Day 13

Day 13 – Tuesday – June 19, 2012

0645 Felisa is awake.  I told her it is too early to be up so she goes back to sleep.  Of course, I’m awake now so I work on my blog typing for awhile.

0745 Brushing my teeth.  Out of the corner in my eye, in the mirror, I see something on the arm of my pajamas.  I look and see a giant grasshopper climbing up, almost to my shoulder.  Eek! Ick! Uck!  There is seriously some sort of bug conspiracy to give me a heart attack!

Breakfast

Get ready to go to San Antonio.

1000 Leave for San Antonio.  On the way we stop at AAA so Betty Lou can get some maps for her upcoming road trip.

Heading downtown for lunch at Mi Tierra.  We tried to follow the mapquest printout way but failed.  We tried the iPhone map way and failed.  We tried the gps map way but failed.  So finally we just went the Betty Lou way (which included driving straight from a left-turn only lane!) and we made it.

The food was delicious, the service was fast, and the decorations were great.  Yum! Yum!

After lunch we walked through the Mercado then drove to Mission Concepcion.  We found a street called Felisa Street near the mission.  Felisa did the Junior Ranger program while we were there and earned a badge.  We had the whole mission almost completely to ourselves the entire time we were there.  Just as we were walking out to take a picture by the sign out front, a bus pulled up and a bunch of people got out and walked into our picture area.  Darn!

We had originally planned to see two missions but it is already time to go to the airport and drop Dad off for his flight.

On the way home we stop at Barnes and Noble.  Each kid bought one book.  Ryan got the last book of the Kane Chronicles which he has been waiting for since it came out in May.

We stopped at Costco for gas.  $3.19/gallon.

Back at the ranch it was time for margaritas.  I got online to check maps and routes and things to do with Kim and Julie this weekend.  Ron said he can get a flight from Huntsville, AL on Sunday at 6.   Should we stay in Huntsville?  Do Birmingham first?  Stick to the original plan of Chattanooga first?  I just can’t decide!!!  I also have to figure out a modified plan for next week since we won’t be going to Pensacola anymore now that Ron won’t be with us.

We have a late dinner tonight.  Frozen pizza – yum!  I haven’t had pizza since before the CIA Bootcamp fitness challenge.  Cake and ice cream for dessert.  We have lots of ice cream left but we finished off the birthday cake.  We don’t finish dinner until 8:30.

After dinner I realized that I forgot to start the dryer earlier and my clothes are still wet.  Dang it!  The kids go to the barn to get ready for bed.  I wait for the dryer to finish while Betty finally gets a chance to look at the scrapbooks.

I give up waiting for the dryer to finish so I go to the barn to get ready for bed.  I call Ron.  I download my camera – 700 pictures so far this trip.  And at last – bedtime!

Day 12

Day 12 – Monday – June 18, 2012

Breakfast.  While we were setting the table, the Trix box spilled on the floor.  Sunny found a loose trix that was under the china cabinet.

After breakfast the kids baked a cake then we finished our Mexican Train game.  Felisa won.  Ron called to tell me about his travel schedule change.  Instead of leaving DC on July 2, he is leaving on June 25.  He will still meet us in Memphis Friday but will have to leave from Chattanooga or Birmingham.

For lunch we had hot dogs.

After lunch the kids decorated the cake then watched tv while Betty Lou and I went to town.  We went to the liquor store to get more margarita supplies and HEB to get food for dinner.  They had samples of bacon jam which was pretty yummy.  It was buy one, get one free so I got one as a gift for Julie and one for myself. 

While the kids were playing with the dogs, Ryan said “Sunny! Flyswatter!” which did not have the same effect as just showing her the flyswatter.

Pinata time!  We had a hard time finding a tree branch tall enough and strong enough.  Once we found a branch, we had a hard time getting the rope over the branch.  Finally we are all set.  The kids busted it with just one turn each.

Dinner tonight is tacos and birthday cake and ice cream for dessert.  We would need almost 300 candles to celebrate everyone’s birthday.  Instead we opt for 10 candles – one for each person and dog.

Feed the animals again.  Tonight they got lettuce which they also liked.

Sent some emails about the proposed schedule change for the weekend.  Tomorrow I will have to check the map to see which way we should go.

9:00 p.m. Start another round of Mexican Train.  We made it through two hands before we decided it was too late to keep playing.

When we got back to the barn, I found a scorpion on the floor.  Eek!  Ick!  Yikes!  I killed it but had the heebee jeebies for the rest of the night, certain another scorpion was just lurking in the shadows, waiting to jump out at me.

9:45 p.m. Bed time.

Day 11

Day 11 – Sunday – June 17, 2012

Finally a day to sleep in a little bit.  Breakfast at 9.  After breakfast the kids made water gun paintings.  It took longer and was much messier than Betty thought it would be.  After art we have to hurry to have lunch so we’ll be ready for our trail ride.

Trail ride muster:
Ryan – Smoky; Bella – Sonny; Cole – Wrangler; Sheila – Bulldog

When we got back from the trail ride, the wranglers let Felisa have another pony ride on Hollywood.


Late afternoon/evening fun was Mexican Train dominos and margaritas.  For dinner we had spaghetti.  After dinner we fed the animals again.  They were a bit braver tonight.  They really enjoyed the leftover spaghetti that Ryan brought out for them.  While we were there, the kids came up with some names for the animals.  We had the Goat Gang, Deer of Doom (including Captain Fearless), Cow Criminals, Sheep of Shame (but only because we couldn’t think of a better name for them), and the Horrible Horses.  It sounds like a pretty dangerous neighborhood, doesn’t it?

Before bed we had a showing of the St Pat’s Talent Show DVD.  A storm blew in while we were watching so we had to run through the thunder, lightning, and wind to get back to the barn.  We made it just in time before it started to rain.  Whew.  The kids played DS for awhile while I did some blog typing.

10:45 p.m. Bedtime

Day 10

Day 10 – Saturday – June 16, 2012

0315 Bella fell out of bed and bumped her nose on the floor.
0630 Wake up
0745 Leave for Cowboy breakfast and kids’ rodeo.  At the rodeo, Bella rode Smoky and Bulldog.  Neither horse was very cooperative.  Felisa had two “pony” rides on Doc and Drifter.

After the rodeo, back to the house for lunch.  A neighbor called to tell us about something she saw out in her yard by the shed so after lunch we drive over to check it out.  You’ll never guess what it was – a hand!  We have quite the collection now.

After the hand adventure, shower time.

2:30 p.m. Leave for the family reunion party in town.  There was swimming, dancing, Mexican food, and a piñata.  Also lots of relatives we have never met or haven’t seen in many years.  Overall, a fun time.

On the way home we ran into a cow ambush.  A mommy was feeding her baby cow in the middle of the road.  When we stopped to wait, a few other cows started to come up and surround the car.  We escaped just in the nick of time!

9:00 p.m. The deer and sheep are outside so we try to feed them.  Unfortunately they are shy and scared and just keep running away.  I tried to take pictures but my camera battery was so dead it wouldn’t even turn on anymore.

I put our laundry into the dryer.  Ron and the kids are watching Cars on TV in the barn.

10:05 p.m. Bed time.

Day 9

Day 9 - Friday - June 15, 2012

0500 Wake up.
0530 Get the kids up.
0614 Leaving Rio Rancho.  65 degrees - it's a lovely morning.
0627 Rio Grande River
0629 Twisterz for yummy breakfast burritos!  There is a used book store in this shopping center.  Maybe we should check it out sometime.
0635 Starbucks
0645 Getting onto I-25 South
0648 A news story about Siri users filing a class-action lawsuit because Siri doesn't work very well.  The John Malkovich-Siri commercial is nothing like real life experiences.  I'm not surprised after the hilarious demonstration we got when Dad was visiting us in May.
0657 A water usage report.  Apparently water use was up in May... time to conserve, Albuquerque!
0701 I-40 East.
0728 Cows
0750 Clines Corners - getting onto 285 South
0813 Encino, NM.  Elevation 6,280 feet
0819 An engine train is coming up on the tracks from behind us.  It has just 3 engines and no cars.  I wonder if it will be able to pass us.
0824 It seems really strange to be driving east in the first legs of the trip.
0828 Vaughn, NM.  This town is half run-down ghost town and half up-to-date.  Both halves just intermingle which gives an odd impression.
0848 Sheep and baby lambs.
0857 A dog riding on the back of a flat-bed truck on the highway.  He doesn't appear to be tied down at all.  Kind of scary!
0934 Roadkill - looks big.  Too big to be a deer?  I can't get a good look because we are passing a semi as we pass the roadkill.
0938 Deer roadkill - half in my lane and half on the shoulder.  Seeing this deer makes me think the other animal must've been a deer also.
0945 Roswell, NM.  The welcome sign says that it is the Dairy Capital of the Southwest.  I have to admit that dairy is not what I think of when I think of Roswell.  In my mind (and probably most people's minds), Roswell is the Alien Capitol of the Southwest!  Current temperature, 82 degrees.  Stop for gas, $3.16/gallon.
1031 I have been watching but I haven't seen any signs of smoke from the Ruidoso fires.
1040 Stinky cows on a feedlot.  Then I see a road sign for Funk Road.  Coincidence???
1050 Artesia, NM.  This is not a water or natural springs area as I was imagining it to be.  Looks like it might be oil?  It is definitely a very industrial town.
1106 Seven Rivers Highway
1117 Carlsbad, NM.  Elevation 3,110 feet.  94 degrees.
1120 Sonic for lunch.  There is a sign annoucing half-price shakes all day on June 20 to celebrate the longest day of summer.
1150 Leaving Sonic
12:21 p.m. Black River
12:37 p.m. Texas state line.  Central Time Zone.
1:40 p.m. Lots of oil rigs out here.
2:20 p.m. Pecos, TX.  99 degrees.  Home of the world's first rodeo.
2:27 p.m. Mosquito Lake
3:10 p.m Fort Stockton.  Stop at McD's for iced coffee for me and Rolo McFlurries for the kids.  It is very busy here.
3:26 p.m. Gas, $3.54/gallon
3:38 p.m. My knee still hurts.  :(
3:43 p.m. Windmills
3:58 p.m. Passing a truck hauling a windmill blade.  Those things look much bigger up close!
4:23 p.m. Fort Lancaster Scenic Loop sign - says it is only open from 8 to 5.  I've never seen operating hours for a scenic drive before!
4:25 p.m. Pecos River
4:30 p.m. I'm glad the scenery has improved.  Looking at desert-ish hills is much nicer than flat, boring desert.
4:44 p.m. Reuben from Acclaimed Services called.  They will refund us part of the charges but I need to call the office to have it done.  Since I'm driving with minimal cell signal, that call will have to wait until next week.
4:46 p.m. That leapfrog car is really starting to annoy me.  I'm using cruise control so I'm not the one with the constant speed changes!
4:47 p.m. Kids are watching a movie - Space Jam.
5:00 p.m. The police have stopped a car that passed me back when we first got on the interstate.
5:44 p.m. So the guy that just got a speeding ticket has passed me again.  Seems to be really pressing his luck today!
5:48 p.m. Text from Ron.  His flight into Houston has been delayed.
6:00 p.m. New transmission power lines are going up.
6:02 p.m. Junction, TX for a potty and stretch break.  My feet are swollen from driving all day.
6:52 p.m. Culver's in Kerrville for dinner.  I am so hungry!  Should've stopped earlier but really wanted to hold out for Culvers.
7:25 p.m. Gas, $3.38/gallon.
7:55 p.m. Arrive at the ranch.  Almost 8:00 right on the dot!
10:00 p.m. Everyone has finally settled down and is in bed.  Ron is on his way, driving from San Antonio.

Day 8

Day 8 – Thursday – June 14, 2012

0325 Wake up.   Yawn!  It is much too early to be awake.

0350 Leave for the airport.

0425 Rental car returned.  We met a Dutch guy on the shuttle who was telling us about the movie “Soldier Orange”.  I’ll have to look that up later and then tell my new Dutch friend, Els, about it!  We are checked in and our baggage checked for the flight.

0500 Made it through security and down to the trains to wait for a ride to the concourse.  Once there, we find that it is too early for any food places other than Starbucks to be open.  I got a latte and Ryan had a hot chocolate and a muffin.

0600 Flight leaving on time, headed for Denver.  On the flight, the flight attendant sang to us at the beginning.  Then at the end she made an announcement to thank veterans for their service.  The pilot welcomed us to Denver and said that we were stopping for “gas and directions” for the continuing flight service.  Once inside the airport, the view is very hazy.  Someone stole the mountains!  I think it is a combination of the Denver smog and smoke from the wildfires.

1005 Arrive in Albuquerque.  The landing is a bit rough and it seemed like the pilot must have been standing on the brakes, trying to get us slowed down before the end of the runway.   Someone’s iPad even slid up the aisle several rows. 

Grandma R and the girls meet us in the baggage claim area.  We go to brunch at Weck’s.  We stop for gas in Bernalillo ($3.45/gallon) so we’ll be full for our drive tomorrow.

3:00 p.m. Grandma takes the kids (all but Mark who is napping) to the pool.  I get to stay behind.

3:45 p.m. Remember that I have a few bills to pay.  Unfortunately my notebook is in the car, at the pool.  I’ll have to check it later to make sure I didn’t miss any!

For dinner we had Dion’s pizza.  For dessert, fudgesicles for the kids; cake and ice cream for the adults.  Then the kids decide to make some fresh-squeezed lemonade with some of the lemons we brought from AG.

After dinner I am finishing laundry and trying to gather all our stuff.  The downside of showing up several days after the van is that I have no idea what has been unloaded and where it has ended up!  I think I managed to get everything reeled back in though.  I hope!

10:00 p.m. Need to get some sleep for our long drive to Texas tomorrow.  I am very close to finishing my book, Caravans, so I do that before I finally go to sleep.  That puts my total for the week at 4 books read.

Week 1 - Team 2

Day 1

1:26 p.m.  Leaving Santa Maria airport with two girls and a burrito.

1:36 p.m. Cows

2:11 p.m. Lake Cachuma is looking really low this year.

2:50 p.m. Driving along the Pacific… current temperature 68 degrees… pretty nice.

3:19 p.m. Radio traffic report – bad on 101.  Decide to detour to Highway 23.

3:50 p.m. Passing Reagan library.   Really need to visit some time.

4:20 p.m. Pear Blossom Highway.  91 degrees.

4:30 p.m. Felisa spies a tumbleweed.

4:44 p.m. Lots of cacti

5:16 p.m. Victorville, CA – stop at McD’s

6:00 p.m. Gas in Barstow - $3.99/gallon

6:07 p.m. I-40 – only 2,554 miles to Wilmington, DE

8:12 p.m. Arizona

8:56 p.m. Kingman, AZ.  Pizza Hut for dinner and Best Western for a bed.

Day 2

0720 Leaving hotel.  Gas, $3.89/gallon

0740 Dunkin Donuts!

0900 Bearizona in Williams.  Looks cool.

0922 Arizona Divide.  7,335 feet elevation

1120 Gas at Navajo Shell.  The girls say they have been here before.  $3.94/gallon.

1156 New Mexico

12:20 p.m. Lunch in Gallup at the truck stop.

12:46 p.m. Leaving Gallup.

2:30 p.m. Gas, $3.33/gallon at Route 66 Casino.

4:20 p.m. Arrive at Grandma and Grandpa R’s house

7:00 p.m. Chicken enchilada for dinner

7:30 p.m. First showing of the St Pat’s talent show DVD.

9:00 p.m. Bedtime
 

Day 3

0730 Wake up.

12:30 p.m. BBQ for lunch

1:30 p.m. Pool time.

4:00 p.m. Church

6:00 p.m. El Pinto for dinner

Day 4

0430 Take Ron to the airport.  He is headed to Knoxville, TN for work.

Day 5

2:30 p.m. Take the kids to see Madagascar 3 at the theater.

5:30 p.m. Pick up Panda feast

6:00 p.m. Pick up Grandpa R in Albuquerque

6:30 p.m. Dinner is Panda Express food.  Elena made a chocolate cake with whipped cream for dessert.

Day 6

0930 Felisa went with the boys to watch their swimming lessons.  Bella and Mark stayed with Grandma.

6:00 p.m. Grandpa and Jared went to a community meeting.  Hot dogs for dinner.  Watermelon for dessert.

Day 7

0930 Felisa went with the boys to swimming again.

Pork roast for dinner with mashed potatoes, long grain wild rice and green beans.  Popsicles for dessert.

Day 8

0930 Leave for the airport to pick up Ryan and Sheila.

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.