Goings on

Whoops, I got caught up in reading others' posts, and haven't gotten a chance to update ours.
Since our honeymoon (see latest post) we began real life:
First of all, the place we were planning on living this summer fell through because Kevin and Chelsea were not able to go to China as they planned because of Visa problems. (not credit card Visa, the passport kind of visa). So our first week back we spent most evenings house hunting. We wanted a place with a yard, a pet tolerance, and hopefully one that we could work off rent by improving the property. We found such a place. It is a lot further away than we were hoping, a bit more expensive than we should afford, and a bit larger than we need. We are living in a basement of a house. There are TONS of improvements to be made, and a rather large yard. The first major improvement that is underway is the installment of the kitchen. We got our first month's rent free in order to put in the kitchen. That was May. In one of these posts, I will put up before and after pictures of the place, but I have to wait until there is an "after." So for the past two months we have been living off of a fridge, a microwave, and a skillet. We have graduated a little bit when we bought a toaster, and plugged in the stove in the unfinished kitchen. Now when I say unfinished, I mean, we moved in and there was a room with some plumbing, and some wiring (which all had to be redone) finished. It now has dry wall up and it has been mudded, textured, and as of yesterday, a layer of primer. Now all that needs to be done is paint, install cupboards, counters, and tile.
Yesterday I (Sarah) spent several hot and sweaty hours out in the yard attacking the weeds that have set up camp in our yard. This property has been a rental for many many many years and looks like it. I spent two hours digging out Rhubarb type weeds out of the middle of the lawn. Then I attacked the rose bush that looked like it belonged around sleeping beauty's castle (I hope it doesn't die, I hacked it down quite a bit), and then I pruned the large tree in the front yard so that the house is more visible from the street. Dave has been trying to get the lawn watered daily. There is a sprinkler system in, but it's not automated, and baboons must have set it up (yet another project).
We put in a 9'x13' vegetable garden in the back yard, and I planted gourds, pumpkins, cucumbers, and two types of peas. Now I need to plant the carrots and lettuce. A few days ago the gourds, pumpkins, and cucumbers popped their little leaves out of the ground. Now I need to build a fence to keep the upstairs neighbors' dog out. Does anyone have any ideas of how to train a dog to poop in a different part of the yard?
As far as work goes, I am still working at BYU Independent Study as a web editor. I applied for a different position, which would have been the supervisor of the web editors, and an assistant to my current supervisor. Alas, it was given to a co-worker instead of me. Now I am just waiting for other full time people to leave, so I can apply for their positions. (There are two more leaving this summer for grad school, and one in November because she's having a baby). So I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I'm currently on "temporary staff" status because I graduated, and am no longer a student. Therefore, I can only work in a "student" position for 6 months, or 910 hours, whichever comes first.
Dave is still working for BYU as well as a computer support person. He also got a promotion to Director of Client Relations in another tech support business he works for. He will get his current wage for the current companies using this particular tech support business, but he will also get paid to promote the business, and will get a higher wage at those companies that he brings to the tech support business. We're both excited about that. Meanwhile he also plugs along with Primerica. He got a good recruit the other day that looks to be one that will stick around, work, and do well.
Besides getting by without a kitchen and without much money, not too much exciting is happening. We are going to Lake Tahoe next week, for the annual family trip to Lake Tahoe. It'll be a week of water skiing, hiking, playing on the beach, hanging out with extended family, and eating good food for free! Plus, it's the 4th of July weekend, which means patriotic as well as birthday celebrations. We're pretty excited!