Living in Munchkinland

My friend Cheris takes the most amazing photos.

Here is an email to Michael from one of his bosses. It is a good insight into our current work/life/travel situation. Michael, I have you back in Portland 7/21 – 7/24 doing 4 sites. Please note that after this the schedule is likely to changes but here’s a quick preview of your next few months. Southern California Portland area Tempe Portland area Flagstaff (grand canyon) LA area Bay area Philadelphia area Brooklyn, NY San Antonio NYC Florida Mid Atlantic Baton Rouge Florida Of course this will all probably change tomorrow (except the 1st Portland). Thanks for everything,

We have been so busy. This last week flew by. Michael was home for his one week this summer. It was a good week for him to be home as both kids were sick and missed most of their camps. We got a sitter on Thursday night and went to the free Concert in the Park series to see Shelley King and Sarah Brown. They were great, the weather was lovely and its as fun to hangout with my parents on a picnic blanket and listen to great music. Friday night we had an outdoor movie. We watched the Parent Trap and had a nice group of people there. My kids put themselves to bed early again. I think they may be morning larks like their mama. Saturday we volunteered with Little Helping Hands at the Animal Shelter and had a wonderful time and would have come home with a new pet if we hadn't had plans to leave town this week. We are such softies. Sam begged us to let him volunteer there as soon as he turned thirteen. While there we heard that my grandma had fallen and fractured her pelvis,...

We had a nice father's day weekend. Friday night the boys had a sleepover (Sam's first!) with Violet and Graham and Michael and stayed in and snuggled on the couch and ate thai takeout and watched a double feature. It was just what we needed. We picked up the kids on Saturday and had a wonderful lunch at Thai Fresh before heading home. That evening we hosted a family movie night. Michael's cousin Stacy drove down from Austin with her family and Marja came with her kids and we had good conversation and fun kid play before the movie. Davis and Samuel were exhausted from their sleepover and put themselves to bed right before the movie started. My cousins Lilly and Manie and their significant others came as the movie was starting and we all enjoyed the movie outside. Sunday was father's day and we enjoyed a pancake breakfast and presents before heading to church where I was lay leading. It was so wonderful to be back at church after a long hiatus. I love that co...

I just spent the last 24 hours in hell. And it's not entirely over. Yesterday evening I was sitting on a restaurant patio in a meeting and I started to get a terrible headache. Then I broke out in a sweat and then got dizzy and nauseous. I excused myself for the bathroom and when I got there, I fainted dead away. I woke up and was sick. I gathered my things and kids and headed for home where I moved onto the bathroom floor for the next twelve hours. I slept in snatches on the floor by the toilet with my head pounding and being sick at least every hour. With Michael and my parents and my in-laws all out of town I felt completely helpless. I called my doctor this morning and he said to go into urgent care right away as he was out of town. I dropped off my kids with Uncle Larry (my lifesaver!) and went to the doctor, driving, squinting against the sun and vomiting the whole way. Driving and vomiting at the same time is very difficult! And dangerous! The doctor looked me o...

It is very lonely around here without Michael. This is his fifth week in a row that he has been gone and I am so glad I had that week with him in Denver, but the kids are really missing him. Missing him and acting out. yay. It is also very lonely this week without my parents, but I am also enjoying getting to be a stay-at-home mom and getting lots of things done. Sam is home in the mornings while Davis is at math camp and I have enjoyed getting to spend some one-on-one time with Sam. I have also managed to get some time to work on my 20 year reunion, see doctors and protest my property taxes. As I am planning out the summer, I have realized that after next week, the summer is going to FLY by. We will only be home 1 week in July. Future trips planned for the summer: 10 days in the Pacific Northwest followed by a one week Alaskan Disney Cruise 1 week in Portland, Oregon as we tag along with Michael for work 4 days in Seattle for my friend's baby shower 4 days in Port ...

We had a wonderful, speedy weekend in Port Aransas. Michael flew in around midnight on Thursday night and crawled in bed around 1AM. Around 8AM the next morning, we were in the car and on our way to Port Aransas. We made great time and met Cheris and Rob and the kids there before lunch. As soon as we could eat and change we were on the beach! We spent the whole afternoon down there, really enjoying the sunshine, the children and each other. The was a lot of seaweed, but the kids didn't seem to mind and the waves were great for boogie boarding. That evening we ate dinner and relaxed and went to bed early! Saturday was a slow, leisurely start with coffee, cartoons and electronic devices. Then we loaded up the car and drove down the beach to meet the Mylius family. We shared their EZ up and stayed all day on the beach. Cheris and I share a dream of a family sabbatical and sat side by side reading the same travel planning book. That evening we ate dinner in and then watche...

The kids are happily filling their summer free time. Davis is continuing piano lessons and adding guitar lessons with Samuel. They are continuing their horse riding lessons as well. They are crafting a lot. We went to the library and both boys checked out a lot of books and are spending hours each day reading. My mom taught Davis to iron and we've been practicing. This is a great thing because Davis now only wants to wear short sleeved "cowboy" shirts with pearl snaps. We've been swimming and tubing and yesterday we attempted to make peach jam and succeeded in making peach syrup. But it's delicious! We head to the beach this weekend. I will be so happy to wiggle my toes in the sand, canoodle with my husband during his forty eight hours in town, watch the kids play in the water and get in lots of time with our friends. It's hot and humid already so I am also really looking forward to the wind on the beach. Yay, summer!

While Michael and I galavanted around Denver, Davis spent four nights with Martha and Clark and one night with my parents. They had a marvelous time full of adventures. The fished, climbed huge boulders, fed ducks, caught minnows, went to the railroad museum and the children's museum, visited the public library and closed down ZDT's. And that was just with Martha and Clark. My parents surprised Davis with two new pearl button western shirts and Samuel with a rock polisher of his very own. With my mom and dad, the kids swam, watched a movie and had a special trip to Luby's. The kids came home very happy, hardly having missed us at all. They are so lucky to have such loving, generous grandparents who cherish them.