BREEZY FIELDS

I feel like I haven't written forever, and I haven't, for real. A brief update- last weekend Mike and I met Kenn, Barb, Marnie, Dave, and Adina up in San Francisco for the weekend. Jane and her friends and my friends did the babysitting for the weekend. Thank goodness for good peeps. We had a really great trip. I love getaways with Mike and it has been a long, long time. My Beth moved to Maryland this week. My running buddy is gone. I am extremely sorrowful. Running buddies have a special place in my heart. I will miss her dearly. We tried to fill up our last week of her being here with as many little activities (mostly workouts) as we could. Many, many great memories, the Lorah family will be missed. I am still struggling with plantar's fasciitis in my heel and that has been a major bummer. I have run a few times in the past week and I don't have too much pain. If it was just the minor pain I could deal, I just don't want any permanent damage. I am so worried ...

I remember when I used to be the one jumping at the chance to go to Midnight movies. Tonight Jane begged to go to the midnight showing of Harry Potter. I am here, having fun, waiting, and thinking how tired I will be all day tomorrow. Oh, for the days of not caring what the consequences might be! - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Not to brag or anything, but Jane made 2nd chair in the Monterey County Honor Band. She also managed to bring home straight A's. It is really a pain in the butt keeping her superwoman uniform clean and pressed. We might have to splurge and get her two! - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

As we have travelled across the U.S. and even across the Atlantic there has been one Halloween tradition that I have always relied on, a certainty that makes Halloween, Halloween. Whether it is 80 degrees and humid, snowing and freezing cold, in a country that does not celebrate Halloween except maybe by sending their children to the crazy Americans for some candy, or in a neighborhood of retired wealthy Carmelites bewildered by this family of imposters. It brings the reality of the season into my home and yet takes me right back to my mom's kitchen. I am back in rainy, overcast Washington on a fall day but I am warm and cozy and home. I anticipate my brown, paper wrapped box with Christmas morning anticipation. It comes, sometimes weeks before Halloween, sometimes just in the nick of time. Sometimes my dad's handwriting spells out our current location, sometimes one of my sisters has been in charge of the mailing. Most of the time, however, it is the neat, beautiful, printing ...

Halloween seemed to last forever this year. Fun but exhausting. We had multiple Halloween parties, Sadie's fall festival, Jane's dance, the ward trunk or treat. I was so grateful that we had decided that we would not Trick or Treat on Sunday. We did have fun though! Jane was a darling hairdresser. She loved the big hair and bright makeup:-) Sadie was a mystical woodland fairy. I LOVED this costume. It was so very Sadie. Our tough little Spiderman. Silly us thinking he might not be able to eat candy. I was a cowgirl. Is it just me or do I look 7 feet tall in this picture? Wait, I know we are missing a child. Little Boo went to school as a Dew Drop but as I was almost to Ellie's school for her class party I received a call. Ellie was sick. I picked up a glassy eyed, feverish, tired, little girl. Luckily Mike strongly suggested I get a Dr. appt. right away and sure enough, we had another case of strep. Ellie spent the weekend sleeping. So sad. - Posted using BlogPress from my ...