OK, I'm done...

I'm taking a long break from blogging. Hope you are all are enjoying yourselves!!

Happy Mother's Day

Mother's Day is special for me in so many ways. Jeff and I became a couple on Mother's Day. Annie, Kai and Kade are irreplaceable.

I am thankful. Happy.

Hopefully you are, too.

In case you are wondering...Lego Creationary is really fun!

I think lists are

for those who can actually carve out the time to complete them.

Lists

We are back home. Now we are really all overwhelmed with the amount of clutter we have here. Now, especially, since we are going to be getting Kai's kitten very soon.

So, I work better from a list. I don't need to do the whole list at once, but it helps me from going about things in that crazy dizzy spin that can happen to me. Now there are several lists to be made. One for crafts. One for things to do now. One for things that need to be done, but not necessarily now. One for Christmas gifts.

How many of you out there use lists? How often? All the time? Just wondering :)

Now, as far as Christmas goes. I love to give, so this is my favorite season. However, I need to be able to mail gifts easily from state to state. This year, especially, I will have to pair down my gift size and fragility to match what we can do in mailing.

That means the mini origami boxes are out. It also means the yarn ball ornaments are out. Maybe I'll have to do something completely different than what I had thought of at first! Time will tell. I think my friend Kat had something on her blog that would work very, very well...and so I will think more on it.

We are *home*. Wish we had Beth and Em here with us. Then it would be perfect. However, we are here. The place looks completely different now that the leaves are all gone and the clouds are here. I love rain. Now I just need to buy some rain gear for all of us so we can actually *live* in the rain! Also need some warm things knitted up. Which brings me back to the lists...

Next time I get a chance to be on here, I'll write about our experiences on the road for the two and a half weeks we traveled. We had so much fun!

The last few weeks

K, so we have been pretty busy. Jeff took a contact job with the great guys who he met when were in TN. Now these guys have given him the opportunity to do some great work and write a bit in corporate speak. What that means for us is two fold (or more) : First, it means we get to be here in the beautiful Pacific Northwest as a *family* at home for a few more months without worry. Second, it means we got to go to San Diego with him and see our peeps down there. So this month has been jammin' with thoughts and work and ideas and activities.

Along the way, there was James to be heard! Thanks to our great friend, Mary Gold, I got to go see him in concert once again. This time we were able to attend a few of the concerts together with a few friends in tow. Shirts were made and worn, laughter was had, band members were talked to, and we were able to see each other and have a great time getting to know each other just a little bit more. Totally fun. The first concert we saw was in Portland. We then drove up to Seattle area to see the one there. After that we crashed at Ronnie's house and stayed a few days. Ronnie hosted an intro to unschooling panel, for which I sat on. I was honored to be there and we did have a good time. After that we headed home completely exhausted beyond what we had anticipated.

The next week found us with a Baba here! Kade and I stayed to play nerf wars in the park while Jeff and Kai went up to pick up Baba from the airport. Just before the visit, the boys were elated enough to change their sleep schedule by about 12 hours! The first full day we scoped out a couple of pumpkin patches online and ended up at the Muddy Creek Pumpkin Patch and corn maze. It was perfect! Couldn't have asked for better weather or for a better set up. The boys (and Baba) rode the cow train, we climbed on top of the hay stack, saw the cool hay structures they built (my favorite was the big pig!) and headed into the corn maze. We didn't find all the stations they had, but we did escape, albeit through the side of the maze rather then an true exit! It was a total blast. We then hopped on the tractor ride and scored some pumpkins. The boys chose theirs and we headed home. The next day found us relaxing at home and decorating our place with Baba. The third day of the visit we headed out to find Alsea Falls. We drove out to find that it was closed for maintenance. Not all was for lost, we found there are other falls just to the south. Green Peak Falls was just a bit of a hike and it was spectacular. Very much worth the effort of getting there! We finished the hike by going to a local cafe and enjoying some treats. Kade had decided to spend the time with his friend, Jasper, while we hiked. They had a blast, too, since it had been several weeks since they had one on one time together. Baba's visit was fabulous and the boys were very, very happy to have her with them for a few days. Kade and Jeff brought her back to the airport while Kai and I stayed home.

By the next day, Jeff and I had to really sit down and talk about what we were ready for. Trip with all or just trip with Jeff. After a few days discussion, we decided we would all go down with Jeff to San Diego and then...well, we would already be half way to Beth and Em in Albuquerque...so why not just go see them, too?!

We decided a nice larger vehicle would be good for our trip, since we would now be spending a few weeks in route to our friends and other attractions. So we ended up with this baby

We headed out to Hockey for Kade on Friday. After that, we picked up the Flex and headed home to pack in prep for an early morning departure for the south. We stopped in Montague to see my folks and pick up the annuals that I had been hoping to get for a bit. The boys had a good visit. I can't grasp how folks age. I am now thinking about how well I'll be doing when I'm in my mid to late 70s. How well will you do? It's an amazing journey, this life. Anyway, after some time with the dogs, the lovely cat and the chickens and a nice meal prepared and served by a woman who is boarding with my folks (she's working on a special program that places those looking for work in assistance programs and is working around the corner at the Hub) we left Siskiyou County (all the while enjoying the view of Mt. Shasta) and made it to Woodland for the night. The next morning we were off early and headed to Orange County. We checked into the hotel and headed out to visit with my lovely Aunt Mary. It's hard to express how cool she really, really is. We spent a few hours chatting, then headed back to the hotel to sleep a bit. We got up to go visit Mary and Sarah the next morning for a few hours. Around noon we headed out to San Diego so Jeff could get all organized for his conference call the next morning. After that, we headed out to Mandy's house for a bit of a visit. We missed the fun of the craft making, as we were so late, but totally enjoyed seeing many friends. That night we headed out to Flo's house. Flo and family were so gracious and housed us during our stay in the area. Tuesday found us at La Jolla Shores with the funschoolers group. Wednesday we saw our friends Zack, Zayden and Erika; Cameron, Ella and Gardenia; Kade went out with his friend Ryan while the rest of us chilled with Juliet, Camille, Flo and Marc. Thursday found us at Dos Picos Park and the kids got to play Warrior Cats (based on the novels) with the funschoolers. Time in San Diego flew by. We headed out Friday morning to Las Vegas, where we find ourselves today. Last night we hit the pool and the kids arcade and won some fun things. The boys went on the two 4D shows they offered, Sponge Bob and the Extreme Log Ride. We had dinner together in the hotel...we are staying at the Excalibur, and then made the journey to see the Pirate/Siren battle in front of the Treasure Island Hotel. After the show we headed back to the room for some much needed sleep! Today we didn't have to wake up to an alarm, so took advantage of that. The slow pace of waking found Kade and Jeff heading down to the kid arcade again and then they brought us up some breakfast. For the rest of the day we have ice skating, pool time and then the Tournament of Kings dinner show. Sound like fun? It has been. It's way too much for me, though I'm somehow hanging! It's a lot of movement, lights, and noise...along with the interesting vibe that comes with this city. The boys are in hog heaven, though, and are enjoying this experience completely. I'm so happy to be on this journey with them!

Up next : Grand Canyon and Flagstaff then Albuquerque.

Annie showing off her Birthday gift...

and seems to be a happy woman!

Annie's been here!!!!

And she was kind enough to hook me up with some color. Here's the new look!

New arrivals

Meet Popcorn and Pochi, Kade's new to him gerbils!

Pochi

Popcorn





Kade is just beside himself with happiness. It's great to see him so into them.

Friday Fill-Ins

1. My back or front as it seems...depends on when you stop me in my spin.

2. Autumn is wild.

3. Leaves are falling all around; I can't wait to jump in them.

4. I'm embracing forgetfulness.

5. Healing is natural.

6. Beading is what I've been up to lately.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to spending time with Annie, tomorrow my plans include visits from friends and Sunday, I want to walk with my good friend.

Cuties

Yes...my kids are cute. Especially when they are enjoying themselves. This time, however, I'm talking about these boxes.





I have enjoyed making origami with Kade. He's made something similar, but this is my first time making these. It might have helped me fold if it was actual origami paper, too, instead of scrapbooking paper. But I somehow made do!

And for those waiting for cute...or at least news of what we are doing...here's just a moment.