Liam, His ONLY Sunday Shirt and the Scissors

Ahhhh yes, here we go again.

Liam... (if your up on the blog, you'll get this. The title says it all.)

However...When am I, as his mother, going to learn? Some kids set fires, so their parents don't have matches, or lighters, or, fire...around. Some kids jump off of stuff, some kids paint on stuff...I'm quite certain that their parent have learned to put temptation items out of sight.

I have a scissor thing. I have a virtual panic attack if I can't lay my hands on a pair at any given moment. Which means I have a pair of scissors in every room of the house and noisy little bugger that he is, he finds them and cuts stuff up.

I'm going to turn into that old lady that wears the little fold-up scissors around her neck on a chain, with my library lady glasses, (and a sharpie pen and everything else I need to have with me at all times), just to save Liam's life. GREAT! Not exactly what I'd aspired to in my visions of old ladyhood.

More Sentimental Journeying

My buddy Dontje, the guy I sat next to at my high school graduation, and brother to my friend Micah.

As you read in a previous post, I lost one of my lifelong friends, Micah, in May. I was so lucky to be able to attend his Life celebration in July. It was an odd situation in a way. I kept looking for him, even though I knew he wasn't in attendance. He was and probably will be forever missed.

I ran into people there that I've know my whole life. (My soccer coach from grade school. We had a great conversation about our mutual love of running.) People I was glad to see again, and people I just plain love. It was quite possibly the best party I've been to since...I can't remember when. I hope when I die, someone will put a kegger together for me with really great music (I have my play list started on my Zune, under funeral music, oddly enough...)chocolate chip cookies, and yard games. Maybe even an open mike for karaoke or just sentimental yammering... wouldn't that be a blast?

This all brings a confusing quandary into sharp focus for me. I'm forever trying to figure out why I'm homesick for wherever I'm not. I finally figured it out... It will never matter where I live, I will always miss the people I've left behind, and I'm really grateful that they remember me and love me back. So to every one I love, and if you're reading this, it's you... I love you and I miss you. I hope to see you again soon, AND your invited to my kegger!

Now What?

Brian and I realized on our way back home to Washington that we had missed one of our family traditions because of our long summer vacation. The Blue Angels flying over Lake Washington. It's something that we actually put on our goal list at the first of the year. Poor planning on our part and a funky calendar, put it just out of reach. We were disappointed, but our plan is now to live in Washington for a while, so we will see them next year.

So on to the next tradition...Camping on the Olympic Peninsula, and hiking in the Rain Forests. A visit to the very cold and rainy Washington beaches, should round out our next adventure. After that is the Salmon Run. We are calendaring into October, which brings around my most favorite time of the year...Halloween! And yes...I've already started planning.

So, it's not even the end of summer and here I sit, starting to pack it all away. I'm sure in the next few days we will head out to the local beach for a swim, and I'm positive we will head to the zoo and do all of the other fun summer things we can before school starts, but I'm looking forward to fall and the start of the rain. Maybe it all goes back to the circus thing... Maybe I just need the consistency of a tight schedule, and maybe I just need to get into bed. Either way, I'm looking forward to what's next.

Dear Crayola,

(or Hallmark if you want to get really nit-picky,)

I have to admit, I was appalled to pay $6.99 for a Color Wonder coloring book. One I wasn't even sure my children would color in. However...having been caught in this trap before, and having the markers that go with said coloring book, AND desperate for ANY form of entrainment on a two day car trip, through the worst (read most boring) parts of America, I ponied up $6.99 for a coloring book. Not once, but twice. Boy am I the happiest customer!?! Anders, our sweet three year old, colored every single page of that coloring book, and started in on the second. One marker for each page. First page, all brown. Second page, all red. I'm sure you get the point. Every single page with a single mindedness that would impress probably the most seasoned politician. He was quiet, except when he finished a page, then he would shout for every one to see, and then move on. In hindsight, I would have payed ten bucks, probably more, for that kind of peace. So thank you from the bottom of my over-spent heart. Please keep cranking out the absurdly priced coloring books. Anders is almost finished with the second one.

Thanks,
Kate

PS...Liam was wondering if you could possibly make the markers taste better? Just a suggestion from your two year old customer base.