Saving Money at the Pump

With the gas prices they way they are, I thought some most of you might be interested in some helpful tips I've received from an email:

Here at the Kinder Morgan Pipeline where I work in San Jose, CA we
deliver about 4 million gallons in a 24-hour period thru the pipeline.
One day is diesel the next day is jet fuel, and gasoline, regular and
premium grades. We have 34-storage tanks here with a total capacity of
16,800,000 gallons.

Only buy or fill up your car or truck in the early morning when the
ground temperature is still cold. Remember that all service stations
have their storage tanks buried below ground. The colder the ground
the more dense the gasoline, when it gets warmer gasoline expands, so
buying in the afternoon or in the evening....your gallon is not
exactly a gallon. In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and
the temperature of the gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, ethanol and
other petroleum products plays an important role.
A 1-degree rise in temperature is a big deal for this business. But
the service stations do not have temperature compensation at the
pumps.

When you're filling up do not squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to a
fast mode. If you look you will see that the trigger has three (3)
stages: low, middle, and high. You should be pumping on low mode,
thereby minimizing the vapors that are created while you are pumping.
All hoses at the pump have a vapor return. If you are pumping on the
fast rate, some of the liquid that goes to your tank becomes vapor.
Those vapors are being sucked up and back into the underground storage
tank so you're getting less worth for your money.

One of the most important tips is to fill up when your gas tank is
HALF FULL. The reason for this is the more gas you have in your tank
the less air occupying its empty space. Gasoline evaporates faster
than you can imagine. Gasoline storage tanks have an internal floating
roof. This roof serves as zero clearance between the gas and the
atmosphere, so it minimizes the evaporation. Unlike service stations,
here where I work, every truck that we load is temperature compensated
so that every gallon is actually the exact amount.

Another reminder, if there is a gasoline truck pumping into the
storage tanks when you stop to buy gas, DO NOT fill up; most likely
the gasoline is being stirred up as the gas is being delivered, and
you might pick up some of the dirt that normally settles on the
bottom.

Grandparents, here you go!

My (Jessica) mom has been missing her little granddaughters. So, I thought I'd post some recent and random pictures of each of the girls. Mckenzie loves to color. She colors on absolutely everything. Though it's a little frustrating, I can't help, but chuckle or have a smile on my face when I find somewhere she's been coloring. We ended up getting her the crayons that go in the bath tub so she would be able to have a place to draw on the walls. The weather is warming up fast and Mckenzie loves the park. Her friend Vienne and her love to do chalk drawings and play with bubbles. She loves my bathroom. She doesn't have a whole lot of interest in her own bathroom, but for some reason mom and dad's bathroom is way cool. She loves my make-up, bandaids, toothbrushes, soap, pads (she's known to stick them on the toilet seat and her tummy), and hair appliances. One day I got so tired of her getting into my make-up that instead of me getting upset we played with it. I told her to apply the blue eyeshadow to her cheek or the green eyeshadow to her forehead. That kind of thing. It turned out to be a lot of fun for the both of us. Dan thought she looked like a clown. Mckenzie and I thought she looked "beautiful"! Mckenzie loves to cook and has to get right in the middle of it. For that matter, she likes to be involved in everything that is going on. Anyway, my mom sent a cute little apron that she loves to wear and I'm trying to be better at wearing on too so I don't have to change my clothes every time we bake. The last picture is one that I HAD to put up on the blog. Dan has a picture very similar to this one from when he was that age except his head was actually in a bowl of oatmeal. I'll have to get it and put it up on the blog as a comparison. Those two really are two peas in a pod!







As for Abby, well she's been having a rough time lately. She's decided that she doesn't want to eat, doesn't want to sleep and doesn't want to play. I think she just has a little bug going through her right now, but it sure isn't fun. She has three nicknames and her mood fits only one of these at a time! She's either "Happy Abby", "Crabby Abby" or "Gabby Abby". Do I really need to explain? She loves going for walks and laying out in the warm sun. She rolls all over the place and finds herself stuck in places that we have to get her out of. She adores her big sister. At random times she'll just turn to Mckenzie and start smiling or laughing for no apparent reason. Dan and I figure they must have known each other before this life.

Mission call time!

My (Jessica) little brother Max just got his mission call. He is going to the Vina Del Mar Chili mission and reports to the MTC on August 13! It was so nice to listen in on the phone when he was opening his call. What an exciting time for him. We know you will do great, Max. You have such charisma and a kind heart. Most of all, you have a great testimony and desire to serve. We're proud of you. We'll start saving now so we can pick you up in 2 years when you finish! What??? They have great beaches there! If any of you have served there or been there, let us in on some helpful information! I know he'd love to hear anything about it!

Mckenzie Mckenzie Mckenzie

A couple of days ago, I took Abby and Mckenzie to a school park with a friend of mine and her daughter who is about a month younger than Mckenzie. We went in the afternoon thinking that there wouldn't be kids on the playground because school was over for the day. After about 10 minutes, a HUGE group of kids started running out of the school towards the playground. Apparently, it was a boys and girls club, but they said it was fine if we wanted to stay and boy did they want us to stay! They loved looking at Abby and were in shock of how little a person could be. The girls that were in the club were about 7-10 years of age and they also ADORED Mckenzie. They followed and catered to her every move. Mckenzie thought it was so cool to be getting SO much attention. At one point, I had to have my friend hold Abby so I could make sure she wasn't getting smothered too much. I wish I had taken a picture of Mckenzie's face. She had the look of "I'm a princess, now everyone follow and listen to me". Not necessarily the thought I want to go into Mckenzie's mind, but it still was cute. I did however, get a picture of the girls following her. I couldn't resist!

Abby's growing up so fast!

Abby recently had her 4 month check-up even though she's 5 whole months now! Sigh... She's doing great. She weighs 10 lbs 10 oz and is 25 inches tall. She had three shots and I have now learned that she is a very strong little girl! I had her hold my finger while the nurse was giving her the shots and she was holding on so tight that her fingers were turning that whitish/purplish color. The doctor said to try feeding her some solids, but so far she really doesn't have any desire. I've tried giving her the rice/banana mix, but she really didn't want it. Can you blame her? That stuff is nasty! Anyway, I haven't attempted to try anything since. Her new thing is rolling over. She's been able to roll from her tummy to her back for a little while now, but now she rolls from her back to her tummy too! It's been a lot of fun watching her. She keeps herself entertained by rolling over and over and over. I'll get a good video of it sometime and post it.

Ponytails

I'm so excited that I can officially put Mckenzie's hair up in a ponytail. I think we could have mastered this task earlier, but the thought really hadn't crossed my mind. Oh well.