Planning My Trip To Sacramento

Family Ties

Lavonna and Cathy are my "double cousins". That means that they are related to me on both side of my family. My father didn't have a brother but he had a close friendship with his first cousin Guy... who lived in the same town. Down the street from Guy lived my mother and her sister, Joanne. Mom dated my dad and married. Joanne dated Guy and married. The only way that we could have been closer cousins was if my father had a brother that married my Aunt Joanne. Now that you are confused...

Lavonna's family lives in Elk Grove near Sacramento and her oldest daughter is getting married on June 14th. Last year her oldest son was married and I thought to myself then how I wished that I could have been there for that wedding. I promised myself that I would not miss another one. Little did I know that two months later Heather and Ben became engaged. So, in keeping with my promise, I am heading to Sacramento for the wedding in June. You can see the great wedding website they have HERE

Sacramento is 12 hours from Seattle... give or take. And since I am taking Riley with me, I thought I should cut that in half and stay somewhere inbetween. Because gasoline is expensive, it is hard to stay in a motel or hotel for 5 nights... I began to think of ways to cut the cost. I discovered and reserved a "yurt" on Oregon the first night. I will drive for 6 hours and then stay in the Yurt... then drive the next 6 hours into Sacramento. I think I will also camp another night at a KOA before I sleep in the hotel the night of the wedding. Then on June 15th, I will start back up and stay in a Yurt again in OR at another campground. On June 16th I will get into Seattle. My mom and Ron plan to drive all the way through on the 15th to Seattle because they have their resort room waiting for them. That's OK... they can visit with Kari on Sunday night. I will be in on Monday morning. I just couldn't have Riley sit 12 hours one way in the car. I think that would be awful for Riley. Tomorrow I will tell you more about Aaron's graduation and my plans for that... whew... I know I am an events planner as part of my job but when there are so many people that I am trying to plan for it gets tiring. Time again for bed... HUGS

Friday... Finally! Time to Plan

It was nice to go to the movies last night. It made it feel like I had started the weekend. I went to work today though. It was a slower day and I spent a lot of it planning for summer events and fairs for our college recruitment. Which made me think about our family's summer and Aaron's graduation in more detail. Then, that started me planning and thinking about the BBQ we are going to have on the 7th of June. Which then lead to my going to Sacramento for a wedding that my family will be at... then my mom and Ron is coming up to Seattle that week too. And if that isn't enough, I thought and planned July 4th and Amy's coming to Seattle for a week in July etc. I know, it is a lot of planning but because of my job I know these things have to be done early or reservations etc will be taken and it will be too late. I will let you in on things as I go... but right now I better see if I can turn off my brain and go to sleep. HUGS

Indiana Jones

When you see a short post without a clip art or picture then I am posting off my blackberry due to lack of time (usually). It was true last night... I added this clip later. Here is why I was short on time... Today after I got home from work I made dinner and as we talked about the day together we had a discussion about the new Indiana Jones movie which is my husband's favorite series of movies. He has been waiting months to see this new movie and it came out today. Susie saw it this morning with her husband Terry and reported it was a fun movie to see. So after dinner I jumped on the Internet to see the show times for the movie at our local theater. We then jumped in the car to make the next show. We didn't know if it would be sold out or what; we just took the chance that it would work out. We not only got tickets but we were able to sit together which was another chance we took at doing something "off the cuff". The show times earlier had been sold out I saw on the board as I was paying but not this show since it was about 7:45 pm on a Thursday night. We got out of the movie around 10 pm. It was definately worth it. But one part of the fun was doing something that wasn't planned. It was fun taking a chance and having it turn out well. Sometimes I think our lives are over planned and we should just go ahead and be serendipitous. So this weekend I hope all of us just have some spur of the minute fun and that we have been given the freedom to live it. Have a great Memorial Day weekend!

The Winner Is... David

Cook. It wasn't too much of a surprise but I watched the two hour show anyway. I don't feel bad for the other David because he no doubt will be picked up and will be recording records (oops, I just showed my age... I meant CD's) soon. One of my friends (who got me started on AI... Deborah) mentioned that it might not be the greatest prize to be held to the requirments etc that is put on the actual winner. One is more a winner when a person is recognized/ discovered and still can make their own decisions rather than being tied to the American Idol title demands. She also thought they (AI) didn't want to deal with David A's dad. That may be true... who likes dealing with a helicoper parent with an attitude. Anyway, congrats to David Cook. He handled himself well throughout the whole competition and should be proud. And David A, for a kid of 17 yrs old, did a great job as well and he should be just as proud.

Not much else to report. I worked on things at my computer. Tomorrow is another middle school tour/ visit. I will be giving the 30 minute presentation. So now that this is all over until after next Christmas and 2009 arrives, I better get to bed. Goodnight... HUGS

The Two Davids

I am writing this post after watching American Idol. I must say that is has been one of the better finales that I have seen. They both are so talented, I wish that they could both get the title or tie. Before this evening, I thought that David Cook would win this competition hands down. But after the performance by David A tonight, I am not sure how this will turn out. I would vote if I could honestly decide which was the better of the two. But I can not. I will have to leave it up to the rest of the USA and go with their vote. No matter what, the two of them have a career now.

We had another middle school come today. That is fine. The only hard part was that all our nice sunny weather passed and we had hard rain today. I had the umbrella out while giving a tour around campus. At least it wasn't cold rain... just a lot of wet... and puddles.

I met Kari for lunch at the Sub Shop and we decided that I would get the boys after school so that she could prepare for her dad's visit this next week. He lives in So California and visits about once a year to see her and the boys. It is so nice to have them here tonight. I fed them, gave them a bath, and Brady went to bed at 8 pm. Riley fights going to sleep. He watched AI with us and I think he might be still trying to go to sleep in the bedroom. The lights are out and there isn't anything to do but go to sleep.

The best news of the day is... Renee had her baby today. Her little baby girl came into the world about 3:21pm weighing 9 lbs and 2 oz. I know what that is like... Kari was 9 lbs and 3 oz. The only difference was that in 1980 they didn't give anyone any drugs for the pain of labor. Now they do... thank goodness. I hope to see them soon.

I better get to bed... this will post tonight. I am a little behind on my timing but I want to post about the outcome of American Idol tomorrow night. So until then... HUGS.

Better Late...

Sorry for being late to this post. It has been a busy time. On Tuesday we have another middle school coming for a college visit. It will be the third one this month. Today I had a meeting with the excutive board of our consortium. And that is when I discovered something that I am having a hard time with today...

If you saw me tonight, you might say "Hey, you look like you lost your best friend." In a way, that is exactly what is happening. Susie, my friend from 1995... we were career specialist together, we have worked together at the same college, we share new years eve together, we were both single and saw each other through being married again, she has had various illnesses, and once they gave me the wrong medication and she spotted right away that it had an effect on my personality. I would say, she has been my best friend for these past 13 years. We both enjoy going to movies... and until we got married we would go together a lot. We have other friends... but she has always been there for me. We are both Christians and so we are always praying for each other. She became a representative for UW Tacoma after I became one for my college. So, we are on this excutive board together... she is the president and I am the secretary. OK, you say, what is wrong? She announced yesterday that she is leaving in June to move back to North Carolina.

It isn't a shock that she is going to North Carolina. She and her husband has been planning to retire there. I just didn't expect it to be this soon. I have been trying to get hired at UWT so that we could work together again. The plan wasn't going to take place for another year or so. She wants to go back and start a christian bookstore. It will be a leap of faith. She has a daughter living in her house back there and there is a church they attend that would like to have a coffee shop and a bookstore together. So, she feels she needs to persue this adventure. I am happy for her in this respect and I support her in my prayers. However, as you can imagine, I will miss my friend. I know... I can go back and visit her. But, you and I know that it is not the same thing as when they are close by. It takes work and life goes on. Often, what we hope we would do turns into years. Excuse me if I sound a little down or too realistic.

Well, it is night and I better close now and get to bed. Tomorrow is American Idol and we will see how the Davids do in their last performances. HUGS

Bob Mortimer and the 1st BBQ of the Year

Sunday was a good day. Not only was the weather perfect but it was a great all around. The first thing we did was church. We had a guest speaker named Bob Mortimer. He is a great speaker but more than that he has a great testimony. He and his family are starting out from here to go across country over the summer on bikes. You can follow their progression HERE. He was injured and lost his left arm and both legs. 27 years ago he decided that his life wasn't much but he gave it over to God. He married and has three children. He ministers to many people everywhere... and today was the day that he came to minister to us. Their story will be written in a blog as they make their way... and he will be speaking to many in churches and all over. They will be riding into New York around September 11. They don't know what will come of it but they are doing what they feel they are suppose to be doing.

We then went to a BBQ at Steve and Ruth's house for a belated Mother's Day and for both Jason's and Steve's birthday. Steve is Dave's brother and Jason is Steve's son. The weather was perfect and it was very relaxing. We really hadn't been together since Christmas. It was nice to just sit around and talk.

This evening Aaron, Dave, and I sat down and reviewed the summer and what we hope to do etc. Aaron signed up for Japanese again for summer classes at the college I work. So, I felt like today was really the offical begining to summer rather than next week. Now where are my gardening tool? Have a great Monday!

Here Comes the Sun!

Here Comes The Sun... And It Is Alright

Friday the weather was in the 80's (degrees) and it was there again yesterday. Sunshine caused many not to go to work on Friday. It was an easy commute on the freeways except for getting out of town. After all these months of dealing with old Jack Frost, even into April, we are all ready to get outside and do something... anything. We all know too that this is just a sneak peek... that rain will be back next week... so it is time to get out and enjoy the sun. By the way, here in Seattle the sun is now setting at about 9:30 pm and the sun is rising at about 5:30 am (that is a guess). The birds start singing at 5 am. It is bright already at 6 am.

I met up with Kari and the boys on Friday night at the RAM. We had a salad and ice tea. After that I took Riley to the movies to see Speed Racer. He was so excited about it, he would ask questions in the movie. I would have to remind him not to talk out loud... so then he would whisper the question. He was into it. On the ride home he said that he was Speed Racer and Brady was Racer X (the brother). I could tell that he was planning some playing strategies with his brother Brady. He came in the house and announced to PaPa (Dave) that he saw Speed Racer. It wasn't easy getting him to settle down and go to sleep.

The next morning Kari brought Brady over while she went to work. The day was already warm. They were in shorts and summer shirts. I got Riley's sandals out that I bought for him for Disneyland. We climbed in the car... the air conditioner felt good. That is something that homes in Seattle don't have... air conditioners. I first discovered it when I bought my first home here. I asked about air conditioning and the real estate guy joked and said "here we just open a window". I thought that was a little strange but that was one of my first clues about the difference with living here vs living in So California. I thought it might be fun to go over to Lake Washington to one of the parks there but there were too many people. We stopped at the river to look at it because it is at Flood Warning stage. With the heat, the snow is melting fast. So, we decided to go down to Orting where there is a big park with old trees.

On the back of my house is a covered deck that has a rail around it. It is an excellent place for the boys to play during warm days. They got back there when we got home and played "race cars"... taking their building blocks and making a race track. I was on the floor of the deck helping with the construction when Kari and James came by to pick up the kids. They surprised them with toy race cars that were in the movie. Riley got the Speed Racer car and Brady the Racer X car. Brady like yellow... which is what color that car is. It immediately became quite when the boys left. I always feel a little sad. I am glad that Kari is well and is with her boys. That is what is healthy... but I am going through "empty nest" all over again. I try to "change" my thoughts really fast to something else so that I don't stay in those thoughts for very long. Besides, I can always get into a car and go see them.

Dave and I jumped in the car and decided to get out of the warm house. We didn't want to cook because of the heat. So we decided that a nice tostada would be good for dinner. We stopped into Big 5 where Aaron works to see him working (which is always fun for parents) and then went on to a local Mexican restaurant. We discussed the weather and what meals we might plan for while the weather is warmer.

I had gone to the garage to get my seasonal clothes... I dug out my summer clothes and put my winter clothes into the storage container. This is one way I thin out my closet during the two seasons. I was going around gathering all the hats, gloves, and scarfs I could find. All my heaviest sweaters and jackets went in there too. I also went through again my clothes to send off to the Goodwill those items that I haven't used from various reasons... there is no use having them take up space if I am not going to use them.

Yesterday I also dug out and dusted off my "Walk Off the Pounds" DVD and did the mile work out. Riley did it with me. He was more impressed with the stretchy bands though. I will work with that DVD for a little while and try to take walks in the neighborhood and on the college.

It is so warm tonight I woke up sweating with a headache (and I don't usually have headaches). The fan is blowing in our room but you would know it. I hear it but the air isn't moving. Dave doesn't like the window open because of the fear of an intruder... the chances of that happening would be really low and I don't worry about such things. Besides, the window only opens so far before there is a latch. The window can't open up all the way from the outside. So, I went to the part of the house where the computer is and where it is cooler. I started looking at blogs at 3:30 am and an hour has gone by. I am also use to not sleeping well because of "my age". Anyway, I should at least go and lay down for a while.

Have a great Sunday! I am thinking of Judy and the kids at Disneyland.

I love making memories. HUGS