240: a beautiful celebration

I think it was everything that Aunt Lynn would have wanted it to be: A beautiful day, lots of family and friends, tons of love, her favorite foods, drinks, and treats, ladybugs to release into everyone's gardens, and lots of stories and memories. I know she was there enjoying it with us all.

239: family to drive with

It took me roughly 8 hours to get from Brookings to Portland yesterday, with a stop in Eugene to pick up a few things. We have 6 hours in the car today with our trip to and from Seattle for the celebration. .I am thankful that I don't have to do the actual driving, but can sit and relax a little and have some good conversation with family on the way. I'll be making the 7ish-hour drive back to Brookings tomorrow so it's nice to have a little bit of a focus-break today.

238: The chance to get up to Seattle

Aunt Lynn's celebration of her life is tomorrow and I am so thankful that I'm able to go. Kevin is staying with the girls - we thought 20 hours of driving in one weekend would be a bit much for them to handle. I'm sad that they can't all come up - I know everyone wants to see them - but Kevin is really taking one for the team on this one and I am so grateful to him that I do get to go and spend some time with family and celebrate the amazing woman that Aunt Lynn was in her lifetime here.

237: jumper cables

I know. Another material THING. But really. Whoever thought of making a way to get a car battery up and going again without having to hassle with a tow truck and going to a shop and getting things checked out and fixed ... hats off. A little on the distracted side the other day (imagine that) trying to get Kinsley's car seat out of the Aveo and back into the Saturn, I somehow didn't quite get the door shut. The light stayed on for however long it takes to completely drain a battery to the point of absolutely zero life. None. Nothing.

I am thankful not only for the jumper cables themselves, but for the fact that we happened to try to start the car before tomorrow evening when I am supposed to make the trip to Portland by myself. Had we not, we would have been stuck with no battery, no cables, and then likely no car for Kevin and the girls for the weekend as I would have had to take the Saturn. You see, we had no cables yesterday. We haven't had cables for years. My plan right now is to leave for Portland when Kevin gets off of work, which will likely be around 5ish and too late to start the process of buying cables, getting the car jumped, etc. Not to mention the car needed gas. Had I had to stop to get gas, chances are the battery wouldn't have been charged enough to start again. BUT ... we DID check it. So today the girls and I walked down to Freddy's and got ourselves some cables and jumped the battery. Kevin drove it down to the gas station and we followed behind him knowing that we would likely have to jump it again.

We have the cables. Tomorrow when he gets home we'll jump it again as I'm sure it will be dead after sitting all night and having only charged for about 10 minutes. Then I'll take off for Portland and hope that it charges on my way up. If not ... I'll have those trusty cables right there with me to get me going for my trip back down on Sunday.

236: DOMA is struck down

I don't even know what words to use to express how happy I am with the supreme court decision to strike down the Defense Of Marriage Act. I do realize that there are still many steps that need to be taken and that this battle is not over as there are still way too many states that do not recognize gay marriages, but it is such a HUGE step in the right direction. It makes me SO so happy. Nobody should be judged for who they love. Nobody should be discriminated against because of who they love. It should not matter who we love, it should only matter how we love. I'm thankful that this country is maybe starting to become one that agrees with that.

235: friends

We've only been in Brookings for a little over a week, but I miss my friends like crazy. I've always known that I'm thankful for my friends, but it is much more apparent right now since I'm away from them. I feel like I have made some of the most amazing friendships since being in Eugene - I can't quite put my finger on what is different about them, but there's definitely something. And I am thankful that I get to see them so often in our little community - I know I say it a lot, but it is like none other. Right now I miss being able to walk out my front door and get a smile from someone or a wave or a walk over a visit. I am missing being able to let the girls play out in the grass and run around the apartment with their friends.

We're only here for a couple of months, but I know I'm going to keep missing my friends while we're gone. I'm thankful that I have friends that I really really miss.

234: Chetco library

We have already spent three days at the library here in Brookings. I wasn't planning on having to come up with so many days worth of rainy day activities for the girls being that we're AT THE BEACH FOR THE SUMMER. But we found the library and it has been a lifesaver. It's small and quaint, but it's cute and fantastic. It has a kids' section that has toys and a play house and a train and they even have live animals! There's a bearded dragon (my favorite), a pond turtle, and a whole bunch of little birds. The book selection is much smaller than we're used to, but the girls couldn't care less and don't even notice - as long as we get to bring books home with us, they're happy. And we've brought tons of books home with us already. The ladies that work the desk are so so sweet and seem to know every single person in there by name. I feel like I'm in a small town movie.

233: I'm in better shape than I thought

... not a great deal better, but at least a little bit. I have been struggling to get back after it since coming off of a month break for my ribs. Three miles used to be so easy - heck, six miles was easy - but now it seems like I can barely get through it without having to stop. I can do it, but I have to go much slower than I want to. It's frustrating. But today I was able to do six and a quarter at a decent pace. And I felt like I could have kept going, but I was on a bit of a time constraint and had to get home. It was great to feel like maybe my body is going to remember how to do this a little sooner than I was thinking.

I'm always thankful when I can get a good run in and this one finally felt like I got one.

232: laundry for the summer

It's similar to having a dishwasher for the summer. It is so convenient to have it right between the bedrooms. It makes me feel so productive to be able to NOT have loads and loads worth of laundry building up because I either can't find an empty washer or I just can't get my ish together enough to get the girls and the laundry out the door and to the laundry rooms. It's so so so nice to be able to throw a load in (without having to load the girls up, too), keep doing whatever we were doing, toss it in the dryer when it's done, and then throw it on the bed and fold it while the girls play. Sure, it's not SO inconvenient to walk the 100 feet to the laundry room to do a load in Eugene, but it does get tough when I'm trying to do it in the rain with two small girls who don't want to stop playing. And that apartment is so dang small that a couple of loads worth of laundry actually take up a good amount of space.

I'm loving having a washer and dryer right here in our apartment for the summer. But it's also like a dishwasher in that it's going to be hard to go back to not having one after being spoiled. I'm enjoying it while I have it!

231

Kevin is always reassuring when I need it.

I had a bit of a rough day emotionally and he (genuinely) did and said exactly what I needed to feel better.

230: a dishwasher for the summer!

I often say that I think I would be less stressed out if we had a dishwasher in our tiny Eugene apartment. When the kitchen is the first thing you see when you walk in, and there are constantly dirty dishes in the sink or pots on the stove or even clean dishes in the rack, it constantly feels cluttered - regardless of the state of the rest of the apartment. That gives me a bit of anxiety. I hate feeling cluttered. But when the kitchen is clean I don't even mind when the girls' toys are sprawled out on the living room floor. For some reason, that doesn't feel as messy when the kitchen is clean. But I can't seem to ever have the kitchen completely clean - there are always dishes that either need to be done or need to be put away. The minute I put the clean ones away, there are more dirty ones to be done. It is endless.

This summer we have a dishwasher in our Brookings apartment. And oh. my. word. It is heaven. It takes two seconds to rinse dirty dishes and get them into the dishwasher and then ... it's clean! They're out of the way! And we get this joy for two whole months!

Now I just need to figure out how to come down off of being spoiled when we get back to Eugene and go back to the dishwasher known as "me".

229: absence makes the heart grow fonder

yes, yes it does.

228: callouses

After a month off from running due to bruised ribs, all of the callouses on my feet and toes were gone. That sounds nice - soft, smooth feet again? But when I was finally able to run again, it became very clear why those callouses are so so necessary: my toes hurt so bad! They were so tender and felt like I had crazy blisters in between them. I didn't have any blisters, but the skin was rubbing itself raw. So gross and so painful. Now that I've been back at it for a few weeks, the callouses are coming back ... and they are so so welcomed.

227: I didn't shower right after my run

Why am I thankful that I didn't get a chance to shower before Kevin had to go back to work? Because the girls and I went to the park and ended up getting rained on. I loaded them back into the Burley, put the bubble on, and ran home. I'm glad that I was still in my running gear.

226: we live together again!

It's been a long month with Kevin gone (and back and forth a couple of times), but we're all in Brookings together now and our newest adventure begins!

225: honest feedback and suggestions

I've been sharing my products with lot of people. I must say that I am incredibly thankful that I have people in my life who will be honest with me and not simply say they love things because they don't want to hurt my feelings. I have had some great feedback and some great suggestions. I'm thankful that I have so much support in my attempt to turn my neurosis for being natural into a way to help others enjoy it.

224: picnics with friends

Wednesday, before heading to Portland, we met some friends at Tugman Park for a picnic and play. I should mention that Kim was again a saint today and let me bring the girls over to play so that I could pack and load the car for our trip - she is a Godsend. The park was great. The girls were able to play with some of their friends and get some serious energy out before our drive. And Kim had popsicles for all of them (again, she's amazing). She even let some of the kids ride in the front of her bakfiet to go get the popsicles from her freezer!



Rocky, Daisy, and Kinsley with Kim

I love our Eugene friends.

223: local farms

Tuesday we met up to do some strawberry picking with Christina, Taya, and Isaac, Melissa and her kids, and Jen and Ben. I had heard from Freida that Stillpoint Farm was fantastic, organic, inexpensive, and LOCAL. I'm all about supporting local farming for so many reasons so I was all over this. We spent about three hours out there and it was absolutely gorgeous. 



Dagny caught a little nap on the long drive out.

Christina and Isaac :)

The scenery was beautiful - very serene. 

 

Taya and Kins loving the outdoors

Such a beautiful place!

 

 

The berries were delicious - so sweet and juicy. The kids probably ate a few pounds right off the vines while they were picking. I actually resorted to making it a competition to see how full they could get their pints just to convince them to put some IN the pints and not eat ALL of them just yet.

notice Kinsley's empty pint

there we go :)

The kids had a blast playing with each other and got plenty of fresh air. It's amazing how well they get along when there are no toys involved!

making pretzel eyes with Kelub

love

Last summer we went out to a local blueberry farm and had a great time. We will definitely be going back to Stillpoint and looking for more local farms to support. I'm thankful to have so many options!

222: great new playgrounds!

Monday morning we went out to meet some friends at a new playground. It was pretty deep out at the edge of town, but it was well worth the drive! What a great area. The girls had a blast exploring new structures, swinging, sliding down new slides, climbing new things, playing in the sand and water features, and playing with friends that they haven't seen in a while. I had a great time catching up with some ladies that I haven't seen in a while.

I'm thankful for so many different fantastic playgrounds in Eugene - some big, some small, but so many options to change things up and keep it exciting for the girls.

221: last week of "single" parenthood

We're going to Portland this next weekend for the Hydrocephalus Walk and then we're heading to Brookings! I've definitely settled into a mini routine of doing things on my own with the girls, but I am SO looking forward to living with Kevin again, being a team, and being a family again. 4 more days.

220:

After a long (but very fun) day today ... I'm thankful for this moment right here:

Love me some Bachelorette.

And I'm thankful for Kevin being the amazing man that he is. He is watching my show "with me" from Brookings so that we can really watch it together when I move down there next week. Maybe I'm easy to please, but that might be in the top 10 sweetest things any guy has ever done for me. My husband is pretty damn great.

221: we're almost done with this distance stuff!

Kevin has been in Brookings for nearly a month now. We get to go down next weekend. We've done distance before - many times, actually - but never with kids involved. And it sucks. I can't wait to be together again. And we're almost there.

220: finally no rib pain during runs

Well, for the most part at least. I still feel them, but it's more like a bad bruise now rather than the radiating pain that I was having a week ago. But I can run now, and even though I feel like I'm starting from scratch again and am frustrated with it ... I'm able to run again.

219: Kinsley's school year

This year exceded all of our expectations. Ali and Melissa were incredible and Kinsley grew so much and in so many ways. She absolutely loved the classroom, her love of learning and exploring was enhanced exponentially, she adores her teachers, and she formed some pretty sweet little friendships.

Miss Melissa, Kinsley, and Miss Ali after the preschool Circus of the Stars

Miss Ali and Kinsley on the last day of school

Miss Melissa and Kinsley

Kinsley and Sage couldn't give enough hugs!

LOVE Miss Ali

Kinsley and her buddy Robin

Kinsley, Robin, and Simon on the fire truck

One of the happiest kids I know  <3

219: again, this community!

I am so thankful that the members of this community are so freaking amazing. If I had been on my own trying to make things happen this last month, I'm 99.9% positive that it would not have happened. But because there are so many phenomenal people around here who are willing to stand up for what is right and what they believe in ... we made things happen. It's a pretty amazing feeling to have made a difference like this. But, again, it's this community!

218: a first step success!

Our meeting with the Facilities Director was yesterday. It has taken over a month to get in touch, voice our concerns about the use of pesticides where our children play, and get a meeting scheduled. Not only did I never hear back from Gus even acknowledging my email, but he only responded to Abbey and Anna after the reporter that we contacted called him for comments. BUT, we got our meeting, and we showed up along with 10-15 other residents that we talked to. AAAAND, we got somewhere with it. For the next 45 days, there will be no spraying of Roundup in our gardens. Gus also informed us today that he has found four natural alternatives for weed control, which they will be testing around the office building during that 45-day period. He has already tentatively set up our follow-up meeting and has agreed to contact each and every resident of SV via mass email to allow everyone the opportunity to come and be involved in this process.

Yay for getting important shit done.

217

I get to miss Aunt Lynn because I knew Aunt Lynn and I knew the amazing woman that she was and the amazing spirit that she had in this place and continues to share from somewhere else.

216

Aunt Lynn is finally at peace now and is no longer suffering.

215

the amount of time that aunt lynn was physically suffering like she was in the end was relatively short

214

the people who brought dinner to the entire household during the last few days so that it was one less thing for those with aunt lynn to think about other than simply being with her and making her as comfortable and loved as possible

213

Aunt Lynn was surrounded by amazing love and grace in her last days and in her last hours.

212:

We have an amazing family.

Matt and Michele asked Aunt Lynn to move in with them when she was diagnosed with her cancer four and a half years ago. That is incredible. These last couple of months, they have taken care of her day in and day out. I am so thankful that she had amazing people devoted to her care.

211: i made it to aunt lynn in time

While I have been thinking daily of things that I am thankful for, this week turned into a whirlwind for me really quickly. I got a call Wednesday afternoon that Aunt Lynn's health was going downhill very quickly. I was supposed to be heading to Seattle for Anna's shower Friday afternoon, but it was looking like that might not get me there in time to see Aunt Lynn again. Dad said he wasn't sure she would even make it through the night.

I made some calls and figured out logistics of being able to leave Kins with Jim and Laurie so she wouldn't have to make the trip after just getting back from Brookings. We left that night and went to Portland. Aunt Lynn did, in fact, make it through the night. The next afternoon, Mom and Dagny and I left for Seattle not knowing if we would get up there in time. But we did.

I am so so so eternally thankful that I got to see her again. I was able to tell her everything that I wanted to tell her, including how much I love her. And I was lucky enough to not only get to see her one last time, but she hung on until Sunday and I was able to see her three times this weekend.

The whole experience was a roller coaster of emotions and was completely surreal. In fact, it doesn't seem real still. I can't believe she is gone from this life. There is so much that doesn't seem fair about what she had to endure. But, that being said,  this weekend also brought to light many things to be thankful for. Among them ...