now

I'm so tired I can barely keep my eyes open. Yet the blog is a priority? I do it for you, Mom and Dad. I don't even have any pics cuz I can't find my camera battery charger. Haven't looked for it, but still can't find it. (; I'm blaming it entirely on Geof. I could have sworn seeing it in his backpack that he uses for travel. I'm so tired tonight because I've been staying up way too late to watch LOST. I decided to get into it after the series finale since I had a free summer of no school..so nice. It's been great, but not good for me in the mornings when I'm exhausted (and the seasonal allergies I'm dealing with do NOT help). I took Dayne in this morning to sign her up for Kindergarten. Why has this been so hard for me? I think she'll absolutely LOVE it, but I can't believe this little one of mine is old enough to attend school! Isn't she three? We also cut all of June's hair off today. My hair stylist friend Lindsay was against it but we did it anyway. The growing out aline was not cute. Was it a mistake? Wish I had a camera to show pics. I think she's adorable, but Geof. has started to call her boy names. Either way, it'll grow out. We walked around a little lake tonight. We've been wanting to do it forever since we drive by it almost every day on our way to the gym. The kids were in heaven and we tend to be also when we're all outside. There were little turtles (and big) all over the place. So fun to watch their little noses peak out of the water. We also saw a blue heron hiding in the reeds. Amazing stuff! Geof. and I both agree that we've seen more wildlife living out here than we ever did back west (and we grew up in places like WA state and Alaska!). We bought a hammock for our backyard that has made it much more enjoyable (despite the fact that our neighbors are a mere 10 ft. away and that makes for a lot LESS romantic evening swing in the hammock with Geof.). I also started a container garden that I fear might only produce tomatoes and squash. I also planted watermelon, red cabbage, eggplant, melon, cilantro, some sort of bean, and basil. Most of them don't seem to be doing that well. How do you plant a container garden you ask? Well, I was told you plant it in decent size pots and then let the plant either grow straight up like normal, or hang over the pots (like squash and melon, for example) and spread onto the ground. I really don't know how it's going to turn out but was anxious to begin a garden-FINALLY! We did grow tomatoes in Utah one year but that's been the extent of my gardening. I got a hose to water and a sprinkler and Cole comes running home everyday to jump on the trampoline with water shooting up from underneath. Heaven for us both! The kids and I leave on Thursday for a month in California (and a week in WA, too!). I'm starting to get travel anxiety. I'm much calmer knowing this time around we have tickets, unlike before when we flew standby. So not fun. However, it's so nice to have Geof. around to help out with the kids. He's incredible. I've been thinking way more than I should lately about what I'd do if he died (eery?). Such a sad thought. Could I go on? How do people do it, I wonder. I really admire single moms who don't give up after they lose a spouse (no matter the reason). I mean, I REALLY admire those women. I've become so dependent on Geof. I need him every day. Going to sleep now. Wait! I forgot to mention my trip to the edge of Virginia/Kentucky last weekend. I won a trip to Breaks Interstate Park back in October and was hoping GEof. and I could go alone. When that didn't happen, I pleaded with the magazine people (who ran the contest) to let my 3 kids tag along. They complied. With 3 weeks to go before our trip, Geof. told me to take a break and either go alone, or go with a girlfriend. I opted to take my good friend Eliza who conveniently lives 4 hours west of me (and only 2 hours from the park). We had a wonderful time talking each other's ears off until our head and mouths hurt, and eating all the yummy southern hill billy food we could. And to laugh like that! It's been a long time. We giggled all weekend! Southwestern Virginia and its bordering neighbor, Kentucky, are different than ANYTHING I've experienced. We were in coal mining country. Back country. Deep in the bible belt. Great people, but we did think the whole place was a tad creepy and possibly haunted. When I decide to find that battery charger, I'll upload our pics.

*DAY AFTER POST: I found the battery charger this morning, right where I thought it was. Geesh, I'm lazy. I'll get these pics up soon, but I thought this video was too funny not to share. This June is quite the talker. Non-stop, in fact.