A five hour date and two break-ins.

It all started with a Saturday outing to IKEA – a big
furniture store in north Dallas. We were going to make a date of it by going
out to Texas Roadhouse as well (a little farther north). Being later in the
afternoon by the time we were on our way we decided to eat first so our
browsing wouldn’t be rushed.

  All seemed fine and
dandy as we walked out of the restaurant around 6:00pm until we got to the car
and realized that both sets of keys were inside the car…and it was locked.

  An $85 locksmith
fee was enough incentive to turn Brian into the newest pop-a-lock business and
we set off to scrounge up some supplies. He found two wooden stakes in the
parking lot that he could use for wedges – now, where could we get a wire hanger?

  Fortunately there
was a clothing store nearby…unfortunately, the newest style for hanging clothes
is plastic hangers. We checked through the local Albertsons in search of
something…anything we could use. Finally, someone we had asked to check the back
dock found a coworker who used his car antennae to open his door “all the
time!”

  Back at our car
with renewed hope the guys set to work. I watched with interest for about half
an hour…with waning optimism for another half hour…and sat on the curb in
discouragement and prayer for yet another hour.

   The antennae and a
belt finally managed to pop the trunk where we thought one set of keys might be
– no such luck. We couldn’t even get through the back seat into the car because
they had a latch on the inside. Oh well, at least we know how difficult it is
to break into a Camry.

  By this time it was
8:30 – our two helpful guys left and Brian called the locksmith again – $95 and
an hour wait…and our cell phone battery was almost dead – there had to be a better way! Who comes to mind but my faithful
and every ready friend, Bekah! It was something like this: “hi, our keys are
locked in the car, could you break into our apartment through an unlocked window on the second floor, get the spare key out
of the desk and bring it to our location, 30 min away?” True to the family
nature, she, and Sam and Jonathan and her dad, were ready to come to our
rescue.

  They arrived on the
scene around 10:30, we unlocked the car, then went in the restaurant to reward
everyone with a round of dessert.We left at closing – 11:00 which made our date there a total of five hours! We said our thanks
and goodbyes and everyone went back to their own places. What a night!

 
First attempted break-in                           The rescue group – Jonathan (far left) making the actual break-in.

edit
(Sorry, I don’t know why all those question marks are in there)

Hey all! Internet access is still somewhat sporadic though Brian is working on that. Anyhow, thought I’d post a little update on how things have been going so far.
  We arrived at the apartment about midnight Friday night. Sat, we spent looking for internet so Brian could post his school assignments. Sunday we really got moving (I think getting a little more sleep really helped).
  We visited a church nearby – very friendly but we didn’t care much for the drums. We went to anther church that evening, walked in and back out – it sounded like a rock concert in there! So we went back to the first church which was having an ice cream social that night (not hard to persuade me there!)
 Sunday afternoon we took a little tour around town trying to pick up some stuff that would enhance our quality of life (like a fan for the bedroom and a toilet paper holder). After church that evening Brian got on a Mr. Fix-it spree (maybe it was the sugar). We put the fan together, assembled our new lamps,
 
and Brian fixed the drawer in out bathroom.

Monday came dark and early as Brian got up and got ready for his first day at work! I had the new experience of fixing him lunch and the older experience of telling him what to wear

Here he is, headed out the door! Doesn’t he look great!

While he worked away, I tried to do my part too – organizing the last frontier! I forgot to take an after shot but here is what I had to work with all Monday morning. In the afternoon I hung a few pictures and biked around town checking out what was nearby.
 Brian had a great time at work – his boss really likes him and his co-workers seem friendly, we’re hoping to have one or the other over for dinner this week. He also has a new cellphone that can get on the internet and we went to Fry’s last night to get a blue tooth headset for it – Brian is loving all the new gadgets!
  Well, I’d better let that be it for now. Until next time……