At the Cabin

Well, it's been kind of a tough week. The kids didn't adjust well to having Eric gone all day every day, though I think he was relieved to leave. Isn't it supposed to get easier as they get older? (I know that it has, and that I'm about to find out just how much easier it has gotten!) But they've been fighting a lot lately, and everything seems to end with one person screaming and the other one crying. Fun stuff.

While other moms are crying about sending their kids off to school next week, I'm waiting impatiently for Monday morning! Cade had his Kindergarten orientation on Friday afternoon, and now he's really excited for school to start, too. We didn't find out about the kids' teachers until Friday, so that kept our week interesting as we were all impatient to hear!

The fact that I am not working this year has become abundantly clear this week, as well, of course. In my hormonal state, I can't say that I've handled it particularly well. I had an emotional breakdown last Saturday night when Eric was supposed to go out with his friends, and I suddenly started to realize that while all of these major changes are happening in my life, it seems that none of them really affect him. Yet.

Of course, that isn't true anyway. He had an interesting week meeting the throngs of new staff members and having everything turned upside down by an all-new administration. But at least he got to meet everybody. Not only am I not teaching this year, but I feel like much of our staff will never even know that I did work. I don't know why that bothers me.

In a few months, none of it will matter. I will have met most of the staff by then, but I'll be so preoccupied with a little baby that I won't miss any of what's going on at school. In fact, I'll be stressed every time there's something I have to show up for (November and December are always busy months!) because it means I have to actually shower and not be covered in spit up!

Once again, all of our summer activities feel so long ago! We spent our first week at the cabin on Whidbey Island again this year. The kids literally spend all year talking about going to the cabin, so it's a relief that we don't have to put it off once we've arrived in Washington.

Unfortunately, we only had a few short days to spend with my brother. In fact, just moments after my dad picked us up, he called to say that he had to leave a day earlier than originally planned. It was a bummer, but we were able to make the most of the time he did have with us. And of course, we were grateful to spend lots of quality time with him this past winter.

He picked up fireworks from the reservation on his way out to the cabin, and I think he was just as giddy as the kids about lighting them off. He bought enough to last a few nights and they enjoyed every moment of it. (Well, except for the moment that Kennedy burned herself on the punk. She was over it quickly, though!)

I experimented with taking photos of fireworks with the new tripod I bought last winter. I can't say that I was very successful, but it was a start. In the above photo, my shutter speed was so slow that you can see what looks like a ghost of my brother as he walked away after lighting the firework.

I really wanted to see if  I could capture the colors in the fire, but I failed. At least the flames still look cool.

Then I played around with manual and auto focus to see what I could get. Interesting shots that show how much I have to learn! That's my goal for the next few months, though, so I'm excited to focus on photography for a couple of months.

We had some really nice weather for June while we were out there, but for some reason it always seems nicer out there than on the mainland. We did have one crazy afternoon where this double rainbow showed up over the house. 

Most days, though, were beautiful. We lounged by the pool or went out on the paddle board.

Eric took off the day after my brother left because his brother had just flown in. The kids and I spent a couple more days with my dad and their cousins before we headed back to reality. 

And back to I-5 traffic. But, we were excited to meet the newest cousin and see Evan and Jen, so we fought through, and tried to enjoy the scenery as we went. (Since I was completely stopped, I didn't feel too guilty about taking this picture.)

I obviously got a few photos edited, and more will be coming with the start of school on Monday. Now, if only this backache would go away!

Right now, I am insanely jealous of my family, on the beaches of Santa Barbara, getting ready to celebrate the wedding of my cousin, Brittany. There is no where I would rather be than right there with them, but apparently there are a couple of little people who needed me the week before school starts. So, here I sit at home in South Korea, taking care of my kiddos while my husband is out with his friends, wishing that I was sitting on a California beach. Congratulations Brittany and Aaron! Wish we were there!