Mona

I got to work too early.  So I sat in my car and I called my friend Mona.  I haven't talked to her in several months and I almost didn't call today.  I only had about twenty minutes before I had to clock in. I figured any time was good time so I did it.
She is settled in where she lives now.  Her house sold after five days being on the market.  She is painting again.  I told her about our adventures into painting and she, too has painted a few rocks.  She wants one of ours for her rock display.  So I will pick one out for her and try to get it to her soon.  Sometimes easier said than done.
It was so great to talk to her.  I forget how much I miss her.

Back To Work

Back to work. Four days this week.  I think freight must be coming in.  Today Liz gave me a short list of things to accomplish while she was at the staff meeting.  Told me no pallets today.  Ha.  I was just about caught up on the small amount of receiving when here comes Xpo.  Yay!  It was a small pallet, but it took me until Liz returned to do it.  No boredom today.  ;p

Back To Routine Times 20,000

The little man and I spent the day working around the house.  Getting stuff done.  Laundry, dishes, mopping. The plan was for some grocery shopping....nope.  Also mowing the yard....nope.  I'm still calling it a good day in that ALL the laundry was done.  That almost never happens.
And now back to work tomorrow.  Three weeks left of school for the little woman.  And then we will find our summer routine.  :)

Camp End

While Mom slept in we did the camp clean up.  Loaded up and then woke her up.  She spent the majority of the time sleeping.  We are thinking she was just too out of her routine and it may be her last camping trip.  She and Pat headed out and were going to get something to eat on the way. Before we were done with the campground we stopped at a viewpoint.  As soon as we were out of the car I remembered that we had hiked to that viewpoint a couple of summers ago when we went out to the coast to visit Pat.  The little man was still just as brave and climbed up on a column.
We left behind Pat and Mom and then stopped in Astoria for lunch.  Pig n Pancake for some pancakes.
After that we stopped at the Astoria Sunday Market.  I have always wanted to stop and never seemed to have time.  So today we did.  It is kind of like Portland's Saturday Market.  Lots and lots of art and crafts.  Right off the bat the little man found an Astoria Rocks rock.  He was so excited, he showed it to so many people.  Lots of people were excited for him.  It was really cool and I'm glad we took the time and stopped.

Cape Disappointment

Oh what a day.  Pat and the little man ran to Long Beach for some supplies and then went crabbing.  The little woman and I were left to tend camp and be there in case Mom needed us.  Good thing we brought things to do.  Girl time seems to equal paint time.  We painted some rocks.
The little man discovered climbing trees.  The answer to the question of when he would start is five years-old. Course the tree next to our campsite was spectacular for climbing.  He said it was like a ladder.
We spent a little time on the beach flying a kite and playing with our la crosse set.  Then later we got to do one of the trails and it led us to another beach.  The little man was enthralled with the horses walking on the beach.
We had simple food, keeping it easy.  Nice burgers for dinner and s'mores for dessert.

Camping

We loaded up the car and picked up the little woman.  Thought we would really be ahead of Pat and Mom, but it was not so.
Got to Cape Disappointment and set up camp.  The ground was pretty uneven so we put the tent on the deck of the yurt.  Pat kept telling us we could put it out on the ground.  I disagreed and left it where it was.
There was a nice sand pit that the kids spent some time in.  Wonderful.
We went down to the beach for awhile.  And then the little woman got a sliver and that ended that.  But they had a good time before then.
The littles made friends with some kids who were camped next to us.  They arrived late.  They made a s'more.  We had forgot sticks so I was happy they got to do one over at the other campsite.
Mom slept a lot.

No Contact Dropped

My son would like to be able to see his kids.  There was a no contact order in place between the two of us.  And yes, I know, we did not honor it part of the time.  It is hard when he is my son and he is their daddy. But when he is incarcerated it has to be honored because jail/work release/prison won't let you in if you are protected.  When he was in work release his sister sponsored him and he got to see his kids at the park one day.  Then on another day he saw them for a minute because she made other plans for him.  Then she said she couldn't help him anymore. Whatever....I'm sure there was more to the story.
Well he is again in  prison.  So I have been working on the hoops that need to be jumped in order to occasionally take the littles to see him.  I got the little man's birth certificate that shows Mike is the father.  The one I had was from before paternity was established.
Today I was in court to get the no contact order dropped.  The judge granted it with no problem.  He, like me, feels it is important for the kids to see their daddy.  So now that hoop has been jumped.  Next is filling out paperwork for visitation.
I really really hope he doesn't end up on the other side of the state.