Home at Last!

This weekend was a lot of fun. I am so glad to see those of you that were able to make it, it was great to see these cute kids in person and catch up with every one face to face. It was so nice that I already knew what your little ones looked like, knew somewhat of their little personalities, knew a little of what was going on in your lives. We didn't have to spend the entire weekend catching up on years of stuff, instead we got to enjoy each other's company!

After heading out Sunday morning, we stopped at Mark's folks for the afternoon. The kids and Daddy disappeared downstairs to play video games. Daddy came up once and sat down for a bit. After chatting with his sister for a minute, he turned to me and said "I hope Oren won't grow up to be a sissy... He's downstairs playing dress up with a bunch of Barbie Dolls!" Cracked me up. I told him I already knew, he had come up to show me that he made them "princesses" and that he was enjoying himself. I mentioned that it was a good thing, he will understand girls much better and will be quite the ladies man, since he was also concerned that all Oren's friends are girls. There aren't any boys on the street, and the one boy in his church class is more hyper than Oren and really shows grown-ups no respect, his parents let him do whatever and wonder why they can't control him. Not the best playmate for a boy that already has some issues! I just found it funny, he is definitely all boy!

We wanted to get going a little later in the evening, about 6 ish, but it took a long time to get every one out the door. Like, 7:45. Then there was 10 minutes of good bye at the car! I love them, but they really prolong fairwells. We got almost to the freeway, when I mentioned that we would have to feed the boys at some point on the trip, our sandwiches already being gone, and he decided to go back and feed the boys there! After it took so long to get going in the first place! So we popped back in the door, his sister whipped up some Mac and Cheese, and an hour or so later we were back in the car with the whole good bye thing and finally made it back on the road.

We usually stop at Fort Hall to gas up, it's generally the cheapest place on the freeway. And I don't like to push it past a 1/4 tank, it makes me nervous. (Blame my mother, Mark!) I took a little nap (45 minutes), and he passed Fort Hall before I woke up. Didn't stop. I woke up and saw the gauge a little before we passed through Pocatello and asked him to stop so we could gas up before it got even more expensive. $4.13 was high enough! "No, we're fine, I'm not stopping." We were a little less than 10 minutes (not 10 miles, 10 minutes) from Rupert when the line dropped low enough to get me really worried, and a minute or so later the light came on! I have never pushed it far enough to know how much longer we have before totally running out, so I was trying hard not to freak out. We said a quick prayer, Oren and Daddy and me, to get to the closest gas station, so we would be safe. It was 10:30 and I would prefer not to be stuck on the side of the road. It was a close call, but we spotted a gas station several miles up the road right off the freeway and pulled in. $4.27! We had no choice but to fill up... Ouch! I told him I would refrain from saying "I told you so" and rubbing it in that he should have listened, but he told me to go ahead. What a sweetie.

Around 11:30 he started to nod off so we switched. Then, his legs were so long that they were getting cramped and were bugging him, so he whined about that before I pulled over to let him walk around and stretch. By 12:45 I was having a hard time focusing on the road, I couldn't concentrate very well. We made it home around 1:15. Safely, thank goodness. Unloaded kids and contacts case, looked for the cat who should have greeted us but didn't, and went to bed.

Jade is the type of cat who, if I am gone for 10 minutes, meets me at the door running and purring, so happy to see us. So after a couple days, you'd think she would be there! But she wasn't. She wasn't in any of her usual spots, not stuck behind a door anywhere. But I was too tired, and figured that if she had gotten out she was long gone already, and if she hadn't she was probably at Amanda's house playing with their cat, who is Jade's sister.

Sure enough, the next morning she called to let me know she had my cat and not to worry, her daughter brought Jade to their house so she wouldn't get bored. A bit of a relief, since I am just a little attached to her, and would prefer to not lose her...

It was so nice to sleep in my own bed, with the A/C going, my children tucked in nicely in their beds, not crying. Poor Mark had to get up at 6:00 am (which is why I wanted to eat on the road....!) so he'll be falling over when he gets home and I will send him to bed early tonight. I slept until 9:30 when Nathan woke up and was hungry, which felt soooo good! (Sorry Steph, who wasn't feeling good, I don't mean to gloat) After last week, I really needed it.

I have been relaxing today, headed to the BX to check out the clearance racks and look for school jeans. My boys have 2 pairs each left, without holes in them, so buying more is a must. They have to be good quality or they tear sooner. And Nathan is getting to big for the size 4's, they are getting a bit short and a little harder to snap, so he is moving up to 5's, which Oren still wears some of. Which means double the pants. They share some, but there aren't enough to go around.

A nice, quiet day....