Morning of my first day of school

Mason just threw up all over the sofa so I guess that answers my question as to if he is still feeling sick. He looks pale and dehydrated. He hasn't eaten since Saturday. I have no choice but to send him to daycare. I can't miss my first class at 8am! What a great way to start off my school year! Do I tell the daycare people or not? Dilemma.....

Walter's Farm

We went with my new mom's group to Walter's Farm today for a little peach picking. The boys had a great time. We played in the giant sand box that was filled with dried peas not sand which makes for an amazing tactile experience. We fed goats, a huge joy for Talan. He quickly figured out the coin operated machine dispensing pellets was broken so he fed them to his hearts content! We picnicked there although my boys ate the entire ride up there so they didn't have much food left other than a spare juice box! I did bust out the cup-cakes for everyone in honor of Mason's upcoming birthday. :) We also took a tractor/wagon ride around the farm. The best part of that was that the farm dog joined us on the tractor ride which made the boys squeal with delight. "I like dogs" Talan kept saying. :)

We actually had to go to a different farm to pick peaches which was a new experience for us. Mason pulled down several peaches, bit into them, and then tossed them. No amount of explaining made him understand that this was unacceptable. It was clearly time to end our visit. We paid for a bunch of peaches and then departed. The boys were both asleep before we were on the freeway.

We had an ice cream party on Wednesday with this same group of women. Mason really enjoyed playing with Ethan (6) and his brother Kieren (3). I am getting to know their mother Jessica a little bit as our boys are very similar in age and play together well. I am not sure how much time I will have to spend with this new group of moms but I appreciate that they put the activities on and all I have to do is show up! :)

Talan's big exciting news is that he got some in-line skates at the consignment store (which we hit up after the ice cream party). He is very excited about them as his Daddy has some (Joe skated while we biked on our camping trip). Talan can skate and hold his kitty Luna. Not!

Mason's exciting news is that he has a loose tooth. I think he may lose it by his birthday next week. I can't believe my boy is turning 6 and loosing a tooth! That seems like such a major milestone. Wow!

The boys have been missing Joe this week. I have never heard them ask for him so many times in a week. When they get hurt, they want their Daddy. "Daddy will make me feel better" Mason will frequently say. I offer for them to call Joe but they decline. :( I think that our month together has a family on vacation made them used to Joe being around. Fortunately there are only 7 more races this year. Yippee!

Three little kitties

OMG, we are loving our three little kitties. We have had them a week now and in that time they have really warmed up to all of us. This morning we renamed them LuLu, Lucy and Luna. I got tired of Talan calling my kitty, "the kitty who bit you". When we first got them, my kitty did bite me! Mason has claimed the white kitty which is now named LuLu. LuLu had her head popped into my coffee cup this morning. Mason claims he was trying to get her to look like Talan's cat, Luna, who is a calico. Alarming! Talan dropped his kitty off the sofa last night. Needless to say the boys still don't get the concept of being gentle. My kitty, which was the one no one chose, aka "the cat who bit me" now has the name Lucy. She is very ordinary and she is also the runt of the litter. She is a bit of a scaredy cat. However, I do believe she has a feisty spirit.

The kitty chores are endless. We are scooping the litter box all the time as these 3 kitties produce a lot of "yucky stuff" which the boys are not wild about tackling. I am trying to make a game out of it but the boys aren't going for it. :)

The kitties all love to climb into hair so it is bringing back lots of memories of Guiness. I never did have Misty as a kitten but I am guessing Lucy is going to be a lot like her. Only loving on her terms. I certainly don't remember kittens being this much work!

The plus side is that the kitties are providing tons of entertainment for all of us. The way they play with each other is hysterical. Being the former vet-tech that I am, I have already given them all baths and trimmed all their nails. Mason has three long scratches on his face from LuLu, which I imagine would have been far worse if her nails were actually sharp!

We are learning as we muck through this new phase of our lives. I am excited to have some female companions. :)

End of Summer

Most of you know that we took a very long vacation recently which is why I have not blogged in awhile. We left Idaho mid-July and headed to Seattle where Joe had a race. The boys and I tromped around Seattle. Visited the Pacific Science Museum, Northwest Trex and spent some time with two of my friends: Hilary Colloff from High School and Charlyne Allen formerly from Idaho. It was a great week with lots of fabulous sunny weather. Charlyne went to the race track with us and met Joe's driver Antron Brown. It was loud but exciting and the food, of course, was top notch! Mason kept telling everyone his Daddy cooks for Antron Brown. It was really cute.

Our next week, we were in Marin as Joe had a race at Sears Point/Infineon. It was great to spend lots of time with my parents and my friends. I hiked a lot and I think the high light for the boys was visiting Sponge Bob at a local mall. :) Talan played hacky sac with Sponge Bob and I have some very cute video to prove it! :)

We then headed North to camp along the Oregon Coast. We spent a half day in Ashland on the way up. The town has grown and changed since I was last there but we did explore Lithia park as well as swam in the creek (it was 104 degrees that day). After Ashland, the weather started to become cold and foggy but we still lucked out for the most part and were able to really enjoy ourselves. We met some wonderful people at both campsites which made the boys happy and engaged. From what everyone told us, we really lucked out in terms of which part of the Oregon Coast we hit. Apparently, the Northern Coast is very touristy as this is where the folks from Portland tend to go. We spent three days at Carter Lake, just South of Florence and then four nights at Beachside which was two miles South of Waldport. We did take an excursion up the the Aquarium in Newport. We also stopped in the coastal town of Depoe on our way back to Idaho where we saw Harbor seals and whales. Talan hiked 3 miles to Heceta Head lighthouse. This was a major milestone for Talan as he likes to be carried everywhere rather than walk! Mason loved all the tide pools we explored and so did I. The hiking, beaches, sand dunes and tide pools were heavenly. It truly was spectacular. I have never seen so many dead jellyfish in my life and Mason and Talan were mesmerized by them for the better part of our first day.

We have been home now less than a week and finally back into our routine. Joe left Tuesday for work. I have less than two weeks before school starts. Mason's school starts two weeks after mine so I am going to have to make some crazy arrangements for him. Talan's teachers are coming over today for a home visit. We are excited to meet them. Talan is very proud that he is going to school at Momma's college, which he calls "KeKe's school" as my dear neighbor Keira works there and Talan just adores her. They may be carpooling! I am going to need all the help I can get these next 22 months!

I am sure I have left out tons of details but I figured I should write what comes to mind rather than procrastinate to avoid being precise or thorough. I have far too many photographs from the trip. I have attached just a few.