Week 1 - Team 1

Day 1 – Thursday - June 7, 2012
0815 Take the kids to school.  Go to eye doctor to pick up my trial prescription contact lenses.  I really hope this prescription works because I’ll never last a month with the one I’ve got now.  Killer headaches!

Breakfast at McD’s and fill the van with gas.  $4.25/gallon

Return home and frantically finish packing and loading the van and finishing all those other things on my “to do before I leave” list.  Think to myself that packing would be a lot less sweat-inducing if I didn’t wait until the last minute.  I also think that having a plane to catch at a specific time is much more stressful than just driving.  When I’m driving, I have a projected departure time but nothing bad really happens if I’m running late.  A plane ticket is a different story!

1118 Running down (and up) the driveway with the trash cans.  I am so late!  Drop off the key and a note for the neighbors who so kindly offered to watch the house for us.

1125 Leaving the house.  Not as bad as I feared.  And I just might make it to school before the designated worry time. (I told the kids I would be there between 1115 and 1130 but they shouldn’t start worrying until around 1145 – noon.) 

Beginning mileage = 105,393.  Current temperature in AG is 80 degrees.  It’s pretty hot out today!

1151 Leaving St. Pat’s.  Three kids and two out of three report cards.

12:05 p.m. Leaving Subway with lunch in hand.  Just beat the rush.  Phew!

12:12 p.m.  See a truck pulling a double trailer, both filled to the brim with spinach.  Wow – that’s a lot of spinach!

12:37 p.m. Arrive at Santa Maria airport.

1:05 p.m. Ron arrives from work to pick up the girls.  He leaves to drive them to Albuquerque.  Ryan and I get on the plane to Los Angeles.

We have a two-and-a-half hour layover at LAX.  We played Monopoly on Ryan’s Kindle Fire for about an hour.  It was very fun and we were definitely the loudest people in the area.  Ryan commented how most of the time people are very quiet in airports.  Since we didn’t finish the game before the flight, it is to-be-continued.  Which strategy will ultimately win out?  Ryan with the railroads, utilities, red properties and Boardwalk?  Or Sheila with all the other properties and Park Place?

We get dinner from Baja Fresh to take on the plane with us.  Unfortunately for Ryan, they forgot to put the steak on his steak quesadilla.

1:10 a.m. Arrive at Dulles.  We’re a bit early.  Yay!  We pick up our luggage and then proceed to the correct car rental company (we had gone to the wrong rental company when we were here over Spring Break-oops!- and it led to quite an adventure).  We’re feeling good – no problems so far.  But that appears to be too good to be true.  When we exit the toll road in Reston, we run right smack dab into the middle of a construction zone with no idea which way we should go.  Eventually we wound our way around and back and made it to the condo.  Good parking luck though which was nice.  Once again, arriving in the middle of the night makes our trip more of an adventure!

Mom is awake when we get inside.  We deliver her copy of the Flat Stanley scrapbook and chat for a bit then it is time to go to bed.

3 a.m. – Bedtime!

Day 2 – Friday – June 8, 2012

0900 Get up even though I really don’t want to.  Ryan is still sleeping.

1055 Make Ryan get up.  Mom made breakfast for us – bacon and scrambled eggs and muffins.

1:40 p.m. Grab a couple ham slices to eat before we head out to errands.

Go to Vienna.  Stop at the post office for mail.  Go to the house.  The tenants are here already working on the garden.  Mom and Ryan go to get groceries while I stay at the house and walk through with them.  This is the daughter’s first time to see the house.

After groceries, Ryan stops by Zoe’s house and mom and I hang out for a bit while the tenants are working outside.  Then we pick up Ryan and go back to Reston.  We pick up Five Guys for dinner.  After dinner we watch tv for a while then it is bedtime.

8:30 p.m. I am tired!  It is time to read for a bit then go to sleep.  I end up finishing Catching Fire (I couldn’t finish on the plane because they turned off the cabin lights and my reading light didn’t work).  Of course, the end of the story is a cliff-hanger for the next book so I have a hard time falling asleep.

Day 3 – Saturday – June 9, 2012

0600 Go for a walk with Mom.  It was quite enjoyable to be out walking on such a flat trail.  Nice break from the steep California hills!

0706 Back from the walk.

Hang out all morning doing not much of anything.  Ryan is on the Kindle, Mom works on the jigsaw puzzle, and I work on the scrapbook I owe Mrs. H.

1130 I leave to go to the Stampin’Up Open House with Jeannette.  She is of course busy talking to all the customers and helping with the make-n-takes so I end up talking to her husband, Gary, for a while.

3:45 p.m. I’m back at the condo and it’s time to hit the pool.

5:17 p.m. We are leaving to go to Vienna to see Jacob’s baseball game.  We are late though because I forget how long it takes to get to the car from the condo.  It takes much longer than just walking out the front door at home and getting right in the car.  Luckily I get a text while we’re driving that Jacob won’t be playing until the second half so we’re not late anymore.  We decide to grab dinner at Noodles and Company before we go to the game.  Noodles was very busy.  I don’t miss the crowds of people in this area.

6:35 p.m. Arrive at the game.  We came in time to watch Jacob bat.  He got a hit and scored a run.  Will Hemmingson is playing on the opposite team so we are able to say hi to his family as well.  The sun is quite bright and hot – shining right at us in the stands.  Unfortunately, Jacob’s team lost.

After the game we go back to the Kohls’ house for awhile.  The boys had fun playing.  The adults had fun talking.  Lynne and I even went to Giant and bought a cake and ice cream sandwiches to have for dessert.  We were having so much fun it was hard to tear ourselves away.  We didn’t get home until 11:00!

 

Day 4 – Sunday – June 10, 2012

0645 – Wake up.  I missed the walk time this morning.  I woke up with my alarm earlier but was so sleepy I fell back asleep.  Oops!

0745 Get up.  I am really feeling very tired this morning.  Jet lag and late nights catching up with me!

I take Ryan to the barber shop in Vienna for a haircut.  Afterwards, we grab a snack at Jerry’s Subs.  Then a stop at Giant to pick up salad for dinner.  On the way out of town we stop at the used book sale at the Freeman House then peek inside to see the exhibit about the Vienna Woods neighborhood and building of the houses there.  Our house floor plan is the “Star”.

When we get back to Reston we go to the pool.  After the pool we have “Surprise Vegetable Stew” for dinner.  We thought we were thawing out spaghetti sauce but it turned out to be vegetable soup.  Mom added some sausage and mushrooms and it ended up as a quite delicious stew.  We also ate the Caesar salad that Ryan made.

After dinner I am reading Mockingjay until I finally finish.  Then off to bed around 10.

Day 5 – Monday – June 11, 2012

0545 A short walk with Mom.  Then shower and coffee before I go to Vienna to take care of more house business.  Ryan stays at the condo.

0800 Arrive at the house.  At the house today I have a plumber to replace the leaking shower diverter valve.  It is a bigger job than I anticipate and includes cutting a hole in the wall of the girls’ room since the access door isn’t quite big enough.  At lunch time I make a run to Home Depot and get a sandwich from Johhny’s.  While I’m there I stop by Whole Foods to pick up a few snacks for the house.  After lunch a second plumber is supposed to be coming to patch the hole and fix the hot water heater emergency release valve which is currently stuck against the wall and unable to release in an emergency.  I set up an appointment for the blinds repair guy to come tomorrow and I meet with the insulation company to get a quote for attic insulation. 

5:30 p.m. Finally done with the house stuff for today that I thought would only take an hour or two.  My tailbone is sore from sitting on the floor all day.  Mom drove Ryan down from Reston so we can go to the 6^th grade party at Marshall Road.

After the party, Ryan and I went to Arties for a snack and a visit with Bill and Christy.  When we got back to Reston we could not find a parking spot anywhere.  Everything is 1-hour and 3-hour and no-overnight parking.  We finally end up at the bus commuter lot around the corner from the condo.  The parking situation here in Reston is just not great.

Another long day and late night comes to an end.

Day 6 – Tuesday – June 12, 2012
0615 Wake up.  No time for a walk this morning.  I have to be at the house by 7 to meet another guy from the plumbing company.  Hopefully this guy can actually enlarge the access door since the guy yesterday afternoon couldn’t do it.

0830 The painters arrive just after the carpenter/plumber finishes patching the wall (he couldn’t build me a door either so I finally ran out of time and gave up – just patch it!).

0930 – 12:00 p.m.  6^th grade class picnic in the rain at Nottoway Park.  No thunder or lightning, just a light rain, which all the kids seemed to be enjoying.

12:30 p.m. Blinds repair guy comes to give us a quote.  So far this repair has been the easiest and the cheapest!

2:30 p.m. I was finally able to find a lawn service company that can come out to give me a quote on yard clean-up.

4:30 p.m. Painters leave for the day.  Today I finished the book I started yesterday, “Impossible”, and started “Caravans”.

After the painters leave, Ryan and I go to Zoe’s house.  I had tea with Nesli while the kids hung out.

5:30 p.m. Ryan stays with Zoe.  I go to dinner with my scrap buddies at Logans Roadhouse.  I-66 is of course a traffic jam.

After a fun dinner, I go back to Vienna to get Ryan then head for the condo.  We have better parking luck tonight and find a spot on the street.

Day 7 – Wednesday – June 13, 2012

0540 Wake up to go walk with Mom.

0730 Leave to go to the house.  Today the painters are coming again and the insulation guy is coming to give us another quote on additional work.  I also went to the bank and stopped by the Sprint store to get a car charger for my phone.  The battery just doesn’t last all day anymore when I’m in a low-signal area or spending lots of time using my email and Facebook on it.  I’d hate to be out on the road with a dead phone so it is time for a car charger!

2:00 p.m. Go to Marshall Road for the Moving Up Ceremony for the 6^th graders.  After the ceremony, Ryan goes home with Ryan C. and gets to go to the pool with Ryan, Eduoard, and Owen.  One last hurrah with a couple friends before we leave tonight.

While Ryan is otherwise occupied, I go back to the house to do a final walk-thru with the painters.  After that I head to Red Robin for dinner with Mom.  I get a free burger for my birthday!  After dinner I stop by Target to pick up some swiffer pads.  As I was leaving the house I noticed that even though the painters mopped the floors, they didn’t really do a very good job.  There was spackle dust smeared around where they had used the mop.  Time for Cinderella to do her job – on my hands and knees cleaning the floors.  Ugh.  It looked better when I was done but still needs some work.  As I was leaving I also found more spackle dust on the mini-blinds in the bedrooms.  No time to deal with it though so I had to leave it.

6:15 p.m. Pick up Ryan from Ryan’s house.  Stop by Kana’s softball game for a few minutes so I can say hi to Shani.  Too bad she was too busy for us to see each other this trip other than for these few minutes.  Jon was at the game too so we talked to him as well.

Stop to fill up the rental car on our way back.  Gas was $3.59/gallon.

Now time to get back to Reston and pack for our early flight tomorrow!

Week in the Life - Day 7

Sunday, April 29, 2012

0645 Wake up.  It’s the last day of Week in the Life – yay!  Coffee and computer.  Unlike most Sunday mornings, we are actually not watching HGTV this morning.

0745 Tell the girls to make themselves lunch and get ready for the horse show.  Ron wants to go to 9:00 mass so I have to get ready too.

0845 Leave for the stables.

0905 Arrive at mass – only a few minutes late and not nearly as late as I thought we might be.

1010 Whew – that was a long mass.  Father was on a soapbox today.  “Going to mass every week is the most important thing a Christian can do.”  Guess it’s a good thing we didn’t decide to skip today.

1030 Bagels and Starbucks while we wait for the boy scouts to get back from the campout.

1050 Pick up Ryan, Trevor and Tyler.  They were waiting for us actually since they got back to Subway early.  Oh well.  Take Trevor and Tyler to their grandma’s house (she lives on the mesa near the buffalo!) then go home.  Stealth Patrol won 4 ribbons this weekend – 2 first place and 2 third place.  Yay!  Ryan also said they had plenty of food.  Whew.  I was a little worried.  We bought everything on the list but it just didn’t look like enough.  Thankfully I was wrong!

1130 Home.  More cleaning for the party.  Ron is hanging pictures to make it look like someone actually lives here while I clean the fountain.

1:30 p.m. Ron leaves to take the cardboard (moving boxes!) to be recycled then pick up the girls from horses.

2:00 p.m. Ron called.  Do I want him to go to the grocery store on his way home?  Yes!  Then I can continue with my bathroom cleaning.  Whew!

4:00 p.m. Finishing up the last food prep, just in the knick of time.

4:15 p.m. First guest arrives.  In total we had 7 people and 2 dogs come.  The dogs kept climbing in the fountain which totally reminded me of Josh and Alex and the kiddie pool they had to “swim” in.  The evening was lots of fun – our first official party here in California.

After the party, it’s time to do the dishes and clean up a bit then go to bed.  My legs and back are killing me from so much time walking and standing on the hard floors, even with my shoes on.

Week in the Life - Day 6

Saturday, April 28, 2012

0645 “Sleeping in” today.  Go downstairs for coffee then come back up for computer time.

0830 Leave for volleyball.  Stop at McDonalds on the way.

0900 – 1000 Watch volleyball games and talk to Cate. 

Once home again, the girls clean up for the party tomorrow.  Then Ron heads out for a bike ride while the girls and I run errands.  We go to Payless first to get shoes for Felisa for First Communion and Bella finds a new pair of converse shoes too.  Then we go to Game Stop to look around.  I convince Felisa she should wait until we get closer to Big Trip before she buys a new game.  We’re hungry so we go to In-n-Out Burger for lunch.  We have one last library read-a-thon certificate to use for a free burger.  Then finally back home again.  Time to read some more and I finally finish my book!

4:30 p.m. Ron calls for a pick up on Corbett Canyon so he can get home in time to get ready for the benefit dinner at school tonight.  I make macaroni and cheese for the girls for dinner before we leave.

5:30 p.m. Arrive at school.  The tri-tip is delicious!  Ron is hungry from his long ride so he eats 3 plates.  There is extra tri-tip leftover so we are able to buy a hunk of meat to serve at our party tomorrow.  Friends sitting next to us (Jennifer and Barry) win $500 in the drawing.  We ended up as a “Top 10” Loser.

9:00 p.m. Home.  The girls are awake, watching Cats and Dogs on DVD.  Ron and I go upstairs for computer and tv time of our own then bedtime.

Week in the Life - Day 5

Friday, April 27, 2012

1215 Can’t breathe!  Wake up to use my inhaler.

0615 Wake up.  More crazy dreams last night.  Where does my brain come up with this stuff?!?  Go downstairs to get coffee

0625 Ron has lots of questions for me this morning.  He is filling out his financial paperwork for his 2-year review at work.

0715 Young House Love has posted early today.  Yay!

0730 Not that it mattered any – still running late!  Too bad I didn’t rally myself early enough to get a shower before I take the kids to school.  I decide to put on my workout clothes instead.  Maybe I’ll walk or something this morning.

0750 Downstairs.  Making lunches.

0805 Time to go!

0811 Passing the bus stop early today – the kids are still out there, waiting.

0815 Drop off kids.

0820 McD’s for breakfast

0830 Decide to just go to bootcamp.  I’m already dressed for it and it’s a better workout than I’ll do on my own and I have plenty of time to get there.

0845 At the park.  Read my book while I’m waiting.

0910 Time to get moving!

0945 Regretting my decision to come to bootcamp.  I should’ve gone for a walk.  It would’ve been so much easier!

1019 Survived bootcamp.  Heading back home.  Once there I sit out on the patio to finish my breakfast and read a couple more chapters of my book.

1045 Okay… time to get up and get something done.  Maybe I should work in my office today.  I haven’t  been in there to work on anything since we got home from Spring Break.

1055 Cleaning off my desk is not taking as long as I thought it would.  Hmm.  Maybe I should read some more with all my extra time!

1115 Must. Stop. Reading!  Decide that a shower should be next on my agenda.  But first I feed the birds and try to brush the grass clippings (they were mowing at the park today!) off my knees.  Good thing these are black pants!

1140 Ah – much better.  Check email and Facebook while I comb my hair.

1156 Hmm… what should I wear today?  Check the weather – 66 degrees and sunny.  Not too bad.

12:00 p.m. Getting hungry!

12:04 p.m. Email from the school – the Shamrock Thrift Store needs donations.  How timely.  I was just thinking earlier that I need to clear out the donation box before everyone comes next week.

12:05 p.m. Go downstairs.  Warm up chili and a baked potato from last night.  Decide to have a salad as well (salad for me anyway which is just lettuce and dressing!).  Read a bit while I’m waiting for the food to warm up then pack up the food for the campout.

12:54 p.m.  Lunch is ready.  Read again while eating.

1:15 p.m. Time check… I have about an hour before I pick up the kids.  What should I do?  Flat Stanley’s home work or Project Life?  I know if Felisa were here she would want me to work on Stanley.

2:00 p.m. Computer freezes up so I decide to just go ahead and head into town now.  I stop at Subway, Jamba Juice, and Starbucks.

2:40 p.m. Arrive at school.  Read my book while I’m waiting for dismissal.  Joy calls with questions about Camporee.

3:00 p.m. School’s out.  Let’s get going!

We go home to change clothes then load the food and Ryan’s gear into the car.

3:30 p.m. Time to go!

3:45 p.m. Arrive at Subway in Pismo – our troop rendezvous point.  As usual there is lots of last minute stuff – paperwork, questions, etc.  Ugh.  I wish this group could get their act together.

4:20 p.m. Leave Subway.  Time to take the girls to the stables for riding lessons.

6:10 p.m. Home from horses.  Bella and Felisa bring in the trash cans and the mail.

Ron comes home from work.

6:50 p.m. We’re at Ventana Grill for dinner but the wait is more than an hour.  Bummer.  We get drinks at the very crowded bar while we wait.

8:45 p.m. Felisa calls.  She wants to know when we are coming home.  I told her we will be on the way soon.

9:05 p.m. Home.  Girls are in bed (Felisa is waiting in our bed upstairs).

Bedtime!

Week in the Life - Day 4

Thursday, April 26, 2012

0600 Wake up.  Ron is getting ready for work.  I’m not ready to get up so I go back to sleep.

0630 Wake up again.  Go downstairs to get coffee then come back up to check emails, Facebook, etc.

0737 Time to get up!  Running late this morning.  It’s raining as I’m getting dressed.

0750 Go downstairs.  Definitely running late.  Good thing I have the day off from making lunch (all three signed up to buy lunch today).  Start a load of laundry.  Ryan is looking for his track uniform.

0801 Rally the troops – it’s time to go!

0816 Dropping the kids at school.  It is a slow-moving car line this morning.

0829 Leaving McD’s, breakfast in hand.

0838 Back home.  It is definitely raining harder up here at the top of the hill than it was down in town.

Eat breakfast and check email/Facebook/blogs again.  Order the Shutterfly book for Eleanor’s birthday gift.  Hear noises outside – see Janice and Bud back again, this time with a Uhaul truck.  Rotate the laundry (there’s the socks I was looking for this morning!).  Wash the crockpot.  Go freezer diving to find meat for the chili.  I have too much leftover bread.  What can I make other than bread pudding?

0945 Get the taxes ready for the mail while the meat is defrosting a bit.

0957 I have over-taped the envelope (I think it’s a hereditary condition!) and given the birds a snack.  They don’t seem to like the new flavor of bird bars (suet).  I hear happy bird sounds behind me as I’m heading back inside.

1002  Camporee menu review and looking at grocery store flyers.  Looks like Albertsons is the winner.

1018 Wait!  I need chili recipe before I go to the store in case I need some ingredients.

1029 Might as well get started on the chili before I leave.  Oh and I need to start the baked potatoes too!

1035 It totally turning out to be chili weather today.  And I didn’t even know that when I planned the menu.

1048 Okay.  Done for now.  The bigger chunks need to defrost more before I can cut them up.

1058 Leaving to run errands.

1103 Oops- went the wrong way.  Guess I’ll go to the other post office.

1108 There are lots of cars at the post office.  Hope there’s not a long line inside.  Once inside, an older German gentleman in line behind me showed me a 2^nd form I was missing to mail my certified tax return.  The postal clerk was nice as well.  He showed me the new cherry blossom stamps.  Somehow he had guessed that Ron was a Marine which led to me telling him we had moved from DC.  A retired Marine was at the window next to me and he jumped in to tell a story about challenge coins.  I had no idea people actually challenged others to show their coins.  (If you don’t have a coin, then you must buy the drinks.)  I figured it was just a military urban legend.  All in all a very interesting trip to the post office!  An example of how life is different in a smaller town.

1121 Leaving the post office.

1126 It has stopped raining and you can see blue skies over the ocean.

1129 At school.  I get an email that track is cancelled.  Hmm…now how shall I work our afternoon schedule?  I almost forget about Bella’s piano lessons in my plans.  I should be able to bring Ryan shopping for the Boy Scout food now instead of doing it myself.  Better to be able to involve the scout whenever possible!

1141 Gift cards purchased from the office.

1151 Yikes!  Just met the mail lady coming out of the driveway as I’m going in.  That blind corner scares me sometimes – I’m always afraid something like this will happen.  Luckily we met on the straightaway and passed with no problems.

12:30 p.m. I give up!  I have been searching online for the clothing storage idea I had seen that I wanted to use for Ryan’s room.  I can’t find it on Pinterest or in a google search.  What was it?  Cubes?  Shelves?  Crates?  Argh!

12:35 p.m.  Watch NCIS on dvd while sewing Ryan’s new rank badge on his shirt.

12:55 p.m. Watch more NCIS while I cut up more meat for chili, eat lunch (leftovers from CJs), and fold laundry.

1:48 p.m. Still folding laundry…

2:35 p.m. Getting ready to sew the hem on Ryan’s new scout pants but wait!  What time is it?  Ack!  It’s time to go to school to pick up the kids.

2:42 p.m. Leave for school.

3:18 p.m. Home.  No track meet and no talent show dance practice today.  Ryan and Bella have snacks and do homework.  Bella grabs a snack and gets ready for piano.

3:41 p.m. Time to leave for piano.

3:55 p.m. Arrive at piano.  The silver knob on my gear shift is missing – apparently it has fallen off while I was driving over.  Luckily I find it on the floor and am able to stick it back on.

3:59 p.m. Bella goes inside for her lesson and I wait in the car.  I check email on my phone and then I read my book.

4:19 p.m. Hear a train going through the valley.

4:49 p.m. Home from piano.  Felisa shows us a lizard with no tail that she found.  Then the kids take the trash cans out to the curb and dinner is eaten in shifts.

5:21 p.m. Ron called – he is on the way home.

5:44 p.m. Ryan and I head out for his guitar lesson.

5:46 p.m. Pass Ron on the way down the hill.

5:53 p.m. Arrive at the music shop.  My mind was wandering as it does, thinking about this and that, and I almost passed it!

6:00 p.m. Ryan goes inside for his lesson and I stay in the car, reading my book while I wait.

6:30 p.m. Lesson over.  Time to go shopping for Camporee food.

7:23 p.m. Done shopping for the campout.  Spent $52 for 4 meals for 4 boys.  Not too bad.

Once home I remind Felisa it is her turn to do the dishes.  Ryan packs for the campout.  Bella is finishing her mission report.  Looks like it may be a late-to-bed night for everyone.

8:45 p.m. Put away my laundry and get ready for bed.  Check email/Facebook/Pinterest one last time and work on updating Week in the Life to my blog.  I’m still only on Tuesday!

9:47 p.m.  Tired.  Ready to shut down the computer and go to sleep.

Week in the Life - Day 3

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

0600 Wake up to the sound of rain.  Go downstairs for coffee and have a coughing fit.  Before he leaves, Ron asks me to mail out the VA state tax return.  I go back upstairs with my coffee and snuggle back into the warm covers for some quality laptop time.

0710 Out the window I notice some cool clouds as the sun is rising in the East so I go outside to take a picture.  It's not raining at the moment but the radar looks like some heavy rain is coming.  It will probably arrive just in time for bootcamp.

0715 Updating my blog.  Still on the morning of Day 1.  I must be "talking" too much if it's taking this long to type it all up!

0729 Time to get up!

0740 Dressed and downstairs.  Time to make lunch.

0808 Leaving for school.  Something smells stinky outside this morning.

0819 Dropping kids at school.

0823 Stop at Office Max (they don't have what I'm looking for) and Albertsons (for a donut! and a copy of the sale ad to check prices for Boy Scout campout shopping this week).

0840 Completely inhaled that donut in no time.  It is starting to rain a bit.

0842 Check the bootcamp blog for any location changes.  It says 6 a.m. class at the bandstand but nothing about 9:15.

0843 So here I sit just wasting time again.

0853 Three rounds of solitaire later (I lost 1 and won 2) it is not raining so I might as well head over to the park.

0915 Still no rain - working out at park today!

1023 Done.  Completely sweaty and exhausted.

1027 Cancel out all positive effects of the workout by getting breakfast at McD's.

1031 Stop at Valero for gas.  $4.21/gallon today.

1042 Farmers Market.  Buy strawberries, carrots, and broccoli.  Asked someone about zucchini - they said about another month and it will be out.

1054 I am feeling stressed out about my To Do List this week.  I think because everything on it is a big project that will take forever.  And there are several of them!

1102 Home.  It is humid today from the rain.  Put away the food.

1115 Go upstairs.  Check Facebook/blogs/email while I eat my McD's sandwich.

1145 Notice Bella's lunchbox in the kitchen.  Oops!  I call the school and Gail says the 4th grade is eating right now.  Should I take it to her?  Some would argue that bringing forgotten items to school does not allow the children to learn responsibility.  Oh well.  I'll take it.

12:12 p.m. Back from the lunch drop.  Bella was very happy to see me.  She actually *ran* over to get it!  FYI, I checked the mileage to school - 3.5 miles each way.  And now I can finally shower.

1:00 p.m. Re-write grocery and shopping lists with forgotten items from yesterday's no-list shopping trip.

1:20 p.m. Trying to get the tax forms ready but I can't figure out what I'm supposed to mail exactly.  Also, a W-2 seems to be missing.  Guess I'll have to postpone this task.

1:36 p.m. Kelly calls.  Horseback is cancelled for today.  Why does it always rain on Wednesday?

1:41 p.m. Not getting anything done around here so might as well to school...  I can go to Albertsons on the way and pick up a couple healthier snacks.

1:48 p.m. Decide I should bring a jacket in case it starts to rain again.

At Albertson's I buy almonds, hummus, and tostitos.  Pick up some flowers for Gail and Anne in the office - it's Administrative Professionals Day and those two ladies have been so nice to me as I adjust to life here.

2:20 p.m. At school.   Deliver the flowers.  It is raining harder now of course - right at dismissal time!

2:30 p.m. School's out (early dismissal day) and track practice is cancelled.

2:40 p.m. On the way home.  At home, put away food.  Discover that my red pepper in the fridge is rotten.  Darn!  If I had known, I would've bought a fresh one.  Guess I'm not having hummus and pepper for a snack today.  Kids are doing homework.  Felisa finishes first.  I'm feeling lazy so to distract Felisa from bugging Bella, I offer to watch an episode of Wildfire with her (an Amazon prime perk -free TV episodes).  I have 45 minutes to spare before dinner, right?

4:15 p.m. Wildfire is over.  Time to make dinner.  Felisa helps a little.  On the menu for tonight - 4 cheese chicken pasta.

4:20 p.m.  Dang! I forgot to run the dishwasher today!  Fill it up and start it.

5:20 p.m. Dinner is ready for the oven.  I have been sampling and it is delicious!  Very yummy and cheesy.  Can't wait!

5:25 p.m. Waiting for the oven to preheat, catching up on today's notes in my notebook.

5:27 p.m. Fold a bit of laundry.  I've been behind on folding all week!

5:36 p.m. Casserole is in the oven and the folding basket is empty!  Woohoo!  Go upstairs to work on my blog again.  Still on Day 1...

6:21 p.m. Ron is home.  Dinner time!

After dinner it is Bella's turn to do the dishes.  Ryan and Felisa are playing a board game.  I remind Ryan to practice his guitar.  Time for me to go upstairs and get comfy.

8:30 p.m. Girls come upstairs to say goodnight.  I'm working on the application to re-finance the Prius then work on more blog updates.  I am finally starting Day 2.  Ron is reading tonight- Catching Fire.

9:00 p.m. Ryan comes up to get his MP3 player that was charging on my computer and say goodnight.

9:03 p.m. I'm too tired to work anymore.  Time to watch a bit of TV and go to sleep.

Week in the Life - Day 2

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

0605 Wake up.  Ron is in the shower.  I was up at 0430 to use my inhaler.  Seriously wish I could sleep through the night without waking up wheezing.  Go downstairs to get coffee then crawl back into bed before Ron leaves for work.

0705 I guess I should work on typing up yesterday's notes of the day...

0729 Time to get up...  :(  I really don't want to!

0733 As I'm starting to move around I am feeling how sore I am from the workout yesterday.  Sore legs and abs.

0741 Going downstairs.

0742 Oh look - it's my day off!  All the kids signed up to buy lunch today so I don't have to make any lunches.  Yay!

0750 Since I'm not making lunch, I guess I should do something productive while the kids finish getting ready for school.  Fold some laundry.

0753 Oops- forgot I need to put the chicken in the crockpot before we leave.

0805 Time to go.  We are driving the Prius today since I have to take it to the dealer for an oil change.

0818 Drop kids at school.

0839 Panera in San Luis Obispo for a breakfast treat.  Coffee and a 4-cheese souffle.  Yum!

0851 Leaving Panera.

0855 Dang! I forgot to bring my shopping lists!  I knew I was going to forget.  Grr!

0858 Park at Target to wait for my appointment time.  Try to re-create my lists for afterwards.

0905 Ron called - testing my recall of userIDs and passwords.  I have the credit card number memorized and I can remember phone numbers easily (if I dial them myself -auto dial works against this super-power of mine for sure!) but this quiz was a bit of a stretch.  Hope I got them all right!

0912 See a guy carrying a flower that he must've picked.  Watch him walk across the parking lot.  He gets into a car where a girl is waiting.  Awwww... so sweet!

0915 List making is complete for the moment.  I can't remember everything.  Drat!   Now it is time to eat my cheese souffle and drink my coffee that is finally an acceptable temperature and no longer scorching hot.

0940 Checked my email and Facebook, won 2 games in a row of solitaire, and finished breakfast. Guess I'll head over to the Toyota dealer now.  Maybe they can get me in a bit early.  I really should learn to be more efficient with these morning windows of time.  When I made the appointment I figured I would have things to get at Target before my appointment but since I don't have my list and I don't want to spend money needlessly (you all know the Target $100 rule, right?) I decide to skip it.

0955 All checked in... just waiting now.

1035 Mission complete!  Off to New Traditions and Home Depot.  I was able to make good progress on my Flat Stanley picture selection while I waited so that will make Felisa happy.  She really wants Stanley to finish his scrapbook so he can go back to school!

1040 At Home Depot.  See a lady putting her dog in the cart, complete with bed so he is comfortable.  This seems to be a California thing because I haven't noticed it in other places.  Why do so many people bring their dogs into the stores with them?  They even do it at grocery stores!

1056 Found the bucket for Felisa's tomato plant from Brownies but no luck on the worm poop from Terracycle.

1100 At New Frontiers.  Run into a friend outside.  It's funny that she also calls it Whole Foods without even realizing it.  I told her I was glad to find someone else who thought it was so similar.

1123 Stop at Michaels to get tacky glue (the boy scouts used all we had to make their patrol banner a couple weeks ago) and found some felt flowers for Bella's mission project.

1138 Heading home.  It has started to cloud up.

1155 Home sweet home.  Time to put the groceries away.

12:00 p.m. Check my shopping list to see what I forgot.  Ear drops, juice, and gift bags - nothing too critical but still frustrating.

12:02 p.m. Check the laundry status.  Two loads are full.  Unload the laundry chute and Ryan's basket and check around Felisa's corner for other dirty clothes and now the dirty laundry is overflowing!

12:08 p.m. One load is in the washer.  I'm feeling hungry.  What's for lunch?

12:15 p.m. Travis calls asking questions about his upcoming trip to Chicago for work.  Unfortunately for him I never went too far from Evanston while at NU and don't know much about good places to stay (and bad places to avoid!) in Chicago.

12:50 p.m. My sewing projects today are not going well.  The patrol banner is fine but everything else is ending up a bit iffy.  I think it is time to eat!

12:51 p.m. Plug in my laptop to charge after my morning at the dealer.

12:53 p.m. Head out for lunch.

1:07 p.m. Carl's Junior.  Chili Cheese Fries - yum!

1:13 p.m. At the library.  Park and eat.  I am SO hungry!

1:22 p.m. Ahhhh... much better.  Now I can go find some libary books to check out.

1:52 p.m. Done at the library.  Have a message from Dr. Z that he needs help with boards of review at the meeting tonight.

1:57 p.m. Having a sweet craving- Starbucks time!  I do opt for decaf though in hopes of avoiding more crazy dreams tonight.

2:12 p.m. Home but only for 30 minutes.  It would've been better if I could've waited longer for lunch but oh well.

2:58 p.m. At school to pick up the kids.  Today's activities are track practice for Ryan, talent show practice for Felisa and for Bella.

4:44 p.m. Finally home from school.

Move wet clothes to the dryer and start another load.  Cook rice and broccoli to go with the chicken.  Kids are doing homework.

5:30 p.m. Dinner time.  Ron got home just in time.

5:50 p.m. Ryan does the dishes.  Ron takes the girls to volleyball practice.  I check email and Facebook, upload Bella's dance practice video for the other girls to watch, and print the campout menu.

6:45 p.m. Leave for the Boy Scout meeting.

9:00 p.m. Home from scouts.  A long meeting as I expected.  Lots of details to go over for camporee this weekend and 3 boards of review.  Ryan and Nick made Second Class tonight - yay!

Before bed I pick the meat left on the chicken while Ryan eats a toasted PB&J.  Felisa comes out to tell me her head hurts from getting hit with a volleyball.

9:30 p.m. Finally going to bed.  Tuesdays are tough!

10:00 p.m. Give up on the internet.  Nothing interesting going on.  Ron and I fall asleep to Doomsday Preppers.  The guy on tonight is wackier than most.

Week in the Life - Day 1

Monday, April 23, 2012

0550 Ron leaves for work, waking me up on his way out.  Since we gave away all our alarm clocks but one before we moved, first one up has to wake up the second one.

0620 After dozing a bit longer, I am up.  It is wet outside this morning.  Unexpected.  Downstairs I am very happy to see coffee that is already brewed.  Yay!  That is one of the downsides to Ron being gone- no coffee when I get up.  I have to make it myself.  Now that I have my coffee, I go back upstairs and crawl back into bed for some internet time.

0727 Finally, Young House Love has their new blog post up.  I was about to give up seeing it this morning.  I don't know why I love this blog so much.  Actually, I do know.  I just really enjoy the writing style.  Am I currently renovating or decorating a house (their subject area)?  No.  But I just love to read all about it anyway.  I have found that is one of the key factors to my long-term blog favorites.  Writing style.  It also has to be a subject matter that I am at least a little interested in but if I don't enjoy reading it, if it is too hard to read, doesn't flow well then forget it.

0733 Time to get up.  For real this time.  Felisa comes upstairs looking sad, complaining of a sore throat and headache.  I give her a drink of my water and tell her to get ready for school.  She should perk up a bit once she gets moving.

0750 Moving pretty slowly today.  Heading downstairs to make lunches and get this show on the road.  Bella is practicing her piano, Felisa is still getting ready, and Ryan is dressed and ready, on the computer as always.

0810 Leaving for school, a few minutes later than I wanted.  Felisa wants to listen to her talent show dance music in the car.

0816 I just realized that I forgot to put my hair up in a ponytail.  Dang it!  I hate working out with my hair down.  Maybe I can find a spare hairband hiding in my purse.

0820 As we pull into the school parking lot, Ryan realizes he forgot to put on his belt.  Oops!  Good thing he has his sweatshirt.  He can zip up and hide the error.  Apparently Sister Margaret said it's okay to do that.

0827 Should I go to the park or to the bandstand?  It's not really raining hard - just misting - so I'm going to guess park for bootcamp today.

0835 No changes on the bootcamp blog.  Must be park.  Current weather - 51 degrees and misty.  The heatwave of sunny and nearly 80 last week is over.  Brr!  It will be a damp, chilly workout today.

0850 Call from Trevor's mom about camporee this weekend - schedule and food shopping

0915 Time to work out!  At least the mist has gone away now.

1030 Home.  Today was not a good workout day.  It was one of those days where I felt like every single thing Nancy was asking me to do was beyond ridiculously impossible.  I couldn't do it and it wasn't even worth trying because I never would be able to do it.  Was showing up better than doing nothing?  Probably.  But barely.

1045 Finally look at the school picture envelopes the kids brought home.  So-so pictures.  I like the beach theme ones - too bad they didn't offer those originally.  Price times 3 kids though will add up in a hurry.  Guess I'll defer the decision awhile longer.  Work on a menu plan and grocery list while I eat my breakfast (leftovers from breakfast at CJs Cafe yesterday).

1100 Shower time!

1200 My checking email then shower break is over.  Start a load of laundry.

12:03 p.m. Headed to Vons

12:11 p.m.  And another crazy speeding driver flies by.  Slow down people!  What is the rush?!

12:18 p.m. Arrive at Vons.

1:12 p.m. Grocery shopping complete and Starbucks in hand.

1:17 p.m. Decide to stop at Jack in the Box for a 2 tacos snack.

1:32 p.m. Back home.  Unload the groceries.  Move the wet laundry to the dryer.

1:53 p.m. Done with the groceries job... What next?  I've got so many things to do that I don't know where to start.  I can't decide so opt for doing nothing instead.  Surf the net...

2:13 p.m. Hear voices outside (very unusual in this awesome quiet hideaway house!) so look out to see what's going on.  Janice and Bud (owners of the house) are here looking for stuff in the garage.  Now that I'm up, might as well go ahead and get the loaf of bread started in the bread machine.

2:33 p.m.  All the ingredients are in and the bread machine is started!

2:34 p.m.  Check my Project Life book to see where I left off.  The last day completed was March 24.  Yikes!  I'm a month behind!

2:42 p.m. Get ready to go to school.  Gather Bella's Girl Scout stuff and fill a water bottle for Ryan.

3:00 p.m. At school.  Barely on time for dismissal and too late for a parking spot in the lot.  Park on the street and walk in.  Give Ryan his water.  Felisa comes over to tell me the new location for talent show dance practice.  Deliver Bella's bag to her.  Go to the office to drop off a check for lunch money.

3:19 p.m. Back in the car to wait... move into a parking spot in the lot where I can see Felisa's group practicing.  Work on choosing Project Life pictures while I'm waiting.

3:40 p.m. Felisa seems to be done with practice a bit early.  When we get back to the car to wait for Ryan and Bella, Felisa tells me that she left her lunchbox in the car today.  Oops! 

4:10 p.m. Felisa is bored of waiting so we head down to the playground to wait there.

4:35 p.m. Track practice and the Girl Scout meeting are over.  Going home.

4:43 p.m. Felisa wants to race the car up the street to the mailbox.  A neighbor out walking sees us and is laughing.  Felisa won.  This time.  Next time I won't be so easy on her!

4:45 p.m. Homework time.

5:19 p.m. Ron called.  He is on the way home.  Guess I'd better get dinner started!

7:15 p.m. Dinner is over.  Dishes are done (it was Felisa's turn - she wants to know how she always gets stuck with taco night dish duty).  Birds are fed.  Heading upstairs for pj's and my bed!

Surf the 'net (again!) then work on my Big Trip 6 scrapbook while Ron is reading (he's reading Catching Fire- my turn is next!). 

Girls come up to say good night around 8:30.  Ron is asleep soon after.  I watch Two and a Half Men and Dancing With the Stars (I missed Melissa Gilbert's dance-darn!) then I am headed for sleep too at about 10 p.m.

If you see me coming...

Run the other way!!!

I seem to be operating a few cylinders short today. I'll blame it on the crazy/bad dream I had this morning. First, I drove away from the drive-thru without my food. I didn't even realize it until after I finished my next errand. Oops! Luckily it had only been 20 minutes so I was able to swing back by and pick it up. Embarrassing!

Second oops/embarrassing moment for today... I just realized that my pants are on inside-out. Really? Luckily it was just my workout pants and only a couple people saw me. If they noticed, they were polite enough not to say anything.

So that's two out of three... which means I've still got some kind of crazy stored up inside of me, waiting to get out. Which means, if you see me, you would be wise to run the other way.

I'm just thinking of your safety, people.

California Weather

Heard this in a commercial on the radio this morning...

The weather in California is always nice. Except when it is flooding, on fire, sliding down a hillside, or shaking like a wet dog.

Funny, huh. I had to give up my weather junkie ways when we moved here. I used to track the storms on radar and was always frustrated that the radar only updated every 15 minutes. Now I barely remember to check the weather once a week!

so i have this dilemma... how do i become part of my new community

i do not feel as if i belong. which is not entirely surprising. we have lived here only 6 months. i am attempting to volunteer at school and scouts if i see a need or if i am asked. and yet when i do show up it always seems as though they already have everything covered. oh yeah. we already passed out the drinks. oh yeah we already have the cookies. just come to my house. oh gee i did not stop to think that you have only been there once before and may not know the way. zoom zoom. off we go. better luck next time sucker.

i want to just take my juice and go home. why bother. but then how will i ever be a part of the community. catch 22.

so for now i have taken my juice and gone home. call me if you change your mind. until then i will just be hanging out the quails and the turkey.

Life Lesson Number ???

(who knows - I've lost count!)

Today's lesson is about dental insurance... (and it's not the first time I have had dental insurance troubles. Too bad what I learned last time did not apply here!)

I am new to this place and looking for a dentist for the kids. One office I called did not treat children but recommended Dr. P's office. I called over, told them I was a new patient, and gave them my info. No problem. Here's an appointment, see you in a couple weeks.

At this point I am under the impression that they take my insurance. Which to me, an average, don't know much about insurance, consumer means that they will bill my insurance company and I will pay my portion of the bill, or co-pay. Out of network merely means that I will have to pay a higher percentage of the bill as co-pay.

What I come to learn later (MUCH later!) is that apparently this dentist is not only out-of-network, but they are non-contracted. Which means that they do not accept the insurance-allowed rate. They charge full price. Full price in this office is more than double what my insurance company has deemed allowable. To this dentist, "we take your insurance" means they will bill the insurance company and take whatever money they give us but will still charge you as much as we want. Insurance-allowed rate? What's that???

Did I mention that I have 3 kids? So that means that whatever happens for one, often happens to all 3 of them. At a minimum, I'm looking at 3 exam/cleanings. Turns out two of them also had cavities this time. (A little foreshadowing... a problem for one multiplies to a 3 times bigger problem!!!)

So the total sticker price for 3 cleanings and 5 fillings was $1844. After insurance and co-pays (including that I had already paid full price for Ryan's cleaning without realizing it) that left me with a bill of $820 still owed to the dentist. I went in this morning to plead my case and beg for mercy. Dr. P offered me a deal of $438 to clear my account of any outstanding charges. I took it. Learned another life lesson the hard way but thankfully paid less than I could have. Let this be a lesson to all of you out there - check, double check and triple check your insurance BEFORE you let them touch the patient!

I have a few excuses (no one made it clear to me in advance exactly what I was going to be expected to pay; my dog had just died at the beginning of the series of office visits; I had just moved my family across the country a few months before; my dearest husband had been out of the country for the past 2 months; I'm not in the insurance business-they are... the list goes on but those are the main ones!). I understand that I am partially at fault. However, I stand by my belief that both the insurance company (when I called them back in December wondering why they had sent the check to me, not the dentist!) and the dentist office staff could have been much better at communicating the insurance status and how that affects the charges for service.

I am also grateful that the dentist was willing to compromise and at least split the difference with me.

Can anyone recommend a dentist for the kids? I need a new one...

My brain

I read this post today and loved it - a very apt description of my brain written by another, perhaps distant cousin of my brain.

What My Brain and Fox News Have In Common

Enjoy!

Happy Veteran's Day!

11-11-11... a fun date to say and write. :)

Attended a Veteran's Day Prayer service at the school this morning. The kids all wore their scout uniforms (poor Ryan was at least a foot taller than all of the others - even the boys his age!) and lined the aisle for the Marine Corps Honor Guard who presented the colors.

Near the end of the service, they asked the Veterans in attendance to stand. Normally, I am one to just sit quietly, preferring to be anonymous. However, I knew that my kids were there watching and would want to know why I didn't stand up. How can I teach them that it is important to honor and respect veterans while at the same time saying that I don't want to be recognized. Just all the OTHER veterans... So in a moment of Mommy sacrifice, I stood up. I looked around. There were about 10 of us in attendance. I was the youngest by far and the only woman. Sheesh - now I really want to sit down. Those old guys are the real, true veterans. They really sacrificed and served. I stood my ground though, trying to be a good example and hoping my kids were paying attention!

I have decided that I am definitely more comfortable in the support role when it comes Veterans Day and honoring our veterans and active duty armed forces members. I can be the family of one who serves. I can be the strong silent support. I can advocate for those who (have) serve(d) to be recognized. Just don't go eye-balling me! I am but a shadow...

Looking Back again

Here's a link to my post at the 5-year anniversary of 9-11. I have to say, not much has changed. I still cry every time I think about it. So much loss and tragedy and sadness. I have to change the radio station in the car whenever they have someone on telling what they remember from that day.

Denial... still going strong!

Looking Back

Soccer today. Currently Felisa appears to be playing as a one-girl team. Where are the rest of the Cheetah Girls? They're on the field but not even moving!

In other news, this place is freezing! We're getting better about dressing in layers and bringing a jacket or sweatshirt. What I think we need now is a blanket or two alwaysin the car for days such as this.

Okay I suppose I should get back to watching the game now...

Day 20 – Saturday – August 6, 2011

0600 Wake up.

0615 Wake up the girls.

0630 Breakfast

0722 All loaded and ready to go.

0724 Leaving hotel.

0730 Stop for gas. $3.48/gallon

0751 Make it to I-15 South.  257 miles to Los Angeles

0803 Passing a prison next to the Gold Strike Casino

0812 California!  Two casinos and an outlet mall at the state line (on the Nevada side!)

0825 Cresting a mountain pass – 4,730 feet

0853 Baker, CA – Gateway to Death Valley and the Mojave Desert

0900 Zzyzx Road.  Really?  Who named this road?

0930 See a closed water park.  Ryan thinks it’s weird to see a water park in the desert that isn’t open.

0934 Whew – we passed our agricultural inspection.

0940 Ghost Town Road

0945 Made it to Barstow.  Elevation, 2,170 feet.  Current temperature, 84 degrees

0953 Stop for gas in Lenwood. 

1014 Leaving  Lenwood after also stopping at McD’s for drinks.

1035 Victorville.  The kids are hungry so we stop at In-n-Out Burger.  Yum!  Welcome back to California!

1055 Leaving Victorville

1110 Ron called to see where we are.  He is still at the airport in San Francisco.  Who will get there first?

1158 Pasadena

12:10 p.m. Burbank

12:14 p.m. On 101 North – our first LA traffic jam.  Oh yay.

12:40 p.m. Agora Hills

1:05 p.m. Conejo.  Another traffic jam.

1:36 p.m. Pacific Ocean!

1:40 p.m. Another traffic jam!  Ugh!

2:11 p.m. Santa Barbara, elevation 33 feet

2:15 p.m.  Potty and snack break at McD’s in Carpenteria

2:46 p.m.  Need a break from driving.  Way too many traffic jams today.  Stop at Mission Santa Barbara to stretch our legs.

3:00 p.m. See Lake Cachuma

3:08 p.m. Ron called – he beat us home.

3:14 p.m. Santa Ynez River

3:28 p.m. Lots of vineyards out here.

3:32 p.m. Los Alamos, CA

3:45 p.m. Santa Maria – getting close

3:53 p.m. See a sign for Arroyo Grande – only 12 more miles!

4:03 p.m. Exiting in Arroyo Grande

4:11 p.m.  Home sweet new home!  Ending mileage is 91,358 which makes our total trip mileage just 4,474 miles.  I think this is our shortest Big Trip ever.

Day 19

Day 19 – Friday – August 5, 2011

0500 Wake up. Darby is looking at me. Might as well just forget the alarm and get up now. Once again, the time change helps!

0525 Stop in the lobby to get coffee after walking Darby. The coffee is bad. Over all I am NOT impressed with this hotel.

0540 Sunrise

0545 Shower. Good to have water pressure again.

0600 Wake the kids up.

0629 Leaving hotel. Stop next door at Jack in the Box for breakfast.

0647 Looking for a Grand Canyon sign. We’re lost! You would think they would have better signs for something as famous as the Grand Canyon!

0650 Finally figure out where we’re going. We are the only car on the road at the moment.

0745 Grand Canyon entrance gate

0752 Stop at Mather’s Point overlook and visitor’s center. Walk along the rim trail and take lots of pictures. The lighting isn’t as good as I hoped but the view is amazing! It’s so vast that it’s really hard to tell how big it is – no scale references like at Royal Gorge where you have the bridge over the river and the people walking below. Never less – I have finally seen the Grand Canyon! Woohoo!

0930 Leaving Grand Canyon. Things are getting busy. Good thing we came early!

0944 Horse trailer full of aluminum cans. No horse.

1009 Sheep

1032 Back to I-40 where we started this morning.

1049 Ryan spots a cowboy. A real cowboy – riding a horse – and tending the cattle. Cool!

1155 Kingman, AZ

12:00 p.m. Lunch break at Sonic

12:20 p.m. Gas, $3.39/gallon

1:26 p.m. Stop at the scenic overlook. I thought it was the Colorado River but it was actually Lake Mojave. Almost to Hoover Dam and the new bridge! Current temperature, 103 degrees.

Wait – what was that? Was that the bridge? But I couldn’t see anything! I couldn’t see the bridge or the dam or the river or anything! Waa! I want my money back!!!

Decide to exit and drive across the dam so we can actually see it and see the bridge from below. Cross back to Arizona and then back to Nevada once more.

2:00 p.m. Leaving Hoover Dam.

2:01 p.m. Lake view overlook – Lake Mead. Current temperature, 107 degrees!

2:10 p.m. Boulder City. Driving around and showing the kids my old house, old school, etc.

2:45 p.m. Dairy Queen for ice cream.

3:10 p.m. Holiday Inn Express in Henderson.

5:00 p.m. Can’t go swimming yet – someone had an accident in the pool.

6:30 p.m. Dinner at Sunset Station Casino buffet. Good thing we beat the crowd – the line is long when we leave.

After dinner we go to the pool. It is still very warm out here.

For one last field trip of the day – a drive down the Las Vegas Strip. Lots of lights and oh so many people! It has been a long time since I’ve been here. It seems so much more over the top than before.

10:30 p.m. Back at the hotel. Current temperature, 91 degrees.

Day 18

Day 18 – Thursday – August 4, 2011

0606 Wake up. Shower. Fold the laundry.

0705 Get the kids up.

Finish packing and loading then take final pictures before we leave. It is one tight squeeze with the addition of another passenger – Grandma Racinez!

0752 Leave. Current temperature is 62 degrees.

0758 National Guard Armory. Tank parked outside.

0807 Rio Grande River in Bernalillo

0814 Twisters for breakfast burritos. Yum!

0816 Starbucks drive-thru for coffee

0837 See a VW bug lowrider. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like that before!

0842 I-40 West

0845 Rio Grande River in Albuquerque

0943 Grants, NM. Gas, $3.57/gallon. Some guy comes up begging for money – some sob story about trying to get back to the reservation. He was perfectly polite until I gave him $5. Then he turned tail and practically ran away. I am completely annoyed that he didn’t have the decency to say thank you. I doubt his story was true anyway but sheesh –use your manners! I yelled, “You’re welcome” at his back as he trotted off into the horizon.

0957 Exit the interstate, headed to El Morro National Monument. Lots of black lava rocks along the roadside.

1020 Continental Divide, elevation 7,882 feet

1038 El Morro visitor’s center. Bought our new annual park pass.

1132 Leaving El Morro

12:05 p.m. Zuni Indian Pueblo.

12:21 p.m. Arizona! Time change.

1157 Sanders, AZ – back to I-40

12:10 p.m. Lunch stop –Subway at the gas station in Navajo, AZ. Not much out here and we need to eat before we hit Petrified Forest.

12:47 p.m. Petrified Forest National Park

12:55 p.m. Leaving Petrified Forest/Painted Desert visitor’s center

1:26 p.m. old Route 66 monument

1:35 p.m. Santa Fe Railroad

1:36 p.m. Puerco River

1:46 p.m. Newspaper Rock
1:58 p.m. Agate Bridge

2:05 p.m. Crystal Forest. Darby refuses to get out of the car. I think he’s tired and his feet hurt from the hot ground out here. So we leave him in the car with the windows down while we take a couple quick pictures.

2:24 p.m. Leaving the park.

2:37 p.m. Little Colorado River

2:40 p.m. Holbrook, AZ – back on I-40 again

2:50 p.m. McD’s for iced coffee

2:59 p.m. Cholla Power Plant

3:38 p.m. Canyon Diablo

3:58 p.m. Flagstaff, AZ – looking for a gas station and find Jack in the Box. Stop for a snack.

4:20 p.m. Gas, $3.49/gallon

4:37 p.m. Arizona Divide 7,335 feet

4:51 p.m. Guy on a bike pulling a trailer filled with scrap wood/lumber.

4:53 p.m. Field filled with yellow wildflowers

5:00 p.m. Holiday Inn, Williams, AZ There is something wrong with the wells in town so the water is icky.

5:55 p.m. Dinner at the Singing Pig. Got to sit outside in a covered porch-swing-picnic-table. Live music. Good food. Friendly owners.

Back at the hotel, things are getting busy. We’d better head out early in the morning to beat the crowd!

There were some inconsiderate teens at the pool which made it not much fun. Be aware of your surroundings, people, and have a little consideration for others!!!

Swim then shower then off to bed early. Lights out a 9:15 in my room (not sure about Grandma and the girls) which is even easier to do with the time change today.

Day 17

Day 17 – Wednesday – August 3, 2011

0645 Darby wakes me up. I didn’t sleep well last night. First I couldn’t fall asleep and then I had crazy dreams.

Coffee.

0700 Bella is up. Ryan and Felisa are sleeping in.

0900 Utility transfer requests for the old house are complete.

0930 I need to quit wasting time and update my blog!

0945 The kids are treasure hunting in the garage again.

0950 Refill Darby’s water again – now we’re having the opposite water problem. He keeps drinking it faster than I can fill it!

0951 Take pictures of the kids with all the spears and swords they found in the garage.

Head into town with Grandma. Stop at Sonic and Starbucks and the bank.

Back home the kids are all still playing.

Raining! Again! It must be monsoon season or something.

Day 16

Day 16 – Tuesday – August 2, 2011

0630 Wake up. Put Darby out. Felisa is awake already. She never wakes up this early at home… must be because she wants to play with Philip.

Elena and I went on another field trip today. This time we went to Staples for school supplies, Weck’s for brunch (yum!) and then the mall. I went to Barnes and Noble while she went to Sephora. We checked out the new Coach store then it was time to head back.

After lunch, Ryan and I went to see the last Harry Potter movie. The movie was good and the snake only creeped me out a little bit. The previews were worse than the movie by far. Apparently people who go to Harry Potter also like to see creepy scary movies. Ick!

After the movie, we stopped by Walmart to get a birthday present for Seth. We picked out a small cops and robbers lego set which he liked a lot. Felisa and Philip helped him put it together.

For dinner we had Grandma’s noodles – yum! After dinner I surfed Etsy looking for some cool whimsical state maps art. Julie’s travel pictures that she had hanging at her place inspired me to want to do the same. Then I saw a cool map gallery wall online and thought I could maybe combine the two ideas.

Bedtime except that I forgot I had some bills to pay. I got distracted looking at new rustic western furniture online so did that for a long time. Then finally I paid the bills. I probably should have done the bills first because then I would’ve remembered that we have no money for new furniture!

11:45 p.m. Lights out.

Day 15

Day 15 – Monday – August 1, 2011

0630 Wake up. Let Darby out. The coffee hasn’t been made yet so I go back to bed and read for awhile.

Eventually I get up and get showered. Then Elena and I head out for a field trip to Starbucks and Walmart.

When we get back I hang out with Mark for awhile but then he falls asleep so I have no choice but to go lie down next to him on the bed while he sleeps. I wouldn’t want him to roll off now would I?

1:20 p.m. Vic’s Tree Service calls. I give them my mailing address for the bill. Unfortunately the phone call woke Mark up.

Grandma went to the store. The six biggest kids stayed here with me and Mark went home with Elena while we waited for her to come back.

3:40 p.m. Finally time to hit the pool. It started raining about 30 minutes in. The kids didn’t mind the rain so we stayed until we saw lightning/heard thunder.

4:35 p.m. Stormed out at the pool – heading back home.

7:00 p.m. Finally the barbeque is ready to eat. Yum – I was starving!

After dinner I finished my book.

8:30 p.m. Bedtime. Felisa wants to sleep on the floor for some reason tonight. I found some blankets and pillows for her to use. Darby decided that he wanted to use Felisa’s blanket to sleep on. I told them they had to work it out!

In other news today, Ryan lost 1 ½ teeth. I think that marks the end of his baby teeth. Guess my baby’s not a baby anymore…