End of summer ramblings...

With summer coming to a close, I decided I ought to post pictures of our last trip to the Washougal River.  I've been going there my whole life.

Every summer we'd pick the hottest days to spend along the bank of this freezing cold -straight from the mountain- river & make some awesome memories.

This is the first summer I ever brought my boys here.  When they were younger the current plus the cold water made me nervous.  Plus the fact that there are two of them.

Bringing them this year was perfection... except that Josh was gone.

The boys are old enough to be steady on their feet (not easy on all those rocks) and well behaved enough to listen.  They stayed close to adults, wore their life jackets when necessary and had a blast.

I really can't believe summer is over.  We finished up our big garage sale today. I made pretty good money considering it poured down rain the entire weekend.  Everywhere I turned people were there supporting me. Josh's sister Julie took the boys Saturday; My parents hosted the garage sale & also helped with the boys; Josh's friend Thom came by Thursday, Saturday & Sunday to be the muscle; and so many other friends & family members came to the sale to support us. Thank you Katie, Roxanne, Brittany, Samuel, Eileen, Sarah, Tom, Margaret, Jennifer, Erica, Savanna, Linda, Debbie, Jeni, Jolene, Rachel, Lenny, John, Peggy, Carol, Carl
-I am so blessed to be loved by all of you.

Today was not only the end of the garage sale (hooray!) but also marked six weeks since Josh left. I have heard it said before that it can take six weeks to develop a new habit.  And at six weeks post departure it feels normal to be without Josh.  I have this whole "doing it alone" thing under control.  The dishes & laundry are getting done, the boys are getting fed & we are all relatively happy.  I feel proud of myself that I am doing it. I feel proud that I am this strong.

Preschool is going well except for one small hiccup.  The boys love it. They haven't shed a single tear. They just hug me good-bye when I go and tackle me with smiles, hugs & stories when I arrive to pick them up. That is awesome! The only thing we're working on is their teachers telling them apart. It's hard since they aren't there everyday for their teachers to get to know them, and last week they got them mixed up when Logan got bit, but Jack's name was written on the incident report form. It's super important to me that they be told apart, so we decided for the time being that we will be using name tags.  I hope this rectifies the situation until they can be easier told apart by the staff.

I am enjoying the break that preschool provides. I am able to run errands so quickly with just Wyatt and last week was able to prepare for the garage sale while they were in school.  I also like preschool because of all the other mom's I see there.  It's not abnormal to see another mom with two or three kids age 3 & under.  It's not abnormal to see another mom with a baby strapped in an Ergo or Baby Bjorn. It's not abnormal to see a tantrum or hear squealing toddlers coming down the stairs. I fit in there.

I recently finished watching The Secret Life of the American Teenager on Netflix.  It was my guilty pleasure once Josh left, to watch it during naptime.  It has Molly Ringwald in it and I love her!

I've also been reading magazines a lot (mostly at 2am when Wyatt wakes up to eat) and I keep hitting articles about anti-aging, which aren't exactly relevant to me just yet, but I keep hearing these three things: Eat full fat dairy products, take a vitamin D supplement and eat fiber everyday.

The vitamin D information was fascinating.  It helps you absorb calcium, and reduces depression & anxiety.  Needless to say, I am starting a vitamin D supplement before I go North!

This little one is getting bigger everyday.  He holds his head up like such a big boy, and when you put him on his piggies, he pushes his legs straight to stand up.

He's getting closer and closer to giggling, and I can't wait till he just busts out laughing!

He's still in that newborn phase, though, where they can fall asleep & stay asleep anywhere.  After this big garage sale & all the bustling about the last week, I plan on spending my morning tomorrow (while the boys are in school) sitting on the couch, holding Wyatt as he sleeps.  I can't wait!

We are also, as of late, on pins & needles waiting for this little one to make its arrival.  He/she is due to arrive September 30th (less than two weeks!) and we are all dying to find out what it is!

His/her arrival will make this little guy a big brother.  And he's going to do great. He adores Wyatt, and I just know he's going to love his little sibling even more!

(I had to include this picture of Blake- freezing cold, fresh out of the water- sneaking up behind me to give me a shockingly cold hug! Roxanne saw it coming and snapped a picture, instead of warning me... Thanks a lot! ;)

Logan

King of the Mountain

I've been thinking a lot lately about legacies.  Some of my older extended relatives have started having dementia and seeing their age & state, I can't help but think about the end of ones life.  In thinking about life ending, I got to thinking about what really matters in life, and the legacy that you leave behind. I think your legacy is quite simple. A legacy is how you lived.  Were you funny? Did you volunteer? Were you forgiving? Did you listen? 

When I think of an amazing legacy, I think of my mom.  She lives her life with her priorities perfectly aligned.  She knows what's important and what's not.  She loves her family: her children, grandchildren &  husband. She loves her dogs, and all animals. She loves people: her sisters, nieces, nephews & strangers. She is fascinated by humanity, human development and all the quirks people have.  She is a listener, by nature, and people are drawn to her.  She's like Barbara Walters at WinCo.  People meet her picking out soda near the fresh bagels and pretty soon they're telling her about how they were raised with Australian Shepherds & lost infant twins a few years back.  She has a way of asking questions that gets answers.  And more than that, people find they want to share their answers with her.  She's Oprah without the mansion, Rosie without the "cutie-patootie", Dr. Phil without the "How's that working for you?"

My parents willingly gave up a significant pay raise and a beautiful house in South Carolina so they could remain in Washington to be near all of us.  They sacrificed a lot of things while we were growing up so that my mom could stay home with us.  Without Disney trips or fancy getaways, we had memorable family vacations every summer that we'll treasure for a lifetime.  

Because she is my mom, I find myself meeting people at WinCo and getting them to share with me their lives, their experiences.  I think my need to blog, to share my life with the world at large, comes from her need to know.  So if you love my blog, the honesty, the incredible detail I give, you can thank my mom.  I'm her living legacy.