We're moved in!

Not all unpacked, just moved in.

Which brings up the question: Why is it that I can't think of where I want to hang things until I am in bed at 11pm?  That is NOT the time to start pounding nails into the walls and yet... that is when I get the great ideas.

Sigh.  :->

Whew!

We sign the closing documents on Monday!  Praise the Lord, and pass me my own bed with the flannel sheets!
Ok, ok, it hasn't been terrible living with the parental units.  We are warm, dry, fed, etc.  It's just that I can only focus on one thing at a time and during the school year I feel guilty if I focus on something other than kiddo and work.
I'll post some before/after pics soon, but for now it's all about the MOVE!

Pumpkin Patch

I don't remember going to a pumpkin patch as a kid.  Maybe there were none in the various places we lived.  Where we are now there are quite a few.  The entertainment goes beyond pumpkins- there are hay rides, petting zoos, corn mazes, cider pressing, and scarecrows, just to name a few.

I have a friend who has also adopted a daughter, and for years we took our kiddos together to the farms around here to walk around in the wet fields in the rain and pick a pumpkin and drink hot chocolate, and generally get immersed in autumn.

We haven't gone to a pumpkin patch in a few years, but yesterday, we tried a place that was new to us.  It was a bit of a drive, but the sun was out and the temps were in the 70s.  Not your usual fall weather here in the PNW!

We went to Roloff Farms.  Yup- THOSE Roloffs of Little People, Big World on The Learning Channel.  We were hoping it wouldn't be crowded, and it wasn't too bad.  We started off with a tractor tour of the grounds, which was fascinating.  Matt Roloff, the dad, is a dreamer.  He has these plans and schemes and sometimes they work out and sometimes they don't, but he is always in motion trying to do something for his kids, or farm, or whatever. We saw the paintball arena, the soccer field, the basketball court, the sand volleyball court, Noah's ark, the wedding chapel, the pirate ship, the tree house, the castle he built for his daughter, and the whole western style village he created so his kids would have a place to play with their friends.  It reminded me a bit of Thunder Mountain at Disneyland.

Then went to the main area of the farm that had the attractions- tricycle racetrack, petting zoo, slides, hay pyramid, exotic animal exhibit, obstacle course, teepees, corn maze, and of course, the pumpkins.  We also had lunch there and bought some amazing kettle corn.

Matt Roloff.  He saw me taking pics with my zoom and he waved.
I didn't know he had seen me until I got home and looked at my pictures more closely!

Someone else built this and when they were done with it had no place to put it.
Matt volunteered his place.  This is in the goat meadow.

Wedding chapel.  The bride and groom sign their wedding documents in here.
There's really no room for a ceremony as it is about 10' x 12'.

Western town

No town is complete without a schoolhouse and school bell.

Tree house and pirate ship on the pond.

Winner of the tricycle race!

Young tiger taking a nap.  Her name is Suri.

Another exotic cat.

Start of the pony race.

It looked like the blue shirt might win.

But then pink shirt poured it on...

...and took the lead!

The mom, Amy Roloff.  We were in line and got to meet her and take photos.
My pic with her is in my friend's camera...

Zach Roloff.  He is one of the twins and the only Roloff  child with dwarfism.

Heading to the weigh station with our pumpkin choices.

We survived the September Seaside storm!

Just spent the weekend in Seaside with my daughter.  We were listening to and participating in the Passport to Purity CDs and projects.  It was a good time together and I would highly recommend the program to parents of preteens.

It was windy and rainy almost the whole time- much windier and rainier than I have ever seen.  In fact tonight they are supposed to get hurricane force winds!  Walking along the promenade made us wet and sandy, as the wind was driving the sand sideways at us.

 We also went to the aquarium and watched the seals perform for their dinner- what a funny bunch!

After dinner on Saturday night, the clouds parted and we got a rare glimpse of blue sky.  It was bluer in real life, my camera couldn't really capture it.

This morning, there was thunder and lightning and the beginnings of a whole new storm system.

We left there right after breakfast so we wouldn't have to deal with all the predicted rainfall on the coast range and the traffic problems that usually occur with big rains.

It's unusual to have such storms in September, but it sure was fun to be there for part of it!

Consider me lifted!

I just saw this video for the first time this week.  (I wasn't near a TV during the Barcelona Olympics, I was involved in a short-term mission trip serving in Romanian orphanages.)  So it was unexpected and it made me all teary and it made me think of someone who comes alongside me and lifts me up.

I'm no Olympian, but the race I run can get crazy at times.  Buying this short-sale house has been frustrating to say the least, especially since my focus needs to be on my classroom at this time of year instead of dealing with all the pesky details of a new house.

Monday evening was the house inspection.  There were lots of people in the house- me, kiddo, mom, dad, my agent, and the inspector.  There was lots going on and many conversations and things that needed my attention.  Through the whole time, dad quietly moved about from room to room with a purpose. He had brought a bunch of 9-volt batteries along- enough to replace all the old ones in the smoke detectors in the house- even the one on the vaulted ceiling.  I would probably have lived there five days before I got to that task.

The detector chirping ceased and we all noticed.  The house is safer now.  My dad?  He lifts me up.

Sleeping with the windows open

I love sleeping with the windows open.  I suppose I got hooked on it after a couple of summers as a camp counselor at Camp Firwood in Bellingham.  Our cabins had windows, but no window panes.  There was nothing between us and the fresh air except a canvas cover that could be pulled snug against the cabin when it rained.  Even then, the night air crept in and I slept the best sleeps of my life.

In our old house, it was almost impossible to sleep with the windows open because of the noise.  We could hear the freeway, the neighbor's garage band, and the late-night comings and goings of the neighborhood teens and their rumbly trucks.  Not really like being at camp.  At mom and dad's however, when it gets dark, it gets quiet.  We hear no freeway, no people noise, not much of anything at all.  The greenbelt in the back has birds, frogs, and a coyote family that occasionally has a party, but for the most part we get fresh air with very little disturbance.

It's supposed to rain tonight.  Rain and wind continuing through the weekend.  What a great start to my favorite season.  To fall asleep to the rain dripping on the hydrangea bushes outside my window... I can hardly wait!

Sometimes I think I could go all winter with the window open at night, but then I remember how hard it is to get the place warm again quickly in the morning and I settle for regular air instead of fresh- usually some time in mid-October.

I have preliminary approval and actual paperwork on the short sale.  Just need to meet with the financial lady and sign things and then I think it will all be done.  Whew!

Happy rainy fall days!

From tweens to twos...

So I volunteered to help teach 2-year-old Sunday School...  It's a blast, really, because it is so different from my normal milieu of 6th graders.  6th graders can work with each other to solve problems or play games or whatever.  2-year-olds...?  Not so much.  At that age kids can play near each other, but they don't really even notice other kids or play cooperatively together until they are a bit older.  So we had a lot of stations where individual kids could play house or play with cars & trucks or color with crayons.

I did the music.  Almost every kid wanted to touch my guitar before we sang.  So we lined them up and they each got a chance to strum.  It was really cute.  We also gave them each a tambourine to use during singing- some of them took full advantage of the noise making ability, others just sat and examined the construction of the instrument while the music went on around them.  That's ok, everyone is in a different place in their learning.

One little girl in particular cracked me up.  Upon entering the room, she pointed at my feet and said, "Fa fa".  I interpreted this as "flip flops" because I was wearing flip flops and I asked her if she wanted to try them on.  Without hesitation she plopped herself on the floor and un-velcroed her little sandals.  I slip off my flips and pushed them toward her.  She got her little feet into them and went marching around the room- big smile on her face.  They looked like snowshoes on her.  Then I put my big toe into her sandals and showed her how I walked in her shoes.  Made her laugh.  Nothing cuter than a laughing 2-year-old!

As far as my day job goes, it was a great start to the school year.  I have some fantastic kids in my classes and I am looking forward to a really good year with them.  I don't think it will be as stressful as last year, and I am pretty sure the test scores won't slide like they did last year.

Now if only my kiddo and I could move into that short-sale house and quit living like we're in a dorm down in the folks' basement...