7.31.10 -- Pig Roast V

Oh wow...Pig Roast has always delivered a day of delicious food, too much booze and craziness. I got out there shortly after 1 and things were just beginning. The boys had been roasting two pigs, a lamb and two turkeys since the early morning (which was DELICIOUS!). There was a good number of people, some of whom I had not seen in years! Heather and Elena made some delicious sangria and yummy jello shots and Kevin made some dangerous jungle juice (with the assistance of Greg)! Greg appears to have hijacked my camera for a good portion of the day, so some of the pictures are rather humorous...and some just needed to be deleted immediately. I managed to lose my camera and my phone last night, but both were found this morning when I somehow woke up without a hangover, just feeling pretty sleep deprived. After a shower and washing away the dirt and grime I almost feel human again. I remember why the pig roast only happens once a year...that's all we can probably handle!

7.30.10 -- Fun with Jami!

I love my child...but good god was I ready for a break after being with him constantly for the last three weeks. When you are a mom, your child always comes first and somehow you seem to lose yourself. I enjoy those moments when I can reclaim time just being a woman, without everything else. Tonight was one of those nights. I feel like I haven't seen Jami AT ALL (which is untrue, I've seen her a few times this summer), which is bizarre because we spend a ridiculous amount of time together during the school year. Tonight she came over after Jeff came to get Lucas and we FINALLY ironed out the schedule until January (which better mean NO MORE ARGUING AND BULLSHIT). I have a ridiculously expensive piece of paper that says when each of our visits are and somehow it is still always a battle. I hate it. Anyway, Jami and I went shopping and then to our favorite thai place for dinner and drinks. It, as always, was amazing. The bartender there is great (makes really delicious, strong drinks), but we found out he is moving to Hawaii in search of a home with an avocado tree which was a very sad thing to hear. This is a picture of my dinner. Chicken Pad Thai...seriously, I cannot think of many things that make me more happy. Mmmmm...perfectly spicy.

And as an added bonus...this is Lucas at Costco this morning. He was a (fairly) good boy during our three hour adventure of running errands. I love this kid, he is such a goofball!

7.29.10 -- Last day of ESY! YAY!

Lucas came to school with me today. He makes a pretty good peer model for most of my students and is helpful (sometimes). However, he was not impressed when I had to stay to pack up the classroom and to take everything back to my real classroom. Let's be honest here, I wasn't excited either! His emotions are what I probably would have been doing if I wasn't mature enough to (slightly) mask them. Realizing that I worked for at least 12 hours of unpayed time to prepare for ESY was a bit frustrating to me, especially with the passive aggressive woman in charge. Positives:

1. I got one of my students to say more words than she typically does in her normal classroom...I would like to take her back to my normal classroom during the school year
   
2. I met one of the happiest kids I have ever seen...he was HILARIOUS! He liked to speak "spanish" to me.
3. One of my students was one of the sweetest kids I have ever had the pleasure of teaching and he had fabulous parents.
4. One of my students I normally teach is reading! YAY! (well, when she isn't be aggressive or naughty)
5. We survived!

The negatives:

1. Teaching 7 kids with special needs in a classroom intended for art without my normal materials is ridiculous.
2. The person in charge is a passive aggressive wench who doesn't understand SpEd
3. The amount of prep and packing to teach in a different classroom wasn't worth it.

This was my fifth year teaching ESY in Vancouver. It isn't ever fun to give up a chunk of summer, but I've always ended knowing I want to do it again next year. I don't feel that way this year. With all of the administrative drama and lack of communication or caring I think next year I will be teaching gen ed summer school. I am alright with teaching in a different building when the curriculum is provided and I am not attempting to teach students who are K-5th grade in a random classroom in a different building. Oh well, time to move on and to get summer started! I am free for a month (with the exception of two days next week for restraint training and one day at the end of summer for IEP Online training). Today is going to be full of errands though...yay!

7.28.10 -- Parents on deck

This week was Parents on Deck at swimming. I didn't get as many good pictures as I would hope for, but I am really proud of Lucas and the progress he's made in the last year. He is swimming by himself, learning how to breathe while swimming longer distances and learning to roll from his tummy to his back. He successfully dove down to the bottom of the pool (it isn't too deep) and retrieved items by himself! I am glad that he loves swimming and it is something he is so successful with. After swimming he, Logan and Greyson played on the play structure for 90 minutes. I had a very sleepy boy who was ready for bed when we got home!

7.27.10

There isn't much of note that happened today. Lucas was excited to see Miss Patti while I was teaching and then we hung out at home. This is Lucas's bathrobe. He loves it, and is way too cute. At this point, I just want to be done with ESY. We are on a major countdown to freedom and starting our list of fun things to do next week with all of our spare time!

7.26.10 -- fun in the park

Lucas and I met one of my oldest friends (who I had not seen in over a decade!) today to play at the park. We went to Grant Park, which I had no idea was THE Grant Park from the Beverly Cleary books. Yes, I am a huge dork and I HAVE to go and see Ramon and Beezus, preferably sometime soon. I am pretty sure I read every single book that Beverly Cleary ever wrote, most of them multiple times. Anyway, I had never been to this park before and it was close to Lise's house. Lucas ran wild and enjoyed himself on the playground for a long time and then we ventured over to the water features. They had statues of Ramona, Henry Huggins and Ribsy. The picture above is Lucas riding on Ribsy's back...this kid needs a dog. I really need to get on that one so that we can check it off my 30 before 30 list.

Another highlight from today...I got my stickers from "Bad Mommy Moments" That definitely made my evening. I wish I would have gotten the picture of Lucas throwing a complete temper tantrum over his dinner. What was funny was as soon as I got out the stickers and the camera he quit with the tears. Lucas took a nap from 5:00-6:30 and I honestly didn't think he was going to wake up for dinner, so his dinner is a bit odd...but overall pretty normal for him. He got mad at how I mixed his hot sauce into his soy sauce...some days there is just no pleasing this child. Oh well, what are you going to do?

7.25.10 -- Lacamas Half Marathon

Nicole and I prior to the start
Nicole, Mary and me

Today was a very hot day for a half marathon, but it felt pretty damn good. This was the second half marathon that I have completed (the first was Helvetia on June 12th). I completed Helvetia in 3:01:36 and today I finished in 3:04:33. I was hoping to break the three hour barrier, but given the heat and the miles on the gravelly trail, I was pretty happy with this finishing time. Despite the blisters on my feet and feeling a little dehydrated, I am in a great mood today and I have a surprising amount of energy. I think my body is going to bounce back a bit faster from this than it did from Helvetia. I am starting to think about the full marathon in Portland on 10.10.10. It is going to be a long, but fun, day!

I am a walker, I don't pretend by any means to be a runner. I tried jogging and my knees rejected that early on. With a limited amount of remaining cartilage and five knee surgeries I probably should have known prior to starting that running wouldn't be my forte. However, I am stubborn (you're shocked, I know) and I had to give it a shot. I am a fairly quick walker and I really am enjoying myself. You know the one part that I don't enjoy about walking half-marathons? The runners. Not all of them mind you, just the assholes who think they are better than everyone else. If you want to go by us...let us know, my eyes in the back of my head only work when Lucas is around or I am at school. I don't need to know that you are a runner (seriously...people yell "runner" as they pass you...it's kind of ridiculous), I need to know which side of me you are passing on. Furthermore, you aren't going to win. If you are passing me more than halfway through the race...that means you are a slow runner. Just calm down and enjoy yourself like the rest of us. It was these few grumpy runners that cast a small shadow on the day. Then I remembered that they were dumb and I needed to calm down. I was alright and got back to enjoying the sunshine, beautiful views of the lake, and the great company!

7.24.10 -- The Jehovah's Witnesses Return...

So the Jehovah's Witnesses came a knocking right after we got out of school for summer. I gave him my view of religion, hoping he would realize that I had no desire to change my views or religion. Apparently whatever I said to him the first time (I believe everyone can believe whatever they want as long as they don't hurt anyone else, no one is going to hell simply for their beliefs etc.). Today, he came back and he brought his daughter with him. The pamphlet above is the "reading material" that he left behind for me. I flipped through it before throwing it into the recycling and there were articles about marriage and divorce (I wonder if he was offended by my out-of-wedlock child). At any rate, I'm not going to convert anytime soon. I am happy and secure with my beliefs, but I do find it comedic that my strong views left that kind of an impact. However, I would be happy if he stopped ringing my doorbell. Two times was enough...

7.23.10 -- Lazy Day

Today was a ridiculously lazy day. As you can see, Lucas dressed himself and refused to change out of his too small batman shirt. It was a good day to just stay at home. Lucas's knee is still healing from his spill on the driveway, and he is a BIT on the emotional side these days. He played with toys and ran a muck around the house. The picture above was taken when Lucas yelled at me to come see what he was doing. It was pretty sweet :) Tomorrow...we will have the goal of actually leaving the house. I know it will be accomplished though, the list of things to complete tomorrow is longer than I would like it to be!

7.22.10 -- "Only ugly kids get beat"

I have missed Jami far more than I could even explain. We got out of school a month ago and I think I have seen her three times now (twice in the last two days). Our schedules and vacations have been opposite from each other and it is just WRONG! We had a delicious dinner and enjoyed mojitos on the back patio and it was the perfect evening. I needed some laughs and good times with one of my favorite girls and that is exactly what tonight delivered. Now for a fun weekend!

I have my second half marathon on Sunday. I am super excited and hoping to beat my time from Helvetia despite the 95 degree forecast! We shall see how it goes...

7.21.10 -- Lucas's best friend

Lucas and Logan have been best friends since the womb. It is a good thing that they decided to agree with Nikki and I that they would be friends. When they were little and barely talking yet, they referred to each other as "buddy". Now at four they are best friends and way too funny. They have their moment where they are such brats to each other, but Greyson (Logan's little brother) is always there to put them in their place. At lunch today he told each of them to be quiet when they were both losing their minds. It's a good friendship. I look forward to watching it continue to grow over the years.

7.20.10 -- This is what grumpy looks like...

Lucas wanted more chips...I told him it was almost time for dinner and I wanted him to have room for a healthy dinner. This was his response. I have one spunky four year old!

7.19.10 --Jack clearly doesn't know women...

So...when you are stuck in traffic for over an hour, this is SERIOUSLY not what you want to see on the side of a truck. While I like my salads (and trust me I can make a better salad than Jack), it still doesn't compare to diamonds.

Anyway, today was a great day. I seem to be having a lot of those lately...and I am pretty happy about that. ESY was super easy today (we only had four kids out of eight show up) and I was done by noon. I came home and hung out with Lucas and cleaned all of the bedding and laundry in our house (definitely a job that is satisfying when complete, but a pain in the ass when you are doing it). However, I made the mistake of waiting until shortly after 4 to drive Lucas down to my parent's house to stay the night so we could go and see Inception (which is a very good, thought-provoking, although SUPER-long movie). I left to drop Lucas off at 4:10 and did not make it home until shortly after 6...traffic was that bad. Yuck.

After making it home I made a yummy dinner (pork tenderloin, quinoa (not grits) and a salad with fresh greens from my mom's garden). Dinner would have been perfect if I hadn't burnt my thumb on the pan. No matter how many years I have cooked, I still burn myself way too often. So this weeks new thing I cooked was Pork Tenderloin my mom's way. It turned out nice and tender, which isn't surprising...she's an amazing cook. I also made Filet Mignon for the first time on Saturday (usually I do rib-eyes). Now to think about what to make next week!

7.18.10 -- A great day

Lucas and I began our day at the Children's Museum...as the Howard's are not early risers as we are. However, Lucas slept past 8 which was AMAZING. I would like a repeat performance of that on my next day off (meaning Friday). He really enjoyed the new pet hospital exhibit.
I sadly missed a picture of Lucas and Carly on the trampoline, which was HILARIOUS because I talk too much. However, I did capture Jeremy and Lucas playing Batman during lunch which was one of the sweetest things I had seen in a long time.
Lucas vetoed loving on Mommy during most of the day because he had Jeremy and Carly. I don't blame him though...they are pretty awesome kids :)
After lunch we showed Jeremy and Carly (and Donna and Craig) the Pirate Park. This is one of my favorite parks that I have found in the Portland area. We also met Brendan and Selena with sweet baby Kaleb there and fun was had by all. Lucas was being Batman on the slide...let's all take a moment to be surprised! After the park we went back and played the beginning of Dragonology (which was super fun) and watched some old videos of Jeremy and Carly (which were adorable and hilarious at the same time). Then, we all went to see Toy Story 3, which was AMAZING and a great end to the trilogy.
This is the beautiful painting that Donna made me for my birthday. It is already hanging on the dining room wall.

Lucas and I are lucky to be so loved. Thank you guys!

7.17.10 -- 30 before 30

After an interesting 10 miles on the Leif Erickson trail in Forest Park (uneven terrain with lots of rocks that did not make my knees very happy) Lucas and I spent the morning at Kid's Club (more time that did not make my knees happy). I was reading a blog and I am currently reading a book which made me think that there are a lot of things that I would like to accomplish before I turn 30...but I wonder if I can come up with 30 of them...

1. Complete a full marathon and many more half marathons!
   
2. Take Lucas to Disneyland
3. Go back to Mexico
4. Try a new recipe each week
5. Go whale watching
6. Redo the bathrooms
7. Redo the back patio
8. Put a garden in the backyard
9. Build Lucas a play structure (with help...lots of help)
10. Lose 15 pounds (get down to my ultimate goal weight)
11. Read 30 books for fun
12. Enroll in a program to complete my second masters...most likely in administration
13. Knit something
14. Complete Lucas's photo books/scrapbooks for each year of his life
15. Reconnect with an old friend or several (these are some of my favorite friendships now!)
16. Send a letter to someone
17. Go to a concert... it's been awhile
    
18. Go to a professional sporting event, besides basketball
19. Go to another Broadway Play
    
20. Teach Lucas how to read (I hope to complete this one before I am 29)
21. Learn to make sushi at home
22. Teach Lucas to ride a bike without training wheels
23. Take a vacation with the girls
24. Become an Auntie (thanks James and Alanna)
25. Go to the Space Needle (everyone needs to play tourist from time to time)
    
26. Learn to use Sign Language fluidly and incorporate it into my classroom
    
27. Join a book club
28. Hike Multnomah Falls or another area
    
29. Get a dog
30. Go to Vegas

I guess I can...and I think I could probably come up with more! I want to take the next two years to focus on myself. I seem to be falling back into my patterns of worrying more about everyone else. I don't want to lose myself again...I did that about 4 years ago and it wasn't a healthy way to live. I want to take care of myself, seize the day, and enjoy every minute of it!

7.16.10 -- My boy is back!

I had a lovely day off, I could get used to four day work weeks (and getting done at 12 each day). I was able to sleep in for the first time in awhile and it felt amazing. Mom, Alanna and I went out to find some things for baby boy Treacy. I am excited for Alanna and James to name this little man...and even more excited to finally get to meet him in a couple short months. After we spoiled the little man rotten we enjoyed a long lunch. I loved spending time with Alanna and Mom. Then, we fought traffic everywhere and somehow arrived on time to pick up Lucas (seriously 4:00 on the dot). This was good, because I kind of let Jeff have it for always being late and how frustrating it is.

We spent the night at my parents house so that I could get up to do 10 miles in the morning. We had a delicious dinner and somehow Lucas managed to not meltdown when it was apparent that he had not gotten enough sleep over the past several days. I was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO happy to have him back with me. Four days felt like a ridiculously long time. As much as Lucas can drive me CRAZY...and believe me, he does, I LOVE HIM and don't know what to do with him gone. He has been super snuggly and loving since coming home and I am just trying to enjoy that before he gets snarky again :) I have NO idea where the snarkiness could have come from, er....at all.

7.15.10 -- Books to read...

It has not been a spectacularly positive 48 hours for me and I am finding myself feeling rather blue. After spending WAY too long at IKEA with my mom today because she wanted to get me a mirror to go above my fireplace as a birthday present...but really I think she wanted to look around because we were there FOREVER. Have I mentioned my hatred for places like IKEA??? I probably have not, but I cannot stand places like that. People drive me insane, especially with that herding mentality. Another place that drives me this insane is Costco.

So, what did I do when we FINALLY got done at IKEA and got the mirror set up? Oh, yeah...I went to Costco. What the hell is wrong with me? I seriously think the samples they hand out make people stupid. They somehow forget that they are taking up full aisles and in everyone's way. I got a ton of produce and organic protein to get myself back on track with my meal plan. I found Lucas some great new educational materials from Brain Quest that he will love and some early reader books (super hero themed...how could we go wrong??). As I was getting ready to head to the front and deal with the lines my eyes fell upon a book at the end of the aisle...Jennifer Weiner's new book, Fly Away Home. I LOOOOOOVE Jennifer Weiner's books. They are books that make me laugh and cry and always seem to find me when I most need them. I am SO excited to read this from cover to cover...in the next 48 hours or less.

So this leads to me ask...what else should I read this summer? Please leave your suggestions here :)

7.14.10 -- Shocking

Life is SOOOOOOOO much fun (insert sarcasm here), but at least it's predictable. As the picture is not as clear as I would like it to be, here is the transcribed version with some of my narrative in red:

Jeff (4:22 pm): Text me the address please its in the car with me somewhere but can't find it (SHOCKING!)
Me: 13914 NW 3rd Ct 98785 (This is the address for Lucas's swimming lessons. I gave Jeff a post it on Monday with the address and telling him to be there NO LATER than 4:40...lessons start at 4:55)
Me: Oops 98685
Me: How far away are you
Jeff: By 84 (on a day with NO traffic it would take about 25 minutes)
Me (10 minutes later): Where are you now?
Jeff (4:48): Not moving on the bridge...I'm gettin sick of all this traffic every time! (Because CLEARLY it is the TRAFFIC's fault that you're late?!?! Dude...it is rush hour in Portland...LEAVE THE HOUSE EARLIER!!! GOOD GOD! This is the man with a MILLION excuses...it's never his fault)


Lucas showed up for swimming at 5:15...completely asleep in his car seat (like sweating and drooling asleep) . He swam like a rock star for the last 10 minutes of his lesson...but COME ON. Who does that? Just ONCE I want him to show up on time and do what he is supposed to. Man up and be a responsible parent. GOOD GOD!

I honestly do not believe that in the 8 years that I have known Jeff that he has EVER once accepted responsibility for any of mistakes...not to me, not to his ex, not to anyone. It is ALWAYS someone else's fault and I cannot stand it. Give me a break, man up and take responsibility for your choices!!!

Ugh...okay...rant over.

Tomorrow is the last day of week one for ESY. I am looking forward to a weekend right about now. I mentally need a break to try to figure something out. I'm exhausted mentally and physically and something's gotta give.

7.13 -- I love my friends.

I have the best girlfriends a girl could ask for. Today has kind of been an egh kind of day, and Jami showed up with a bottle of wine and ready to catch up. It also gave me an excuse to use two of my new wine glasses (so excited my mom got me a second set for my birthday...I LOVE them). I hadn't seen Jami since we got out of school and it had been too long. We drank our bottle and headed down to Buffalo Wild Wings, which just opened. We enjoyed some yummy appetizers, good drinks and the fact that the wings were super cheap tonight. It made for a good night with one of my favorite friends. I was having a pretty crappy day, and I am SO thankful to have so many people in my life that can remedy that in mere minutes. Love you all!

7.12 -- First day of ESY

I can't really post pictures from school...so instead you get a picture of Lucas and I playing Chutes and Ladders this evening. This was after we played Mousetrap, this fun robot game and Backyardigan Memory. Memory lead him to a HUGE meltdown because I won. Mousetrap he told me I was a HORRIBLE mommy because I landed on the space that said he had to give me three pieces of cheese. Is it awful that I was a little bit relieved when his dad got here to pick him up? However, it hasn't even been an hour since he left and I already miss him. I know he was EXHAUSTED from the weekend at his dad's house and that led to the meltdowns, but they drive me CRAZY!!!

Anyway, back to the actual topic of this blog. I showed up for ESY at 8:00 this morning (it starts at 8:30). When I arrived, I did not know where the buses planned to drop students off. I also was unable to log students on to complete this stupid reading program that their teacher based IEP goals on (which is TOTALLY illegal and STUPID), so I should be using it during ESY. However the computers did not cooperate and I was unable to log students on. SUPER! I had not planned a backup plan for their reading time. Apparently the universe worked in my favor, as my last bus didn't arrive until 9:25, and we missed reading time. However, it meant a trip to my real classroom to round up materials and to design lessons for these students for the next three weeks. Good times.

The other AWESOME part about today? I only knew four of the students I was assigned for ESY; two are from my class, one is from Jami's (my teaching partner) and one I had last summer. The other five I have never met and I have only received snippets of information from teachers. So, when the buses arrived I just read down the roster. So, I get to the second bus and read the roster. The bus driver says, "The only one I have is Milo" (or insert any other uncommon name you can think of here, as his name isn't really Milo). I claim the kiddo and we continue to wait for the next bus. I take all of the students inside and we complete our day. I keep thinking that "Milo" doesn't seem to match his IEP. The nurse comes in and brings me health care plans and medications for students. In this pile she has "Milo's" inhaler. I look at the picture on the medical plan...it sure doesn't look like him. At this point it is 11:15 (we get done at 11:30). I get on our IEP system online to check pictures. I find my "Milo"...he totally doesn't look like the "Milo" in my room. I look at the other "Milo"...yup, he belongs in the SCC classroom down the hall. OOPS! His teacher and I agreed that no one needed to know (hence I am blogging about it). Seriously...what are the chances of having two kids enrolled in ESY who have a super uncommon name and only one would show up the first day? It was a lovely day. What will tomorrow bring?

To add to the joy of my day...this is what my garage floor looks like:

7.11 -- Happy Birthday Kaleb!

Today we went to Kaleb's first birthday party. He is such a cute little man! It was the perfect day for a birthday party in the park and everyone had an amazing time. Lucas had a blast playing on the playground and playing trucks with the birthday boy. It was hilarious to watch Kaleb with the cupcake...he was not quite so sure about that. Lucas, however, devoured two cupcakes (they were amazing). Lucas of course crashed on the way home after a busy weekend at his dad's house and is still napping...if only napping days happened more frequently!

7.10 -- Perfect weekend and it's not over yet!

We slept in this morning (which was AMAZING). I absolutely loved the HUGE, comfy beds in our hotel room. Cami and I had our own, and it was delightful. Despite the children yelling in the hallway that woke me up, and the crazy light that woke Cami up, it was a restful evening (I am sure the drinking had nothing to do with that). I don't remember the last time I was able to sleep until 9:30. I need to do that more often. We had a nice lazy morning with cartoons and bad movies from the 90s before moseying to Rachel's parents' house for a post wedding BBQ and open house. It was great to meet some new people and to relax in the sunshine before getting in the car to drive the three hours back home. Again...I LOVE my friends. They are all amazing. It was fantastic to see everyone and to spend time catching up.

Cami and I had another great ride. We listened to a ridiculous comedy CD and laughed way too much and talked all the way home. I loved reminiscing about our ENTIRE friendship. We are ridiculous (I know I've said that five times, but we are). I love you Camarooni!

7.09 -- Congratulations Tai and Rachel!!!

Tai and Rachel got married today at the Mukilteo Lighthouse. It was an absolutely beautiful venue, for an amazing wedding for a perfect couple. It was also reason to have a reunion...as we seem to have each year for a wedding.
This picture captures Cami and my friendship almost too well. We are absolutely ridiculous when we are together. I have no idea what I was saying, but clearly I am hilarious....or something. Cami and I had a great 3 hour drive to Mukilteo before the wedding where I think we stopped talking long enough to take about three breaths. We were a bus, and having WAY too much fun!
Cami got the sympathy bouquet...she was beaten out by a 9 year old who had her football scrimmage feet going. It was hilarious.
We enjoyed a beautiful sunset on the sound and somehow the beautiful couple managed to take some fantastic sunset photos with our obnoxious asses behind them!
In case you were wondering...if you put cute duckies on your table as decorations...we will find a way to use them to drink whiskey. Or beer. In fact, we will even take them to the bar and continue to use them as a drink receptacle that the bartender will later run out to us when we leave it behind. Oops.

Thank you Tai and Rachel for getting married and having the funnest (yes, Cami...I wrote it), most perfect wedding. Thank you Cami for being the best friend a girl could ask for. I have missed you way too much and we need to work on not being so awful at this communication thing. You're the best. Thank you boys for continuing to be so ridiculously entertaining. I am blessed to have made some of the best friends of my life when I was in junior high and high school and to still be so close. I love you all!

7.08 -- A bonus

This is how Lucas (and I) felt about spending this gorgeous day setting up my make-shift classroom at Lake Shore for ESY. I still do not know where the bus drops off my students, if my classroom has an actual room number or how we are supposed to know where students are going since they are all intermixed on the buses. Monday is going to be an adventure...and we all know how much I LOVE to feel unprepared.

7.08 -- Holy hell, it's hot.

I wither in warm heat, so needless to say that this 95 degree weather is about to send me over the ledge. I spent the majority of my morning and early afternoon getting my classroom set up for ESY. I still don't quite understand why they really are feeling the need to put us all in one building, or the lack of organization...but who am I to question? Considering this is an art room that has NO storage spaces, I think we have things set up as good as they are going to be. Thank God I have Rachel with me!

In other news. I got my hair cut yesterday, it is super short (almost too short for a ponytail), but I think that I like it.

I also weighed in today...this endless saga to get to my "goal" weight is oh so joyful. I am happy as I weigh less now than I did as a junior in college. I am getting so much closer to where I want to be and I feel so much better in my skin. Somehow, I actually barely gained anything last week after a highly glutenous week of delicious food and lots of booze at the beach with my parents. We'll see how successful I am this week after I spend the weekend in Mukilteo for Rachel and Tai's wedding! I am SO excited to see everyone, it has been far too long. Choosing a single picture for tomorrow or Saturday is going to be incredibly difficult!

7.07 -- 25k. Check.

Today we completed my longest walk to date, a 25k. We were supposed to do this walk on Saturday, but I will be in Mukilteo celebrating Tai and Rachel's wedding! I was extremely excited when the ladies decided to do the walk earlier as well...25k seemed like a ridiculous amount of time to be alone with my thoughts. We left from Evie's house at 5:30 (!) in the morning and it was already over 60 degrees...when we got back shortly after 10 it was already up to the mid 80s! I am certainly happy that we began so early. I have these ladies to thank for a successful walk. I am feeling good about things and I am feeling better about the Portland Marathon and my success!

7.06 -- Last day :(

I often wonder why the very BEST weather occurs on the last day of a vacation. Today it was HOT on the beach. Lucas played in the ocean and we took a nice walk on the beach while my parents watched the World Cup game (we got back in time to see the major action of the game). It was absolutely beautiful and Lucas had so much fun. We definitely need to utilize the beach cabin more frequently. I always forget how much I love it there until I am actually in the moment.

Now I am home...unpacked (sort of) and trying to sort through the ridiculous amount of laundry we went through while gone. It is nice to be back, but there is a part of me that wishes we weren't. Tomorrow I walk 25k (or 15.5 miles). I am feeling pretty anxious about it, but I am sure it will be fine. At least we will done before the heat arrives!

7.05 -- Another beautiful day

Lucas decided that he LOVED to be buried in the sand during this trip. He is such a funny little man.
After spending a ridiculous amount of time playing on the beach in the 74 degree weather, Lucas SOMEHOW managed to stay awake until it was dark outside! We had a great time setting off fireworks. I absolutely love this boy of mine. He is the sweetest little boy and so much fun to be around! I am going to be very sad to head home tomorrow.

7.04 -- 4th of July!

For the 4th we ventured down to Neskowin to join in the festivities with the Wiecks' and Messick's. We started the day with the annual parade (which Lucas elected to watch and not be a part of). Romy, Charlie and Addeline were adorable with their Under the Water theme, but Lucas enjoyed catching beads and candy and watching everyone go by in their costumes. While watching the parade we enjoyed mimosas, brunch and Jack's famous bloody mary's (they were ridiculously strong and the ONLY bloody mary's that I have ever liked...they were AMAZING). We had a great day down on the beach watching people compete in the sand castle building contest, letting the children play and watching Lucas splash around in the water. After dinner, we packed up and headed home (there was no way that Lucas was going to make it through fireworks after our day). We got home and we enjoyed the view of everyone's illegal fireworks from the comfort of our own porch. It was the second night in a row with a spectacular show from about three spots on the beach. We decided to hold off on our fireworks, because Lucas fell asleep about five minutes into the drive home. I woke him up and showed him a few of the big fireworks, but that was about all he could handle before falling back to sleep. Playing at the beach sure wears a little man out!

7.03 -- Beautiful day at the coast

We awoke to a much nicer day today. First thing in the morning I went on my long walk (7 miles). I decided to walk back out toward the main road into Cape Meares and to take the jetty out around the bay. It is gorgeous, with a lot of wildlife and whatnot. However, what I did not anticipate was people choosing to camp, literally, in the middle of the trail. It was definitely an interesting 7 miles.

It took awhile for the clouds to clear, but by lunch time it was gorgeous and over 70. We spent hours on the beach with Lucas running in and out of the waves and we all built a sandcastle and dad played his ukulele. It was a perfect day at the coast, you really couldn't ask for more.

7.02 -- Happy Birthday to me!

I left for the beach first thing in the morning on my birthday. My parents and Lucas had gone down the day before and I was excited to get there. While the weather was not so nice on my birthday, it was mild enough to go and play on the beach. With Lucas in his swim trunks and a sweatshirt, I assumed he might just wade a little bit. Seriously, you would think that I would know my child better by now. He was SOAKED from his chest to his toes by the time we headed back to the cabin. If I would have thought it through a bit more, I probably would have just sent him out their in his trunks and his swim shirt. We had a nice day playing on the beach, playing games and the cabin and just relaxing. My mom made an amazing dinner and strawberry rhubarb pie (yummm!). It was a good birthday.