Friday Dreaming of the Coast

My friend from next door just came over to tell me that her husband has accepted an offer for a job in Vancouver, Washington. I am very happy for them, but also kind of sad. We've lived next door to them for 4.5 years now and I really like the whole family. I really had to work to make friends with the son. He's a very smart kid, but I think he has a hard time talking to people. I had to win his respect and I did it with a game of Battleship - one of the only games that I excell at. The others - Chinese Checkers and no one can beat me at Twister. I'm freakishly bendy.

This Summer so many people moved away - some only across the street, but others I never see anymore. Sarah is not going to have anyone to hang out with close by. I hope that some new kids move in soon. Karlee, she is the one who moved across the street. Sarah loves to go by her house. They have a trampoline and she comes home with pink cheeks and damp hair. That's Karlee's fingers holding the leaf below. Sometimes she helps me with photos - holds flowers or a strawberry. She's a very good helper.

Sometimes Sarah comes home mad, because Karlee has chosen to play on the computer or a video game and not with her. The kids, they grow apart some as they get older. Growning up is a risky thing, lots of little and big hurts involved. I try to bandage what I can, cushion when possible, but very little of it has been easy for any of my kids. I respect their strength, the way they remain open, the way they aren't afraid to love even when hurt by people like their idiot father. This weekend, I plan to clean my place. I have had this plan to go through stuff, clear things out, for some time. I want it to look and feel soothing inside, wherever my eyes land. Some spots are nice. I like how clean this little table looks - I was messing around with my camera and light here.
This pink African Violet is usually next to the purple one. I've had it for about 12-13 years. It used to be in a bigger pot, but I knocked into it with my shoulder once, as I carried Max out to the living room. Ouch. The purple one, it's in a pot that I got when one of the kids was born. I think it was Sarah - has a little hummingbird on it.
Bay just called me from the beach. She rode down to Pismo with my mom, to meet and camp with my sister Robin's family. I could hear the waves and my niece, Trinity. I am wishing that I had gone. I love the beach and being with my family. Bay took this photo of Trin and I last Spring, just before Easter. That water was cold. This is the same swimsuit that I have probably a hundred photos of Trinity in. She's grown a lot since the Spring - it was so long and baggy back then.
Here she is waiting to jump over a wave. Jump! and then she laughs. That's what I could hear over Bay's phone. I wish I was there. I decided not to go because Sarah has a hard time with Robin's friend's kids and she ends up spending her time sitting with the friend's dogs. She asked me please, lets not do this again, so we aren't. If they go on their own sometime, we will go, but I'm not going to tell Robin who to spend her time with - they should camp the way they want to camp.
I wish I could pack Max and Sarah in the car and head to the coast here. It's only 3.5 hours over to Fort Bragg. Have you ever seen the Mendocino coast? It's jaw-droppingly beautiful in every direction. I love it there. Very dramatic with cliffs and big waves. The mist feels so good on your face and I love the way it smells.

Hey, If you are single, did you know that it's a free communication weekend over at eHarmony? Well, it is. I wrote about it www.datingdames.com, also wrote about help for bad kissers. Pretty unfortunate, that is. Luckily, my guy is a very good kisser. And I get to kiss him in just a few days. Looking forward to that.

Time to see to Max. Good evening/day to you.

I Want To Be Like Trinity When I Grow Up

Trinity is the star of my blog today. She is a bold, charismatic, confident, talented, beautiful, young lady, and I miss her.

I'm not sure if I've shared these photos of her before. Here's something funny, when my friend, Leah, arrived to take me out to dinner last Saturday, she said, "Hi Trinity!" and Trin was so shocked. How did this new lady know her name?? Well, Leah has been patient enough to view many (many!!) of my family photos, so Trin was very familiar to her. We spent a lot of time swimming or getting wet in the sprinkler this Summer, so when I think of her, it's in this little swimsuit. It was so big on her back at Easter time, but she's grown a lot since that time.
This face - it cracks me up. She's got such a strong posture here, sitting in the little purple chair, hands gripping the arms, and then she's got the something-stinks! look on her face. She laughed immediately following this. She seems so self-aware when I have the camera pointed at her. She "models," changing poses and making faces. It's so much fun. She moves quicker than me and many don't turn out, but every "session" is a blast.
Here's an example. Rob, my sister, took this of Trin with her phone. I wrote back saying, "this is a girl who knows her own power."

I think that we all start out that way, but somewhere along the way, many of us lose that sense of power. I know that every once in awhile I glimpse it in myself, but then I make the mistake of listening to that nagging voice of doubt in my head. That voice that tells me that I'm not enough - not smart enough, pretty enough, strong enough, or lovable enough. I need to shut that bitch up.

At work today, I was outside with the kids and I had my little mister going and the kids were telling me stories and I feel like I was exactly where I belonged. I was giving these kids some attention, cooling them off, making sure that they were safe as they played tetherball or chased each other around the playground. It was a good feeling and a great day at work and I was grateful to feel that way.

Friday at the Fountain

This evening, Mom and I took the kids - Sarah, Trinity, Chance, and Casey - down to the concert in the park. A country band was playing and I thought that there were very good, but for some reason, the kids didn't really get into it. I kept trying to get them to go into the fountain. Finally, the girls and Case tried it. Trin had the funniest look on her face, I kept trying to catch it, but she was tricky. Her dimples, always her dimples show. So sweet.
The City Plaza used to look very different. It had tall trees and a diamond-pattern walkway. It would be packed for the friday concerts. This time, the park was not even a quarter full. You can see a bit of what the park used to look like here http://www.homeschico.com/Chico/park%20downtown%202.jpg
This little guy looks like he's boxing the water.
Sarah looks so funny here - very Sarah-like expression here. :D Casey looks like he's freezing.

I took some photos of the Chico State Campus, too, but I'll post them another time.

100th Post :D

I spent Friday and Saturday with my sister and her family. Here's Mom with my niece, Trinity. I took a lot of photos of Trinity. She likes to "model," but she's quick, changing from pose to pose - all of her own idea - and sometimes her face is a blur or it looks as if she has three eyes.
Sunday my brother's family came over in the evening and we sat outside and enjoyed the rest of the day. The weather has been wonderful this past week - only in the 90s.
S and his son, Owen arrived this morning, but they have to leave tomorrow afternoon. Here's a message from Owen. vvx lhmyc`gy7bcx As he typed that, he whispered, "Dada dada......" His dad is running an errand. Well, that's about it for now. This is my 100th post, but I'm exhausted from my weekend of fun. And I'm wrestling Owen for control of the keyboard. He's so darn cute.

This Post Brought To You By Trinity

My sister's family arrived yesterday. I took some quick photos of my niece, Trinity this morning. She went from one pose to the next, like a pro. This one is my favorite.
This one is Robin's favorite. She asked me to do some black and white of each of them. I took a bunch of her in the yard, because she was dressed up for her romantic get-a-way and she looked so pretty. Also got some of Matt, Casey, and Chance. I'm going to end up with a lot. Pretty exciting.
Trin showing her teeth.
Here she is tapping her chin. She did this for awhile.
Time to take the kids to the pool.