January. What else could it be? ideas?)