Kemah Boardwalk

We went to the nearby boardwalk in Kemah--was pretty cute. Lots of pretty things to look at and ride. There is also an aquarium we might go to next time. Lucas screamed after getting off any ride--he wanted to stay on!

















Then we went and had dinner at one of John's friends house in nearby Friendswood. He got out of the navy last year and got a job with Air Products :) Let's hope they are co-workers again soon! He and his wife were very nice and had a beautiful home you wouldn't believe only cost $175k...gave us some hope. Our plans change every few hours. But everything hinges on Friday's interview.

Trying to Stay Optimistic

Today John had his interview. He was interviewing among 3 other guys for the same ONE position. He did very well, was the only one in a suit, and seemed to impress the 3 interviewers. The only thing that didn't sit right with him, was the fact that one of his 'opponents' was wearing an Air Products badge....

Well, although they really liked John, they ended up hiring the guy with the badge, as he had been interning with them for 6 months already. It was a loaded interview...John had more expertise and longer experience, but I guess at this point, they already had made their mind up about hiring someone they were already familiar with, and who was already familiarized with the plant and co-workers etc.

BUT, they said John wouldve been their next choice, so they are interviewing him for another plant operator position at their other plant in LaPorte, TX (very close to here) next Friday. That location actually looks to be nicer anyway, and his friend already works at that plant so we are hopeful for that. One of the six managers interviewing him Friday also interviewed him today, and liked him. We are scared and John is tired of rejection, but there are many more prospects..it's just a tiresome process to interview and travel and pay for this or that, fill out everything over and over, and never be given any offers. He has prospects in NJ, NV, AZ, CO, and we are still holding out for a response from GA. The HR people always tell you you'll know within 2 weeks, but with Duke, it took 2 months. It's only been 1 week for GA, so he will probably call/email them tomorrow to check in...idk.

So we are still praying, scared, but hopeful and happy to be together. It was a little overcast today which was good because it was sunny and 80 degrees with high humidity yesterday. We took the babies to the park today and they thoroughly enjoyed it:



Lucas: "Hey guys, I found the train--don't waste your time with the other crap!"





Lucas actually looks like he belongs in this "cool" swing huh?


She looks scared every time its going forward...

then happy when its going back :)




Daddy dressed her all 'shubbalone' lol.



Again..hope to hear and share good news soon :)

A Hodge Family Update

Saying bye to Grandpa. :)

In case, you've been sick of looking at the same old pics on here, and wondering why I never updated, well, there has been a lot going on here. To briefly summarize, John returned on Sunday night 2/13/11, couldn't wait to see me :)

(*funny sidenote- the day before John flew in, Grandpa and I had In & Out Burger, which is like the best burger joint in the west. So the morning John was flying in, Grandpa said, "I have a sneaking suspicion John's going to be getting some 'In & Out' when he gets here."...I couldn't stop laughing...grandpa's mind was so innocent, Susan had to explain it to him! He laughed and said we had dirty minds!)

Can you tell Lucas was ecstatic to see daddy?


We had a busy week, packing things, visiting family and friends, and we made a crazy decision to take a risk. Since we rented our Williamsburg home, and were tired of burdening other people in their homes, we chose to take a little road trip again, and drive to Houston Texas, where John interviews with a company called Air Products on thursday 2/24. We are going to stay in a weekly rate suite, and hope either the TX or GA job gives him an offer. It's a lot cheaper to live in TX or GA than CA and we are still getting paid by the Navy for a few more months. I am confident he will find a good job by then, but I am hoping for the GA one :) John flew to Augusta GA on thursday to interview the next day with a company called Southern Nuclear. He feels he did very well and they said they would let him know within this week either way. Then he flew back friday night, and we rented a Uhaul trailer for all our accumulated stuff, and headed out on the road.

SO....our current status is: eating Pizza Hut and watching TV in a Sleep Inn Hotel in Fort Stockton, Texas. We stayed in Blythe CA at a Days Inn Saturday night...where we had the free entertainment of nasty bikers having loud sex in the room, CONJOINED to ours. Then we stayed in Lordsburg NM last night in a Comfort Suite which was very nice. The babies are handling the driving and hotels as well as could be expected for their age and the fact that they have been uprooted so often. I feel bad for that and am anxious to find a job for John and a home ASAP.

Our fate right now is in God's hands. Doing lots of praying. Overall the hesitation and fear, we are both very elated to know that John is never going on another deployment or underway again, and that he will have so much more freedom and paid overtime! lol. I haven't been taking many pictures as my hands have always been full or I didn't have my camera easily accessible, but these were taken with my phone. Very pleasant drive after getting through the snowstorm ironically in California!





This was El Paso...RIGHT on the Mexican border...scary!

Texas Sunset


Hope to update with some GOOD news soon. Thanks for reading!:)

The Pier Again!

Susan and I went to the Santa Monica pier again today--we almost didn't think we should since it was a little windy and cold this AM. BUT I am glad we did, because once again the weather was beautiful and the babies had loads of fun. Thanks for all your help Susan!



We had a lot of fun on the pier, watching all the entertainers and taking pictures with our boyfriends:




We happened to stop by this one man band on the pier---of course he's playing "Band on the Run", only Lucas' 2nd favorite Paul McCartney song!

Then he asked for their names and dedicated the next song to them...it happened to be "It's a Small World!" Ironic since we just went to Disneyland AND I (being the nerd I am) just started playing it by ear on Grandma's piano :)




Then we took a ride on the huge ferris wheel--was actually very scary to be dangling so high!



Eyeing the ferris wheel...

Like mother like daughter...we got those sticky-outy ears!



Look how beautiful the filthy water is!




Then we played on the beach:

Susan instructing them how to build sand castles :)



Grandpa picked up these delicious grapes from Costco---soo good!



So funny...he had to pick up sand from this area...with a rake of course..

and transport it to Susan's pile..as if he weren't surrounded by sand! lol. The way he walked around was like he really had a job to do--"alright (grunt)...that should do it!

...I was pushing out my stretch-marked loose skin mom belly for Susan...you don't want to see it!

Olivia kept getting stuck in this hole!



Nice background.



Yes, she did eat some sand.



Taiwanese tourists...loved Olivia--they asked to take pictures of her! She liked them too :)


Lucas upset that the beach day had to end...
Then we went to an authentic Oaxacan restaurant close by--was pretty good!



These 2 were taken with my phone (camera battery died):



It was a very nice day for all. Gotta take advantage of being this close to the beach while we are still here..6 more days til the best Valentine's Day ever :)