The FIRST day of school!!!

I am now "that Mom" who embarrasses her child with a photo in class.  Kate said to me as I came into her classroom (because she doesn't need me to walk her to class anymore) to make sure she was okay: "Hi, Mom.  Okay, Good-bye."   What a stinker!   She was not co-operative in the least as you can see.  I hope someday I'll be cool again.  

Jackson was up at 6:30 a.m. this morning.  He was not at all excited/nervous for school to start.  Kate and Ella soon followed and they were all ready to go at 7:30 a.m.  It made for a loooong morning.  I have been somewhat looking forward to the kids getting back to school.  I knew that I would miss them but I was excited about cleaning my house and it staying clean for more than three seconds.  I have given birth to four hurricanes and they tend to whirl and whirl and leave destruction in their wake.   I have been going insane at the lack of organization and cleanliness of my house and so I have some big plans for the hours they are in school.   However, that was far from my mind when I dropped them off this morning.  It always seems weird after I've walked them to their classes and given them a kiss that I'm suppose to leave.  I feel strange leaving my kids somewhere by themselves after having them attached to one of my appendages all summer.  It's a little sad too.  Another year at school means they are growing up and are one year closer to leaving me for good.  Sigh.  But I am resolved to take pleasure in the things that I am afforded because of their absence--like private bathroom time and being able to dress myself uninterrupted and no in-shower peace negotiations.  Still, I do miss them...

Last days of Hawaii and less than 24 hours in Portland...

Riding public transportation.  Big THRILL!!

OMSI museum: Jackson using an air hose to shoot balls at me.  :)

More Hawaii

This is a good photo because it gives perspective.  Max is about to jump off a 6 foot ledge.  That's Jackson in the background.  

Ridiculous!

Yesterday, Robert said this to me: "Hey, I forgot to tell you that I met Prince Harry while I was in London."  He forgot!!!???  Seriously????!!  I would have texted 20 of my closest friends, taken a million photos, sold his location to some paparazzi, and e-bayed his autograph all in the time it took Robert to remember to tell me.  Crazy.

Anyway, while Robert was rubbing shoulders with the His Royal Highness, the rest of us spent some time in Utah and Idaho visiting Grandparents and Great-Grandmas.

This picture was taken at my Grandma Lee's house.  I used to jump off that shed in the background with a rope and swing like Tarazan.  

I have so many fantastic memories of this field.  We used to climb hay bales, have bonfires, and my Grandpa built a couple of tree houses for us to play in.

Jackson being Jackson.

Max had a good time playing dress-ups with Cousin Addie. 

The tallest tower in the history of blocks.  We had to take a picture to record this momentous achievement.

This was kind of a sad trip for me.  It was full of reminders that life changes quickly.  My Grandma no longer lives on her beautiful property.  She is 89 years old.  Her house and belongings are being sold so that her children can afford to keep taking care of her.  My Mom and I went through some of her things.  I put notes on items that mean something to me expressing my interest in them.  We went through a bunch of old, old books that belonged to my Grandpa.   Books that he stored in the garage and that are the background of many of my memories of him.  We were always looking for some tool or talking to him or watching him work at his bench out in that garage.  He was a carpenter by trade and he was always building something for one of his grandchildren.  It was exciting for me to look through these old books most of which are dated in the early 1900's.  Many of them were gifts from my ancestors to another ancestor--a Great, great, great (maybe?) Grandma to a Great, great Aunt.  People who have been buried for a long time and that I never knew. They were names on a paper that once belonged to real people that lived, loved and read books.  It was sad to me to think that my Grandparents will be that to my children.  They will probably remember my Grandmas but they will not remember my Grandpas.  They won't get squeezed by my Grandpa Lee and feel his big, strong hands in theirs.  He won't ever call them "Sis" or tell them his war stories.    They won't roll their eyes or giggle when my Grandpa Hayes declares that, "He'll lead the singing." They won't hear him sing his silly songs or hear him snore.  It was emotional for me to realize that I may never set foot in the house that my Grandparent's built and raised their children in and played with their grandchildren in-- ever again. It's the end of an era.  It's the loss of those who are beloved.  I hope that whomever buys the house lives and loves as much as I did there and someday feels its loss as keenly as I do.

What I did today...

1.  I just spent the last 20 minutes deleting 134 videos/photos of myself shopping at Target.  If only they were all this flattering:

2.  Saying goodbye to some fantastic teachers and realizing that I have FOUR children not just the one and they will ALL be HOME ALL SUMMER!

3.  Woke up this morning and ate this:

5. Pinched myself for being such a lucky girl because last night I stayed here:

5.  And met him:

(Besties)

6.  Lied to my husband about posting this picture:

7. And this one:

8. Made excuses.  Like this one:  We spent the night at the Mirage celebrating our 14th wedding anniversary a little early.  Robert had one of those rare work hook-ups and was able to get us fantastic seats to the 5th Anniversary performance of The Beatles' Love.  It was all kinds of awesome.  Paul McCartney and Yoko Ono along with some of their progeny were there.  Robert refused to let me take pictures on my iphone even though I promised to be discrete. :(   But I digress, I do really try and be honest at all times but Robert was refusing to have his picture taken commemerating our 14th wedding anniversary celebration.  Why, you ask would a man married for 14 years refuse to let his wife take a picture of him?  Let me quote him: "Only if you promise not to post it on your blog."  What good is a picture that you can't post on your blog????  Seriously.  So then he asks me if I intended to post the pictures I am snapping of the room.  I replied, "Why, yes, I certainly do!"   He might of accused ME of wanting to brag to my friends!

So, I hope you don't take this as bragging and if you do then I should probably say that most nights I am home dipping my scrub brush in a bucket full of ammonia and scrubbing the pee off the bathroom floor because my boys' couldn't aim if their lives depended on it.  And if that still doesn't make you feel better than this should:

ARGHH.  Look at my hUGE  rear.  You can thank Max and his photography skills for keeping me in check.

The End.  Literally.

A fantastic, calorie-filled Memorial Day weekend.

First, I must confess that I stole these pictures from my friend Angela.  Thanks.  I was much to busy having a fabulous time to bother with pictures.  Okay, I actually got a night out.  Don't faint but Robert watched the kids. The house did not burn down.  The kids did not starve.  The roof was still attached to the house when I returned.  It was very sweet of him; because I can't remember the last time I told all my secrets (okay not ALL) stayed up late and ate treats with abandon.  Sadly, we were saying good-bye to a good friend who is moving to Florida.  We will miss her!

For Memorial Day, we took the kids to The Valley of Fire to roast hot dogs, eat chips and make ginormous s'mores.  We found out that Max has no fear of heights and may cause his mother to have a heart attack.  Ella does fear heights and she had a few moments of "freaking out" but did her best to be brave.  

You'd never know that they were driving each other crazy on the car ride.  

Max thought it was hilarious to pull up his shirt whenever I took a picture.  That boy!

We finished off the day with a swim in the pool and a movie.  I'm ALMOST looking forward to summer...