ditchin mom for school

Yep, you looked at that picture correctly. That's ALL 3 of my kiddos wearing backpacks!
All of them left me. Ditched the nest. Grew their own wings. For a few hours a day at least. They all come running back in the afternoon to tell me how much they love me. Or ask for food.
They've been home schooled or "road-schooled" for the past few years. Kaleb went back for part of the year last year up in WA, but my girls stayed home with me and hit the books.
This year, with the move to a small town, they all felt they wanted to go back to "real school" mainly to meet new friends. It was hard for me, but I get it. They left all their friends 2 years ago and miss those friendship bonds. They've met great friends on the road, but it's just not the same as having them right down the road.
I'll be honest, I had anxiety. Seriously sleep issues as the first day of school approached. But I was the only one. The kids all slept with ease. Not an ounce of fear about being the new kid. Not one speck of hesitation. In fact, Kaleb refused to let us walk him to school. I did follow him with the girls. We have to walk pass his school to get to theirs (really, I swear I wasn't stalking). I had my camera ready as I yelled out his name to snap a picture. It's the only way at his age. :) He is, after all, a big middle schooler. (7th grade) How embarrassing to have your mommy help you find your way. He reassured me he'd be fine. And guess what....he was!
Now came the hard part. Letting go of my baby girls!! I made Daddy go to work late so he could come along, mainly to be MY support system.
Ani is entering 4th grade. She was smiling ear to ear! She reminded me that she hasn't been in "real" school since the 1st grade. There's a big difference between 1st and 4th. She's so big now and so independent. Where'd my baby go? She's the girl in class that makes every teacher smile. She's everyone's friend! She was a little concerned at first cause *gasp* she has a MALE teacher. No problem though, he's already wrapped himself around her finger. She thinks he's hilarious! She's a book of information already because of him. I'm pretty confident that she's going to have a great year!
Little Miss Avery.......My treasure. Who makes me go crazy every day! And then makes me laugh til I pee. What will I ever do without her. She's my buddy. She goes everywhere with me. She calls me out when I'm being "bad" and compliments me when I need to smile. She can read me like an open book. And she's been waiting for this 1st day of school for a few years now.
I was that mom that cried on orientation night. How was I ever going to get through the drop-off? She had her "pack-back" packed and ready 2 days ahead of schedule. She leaped out of bed before the alarm clock went off. She was ready and the bell couldn't ring soon enough. I, on the other hand, seriously contemplated grabbing her and running away to Never Never Land.
She shed no tears. Didn't even hesitate at the door. This was her moment! She hugged and kissed mommy and daddy goodbye. Then she kissed her momma again. And again. And again. But only because I made her. It was time for me to let her go. How dramatic right!!! :)
I was fine. Really I was. Until I walked outside and my hubby said "Alright Babe, I've got to go to work".
WAIT A MINUTE!! STOP RIGHT THERE!!!! HE WAS LEAVING ME TOO!! DAMN!
I was really going to be alone. Seriously ALONE! Now the tears starting falling. Alligator tears. Runny nose. Yep, it happened. I was that mom. Who stood on the sidewalk outside of the school balling! Now what? For the first time in 12 years I was going to be alone. Jason looked at me and told me that now it was time to take care of me. Hmmmm, that sounds great. But I'm clueless how to do that. I walked home. Poured a cup of coffee and stared at the walls. I watched the clock. Could I go pick them up yet???? I paced. I cleaned. I paced some more.
Finally it was time to go get Avery. I was so excited to see her, take her out for ice cream and hear about her day. She greeted me with a huge hug. As we walked home I asked her if she missed me as much as I missed her. Her response..."I forgot all about you Mom"
HUMPH.......A note to all Kindy teachers. First lesson...How to lie to your mom and make her feel good!!!!

Willy Wonka? No, the pencil gnome!

What happens when your daddy works at a toy/pencil factory?
ENDLESS amounts of pens, pencils, sharpeners, erasers. Daddy brought home the kiddos a years supply of writing utensils today. Good thing....school starts Thursday. Let the sharpening begin!

A place to call HOME

WELCOME HOME!
HOME SWEET HOME!
The search is over. 2 years ago today we left Bend, Oregon. We left in search of our new home. Of what Bend use to be 12 years ago. We made some U-Turns along the way. And went down a few wrong paths. All for a reason. To eventually lead us to Bishop, CA, a small town nestled up to the Eastern Sierra Mountains. A town we had never heard of before.


We found Bishop by mistake while traveling down the open road. We spent about 3 weeks here, 1 1/2 of those because we were fortunate enough to have our transmission blow in the beautiful area. Made good out of the bad. We instantly fell in love and the town made it to the top of our list as a place we would like to settle. That dream came true last month when Jason got accepted for a job here in town.
We've been here now 1 month and keep waiting to wake from the dream. I pinch myself numerous times during the day. Especially when I look out any of our windows to a view of 14,000 foot peaks.

We have world famous climbing out our backyard, endless trails into the wilderness, rivers, desert, lowest and highest points of the US, the local organic U-Pick garden, petroglyphs, snowboarding, SUN, new friends and big huge smiles!

Life is finally settling down a bit after the move. Family and friends have visited, Jason is happy at his job, the kids are all involved in the community, school starts next week and I'm venturing down the path of childbirth educator. This move is good for all of us. We're excited to share it with you all.

Hello out there

November??
That was the last time I wrote on our blog? Dang....! I'm embarrassed. I have every intention of keeping this current. I wish that I had a good excuse. Does moving back into a stick built house count? How about homeschooling? Starting our own business? Having 3 kids and a dog? Really? Come on. Like I can't find a few minutes every week to sit down and update. You know there's always something exciting to share.
I admire those of you that write everyday. Even if it's a few short sentences and a pic. They usually put a smile on my face. I should try. Put this on my to-do list. A "have you visited your blog yet today?" reminder on my phone.
As the kids rush up to bed, I'll take a few quick moments to give you the run down before I go tuck them all tightly in.
We're still up in Anacortes, WA. We decided to stay after starting our own yacht care business that just "kinda happened" after a few projects we did. It's going well.
We moved into a rental house. When the gray wet winter skies appeared, we decided that the RV was feeling small now that we were stuck inside and it was time to spread out. We've been in our house 6 months now and have loved the comfort. Hot running water!! A dishwasher! Longer than necessary showers! (need to control that!) A fireplace! Laundry at home!
Ahhhhh......
Ani is still being homeschooled. Kaleb started at home and then decided he'd like to go back to school. He's in 6th grade and doing well. He's acing Social Studies. After all the cliff dwellings and history sites he visited the last year, we're not surprised one bit. Avery is...still Avery! Causing trouble all day long and making us laugh every minute!
Life is different after living the free life that we did. We're trying hard to adjust. Funny how I thought it would be tough to go from a house to a RV, but honestly the transition back into a home and "real life" is way harder!!!! We've got the itch! Gypsy's at heart. Colorado has been calling lately.......we'll keep you up to date!

Recycle this!

Dear Starbucks,
Thank you for reminding me why I chose to boycott you over the last few years. I truly try to practice the "Support your local coffee shop" idea. It was hard not to notice you in every little town and grocery store I visited during the last 15 months on the road. I could've taken the quick route and jumped out at any corner for my Chai and coffee fix. Instead, I ventured on down the lonely road to find the local coffee hut. When buying my coffee for home, I chose to pay just a bit extra for the local grind. And I always look for and if found, purchase fair trade coffee.
Now that I'm back to paying rent and bills I opted to purchase a bag of Organic Starbucks coffee because, well, it was on sale that day. My guilt lifted a bit when I got home and noticed the little writing inside the bag that said to return my empty coffee bag to any local Starbucks for recycling and a free cup of joe. I thought way to step it up Starbucks. I've heard stories about the support you give to the communities. How you support our troops and so on. I even went as far as to google you and read about your "green efforts" and how much you recycle.
Well then, one question. Tell me why then, after I gave the girl behind the counter my "recycled bag" she turned around and tossed it into the garbage?
Lesson Learned!
Thanks for the reminder.

BOO!

Halloween has come and gone again?
WOW! Oh, the places we roam. Last year we trick or treated in Flagstaff, AZ.
This year, Anacortes.
We had a fun weekend. It started on Friday night with a small party consisting of lots of candy, donut eating contests, pumpkin bowling, mummy rolling and pinatas.

We had a Coraline Jones, Army man and of course, a Beautiful Princess.
All 3 children have a bag FULL of sweets. Too no surprise, Avery's is 1/2 gone. The other two are "saving". And doing a good job of it. I suggest they hide them from mom and dad.

Head wounds and fairy magic

(this is Avery after the stitches. she sure thought she was cool!)

So my kids have this secret. I'm positive of it. There's a notebook hidden somewhere in this RV with tally marks. I just haven't found it yet!
Who can give mommy more gray hair?
Who can get more stitches?
Avery and Kaleb are now tied on trips to the hospital for some repair. Now we're going to start counting actual stitches. Ani informed me that she's not playing. I'm fine with that!

(this is avery after getting her numbing gel. we told her it was magic fairy potion. even went as far as to do the magic blow on it. the clear bandage holding it in place became the magic fairy window. she loved and believed every word. made for a somewhat cheery hospital visit)

When Jay called and said, avers fell and we need to take her to the hospital, i wasn't surprised one bit. have you met this little dare devil? if so, then you know. we don't walk...we hop, skip and JUMP everywhere. it's just who she is. her personality is huge. we love that about her. she puts a smile on everyones face that she meets. she'll talk your head off all day and all night.
the hospital staff got a kick out of her. she had lots to say. lots to ask and as soon as the last stitch was tied, there she was, jumping on the hospital bed. we were sure we'd have more before we left.

I have one more picture. It's "the wound". It wasn't long, but DEEP! I'm talking so deep we could see her skull. Even Avery wanted to see. I mean really, how cool to look in through your own head. She sure thought so.
I've decided to spare you. I won't post the picture. But if you call, Avery will tell you all about it. Just make sure you have enough minutes on your phone plan!