Sunshine, S'mores and Slip-n-Slide!

Summer started... mostly.  Ronin's last day of school is next Wednesday!  He'll be a 2nd grader!

A few weeks ago Ronin asked me what dreams are made of.  I didn't have a clever answer ready to give him, but later we decided to make dream catchers to catch the bad dreams and let the good dreams slide down the dangley parts.

Quinn and Ronin with their dream catchers :)

Digging through the attic to get a few things out I found my old Austin Powers cardboard stand up!  I thought I lost him!  I was so happy to see him :)  The kids are slightly freaked out, but also think it's pretty funny :)

My long lost friend returned to me!

A few weekends ago we went for another bike ride.  This time at WSU-Vancouver.  I knew there were trails, but I'd never been on them before.  I didn't know they all went downhill... which meant all uphill on the way back.  We made it, but that was a lot of work.  At one point Quinn wanted to ride his own bike but he lost control going down the hill and crashed.  So I had to put his bike on the front of my bike, in a basket, and him in the seat behind me so I could return his bike to the car.  I'm sure I was quite a site, it was a balancing act and I kept thinking I was going to crash and who's going to carry me back to the car??  haha

WSU had a courtyard with water fountains :)

Some ugly art thing on one of the trails.

More art

Ronin's done with his flag football.  He brought home a sports card and photo from the team.

About a week or so ago Ronin had a fever for a few days and his cough wouldn't go away so I took him to the doctor and they checked him for pnemonia.  He didn't have it but they weren't sure at first.  It seems to be going away slowly.  

Ronin wanted to take a picture of his xray

We went and got an old-school slip-n-slide on one of the 90 degree days.  Best invention ever for summer!   I am sure my water bill is going to be ridiculous though.  All the neighbor kids were over playing too.  In fact, we've somehow gained more neighbor kids from 5th street... I haven't seen them for a couple of days when I told them I was tired and didn't want kids over... but before that they were over almost every day... making that 10 kids in my yard!   I just can't do that.  Maybe 1-2 hours at a time.  I told Ronin I don't like children.  He laughed.  I did make the exception that I like him and Quinn.  haha

Slip N Slide action!

And we made S'mores in the backyard :)

S'mores

Quinn and Avayah are attached at the hip and he insists on walking her home at the end of the day.

The weekend before last I had so much fun hanging out with my friends.  I think it's going to be a great summer.  :)  Julie took me to dinner at Beaches one night, and we got to watch the sail boats go by.

Jeremy and I went to Bodega for happy hour and food on a stick.  I told him you can't go wrong with food on a stick!  I also ate a baby octopus.

I brought my unicorn mask- Jeremy forgot his raven mask. :(

That Saturday Byrekka and I had lunch and went to McMinnamin's Edgefield to walk around and have some drinks.  I brought my unicorn mask, kept it in my purse, and as we were walking I saw a woman holding another unicorn mask!  I got all excited and ran up to her and asked her to put it on, she said "Oh God No, this isn't mine!  it's that guys!" and she pointed to a guy on the golf course.  We were so excited to get our picture together!  It was the best thing ever!

Best picture ever!

Edgefield gardens

Julie, Brandee, Tracy and I recently made plans to go to Ireland next June!  I got a book.

I've gotten to know my neighbors so much lately.  I love them!  I'm so lucky to have a few single women that like to sit, chat and eat with me.  We joke that we are food motivated.  They think that I cook "fancy" meals. lol  AND they love my baking - which is great since I love to bake but don't really need or want to baked goods hanging around.  So we've been barbecuing about twice a week and hanging out.  

Katie, Gigi and Me :)

Ronin's school had an end of the school party at school on Friday.  There was food and a DJ with dance music.  It was pretty fun. His friend Jacob was there and Jacob's step-dad even bought Ronin a year book!

Ronin, his yearbook, and Jacob 

Gigi took this of me and Quinn spinning and dancing :)

On Sunday I made Tiramisu for us and all the neighbors.   Quinn and Avayah here eating their dessert.

The spacing on this blog is all weird... Doing this from my phone is harder to do! So for now- that's all she wrote 😉

Lots of love,

C

Creepy Woody, Bike Ride and a Movie

Last week I got the boys little surprises, Ronin a used/old iPod for his music and to be able to text me and his dad when he's got wifi.  He thought it was the coolest thing!  He can even get phone calls on his texting app, but we haven't tried it out yet.  Quinn got a Woody doll with a pull string.  He was carrying it everywhere when he first got it, but then leaving it in weird places for me to find later...  it's kind of creepy actually.  I'll be washing dishes and then turn around to see Woody sitting on a chair behind me- watching me...  or when I was in the backyard fixing something and I turned around and Woody was sprawled on the grass behind me, even though I never heard Quinn go back there.  Creepy.  And you don't even have to pull his string for him to talk!

Quinn and Woody

Avayah and Quinn watching movies

Ronin and I have been learning how to draw animals using little "how-to's" we find on the internet.  He's quite good!  I'm impressed and I hope it builds his self confidence because I think he's going to be a great artist :)

Drawing a horse

Drawing a Minion

Saturday we were going to go for a bike ride, but the weather didn't look dry enough, so I took the boys and Bella to see "Home".  It was a pretty cute cartoon and Quinn made it all the way through even though he was tired and ready for nap.  Afterwards we got slushies from Sonic because the car in the movie was powered by slushies and made us want some...

Ronin wanted to bring the unicorn mask!  I'm so proud!

The next movie we'll have to go see!

On Sunday we put our new bike carrier on the car, loaded our bikes and drove to Salmon Creek/Kline Line to go for a bike ride!  It was the perfect day for it and the boys told me how much they loved being out there :)  That made me so happy!  I told them it smelled like my childhood out there. haha  It smelled like sweet flowers and tall trees - it was the best smell in the world.  There were mile markers on the paved trail so Ronin and I kept yelling out how far we'd gone.  Finally around the 2 1/4 mark Ronin was getting tired of pedaling so we headed back for a total of 4 1/2 miles!  I was very proud of him.  :)   Quinn said he was really tired too- and we laughed because all he did was sit on the back of my bike!  Along the way we were stopping to collect flowers to press and put in our new journal.  There were so many wild roses- I think they may be my favorite wild flower.  The boys were impressed with the buttercups and said they felt like butter. haha  In one of the creeks there were a TON of turtles!  They reminded me of the Dr. Suess story "Yurtle the Turtle" because they really were all stacked up.  Not tall, but just against each other.  

He's pretty proud of himself too :)

Quinny doing all the hard work... haha

Ronin gave me a rose to sniff and put in my hair :)

Do you see the turtles?  There's also some ducks on the log behind them.

Turtle family!

Ronin was giving Quinn some flowers to hold too.

We had a great weekend and I can't wait to go bike riding with them again!  I like Salmon Creek because some of it is in the woods, but we might have to try the trail out by the river soon too.  I just have to know Ronin isn't going to mow over people and dogs on the sidewalk... haha

Arbitration is finally done.  I'm exhausted.  I should feel at peace because there's nothing more to do besides sign the papers.  I'm sure that feeling will come soon.  I get my boys two weekends a month, which is huge!  I'm sad that the summer schedule will start two weeks early now though.  But getting my weekends with the boys is worth it.  And now I can clean out the garage!  and plan vacations!  Pay off bills!!   I really want a new car - so maybe once I get my bills taken care of I can start car shopping!!  I can finally breathe.   I hate to say it but this process has made me believe that nobody really cares - the lawyers, the judges, even people around me.  No matter what I said, who I said it to, it didn't make a difference.  People telling me to "fight harder" - didn't understand that it's not a boxing match- I never got my time in the ring where I could put on the gloves and go at it-- everything was calculated and in the end the Judge only wanted to follow the law and what the law saw as "fair".  How was I supposed to fight harder?  By getting mad?  I did plenty of that.  By bringing things up?  I did that too- but nobody cared.  It didn't matter that wrongs had been made.  The Judge told me "No good deed goes unpunished".  I see that now.  This has also made me not trust people.  People will twist information to their own greedy benefit.  I'm afraid this has changed me.  Maybe for the better, maybe for the worse.  Time will tell...   But for now it's over and I get to go on long bike rides with the boys :)

Lots of love,
C

Pre-School and Mothers Day

Not much going on...  Quinn likes his pre-school, although by the end of the week he wanted me to stay with him longer and longer each morning.  Friday Ronin wasn't feeling well so I went in to work late to make sure he was okay to go to school.  I got to send him off to school and stay with Quinn at his preschool before I went to work.  Quinn was happy to show me everything in his classroom and some of his friends.  The teacher said his favorite toy is the Buzz Lightyear doll. haha  Of course it is!

Quinn's first day of pre-school

Avayah and Bella hanging out watching TV with the boys

Quinn snuggling with Avayah

Pinterest is the devil - mostly... but this last "project" actually turned out the way it was supposed to!  Turning a tee-shirt into a tank top.  SUPER easy, even a cave-woman can do it.  So I did.  This might have been the first Pinterest project I didn't completely fail at.

Pinterest tank top!  This is my tie-dye shirt we made a while ago.

Quinny at Preschool :)

Little ham

Friday I got off a little early to pick up the boys before they had to go to their dads house.  Ronin gave me a "Top 10 Reasons I Love My Mom" assignment.  It's funny!  I am so glad I taught him how to use (yous) the TV. haha

Quinny made a Mothers Day picture for me at pre-school too :)

Cute!

On Sunday I picked the boys up and we got some snacks to pack in our backpacks for a hike.  Although Lewisville Park isn't really a huge "hike" - they were impressed with the flowers and trees and the length of the walk we took though it all.  We picked some flowers so we could press them and add them to a journal we are starting. We went home for naps since mommy wasn't feeling well and watched Toy Story 3 (again!).  We discussed, at length, our need for new markers - so we made a trip to the craft store and everyone got their own set of markers and a marker-box to keep them in.  We drew  and colored pictures until it was time to go.  Ronin said I'm good at making robots and owls, but not very good at drawing baby Groot.  haha

Lewisville Park :)  My favorite place!

That's about it...  My sinus's are killing me and I lost most of my voice already this week.  I hate being sick!  But at least the boys seem to be getting better from their colds.  And I have them this weekend :)   Yay!

Quinn keeps asking me "when til Kiera dies and we get a bulldog?"  haha  I told him she doesn't have to be dead for us to get a bulldog so we'll probably get one next year.  I suppose he remembers me saying we couldn't get another dog until she passes away.  I don't want him trying to poison her or something just so we can get a new dog!   She's feeling SO much better on her arthritis medicine, she's getting perky again.  She was exhausted from our little hike at Lewisville.  poor girl.

Not much else going on with the boys...  Ronin is a smart boy and I encourage him to question things people say and do -- but that seems to backfire on me when I tell him something and he questions me. haha  Guess it's a double edged sword.   Quinn is still asking me a million questions about the battery in my car, and wants to know why I don't own a wave runner.  I told him I don't really like the water and would rather be in the forest.  He told me I should get a wave runner anyway. haha

Lots of love,

C

A Taste of Pre-School, New Ink, and Hiking!

I didn't have the boys this weekend... but we tried to have lots of fun during the week!  Nana even came up for a few days to watch Quinn while I was at work.  Apparently Quinn talked her ear off.  It was pretty cute watching him sit on her and jabber away.  hehe 

Poor Cheyla is still not able to babysit since she's got so many surgeries scheduled to repair her arm after the car accident.  I'm sure when she's able to come back the boys will appreciate having her there!  I know I will!  Ronin will get to see Bella in the mornings now, so that should be something fun for him.  Quinn started pre-school today!  I took him on Friday to see the classroom and meet the teachers so it wouldn't be such a shock.  I think he'll really enjoy it!

A couple weeks ago Quinn had his first dentist appointment.  I forgot to post about it!  He watched Ronin get his teeth cleaned and when it was his turn he decided to throw himself on the floor instead.  Eventually I convinced him to lay on top of me to get his teeth checked.  No cavities for either boy, but Ronin has a chipped tooth - not sure when that happened!  So we have to go in in another couple of weeks to repair that.

 

After his cleaning

Ronin and Bella made more Perler bead creations -- Groot is Ronin's, the unicorn is mine.

Being goofy :)

Thursday while Ronin was playing at Bella's, Quinn and I went for a ride

I finally washed my car- Quinn soaked me with the hose!  ha ha!

I took Friday off to hang out with Quinn and get some house-stuff done.  We started our day at the coffee house because he wanted his very own coffee (hot chocolate).  We visited Cheyla in the hospital, and then went to Lowes to get stuff for the yard.  When we got back Quinn wanted to go for another bike ride before lunch and nap, so we rode to a park under some trees.  :) Quinn didn't wake from his nap before Ronin's school was over so I couldn't pick him up from school.  Which made Ronin really sad.  I felt so bad!  I promised him I'd get off early one day to pick him up soon.  And then he told me he wanted to stay at home with me this last weekend because he just had daddy the weekend before.  Poor guy.  That broke my heart because there's nothing I can do about it. :(   When Rory asked Ronin what he was upset about, he told him it was because I didn't pick him up from school, instead of that he wanted to stay home with me.  :(  And now they have a THIRD weekend in a row without me.  At least I get Mother's day on Sunday...    

Quinn's "coffee"

At the treed park

Swinging

On Saturday I had an appointment to get a new tattoo :)  I was super excited because I had the tattoo artist draw it up and I got to see his idea on Tuesday.  I wanted something with the boy's names in it.  And something that people can actually see this time.  I decided to do it because I'm not getting any younger, I don't really need to save my skin for bridesmaids dresses, classy cocktail events, or beauty pageants.  And I'm kind of tired of avoiding things that other people don't approve of or trying to be prim and proper when I'm not.  But at least I can cover it up and it's not crawling up my neck! 

 

Shawn doing my tattoo

The finished product.  I love, love, love it :)

 
My friends Brandee and Julie took me hiking on Sunday.  It was such a perfect day for it.  We were freezing at first though.  And I hate going uphill!  But we made it through PonyTail Trail and to the Triple Falls.  Very pretty!

Brandee, me and Julie stopping at Multnomah Falls

Cool view

Cool waterfall

More waterfalls

Us being cheesy

The sign said "ONE PERSON AT A TIME!" such rule breakers...  haha

And we found an elusive unicorn!

When I put the unicorn mask on a guy from across the water asked me to leave it on so he could get a picture.  It's a very social piece :)  I hope to take the boys hiking a lot this summer.  Maybe some easier trails though... I don't want to carry anybody...  ;)

I can't wait to pick Quinn up and ask how his first day of pre-school went today!  I miss them both so much!  It's tough trying to get my time in with them on the weeknights after work, we are very limited.  :(

15 more days...

Lots of love,

C