final day of cali trip 2011

final day of cali trip 2011–coming home!

well, try as I might, I was unsuccessful at refusing to leave california.

we got up early on sunday morning and began our long drive home. but with only 2 kids. lucky shane got to stay an extra week. 3 more days with gramma and papa, and then the rest of the week at the hughes’ cabin in big bar. gramma and papa are heading up here next sunday, and will meet up with him in redding to bring him home.

a lovely peak at mt. shasta on I-5. layla dozed off while reading “go dog go”. we stopped for lunch in medford and found a great park to play at. we were out of the car for about an hour, which was GREAT, and then hit the road again. we all (except for dave, who was driving) took a nap. micah slept for 3 hours!

we had dinner at a taco del mar in vancouver. I’d like to say it was the last stop, but we forgot to get gas, AND, micah needed another potty stop. layla, waiting for the bathroom to open up. she found a stack of booster seats to sit in while she waited.

we made it back home at about 9:30pm, unloaded and went to bed. long day. it was a great trip. so great to see family, especially the wisdaps, who we hardly ever get to see! thanks for a great time, guys! and, of course, thanks to laurie and gary for hosting us AGAIN! we had so much fun!

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boxed in.

so i’m feeling a little bit stifled right now. when i took over responsibility for shane’s education, i knew i was making a big time/lifestyle commitment. i also figured that layla and eventually, micah would be involved in this endeavor. i knew that i was stepping out into a great unknown, having never completely done this sort of thing before. it was an experiment. in general, this experiment has gone well. not entirely as planned, but well, nonetheless. i mean really, when you’re dealing with kids (or other human beings, for that matter) what does go as planned. but at this point, i have to say that homeschooling is NOT my favorite thing. it’s not that i can’t do it. it’s not that shane isn’t learning. it’s not that i’m excessively overwhelmed or that i feel like i’m failing. it’s not any of that. the best thing i can figure out is that i feel ‘boxed in’. i feel like my time and opportunities are so limited for all of us. it’s not just about shane, and with layla and micah so mu...

vacations stink… and why i can’t grocery shop

so tuesday, i managed to dig around in my hat a little more and discovered a rabbit named papa john. essentially, i shuffled the week again, and had our friday pizza on tuesday. and, in actuality it’s something that was going to happen anyway because we were so excited about having the new papa john’s open up, but realized that we were not going to be home on friday (date night!!!). SO, that was my excuse. anyway, yesterday, i finally HAD to go. i had been wondering if it was really so bad, or if it was just one of those things that i was building up in my head as awful and making it worse and worse every time i procrastinated longer. i had to head to redmond, so i figured i’d go to the bella bottega qfc, rather than my usual stop at safeway. that was my first mistake. no, actually, that was my last mistake. the first was not doing it sooner, the second was taking all 3 kids with me. if it is possible to make grocery shopping with 3 ki...

progress…

wash lindsey’s sleeping bags and return. set up tent to air and sweep out all the dirt. pick raspberries. check pool, add water. get skimmer for pool. clean up stuff in backyard. clean out cooler and return to mom and dad. clean bathrooms. catch up on laundry. (well, mostly. just have one load left to fold and put away.) fold and put away the pile of sheets that has been in my room for weeks. :) sweep and mop dining room and kitchen floor. plan meals and grocery shop for the week. costco run. put away all camping stuff in a somewhat orderly fashion. vacuum rug in garage. put away doll house in garage and stash toys. clean mom and dad’s on thursday. return pei’s lantern. work on mom’s shawl. get shane’s bike. pick up library books. i put #15 and #16 in blue because they’re done, but i didn’t do them. last night after dinner, i took shane and layla with me to cold stone to get a little birthday tre...

instafriday

it’s friday again!!! and that means: layla, still sick, but enjoying some brady bunch episodes in the recliner, with a cat, and a… tent? no idea. this warms my heart! checking out our family history via project life… circa 2007. LOVE! what I spent my sunday evening tackling: done! thank goodness. micah’s “hooked”! hahaha! a quick visit to the library. dinner: meatloaf, green beans, and very pretty roasted potatoes. I got this awesome little bundle at the store that had yukon golds, red, and purple potatoes. purple potatoes are SO fun! I tossed them with some olive oil, salt and pepper, thyme, oregano, a little rosemary, and a bunch of garlic! so yummy. the meatloaf was good, too! operation: pick out cheesy, cheapo valentines. yes, I live in yuppy-ville. if you call 1-888-dog-waste, you can PAY someone to scoop your dog poop for you.I wonder if shane knows about this… empty peanut butter jar = very happy dog. yes, that’s my 5 year old, excitedly tromping in to preschool with...

snifflesniffle, coughcough, ACHOOOOO!!!

ugh. we’ve been hit. first cold of the fall. micah started it a couple days ago. yesterday my throat felt a little scratchy, and by dinner time, I had to declare myself officially SICK. I passed out on the couch last night while dave was watching the giants game, and when I woke up, I made some announcement about how much my throat hurt, and he said, ‘yeah, me too’. so he’s down. and then shane woke up this morning not feeling well. LAYLA, however, is just fine. believe it or not, my child who picks up cold viruses like a magnet is the only one without a cold right now. I’m completely flabbergasted by this, but I’m certainly not holding my breath. I am really kind of astonished by the fact that she hasn’t gotten sick yet. school started over a month ago and, given her track record, I kind of expected to have to call her in sick the second day. but no. she’s been FINE. hopefully it’ll stay that way… maybe the school environment has kicked her immune system into hyperdrive or s...

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