Whirlwind

What a day.  Started with Cassie picking up the littles and me going to work.  Then after work I had to stop at the grocery store for camping food, go home and pack for camping and then head to Cassie's Aunt Becky's house for a bbq.  Visited for quite awhile.  The littles had a blast playing with their second cousins.
Then we finally left for camping on the island.  Didn't want to get there too late and have to set up in the dark.  Lucky for me Pat already had the tent set up.
It was a busy day and it felt good to crawl into the sleeping bags in the tent with the sound of the river in our ears.

Feeling the Crush

Trying to get so many projects done.  First we have camping this weekend.  I did manage to get to the laundromat and get my sleeping bag washed.  Whew. Slowly getting the house whipped back into a little bit of shape.  Slowly catching back up on laundry.  My list is good sized.
When we came home from getting sibling pictures taken today I realized that I hadn't added mowing the yard on to my list.  Oy.  One more thing.  And then the neighbor boys came over and asked if they could mow it.  I asked them how much.  Didn't matter what they said as long as it was reasonable.  They stated $8.  I had them mow and I gave them $10.  They were a bit worried that they left a little grass in the backyard.  They hauled off most of it, but some got left behind from the mower.  That doesn't worry me in the least.  I don't even bag when I mow......just leave the grass in the lawn.  So $10 got me mowing, hauling, and they used their own mower and gas.  I think I'm well ahead.

Surprise Visit

My heart was broken because I honestly thought that Cassie wasn't going to make time for the kids.  Every thing posted on facebook never eluded to a visit.  So I did not even tell the kids she was going to be in town.  I should have known that was not how it would be.
So today Cassie, David, Jasslynn and their roommate Dave came for a visit.  Aunt Tracy and Jeremy also came over and brought lunch. It took Jazzlynn a bit to warm up to us.  Afterall she does not remember the last trip out here.  Didn't take the littles long to love her though.  They immediately started picking her up and carrying her around.  By the end of the visit she was treating them like her siblings and not wanting to share things with them.  It was funny.
The big guys got a work out piggy backing the littles around.  And the littles did not want to stop.  I can tell they will be worn out when the visit at their house happens.
It was very nice getting to spend a little time with the real David.  The last time I saw him he was still in the throes of active addiction.  Now he is in recovery. And he talks and tells stories.
We set up a sibling picture session and some more visits.

Last Night

Tomorrow my Uncle Jerry flies home to Colorado. So tonight he brought Mom's car back.  We had a take and bake pizza and looked at pictures.  He told me I need to get the pictures scanned.  I totally agree but am just overwhelmed at how daunting of a task that would be.
Mom had gotten a little emotional.  Jerry suggested that perhaps it was time to not bring her back to the house.  Maybe it is just how overwhelmed she is with emotions with his visit and maybe not.  It's not going to get better.
He suggested I take her permission to give stuff to the good will or have a yard sale and do that.  And that I don't say anything more about it.  He understood how hard it is to decide to get rid of stuff.  Garbage and recycles are easy.  But the rest is hard.  But I have to do it or we truly can't settle in and make this place home.
We had a good visit.  This is the most time we have had with him and we enjoyed it.  We reminisced. We liked that somone was thoughtful and had labelled a lot of the pictures.  I was glad to spend some time with someone who has been through all of this before and was able to tell me I'm doing a good job.  One day at a time.
Thanks for all the advice Uncle Jerry and thanks to all who are going through this journey with me.

Spaghetti

First day in a week that I cooked.  All last week I worked so hard that when I picked the littles up and they wanted McDonald's or whatever....I was game.  Then we had a couple of meals with Mom and Uncle Jerry and all of a sudden I haven't cooked in a week.
I have decided that it is time to start making my own spaghetti sauce.  Ragu has just changed.  And I know that to make my own really doesn't take much longer than opening a jar of Ragu.  So maybe next time.  The little man probably won't eat it then because it will be different, but we shall see.

Too Curious

And so it goes.  My brother thinks there is a possibility that I am wrong, but I don't think so.  Either Doug or Kristie has been keeping up with my other blog since it started.  About once a week it gets a visit from the same IP in Camas.  I have monitored the visitors for long enough to think I am right.  No one else would be interested in pictures of Tanya and the girls from Camas.  My friends who live up there would be downloading pics of the littles if they wanted pictures.
Now I don't get it.  They have made it so clear with every action for a long time that they have no concern about us, so why keep reading the blog.  There are very very few veiled references to them on it.  Here on the other hand.....too many for my own comfort.
I just find it it curious that they still feel the need to continue to monitor it.

Best Laid Plans

So the plan was to get a little bit of an early start (early for us).  And naturally that didn't happen.  We skipped breakfast intending to eat fresh donuts at the farmer's market.  Stopped to pick up Mom and she was still asleep.  Took her a little longer than it has been.  Then the whole way in we heard about how she needs a hat and a shirt for the sun and breakfast.  Yup.  I forgot them.  After we picked up Uncle Jerry we made it down town about 45 minutes later than planned.  We went down the line at the market and did not find the donuts.  Then Mom needed a break and the kids found the playground.
Uncle Jerry bought cherries and then told us that Mom wasn't doing too well and we should go somewhere else to eat since there were no donuts.  So we did that.  Had a nice lunch at Shari's and then deposited every one back to their homes.
Then we made our trip to the store and drove to Longview.  Got the rest of Mike's stuff delivered.  Then I made an impromptu trip to Klineline.  When the kids got dressed in the morning they were told they would get to play in the fountan at farmer's market.  Well that didn't happen.  So instead we stopped at Klineline and they played on the splash pad and the playground.  They had a good time.
Even though we had good plans, they just didn't work out.  Instead we did two parks in one day and we know that Mom can't do outings like that anymore.  We just roll with it.