I feel special at 43!

Happy Birthday to me!! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

All of you have made me feel like a QUEEN!

I have so many wonderful friends that I am taking the whole week to celebrate.

So far on Tuesday I had dinner with Kristi at the best Chinese place ever. She gifted me with this amazing shawl and incredible earrings!

On Wednesday, (official bd) my family took me out to get my favorite pizza! It is called the Mediterranean. Artichoke hearts, spinach, feta, tomatoes ...oh my so delightful!

Lots of people dropped by to give me gifts. I am a little embarrassed by how many people have brought me things. Rachael, Cayden and Melissa all brought me great kitchen items. My kiddos all gifted me all fun and yummy things. My sweet husband bought me that great purse in the picture! Lydia and Chaiya made cupcakes. Today I went out to eat with Vicky and she brought me a whole basket of chocolate! Tomorrow I have breakfast with the ladies from church and Monday I am having lunch with another friend. I am going to gain 10 lbs in happy food. I am truly blessed with this amazing life and so very very grateful for all you dear people that bless me every single day! My life is so happy and full because of all of the love you give me every single day. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

QOTD

Quayde:" So they lied to me! It's pixie dust and not just happy thoughts. I've been trying to fly for years!"

First official day

Today Chaiya stepped on campus as an official ID carrying, credit earning student! She has taken Italian classes here in the past but they were life learning classes for those who want to honestly speak the language. Today, however...she got out of the van and marched straight to the cafeteria to meet her friends and started her next adventure as a real college student

This was her happy smiling face as we picked her up. I think she had a great time!

Back into the groove

What has happen to August? This month has felt so long in some moments and then I look at my calendar

and the month is passing me by. Our garden is bust. While this fine zucchini looks and tasted wonderful, it has only been one of two that we have gotten so far. We haven't really had a lot of rain at all this summer and our watermelons (6 plants survived) do not look like they will produce. Kind of discouraging.

This is my calendar for this month. This doesn't even include all the things I need to do. We have very little outside the home activities. No sports, gym, clubs etc.. This is just my meetings, doctors appts. and every one's schedule. Crazy huh?

We started school this week. Thayne needs more things to keep him busy while I am trying to teach Lydia and Quayde. I need to meditate and pray about that this weekend.

Quayde is enjoying the school rhythm again. We are working on getting his handwriting tinier and more legible. He has to copy a page from a book with all the correct punctuation each day. He is a good boy and a hard worker...he will get there.

Our lives are kind of in limbo right now. Michael turned down a promotion yesterday at Home Depot and feels that he is finished with working there. This promotion was one that he has been working towards for over 8 months. So... we are waiting, waiting, waiting to hear on a new direction for our lives. He hasn't quit yet but is looking into other options. So I am being the supportive wife and encouraging him to find his bliss and do something that makes him happy. I love an adventure!  On to the weekend  and maybe I can squeeze in a movie for myself somewhere.

QOTD

Lydia to Michael," You know how you are just growing up and you just don't want to play with your little brother."
Thayne has been bringing her all the change that he can find to pay her to play with him.
This is not going to turn out well.

longest week ever

Have you ever felt like time was going so slowly? This week has been dragging on and on. I've been to a zillion meetings, gone to Phoenix for doctor's appointments, and I feel like it has been a month long week.
We literally have done nothing blog worthy. We have eaten out more times than I would have liked and haven't spent hardly any time accomplishing any thing worthwhile. I think it has been because we were in the car so much. Next week we start up our school schedule again. I think everyone is more than ready. Lydia has been "bored" because there is nothing to do..... complaints have been flowing from her. I will be so happy when we are back to our rhythms again. Can't wait for Monday. Did I really say that?

It's Cicada season

We had a little extra time this afternoon to get out and enjoy exploring. We wanted to check out how much damage was still on the creeks after the flooding last spring. In the empty creek bed we found the shell remains of this guy.

Really, he was quite a big crawdad! The whole back end of him was gone, this part was as large as my hand. The kids thought it was gross.

Our nature walk today included listening to the sweet cicada music or racket depending on how close you were to the trees.

We always know it is August by their singing. I have a nice scar on my leg from being a tomboy(age 6 I'm guessing)  and climbing a barbed wire fence trying to catch them. The fence broke and I didn't get my prize bug. Now I can catch as many as I want....and I don't.

We crossed the one main bridge that they have been able to rebuild.

Quayde was a little discouraged to find the area where he had helped build a bridge, was destroyed. There is not a single sign of the bridge anymore.

We walked over to this oblisk with pottery faces all in it. I think honestly I might have bad dreams about it.

Thayne was trying to match the goofy one's expression.

"Quayde! Get your finger out of it's nose!"

Then Michael wanted to go check out the old train trestle. I've lived here most of my life and really don't understand why no one has taken this down. It just stands there as a sad reminder of days gone by. It is not attached to anything and doesn't go anywhere.

On the way back down the trail to the park, I ran over to get a picture of this and the bee inside. Can you see him? It was a really nice afternoon. There is no water to speak of in either Miller or Granite creeks. Compared to last spring when they were both raging through. The boys had a great time but I am thinking that Maliea would have rather been home reading. She seemed to purposely stay out of the pictures too. It has been a great low key summer so far.

The (redneck) Family Heirloom

When I was just a wee lass, my sweet father went to a salvage yard and purchased what was to become our family heirloom. My little family has been in possession of it for a number of years but it is time to pass it on to a younger sibling. As our children have gotten older it is not quite as loved as it should be. Due to our backyard being at a slant we were never able to erect it to its full height. A few weeks ago I talked to my sister and we made the choice to relinquish and pass it on. So today we packed it all up and headed to Shawna's home, in the hopes that it could be cherished and played on again.

After we got it all assembled the kids gave it one last hurrah! Quayde got injured when one of the bolts broke but we didn't need to take him to the hospital. Sorry, Shawna for the blood!

Many snacks have been enjoyed in here and trips to other planets have been made. Fond memories of my childhood exploits and my children's childhood imaginary games have been made in the UFO. It is a definite "play at your own risk" object. I know that tonight when Mario and Diego came home and discovered it in their yard, they were thrilled. I hope they make lots of fun memories in the UFO too!