Ten on Tuesday

Ten of My Favorite Authors:

1. Stephen King
2. Janet Evanovich
3. James Patterson
4. Dean Koontz
5. Suzanne Brockmann
6. Jodi Piccoult
7. Paulo Coelho
8. Patricia Cornwell
9. J. K Rowling
10. Sue Grafton

Those are in no particular order. 

Honorable mention:  Barbara Delinsky, Elizabeth Berg, Joshilyn Jackson, Cody McFadyen, Lisa Scottoline and J.A. Konrath.

Monday Madness from Maryann

Maryann wants the readers of her blog to answer these questions.  I will, because I currently have NO LIFE, and now you can too!  Copy and paste these into your blog and answer them too.  Why?  I don't know, Maryann told me to so I'm doing it, and now I'm telling you.  That's how these things work.

1. What was your biggest challenge this past week?  The medical drama with Gracie

2. What was your biggest accomplishment this past week?  Successfully putting my kids on the school bus for the first time ever!

3. What was the most exciting thing that happened in your life this past week?  Getting checks in the mail every day for 3 days.  At least they paid for all the vet bills.

4. What one thing made you the happiest this past week?  Seeing my kids so happy after their first day of school in a new state.

5. Do you have children in school?  Clearly.

6. Did you (or your children) attend a public or private school? I always went to public school, my kids are in public school now, but previously they went to a charter school.

7. Where you live, what kind of weather (or weather-related tragedy) do you fear the most?  Dust storms. 

8. What kind of weather do you MOST enjoy?  A thunderstorm.

9. What kind of weather do you LEAST like to drive in?  Hail, snow, dust.  Oh, was I supposed to pick just one?  Not going to happen.  I prefer to only drive on nice sunny days.

10. What is the scariest weather-related experience you've had in your lifetime?  Ummm, I don't know.  Probably tornado warnings, but my Swiss cheese memory has wisely erased all these.

11. Share a "weather picture" with us!

There Maryann, I followed the directions.  Sometimes I do that!

Dirty Laundry

I'm spending this morning waiting for the dishwasher repair guy to come.  Between 8 AM and noon.  Really?  That's the best they can do?  Frustrating.  Our dishwasher was on a recall list for starting electrical fires.  I called the rental agency and they spent 2 weeks trying to figure it out, but the bottom line is that someone is coming today.  To do what, I don't know.  And it doesn't really matter.  I've still been using the dishwasher, because let's face it: it's going to take more than the risk of an electrical fire to make me hand-wash dishes again.  I just make sure I'm home and awake when I run it.  I was hoping for a replacement, because I don't like this dishwasher much - the silverware thing is in the door, which means you have to practically close it to put the silverware in - but I suspect that's not happening.  Oh well.

The kids left for school in 60 degrees temps and shortly after another hailstorm blew through.  I honestly have not seen as much hail in my entire life as I've seen in the last month here.  It's bizarre.

I bought the kids these laundry hampers at Target: (Mostly, I can't find it on the Target website so I stole this from Amazon.)

They came in a set of two: one this size and one smaller and more square.  They pop up when you take them out of the package and they're made of mesh.  I put a set in each kid's room and they put in the darks in the larger one and whites in the smaller.  Then when it's time to do laundry - which it seems to be all the time - I just go into their rooms, grab a bag by the handles and take it to the laundry room.  Easy peasy.

In Michigan, I had a HUGE closet in the main bathroom - big enough to fit two full size laundry baskets and the concept was the same - darks in one and whites in the other.  We don't even have a linen closet in this house and the bathrooms are too small for a hamper.  This was the easiest solution.  It's nice too that we have a main floor laundry in this house so carrying baskets - or bags - around isn't a big deal. 

Look at me, all Martha Stewarty.  Yikes.

Still no luck on the job front.  If this keeps up, I may have to reconsidered that funeral home in Salt Lake City.  And take my chances with my buddy from the consulting group.  Say a prayer that it doesn't come to that.

State of Emergency

The first day of school went fabulously.  Both kids had a good time, liked their teachers and thought the hot lunch was awesome.  I can't really ask for more. 

I had tasked them both with being able to come home and tell me the names of the kids they sit next to.  Sara sits on an aisle, but still managed to learn the girl who sits next to her (Madeline) and the girl across the aisle (Camry).  Jacob - well, I'm just happy he remembers his teacher's name.  But he did tell me that he played football at recess with Sam, Eli, and Isaac.  So that's something.

Today I told him his task was to look around, decide who the prettiest girl in the class was, learn her name and sit next to her at lunch.  I'm not holding my breath.  Especially since yesterday at lunch, Jacob apparently sat at the "nut-free" table in the lunchroom just because he felt like it.  I hope he knows he does not have a peanut allergy.

Here's some notes on the schools here:

- Elementary school goes til 6th grade, junior high (NOT middle school, thank you very much) is 7th, 8th and 9th, and high school is 10th-12th. 

- They have what they call a track system here for the elementary schools.  Track A students go from 8:00 to 2:15.  Track B students go from 9:15 to 3:30.  This allows the schools to put a certain percentage (can't remember the exact number) more kids than generally allowed in a class.  Parents choose which track they want for their kids and all your kids will be on the same track.

- There are 30 kids in Sara's 4th grade class and 31 in Jacob's 6th grade class.

- Every Monday is a Collaboration Day.  Which basically means the teachers meet, plan, and do all the stuff they would normally do during an in-service day.  On Mondays, the kids are released 50 minutes early.  So on Mondays, my kids get out of school at 2:40.  Kind of a pain, but as a result there are only 4 "minimal" days (half-days) a year.  On those days, my kids are released at 1:45.  Thank God they're taking a bus or I'd never know when to pick them up.

- The school they are in only opened last year.  It's brand spanking new and is really cool.

- The school no longer has a PE teacher.  Instead, the individual teachers do PE for their class.  The story I heard from Sara was that they got rid of the PE teacher so they could get a music teacher.  I'm okay with that.  No band though, which I wasn't particularly wild about.

Another interesting thing we saw on Open House night:  The PTA wants each child to have a Classroom Emergency Kit.  This kit, which you can build yourself or pay the PTA $8 to provide will include:

• A glow stick or small flashlight with batteries
• 2 granola bars
• fruit snacks
• hard tack candy
• a bottle of water
• a pack of gum
• 2 emergency space blankets
• 2 hand/foot warmers
• a knit hat and gloves

They also ask that you send a picture of your family - including Mom and Dad.  A note says "This is especially important for those that have children of different nationalities."

Now, the explanation at the table said "Because emergencies are becoming more common..." or some such thing.  I'm not exactly clear what emergency would occur that would prevent me from driving - or walking - the 2 miles to the school to fetch my children, but the principal did tell Mitch that last year there was a snowstorm and the kids ended up spend the night at school.  Again, a case where I would be sending Mitch and his truck to get my kids.

Anyway, I'm sending my $8 per child for an emergency kit.  Mostly because I have no idea where to get an emergency space blanket and because I'm not really sure what "hard tack candy" is.  I know the pioneers had hard tack, but I suspect it's not the same.  At least I hope not.

Cat Scratch Fever*

The kids went back to school today and since they aren't home yet, I don't have anything to report about THAT.  So for those who haven't been following my status updates on Facebook - um, and WHY aren't we Facebook friends yet? Greg, get a Facebook already! Yeesh! - I will explain the whole story about Gracie and her adventures for the last week.

So last Tuesday, I took her to the vet for her initial checkup.  She came out fine, just one shot and everything was great ($85).  An interesting note: the vet said they don't do flea/tick meds here, since they don't have that problem.  He said he only sees about 1 case of fleas a year, and it's always on a dog that's been out of state somewhere where they have them.  He told me that if we do plan a trip back to Michigan with Gracie to call them and they'll hook us up with the meds, but otherwise, not to worry about it.  I am definitely cool with that!

That evening, we took her for a walk, since Mitch and I walk every night and if you have a dog with you it looks like you're doing it for the dog's benefit instead of the actual reason of trying to get out of the house and away from the kids.  Sara came with us, so we let her walk Gracie.  As we were coming back past the neighbor's house, their giant black and white cat - named Oreo, but I'm going to call her Psycho Feline - came flying off her porch and went after Gracie.  Sara was ahead of us, holding the leash.  Mitch and I both thought Psycho Feline would just hiss and bat at Gracie and then run away.  Boy, were we wrong.  She kept going at Gracie and hissing and biting.  Meanwhile, Gracie is FLIPPING OUT, crying and trying to get away, wrapping herself and the leash around Sara's legs.  I took off running to them, grabbing up Gracie, kicking Psycho Feline away and unhooking the leash so Sara didn't end up with a cracked skull on the pavement.  Everyone was a little shaken up.  We got home, assessed Gracie's wounds - a couple of cat bites on her right hip - and declared everyone OK.

Or so we thought.

Gracie slept all of Wednesday, which given that incident and the vet visit, didn't seem unusual.  On Thursday, we noticed there was a little swollen spot on her belly.  Friday morning it was gone, so I decided not to call the vet. Meanwhile, she's still sleeping a lot, but we chalk it up to puppy growing.

Saturday afternoon, I pick her up - a bad habit we've all gotten into instead of making this dog walk - and feel a hard lump on her right hip.  I show it to Mitch who says he noticed it earlier.  I don't either one of us connected it to the attack by Psycho Feline.  We did wonder if it had happened when she jumped out of the boat into the yard earlier, but she seemed alright either way.

Sunday, she slept FOREVER.  When she did wake up, she wouldn't put any weight on her right leg.  Mitch called the vet and left a message, and he called back in 20 minutes, which really impressed us.  He offered to open the office to look at her, but thought she'd be fine until Monday.

Monday, I took her in.  She had a temp of 103.3 and was vocally upset when the vet manipulated her right leg.  The vet said it was an abscess caused most likely by the cat bites and it would have to be drained and Gracie would have to be sedated.  The vet said "Cats are gross" and I told her this is an outdoor cat who I have seen catch mice and snakes in the few weeks I've been here.  The vet rolled her eyes and said "She's extra gross then."  A bit of a surprising attitude for a vet, I thought, but at this point, I'm agreeing wholeheartedly. 

The kids and I went home and waited.  A few hours later, we went and picked her up ($212).  She had a shaved side, drains coming out of two places and some stitches.  But it was clear she felt better already.  She was bouncing and chewing and and running doing all the regular puppy stuff she hadn't done.  The vet thought she wouldn't chew at the drains and said if she did, to come back and get a collar - hereafter called the "cone of shame".  The drain thing was very icky with all the stuff coming out.  I don't know what I expected, but I tend to think things will be less messy than they usually are.

She didn't chew at the drain.  At least the rest of the that day.  But when I woke up on Tuesday at 6 AM and put her in bed with me after Mitch left - yeah, yeah, we're teaching this dog all kinds of bad habits - I knew something wasn't right.  I flipped on the light and sure enough, she had pulled the top part of the drain out.  It was hanging down under her belly and looked like an extension cord.  If I wasn't so freaked out, it would have been funny.  I had to wait until 8:30 when the office opened to call the vet.  The girl I spoke to said "I can't believe we let you leave here yesterday without the collar!"  Well, too late to do anything about that now, honey. I drove back to the vet where it was determined that yes, the drain would need to be reset and yes, she would have to be sedated again. 

At 3:30 yesterday afternoon, I picked her up again ($73), where she had yet more hair shaved off her and another incision.  But the only drain was on the underside of her belly. 

This is kind of crappy picture, taken from my phone and then copied from my Facebook page.  But you can see the top two incisions that are now stitched over.

And of course, she has been sentenced to the "Cone of Shame". 

The drain stays in for 7-10 days, so I'm calling next Tuesday to schedule having it removed.  Gee, how much will that cost I wonder?

In spite of all this, she has really improved.  She is like a regular puppy now, energetic, eating, chewing, running around.  She's sleeping right now, with the kids being gone to school, but I think she'll pull through all this garbage and recover just fine.  Fingers crossed.

* And in spite of the title of this post, I don't believe she actually had cat scratch fever.  But it stays with the theme of my post titles that I try to follow whenever possible.  (Except for Ten on Tuesday and Fun Fact Friday.)

School Announcements

Last night was the kids' school open house.  There was a little bit of stress involved here over this, seeing as it's a new school, they don't know anyone, and they don't know the teachers.  Both of the teachers seem good.  Jacob's is SUPER enthusiastic, which God bless her, because I think if I had been teaching 6th grade for the last ten years, my level of excitement over starting a new school year might be slightly lower.  But she was nice and explained everything we could expect.  It does seem to Jacob that he'll be taking a step backwards, as all of his friends back home will be going to middle school and he'll still be in elementary.  They don't switch classes either.  And there's no band.  But they have a lunchroom, buses, and in his opinion the best thing of all, no dress code.  (I don't think he's quite figured out that now his outfits have to pass Mom's inspection.)

Sara's has a male teacher again this year and he said this is his 3rd year teaching 4th grade.  He also seems nice, but he appeared a little flustered during the open house.  Like he was surprised that people kept coming and going.  All of the school supplies for Sara were provided, which was nice.  They do have to keep journals, which he said they can bring in a special one of their own or he will provide, so I got her a Girls on the Run journal from Wal-Mart this morning.  I think given the fact I didn't have to buy any other supplies for her, I could drop $2 on a pink journal. 

(Let's not discuss how much I spent on school clothes for her.)

We had the chance to look through math books for both kids and let me tell you when I told my kids: they both have NO EXCUSE for not acing math this year.  It looks like stuff they've already done.  It's ironic because Mitch and I were concerned that our kids would actually be behind the schools here, but a preliminary look shows that they might actually be ahead.  Like pretty far ahead.  I obviously won't know until they actually get started, but that's how it seems.  At first, I was kind of upset by it, but after thinking it over, I think it might make this whole move easier for them.  If they have to work at making all new friends, figuring out a new school, and going to a new state, at least school should be easy.  I'm hoping anyway. 

Watch now that I've said this, it will actually be the opposite and they'll be struggling to get caught up.  It would serve me right.  Pride and the fall and all that.

Tomorrow is the first day.  It's a shortened day, I think they get out 50 minute early.  Wish them luck.

After the Rain

Ugh - the kids are fighting already today, complete with hitting each other with Wii remotes and slamming doors.  How many more days until school starts? (Answer: 6. 6 very long days.)

Gracie is doing better today, after causing me much worry yesterday.  Tuesday, she went to the vet and had a checkup and a shot.  The vet said she looks good so that was a load off.  Then we took her for a walk on Tuesday night and the neighbor's cat kicked her butt.  Literally.  Howling, screeching, yelping, the whole thing.  Gracie was trying to get away, but since she was on the leash, she was just tangling herself around Sara's legs and that cat was not going away.  I got there in time to pick up the dog, push the cat away and unhook the leash so Sara could stand on 2 legs again.  Gracie had a few marks on her hip and she was seriously freaked out.  (So was Sara, for that matter.)  Then Gracie spent most of yesterday sleeping and when we picked her up she would yelp.  I worried that something was seriously wrong with her, but this morning when Mitch got up to take her out at 4 AM, she came back all playful and happy.  And this morning, she ran around with her toys and ate all her food.  So I think she's okay. 

She likes to sleep in small spaces, like between my chair and the wall or under the chairs at the kitchen table and this morning, I found her under my bed.  This might become problematic once she passes the puppy stage.

We had a big storm blow through about lunchtime and now it's chilly here.  66 degrees and windy.  The rain was coming down so hard I couldn't see the lake or the mountains.  Usually, this is what I can see from my front porch:

During the storm, I couldn't see past the houses.  It's crazy.  We've had a couple of storms like that since I've been here but I'm still shocked to look out the windows and not seen the mountains.  We're at the end of the street and all the water pours down the gutters past our house like a river.  A few times, we've had hail during the storms, but not today.  Sorry there aren't any pictures during the storm, but I didn't want to give the neighbors any more "That crazy lady at the end of the street is outside taking pictures of the weather again" stories.  I'd already taken some when storms were coming in when I first moved here.  They are really cool.

Sara was supposed to go to an amusement park with her friend Cyenna today, but Cyenna called this morning and said they didn't know if they were going to go today or tomorrow and she would call later.  There was something hokey about that whole thing right from the beginning, since I never heard from Cyenna's parents and it all seemed very last minute.  I suspect that she invited Sara without talking to her parents or that maybe a trip to the amusement park was never in the works at all.  I don't know.  It just seemed off to me.  We'll see what comes of it, if anything.

On an unrelated note, is it possible that at any given time of day there's an episode of "Law & Order" on?  It sure seems that way to me.

Ten on Tuesday

The Last 10 Books I've Read:

1. Monkeewrench - by P.J. Tracy
2. Stay With Me - by Garret Freymann Weyr
3. Bleachers - by John Grisham
4. Sole Survivor - by Dean Koontz
5. A Little Bit Ruined - by Patty Friedman
6. Good Grief - by Lolly Winston
7. The Irresistible Henry House - by Lisa Grunwald
8. Blockade Billy - by Stephen King
9. Sizzling Sixteen - by Janet Evanovich
10. Of Men and Their Mothers - by Mameve Medwed

Have I done this before for Ten on Tuesday?  I didn't see it, but it seems familiar. 

Grace

This stay-at-home mom stuff is for the birds.  Though I suspect that once the kids go back to school next week, I'll like it better.  Then it will just be me and the puppy.

Oh yeah, we got a puppy.  She's cute and little and has that puppy smell.  And she looks like this:

So how can you not love her?  I was against the whole "getting a puppy" thing for several reasons, all of which were shot down by the three other people in this house looking at puppy ads on the internet.  So here she is - Gracie.  Mitch wanted to name her Gina.  I don't think so.  This is the same guy who wanted to name our son Walter.  His runner-up name to Walter was Thaddeus.  OMG no.  He's not allowed to name anything in this family.  Ever.

Sara has made friends with the girl who lives behind us, Aspyn.  She's a year younger than Sara, but it doesn't seem to make much difference.  Aspyn already wants Sara to sleep over, but Sara's doesn't want to yet.  I think she's still getting used to sleeping here in this house so she's not ready to sleep at someone elese's house.  Fair enough.  I'm still getting used to sleeping here too.

The Comcast guy is coming tomorrow to replace the cable box for the 2nd TV.  It shuts itself off, which gets a little annoying.  They wanted to send someone between 8-10AM tomorrow and I just laughed.  We compromised on between 10-12.  I don't need that TV enough to get up at 7AM to wait for the cable guy.  Thanks anyway.  Then the rental place guy is coming between 1-5 because our dishwasher was on the recall list for starting electrical fires.  I don't know what they're going to do because - hahahaahaha - it's not really my problem!  That's why it's a rental!  So you can call someone else when things go wrong.  Or burn the house down.  Mind you, knowledge of possible electrical fires has not stopped me from using the dishwasher.  The off chance of an electrical fire is not enough to get me to wash dishes by hand. 

I was going to make banana muffins for breakfast this morning, but a) I didn't get up until 9AM and b) I can't find my muffin pan.  It's in a box in the basement somewhere, but I certainly can't find it.  It's probably in one of those 37 boxes marked "Misc - Basement" that seem to hold anything from canned tomatoes to DVDs.  So I made smoothies and gave them pop-tarts.  Pretty close.  Hamburger Helper for dinner tonight since I have to take Gracie to the vet at 3PM and I cooked a decent meal last night.  I'll have to come up with something tomorrow, but since I'll have all these workmen in my house, it may be an eat out night.  There's a place that Mitch thinks I'll like, and he says it's pretty close to Qdoba, but we'll see. 

I know I have to do a "Ten on Tuesday" list still.  Working on it, folks.

Of Trampolines and Old Movies (Or: Why Nancy Needs A Job)

Mitch took the kids to the gun range after dinner, which I am all for.  Because now they are all out of the house and I am very happy.

We had a houseful of kids here just a little bit ago - the 2 that live behind us and the 2 next door.  Unfortunately for Jacob, the boys were both like 5 or 6.  So he was not a happy camper, since we told him to suck it up and go outside with them.  The girl behind us is a year younger than Sara and the one next door is maybe, like 7?  I don't know - I'm truly terrible at figuring kids ages.  There is another girl in the neighborhood that Sara has met and hung out with a few times, and she's going into the 4th grade too, so maybe something will come of that.  Jacob did meet some boys at the park the other night, where they played the game with the name I won't repeat, but it basically involves a ball, a bunch of boys and tackling.  (Not football - it's not as organized as that.)  Only, I guess they didn't have a ball, so they were using one of the kid's shoes.  Extra points for resourcefulness, I suppose.  Both of my kids have been asked if they were Mormon and when they answered no, it didn't seem to change anything.  But we'll see. 

One interesting thing I've seen here a few times is that they bury their trampolines in the ground.  I guess they dig a hole the size of the trampoline and set it inside that, so that the jumping part is basically level with the ground.  I've seen it a few times, so I know it's not just one crazy guy.  Unless they all followed suit.  It pretty much looks like this:

Except, less green stuff all around and more mountains in the background.  (I copied this off the Internet, it's not an actual picture of one around here.  I think it's too early to be going up to my neighbors and saying "Can I take a picture of your trampoline so I can show all my friends back home how weird it is here?")  I don't know the reasoning exactly, whether it's supposed to be safer or whether because the wind gets high here and it prevents blowing-awayage.  Not all of them are in the ground so I don't think it's a neighborhood ordinance.  Either way, until we buy a house, I won't be doing anything like this.  Probably not even then.

I've been watching waaaaay more of the Little League World Series than I care to admit at this point.  And this is only the Regional Playoffs, the actual World Series doesn't start until next Friday.  But daytime television is not at all fun.  I did watch "Mallrats" today, because I like to wait a good 15 years after a movie is released to actually sit down and see it.  And okay, I'll admit, I liked it.  We have all these movie channels and I keep finding movies I want to see but haven't and honestly, the DVR was 70% full so I needed to watch something.  Those stupid movie channels only show movies that are so old you forgot they even existed.  I watched "The Breakfast Club" yesterday and I'd only seen it on TNT for so many years, I forgot there was actual swearing in it.  Or that Judd Nelson was ever so young.  Next thing you know, they'll be showing "The Outsiders" and I'll be crying on the couch when Johnny dies and telling my kids to "Stay gold".

Trip Review - Days 3 through 5

Okay, so where were we?  Ah yes, Minnesota.

Day 3- Friday, July 30 - We wake up and get on the road.  We have a lot of ground to cover today if we're going to make it to Trina's before 5, and let's face it - I haven't really been driving more than 4 or 5 hours a day thus far.  It's basically an uneventful day of just driving. 

We stop at a rest area in South Dakota that claims "Scenic View".  With my eyesight, "scenic views" rarely impress but that one doesn't lie.  Be nice, and don't ask why it looks like I took a picture of a gas station. 

There's a big sign when you drive up that says "No hunting at rest area".  Either hunting is so big there that they have to specify not hunting in public places off major interstates, or road rage is a serious problem.  Could go either way. 

There's a trail behind the building that we decide to take to get the full scenic effect.  I get points for taking the trail DESPITE this sign:

And yes, I made him stand there.  The boy knows by now if there's a funny picture to be scrapbooked, his health and safety will be sacrificed.  Keep in mind, he's still not very far in Lego Harry Potter Years 1-4 and therefore, I'm still the best mom ever.

Okay, back on the road.  We drive through grasshoppers in what can only be described as plague proportions.  It's gross to watch them hopping across the road as I drive at them at 75+ MPH to squash them into grasshopper road kill.  The one that ends up impaled on my antenna nearly does me in.

We hit Rapid City and call Trina.  She concocts a plan where I will continue to drive on the interstate and she will find my van and lead me to her house.  With anyone else, I would laugh at the probability of pulling this off, but ONLY with Trina would this plan work and work perfectly.  Not only does she find me during late Friday afternoon traffic, she also calls and talks me through where I am and what I'm seeing. 

Anyone who might believe that Dana and I conceived and pulled off any of the crazy things we did years ago on our own needs to remember that Trina was generally there with us.  And she was clearly the brains of the operation.

I make it to Trina's house on a roads that can only be described as insane.  Curvy, up and down steep hills, trying not to ride my brakes, ugh.  I could have pulled over and thrown up at any given time, I was so nerve wracked.  But we made it.  Jacob and Blaine immediately rebond over the puppy Copper and video games, since Blaine doesn't remember meeting Jacob at Mary's wedding a few years ago.  But boys this age don't take long to find common  interests.  I drink several beers and try gauge the probability of getting Mitch to move there so I don't have to drive those hills anymore. 

We head into Deadwood for dinner and a walk through town.  No pictures folks, but Google "Deadwood, South Dakota" and it will be like I did.  The ride home was fun, as I always enjoy an opportunity to meet the local law enforcement.  Thanks Brian!  I've never heard of anyone getting a written warning for excessive use of the supercharger before, but it appears I lead a somewhat sheltered life.

Day 4 - Saturday, July 31 - Jacob and I get up and after splendid meal of breakfast burritos, we head to Mt. Rushmore.  It's not really that far away, but of course, I rarely pass a rest area, so it took us longer than it should have.  Again, I'm a sucker for the scenic view.

We finally make it Mt. Rushmore.  It's amazing.  Really.  It's absolutely worth the trip. 

It looks really crowded, and I suppose it was, but once you got in the main area and walked the trail, it didn't seem that way.  We spent a few hours there, watched the two movies, bought some souvenirs and ice cream, and managed to find our van to leave. 

We drove a few more hours, then stopped in Casper, Wyoming for the night, much to Mitch's dismay.  He thought we should be able to make it from Mt. Rushmore to the house in one day, but hello - 11 hours?  After Mt. Rushmore?  No way pal, another hotel for us.  Another Best Western?  Why, thank you, yes we will.

Day 5- Sunday, August 1 - We leave about 9 AM from the hotel and drive about a million miles through Wyoming.  Which was very pretty by the way, except for the nagging, "I've been on this road for an hour and haven't seen another car" thing.  But there are no more hills and no more grasshoppers, so I'm relatively happy.  Jacob by this point is in the far back seat of the van, where the glare of the pesky sun doesn't interfere with his Lego Harry Potter playing.  We stop at Independence Rock, where Mitch and Sara had also stopped.

They climbed all the way to the top.  Jacob and I are not that brave, though we thought we might be.  About halfway up, we saw the error of our ways.  I felt bad, but I think he was relieved too.  I guess we know where he gets his fear of heights!

Back in the car and we make it into Utah.  Another nerve-wracking drive through some more mountains, and some road construction on I-15, and we're there.  We make it to our new house about 5 PM.  Mitch and Sara were glad to see us, and my mom, who had flown in the day before, already had a pretty good handle on things.  Mitch had unpacked almost everything we needed, and everything else was in the basement.  

Generally, I-80 will take us right from Salt Lake City to Illinois, and that's the route we'll be taking on any other trips back home.  But I'm glad we took the extra time and miles to see who and what we did.  I wish we could have done all this with Mitch and Sara, they had their own adventures and saw pretty much the same things, but it was a chance to spend some nice time with Jacob by himself.

Whew, that was longer than I expected.  Thanks for sticking with it to the end!

Trip Review - Days 1 and 2

Okay, so here's a review of the trip Jacob and I took from Kalamazoo, Michigan to Saratoga Springs, Utah. 

Day 1 - Wednesday, July 28 - Kalamazoo, Michigan:  We packed up and got ready to go.  I had to go out and buy a new bag and then said a few goodbyes.  Adrienne, Will, and Adelyn came over to say goodbye.  We had lunch with MomMom and Grampa and then MomMom left for her hair appointment.  Jacob and I left while she was gone.  We headed over to Ottawa, Illinois to my mom's.  I gave Jacob his surprise - Lego Harry Potter Years 1-4 for the DS.  Buying car silence for families on long car trips since 2010.  I don't know much about the game, but as far as the car silence thing - well, I give it 12 stars.  Out of 5.

Traffic isn't too bad since it's the middle of the day and a weekday.  We get to Ottawa and head directly for Wal-Mart.  Because we can.  Jacob gets a watch and some sunglasses.  Long trip necessities.  As we leave, it starts pouring rain.  We arrive at my mom's in a downpour and I send Jacob to the door to see if it's unlocked before I get out.  Polite child that he is, he rings the doorbell and then stands there.  Luckily the porch is covered, but I guess I need to further explain that you can just ring the doorbell and walk into houses where you are related to the inhabitants.  Because all ringing the doorbell does at my mother's is trigger dog barking of epic proportions.

Kim is there and when my mom arrives home, we convince him to take us out to dinner.  Not a particularly difficult task, but I think he appreciates the effort.  Jacob and I sleep in the living room at my mom's.

Day 2 - Thursday, July 29 - Ottawa, Illinois:  My mom and Kim leave for work and Jacob and I head out about 8:30.  Our destination is the Field of Dreams in Dyersville, Iowa, site of the movie by the same name.  It takes us about 3-1/2 hours to arrive.  The last half hour due to some joker at Garmin who thought it would be funny to send people to the Field of Dreams via some dirt road.  I guess paved roads are optional.  But we arrive and it's a beautiful day.  That's been a major concern of mine since this trip was first conceived: that all our plans would be thwarted by inclement weather.  So far so good.

There's a tour bus of older gentlemen at the Field of Dreams.  They have organized a pick-up game on the Field and are gracious enough to pitch to any child that comes along until they get a hit.  Jacob immediately takes a spot in the infield - 2nd base - and fields a few before going to bat.  He impresses the gentlemen and has a few good hits.  He then takes shortstop and plays for another hour.  I take a million pictures and convince a lady to take a picture of Jacob and I in front of the sign by the house.  Then because I am mean, I buy him some souvenirs and after nearly 2 hours, make him leave. 

We have a lunch date with my sister Amanda in Cedar Rapids.  It takes about an hour to reach her place, through an amazing amount of construction.  It's been years since I was in CR, and probably even longer since I drove there, and I have to say, I don't recognize anything.  It could be the changes, it could be my memory.  Hard to say.  We get to her house and meet her dogs, Jeter and Irwin, and her cats, um, I don't know, but there were 3.  Her boyfriend, Adam, was not home, but I'm sure he would be impressed I remembered his name.  We went to Applebee's for a late lunch and talked about all our relatives, specifically brothers, sisters and parents.  (Ha ha, wouldn't you all like to know what we said?)  Jacob again talked me into the 2 for $20 deal, which is way too much food.

We dropped Amanda back at her house and headed out.  I talk to Trina on the phone and thank God for her or I'd probably still be driving around Iowa and Minnesota.  I took her advice and stopped in Albert Lea, Minnesota to find a hotel.  3 hotels later and I was beginning to think we would be sleeping in the van with the hermit crab.  (Did I mention we have the hermit crab and his tank with us?  We do.)  I finally found us a room at a Best Western.  It was really nice - better than I would have expected from a Best Western.  I guess they are redoing all of those like they've done with the  Hampton Inns.  Nice white sheets, huge plasma TV, fluffy white towels.  We walked over to McDonald's for dinner and then swam in the pool. 

While Jacob was swimming and I had already gotten out, he said, "See now here's when it would be good to have Sara here," 

I said, "Well, sorry bud, but I'm done,"

And he said, "That's okay Mom, you've done your part today,"

Guess I met his expectations on the early part of this trip. 

More days to follow!

Ten on Tuesday

Ten Things I Like About Utah  (so far)

1. My own bathroom - okay, I have to share with Mitch, but he's shared a bathroom with me for 17 years, so he knows the rules
2. Main floor laundry
3. Parking in a garage
4. Borders bookstore
5. Sean's Smokehouse - oh my goodness, it was FANTASTIC.  If you come here, you can guarantee I will take you.  And make you order the brisket, no matter what you think you want.
6. Our huge front porch - perfect for sitting in a lounge chair reading a book all afternoon if you don't have a job yet
7. No humidity
8. Del Taco
9. Mountains everywhere - for looking at, not for climbing.  This is me, after all.
10. Rental house in general - anything goes wrong, or say, your dishwasher is recalled for the possibility of starting an electrical fire, you just call someone and it becomes their problem. Because I am all about delegating.

I promise, better posts are coming!  Be patient.

For Free

So we all have arrived in Utah.  Jacob and I got here yesterday (Sunday).  My mom got here on Saturday, so she already had a day on us for figuring out where everything was.  Mitch started work today, on days, but he's been told they'll start running weekend shift in the next few weeks.  I guess they already have some work lined up.  Just dove right in, I guess.

Mom and I found the essentials today - Kohl's and Target.  I thought it was a Super Target, but now I think it was a hallucination on my part and wishful thinking.  Either way, it was a Target only about 20 minutes from my house, so I was happy.

I applied for a job today.  I know, right?  Spending money makes me nervous.  And it was only one job, and I guess I'll have to try for more than that.  Who knows though?  Maybe the fact that I really don't want to go to work yet will put the job karma gods on alert and zone in.  Eh.

The doorbell rang today and it was an older lady with two kids holding food.  The woman said, "I'm from the Relief Society, are you a member?"  Since I had no idea what she was talking about, but suspected it was regarding the Church, I said no.  Basically, the grocery store gives them all the baked goods that are expiring that day and they drive around and give them to neighborhood families.  There's a specific day where children will come to my door and ask "Do you want bakery today?" and then they give you free baked goods.  We got a key lime pie, a dozen chocolate frosted doughnuts, a loaf of rosemary herb bread and a dozen hamburger buns. 

The maintenance guy from the rental agency was here at the same time and I saw him talking to the guy in the truck.  When they left, he said that now that they know we aren't with the Church, they'll be back to talk to us.  Well, duh.  I'm surprised no one has been here yet.  But hey - I'll talk to anyone they want if they keep bringing chocolate doughnuts to my door.  Everyone should know that by now.

All and all, so far so good.  Our trip was cool and I'll post about that later.  Jacob and I had a really good time and I'm so glad that we did it.