First day of school....round two.

I am so amazingly behind in blogging. It has been crazy. This time one month ago I had no idea how upside down everything would turn. Not upside down in a bad way, but I do admit, I am TIRED. lol. Really, a lot has been accomplished in that time.

I will have to go backwards in posting photos.

Today though, was the first day of school...again.  Photos above.

Going to bed. I am having a hard time adjusting to the time difference. I am tired early. One good thing is that getting up early is easy! I haven't seen 6:00 am with so much energy in a long time! (Sleeping in until 9 from what I am used to!)

Aaaaa! Anxiety!

I feel like I'm going to explode today. So, I posted this picture that I have seen on the internet that always makes me laugh. Poor Bono. Have to love some U2 humor. I'm listening to them right now too.....Achtung Baby. Always a great album.

Today....
Took boys to school. Today is their last day in Walton. They seemed very excited and not like it they had an emotion at all about it. Which is good. All week Trevor has been telling me little things like, "Today was my last day with Mr. Miller...etc." It has all been enthusiastic. I know he'll miss his friends, but he is very excited about moving. Matthew has been joking with me that he has been demoted to elementary school again. I was only kidding in the beginning of this year when I was torn about my baby starting middle school, about moving back to Phoenix so he'd still be in elementary school. In our district here, 5th grade is the first year of middle school. In Phoenix, 6th grade is the last year of elementary. He has been good about it and has even said that next year when all of the kids are nervous about middle school, switching classes and lockers, he'll be all, "Yeah. It's not a big deal. Lockers are easy." That's a pretty good attitude.

Honesly, I am glad he will be back in elementary school. I think 5th grade is so young. Heck, Matthew isn't even 10 years old yet, he still should be a kid, complete with recess time and a playground at school. Not outdoor time in a parking lot. It may feel strange to him at first, but I think he will actually enjoy being back in elementary school. He's had a glimpse of middle school, and even high school since they were attached buildings here.

Megan and I went for 'latte Friday' at Starbucks this morning. On Fridays the high school kids start later, so we started going out on Friday mornings before school to Starbucks. I even kept her a little longer this morning since yesterday she came home from school a little early because of a toe issue. A girl had accidentally slammed a heavy metal door open, not knowing Megan was on the other side. It hit Megan's foot and tore her big toe nail. She bled through her sock and boot and was limping all day. She has a Nazi P.E. coach (that I haven't been a fan of since the beginning) so since PE was her first class and it was shortened today anyway, I decided to keep her out of that class and take her when it was over. It's her last day anyway.

I took her in the office and said goodbye to my friend Betty who works in the office. I met her at Kohl's. I could feel the lump in my throat starting up again when the principal came out and told me how much he loves Megan and is going to miss her. Megan's friend Sommer walked by in the hallway and spotted Megan. She burst into the office and gave Megan a hug. I'm going to miss Megan's friends. I can't say it enough, they have been a great group and close for the past two years. They are amaazing girls that I thoroughly enjoyed watching grow for the past couple of years. I want to pack them in a box and take them with us. I will miss those girls.

Megan took her smash book to school with her today and is having people sign it. She has been busy taking pictures for the last week. That has to be one of the best purchases I have ever made. I think she has had fun with it.

Mike is also on his way home today! He is on a flight from Paris right now. I'm tracking his flight....and he will be getting in the same time that I am at the school picking up the kids. I will be able to see the plane in the parking lot, as I have done many times because the Paris flight is hard to miss here. Even when Mike isn't on it, I would sit there and watch it come in and wish that he was on it. So today will be perfect. Tonight everybody will be under one roof. That is always the best feeling in the world. (Including that I have a new Survivor to watch tonight with everybody too!)

My anxiety is through the roof today. I should go for a run or something to help with it, but I have a feeling I would end up flailing my arms and screaming down Main street like a crazy person. I'm ready to get going on this move. (I have a window up on my computer with pictures of my new house too, so I am already mentally placing things in it.) I'm still sad, and have been doing my own, "This is the last time I will ________" But once the ball gets rolling I just want to get started. I feel like a racehorse in the gate.

October

Not sure where the time has gone again...

I figured I better make a post so I don't forget everything going on in life. I hope to go back into detail in my album for the year.

Lots of things since my last post. Trip to Chicago with Mike for our anniversary, lots of busy life in between, seasons changing, trip to Lebanon KY to see TURTLE MAN, and preparing for a move across the country back to Phoenix.

I have been going between very excited about moving and getting on with things, and trying to take in as many things as I can that I know I am going to miss about Kentucky and my life here for the past several years. It was very difficult putting in my notice at work. I am really going to miss the people that I met and worked with there. Many friendships will continue, but it's not like being in the trenches together (especially as the Christmas season is approaching, and trees and other Christmas decorations are already up at the store!) So many of the people have become family and made my transition here amazing.

I am also excited about going back to Phoenix. To family, to friends I have missed there. Mexican food. Multiple Target locations, Fresh & Easy....each day I think of random things that I can't wait to be near again. (- and EAT.) Plus a new beautiful house (that Mike found and I can't wait to see in person.) that I think will be perfect.

So I have been trying to take in as much as I can here. The people, the scenery, the things unique to here. Today is my birthday, and as much as I wanted to come up with excuses not to go out and exercise I made an abrupt left turn into a church parking lot on Main street and decided to park my car. I was on my way home from taking the kids to school. I figured I better talk myself into it quickly, or I would have easily driven back home.

I'm so glad I got out of that car.

I ended up walking and running four miles today. Down Main, up Main, near the RR tracks, and through the old cemetary. The air was crisp which led to making me want to run to stay warm. I took in the sounds of crunching leaves, trains, traffic down Main street.(In between the sounds of my clunky stride and heavy breathing! I'm not a pretty runner.) I realized how pretty it is, and watching people leaving for work, dropping kids off at daycare, running by the silly "Walton...The Place To Be" water tower that I always think in my mind, "Yeah, if you've never been anywhere else!" - and the smell of Brook's Family Restaurant in the morning, that smells like bacon and pancakes for a mile radius.

A teacher that Matthew had in fourth grade, who lives in a historic house was out sweeping leaves off of her sidewalk. I'm not sure she remembers who I am, but she said "Good Morning!" as I ran by. Several people did. People are friendly. It is almost Mayberry like. The cute old lady inside the big Baptist church where I have volunteered with Kohl's over the past few years...I have wrapped presents, painted rooms and hallways, and stuffed backpacks for hundreds of kids for area school donations in there. Even though I don't go there, I have a friend who organizes a lot of charity events through work there. The mailman who has to get out of his truck, old school, and deliver letters up to front door mailboxes, the guys that water the flowers hanging in baskets on light poles down Main. It was cool. And what it is typically like here. I'm happy for the experience here.

The sky was blue with a pretty sunrise still in the east. Big puffy clouds. The old houses all have piles of pumpkins and potted mums on the front porches and steps.

I had one last stretch of road before I was going to head back to my car, and I turned Beautiful Day from U2 on my phone. It was a perfect moment. I'm sure I will remember this day.

Mike will be getting home in a couple of days from a trip to Africa, and then we'll start getting ready to head on out. For now I am going to drink my McDonald's unsweet tea, shower, wait for something that Mike told me not to go far from the house today, clean and whatever. (Do you have to specifically order UNsweet tea in Phoenix anymore??? I'm so used to "sweet or unsweet honey?")

Then I have an appointment to get my hair done, and a nice dinner out with the kids.

12

 Happy birthday T.  :)

Couch picture is first thing in the morning. He had a few people sleep over....I should say NOT sleep over. They didn't get a bit of sleep through the night, and Mike and I had minutes sprinkled here and there. Until the next thump, or waking from the constant giggling. ;) So as soon as everybody had left, this was Trevor on the couch. (Who swears he was not really sleeping, even though the drool was visable, and one of Megan's friends who was over at the time, plus Megan.... meant girls posed with thumbs up next to the sleeping birthday boy. I have a picture to prove it Trevor....you were asleep. Hard.)

Megan was going to a party with said friend later in the day, and Trevor wanted to go to Buffalo Wild Wings for his birthday meal.

Then we went to Newport on the Levee to go to Gameworks and play pinball for awhile. Perfect weather, but we had spent several hours in Gameworks, and he had some birthday money burning a hole in his pocket that he wanted to go spend.  We had some ice cream from Cold Stone and sat along the river for awhile.

 All three of my boys. <3

We left Newport and headed back to Florence, where we went shopping at boy stores. Game Stop and the Guitar Store. I did sneak over to Michael's for some girly things.

Bad blogger - and first day of school!

 What in the heck happened to summer? Sometimes it feels like we just got back from vacation, but other times have felt insanely long because of missing Mike and watching the countdown clock tick away the days that seemed to go by so slowly. Today.... first day of school.

Trevor was probably the one with the least amount of anxiety over the past week. If he had any, he was good at hiding it. He was the only one who really didn't have any huge school milestone. I still understand any sort of anxiety on the first day of school though. I know he was excited, but also cautiously excited. He is still in middle school, so a lot was very familiar to him. 7th grade. Dang.

Matthew...first day of middle school. 5th grade. I still like to think along the lines of Arizona grade levels in which he'd be in elementary still. It was hard watching my baby walking into a new school. It was nice to have them all basically in the same campus, with one drop off time and me being able to take them instead of sending Matthew on a bus.

 We were in such a hurry this morning to make sure we wouldn't forget anything...so pictures are somewhat blurry and the sun was just coming up. Megan came out really quick so I could try to get a picture of all three, but then she went right back inside to finish breakfast and find her jacket.

Megan...freshman year in high school. She was pretty nervous all week. Man, I remember my first day of high school. Crazy to think that she's reached that. 

I love the look on Matthew's face, as they were trying to get Trevor to be excited about first day photos. I think he gets that from me. Sorry mom, I always dreaded those photo sessions. lol.

All in all, a good day. I will update tomorrow (yes, I promise Kim! - Who says that I haven't updated in awhile and was looking at the same deer picture for a long time now.) with how the day went.

Sunday

You know....not too long ago I was watching TV and realized that I was ruined by old X Files shows, and some Mel Gibson movie about aliens....that bad things happen in and near corn fields. I swore I would never live near one. Then I realized....wow, I live with one in my backyard! A huge field. Only divided by a patch of woods (which should be scary too right?) and a wire fence.

Because of the hill, I tend to forget the corn is there until it gets very tall or occasionally I see somebody on a big tractor. No aliens.

Deer like to come out of the field occasionally. Today I was cleaning the kitchen and noticed one in the back yard. There is a wild apple tree that she was eating the ones that had fallen on the ground. It was funny watching her since she'd get all slobbery munching on them.

There are two that seem to hang around my house pretty often. There is a young buck who will stand in our driveway occasionally. We do have a pretty busy yard when it comes to wildlife. There is also a groundhog that lives up in our woods, lots of squirrels and robins (Who will stare at you when you are outside. They make me feel a bit self conscience. They are always in pairs too....weird.) Plus a cardinal that lives in our tree by our front window. There is a lot to watch.

Vacation continued - Mt. Dora, Florida

Brandon's family lives near this town called Mt. Dora. We had a day to spend with them, and his wife Ulgonda was thinking of places we could go to spend some time. I was thrilled by this place, and so happy that she suggested it. It was a Sunday, and unfortunately  many of the places were closed. We still had a great time spending time together, and letting the kids walk around.

There were neat shops and places to eat. It's probably a good thing that the stores were closed, since there were so many cute things I kept seeing that I probably would have felt like I needed to bring home with me. Especially these turtles - they were about the size of an apple. There was a shadowbox full of them in different colors and patterns.

Below: There was another store that had neat French themed things. I thought this display was beautiful. I think I have a thing for glass domes.

 Below: I also have a thing for boxes of any sort....and postal stuff. I couldn't pass this small area between some shops that had a long stairway up to another store on the second level. 

 After an attempt to go to another place for lunch....we did end up going to a Mexican place that Brandon and Ulgona said was really good. I think honestly, this was my favorite meal of the trip. We had a big table that was set up in a square so we all could talk, including the kids, and not feel like anybody was not part of the meal. Everything about this lunch was amazing. Definitely one of my favorite memories of this trip.

I have no idea what it was called, but they both recommended this house specialty. It is some sort of fajita type thing that is cooked in a lava stone bowl. It had chicken, steak, peppers, onions, potatoes and cheese with a bit of sauce on it, served with tortillas. OMG it was amazing. The best Mexican food I have had in four years. This was something that I still crave and I know I will probably spend a very long time looking for something to replicate it. It was gooooood. Even the chips and salsa brought out in the beginning were good. Good chips, and spicy salsa....unlike Kentucky salsa. I like mine with a lot of HOT. This was a good sign....lunch was going to be good.

After lunch we walked around. We ended up at a frozen custard shop. We looked in windows of more stores. The weather was perfect.

We ended up back at their house, spent some time there looking at photos and the kids played in the pool. (And their lab Bella.) We left in the evening, and started the drive home. I forget where we stayed, but it was in Florida. We still wanted to meander back home and enjoy the road trip. It was nice not being in a hurry.