HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

I want to wish a very Happy Mother's Day to some very special women.

Women who have walked with me through both good times and bad.  Women who have supported, counseled, and lovingly smacked me upside the head.

To all of you, you are amazing.  You are a beautiful reflection of Christ in my life.  Thank you.

There is so much to say but so few words that will truly express what is in my heart. I am blessed to have you in my life.  I thank God for you and I pray that tomorrow is a special day for each of you.

April becomes May

It is May already.  It is hard to believe we are already into the fifth month of the year.

So many things are happening just this month.  There is the end of the school year. There will be parties and field trips and goodbyes. For our niece, the end of high school and her birthday.  For our "baby" girl, her second birthday.  For Michael, nights have become days again. And we can't forget that his birthday is coming quickly too. For friends, this is the beginning of transfer season.  Already we have seen the trucks in our neighborhood, estimating, packing, and loading.  Wednesday night is the last night for AWANA.  The girls have loved participating.  I have enjoyed having a semi regular date night with Michael and the Duchess.  And then of course, there is Mother's Day.  My girls keep asking about and reminding me that Mother's Day is coming soon.  Lady A and Miss E have both decided to make cards for me and that I need to have a scavenger hunt to find all of them.  Perhaps I will take a nap while they set it up... Michael works tomorrow so Princess N has offered to assist.  There is more, much more, going on, but what happened to April?

April was a blur.  It was a challenge.  When you have 6 people sharing germs, it generally takes 6 weeks for those germs to go away.  There was someone sick pretty much every week in April.  I'm not sure if it was all the same virus because we all had different symptoms and we were each out of commission for different lengths of time.  Princess N had fever for a day and was fine.  Miss E had fever for 5 days, but was back to normal otherwise after 3 days.  Michael was sick for three days while whatever got me knocked me out for almost two full weeks.  Lady A and the Duchess seemed to escape unscathed.

I am hoping May slows down a bit so we can enjoy it.

I abandoned you in Great Falls...

No, we didn't just spend the last several months in Great Falls.  We continued on into Canada.  And then back into the US.

About two months before we left Texas, we finally had ferry passage reserved.  Since we were not leaving from Bellingham, Washington as we'd originally planned to do, we needed to quickly get a passport for all four girls and me.  With Michael's travel schedule and the requirement that he either be present or sign a form giving permission for me to apply for the girl's passports, it quickly became apparent that we may or may not receive them before our planned travel dates.  We had a small cushion of time built into our travel plans in the event something came up along the way that delayed us, but waiting for more than a week after our planned departure date would mean missing the ferry if we had a major vehicle failure on the road.  Still, even though they could take 4-6 weeks to arrive, we needed passports.  By the time we applied, there were four weeks exactly before we were planning to leave town.  The week before the movers came, we visited with family and friends in Florida.  While we were there, our next door neighbor let us know that some of the passports had come in.  By the end of the last week of school, we had all five passports and were ready to go.

This was the first trip out of the country for our girls and I added a 4th country to my list.  (those would be Ecuador at ages 8, 17, and 18; England at age 12, and Canada at age 36, and of course, the US, where I've pretty much lived my whole life)  I'm not sure how many countries Michael has been in, but we all added some more states to our lists as well.  I'd never been to Montana, even when we lived in Wyoming, so it was neat to see the accuracy of their state nickname, Big Sky Country.

When we pulled out of Great Falls, we wandered along a river with some beautiful views until we reached the interstate.  Once on the road, it was a few short hours to the US/ Canadian border.  Before we crossed into Canada, we realized that we really needed to set up an international calling plan for our cell phones.  We had three hours to the border to figure it out.  I decided that even though we'd have the calling plan, I would leave my phone off unless for some reason Michael and  I went separate ways.  It was nice to be disconnected for a few days.

Crossing the border was a bit nerve-wracking at first.  When we pulled up to the checkpoint, we were told that the cargo rack was partially blocking our license plate.  The Customs official asked what the plate number was and both Michael and I stumbled over trying to remember the correct sequence of numbers and letters.  Then when he asked us to open the back window, I originally thought he meant the window on the tailgate, not the left passenger window.  Eventually, we got everything sorted out and the drive through Canada began.

When we lived in Cheyenne, there were three main colors.  Brown, white, and a combination of the two.  If we wanted to see something green, we drove to Denver.  The landscape across the border was beautiful.  Lush, green, rolling hills gleamed in the sunlight after a rain shower.  Familiar, yet foreign.  After the ruggedness of Wyoming and Montana, the green fields made me think of the Wizard of Oz.  There were no fences on the lands immediately across the border to keep livestock in and people out.  It seemed open and welcoming.

One of the first things we noticed was a U-Haul truck pulling a trailer that had been at the border.  When we pulled up to the border checkpoint, we saw that it had a flat tire.  Folks traveling in another vehicle seemed to be helping them change the tire.  Apparently, the tire didn't fit because when we passed them on the road, the U-Haul was sending sparks flying as the rim of the wheel dug a groove into the pavement.

Another thing we noticed almost immediately was the courtesy of the other drivers.  In Houston, we often said that using your turn signal meant that other drivers knew to speed up because you revealed your intentions.  In Canada, we saw very few drivers not use their turn signals.  In Houston, Michael claimed that "Driving Friendly" was just another Texas myth.  However, in the western part of Texas, we did encounter several folks who "Drove Friendly."  In Canada, we had many people pull over to the right, especially on the four lane highways, when a faster moving vehicle approached.  In fact, most people drove in the right lane except to pass.  Imagine that! :)

It was interesting to find places to eat and fill up the gas tank though.  In the US, highway signs indicate which direction you need to travel to find a restaurant or gas station.  In Canada, we pulled off the major roadway several times but were unable to figure out which direction we needed to go and how far we would need to go as well.

We hit Calgary at rush hour.  It wasn't too bad at first, but the far side of town was awful compared to what traffic we'd been in over the past couple of days.  Once we made it out of Calgary, and thankfully onto the correct road, the drive was quite pleasant.

Edmonton was another challenge though.  We had stopped for dinner earlier and decided to try to find a hotel on the route out of town.  After taking several exits and not finding hotels, we finally found one.  After the many hours of driving, we were quite relieved to find a place to rest.

Up next: Edmonton to Whitehorse

the last month

The last month has marked some interesting changes for me.  But first... the backstory.

In February of 1997, I had knee surgery.  The pain when I ran or danced or climbed stairs or walked for long distances was almost unbearable.  Nothing really changed after the surgery. I still had quite a lot of pain.

After Michael and I got married, we discovered that if I sat for an extended period of time, my knee would get so stiff that I could barely walk.  We joked about a knee replacement as he carried me out of movie theaters.  We considered the possibility of needing a wheelchair in the near future.  I looked into the requirements for a handicap parking permit.

As time passed and my level of activity decreased dramatically, I found a kind of happy medium between activity and pain.  I was able to work 8 hour shifts on my feet, but my time off was spent resting as much as I possibly could.  Each of my pregnancies, including the ones that ended in miscarriage, were hard. The pain was almost back to pre-surgery levels.  I usually ended up doing a month of physical therapy when I couldn't take the pain any longer.  Nothing seemed to help.

My weight had gone up as a result of my decreased activity, four full term pregnancies, and a few different medications I had taken for depression.  I am currently close to my highest weight in my pregnancy with the Duchess.  I have been holding steady around the same 5 pound range.

When we moved to Alaska, I was looking forward to getting outdoors.  The hiking here is absolutely beautiful and I wanted to enjoy it as much as I could before winter.  After a couple of months of hiking and climbing stairs left me almost in tears, I finally went to my doctor.  Typically, my right knee has been the issue.  This time it was my left knee.  I was referred to a local physical therapist.  The words "possible torn meniscus" and "surgery" were mentioned.  I wanted to avoid that at all costs! Surgery didn't seem to do much before and I didn't want to go through that again.

Two days later, one of Michael's co-workers called me as I was leaving the grocery store in town.  Michael was being taken to the ER because they thought he might be having a heart attack.  All of our focus the next 4 months was spent taking care of Michael.  His doctors told him to cut out anything that could possibly cause an elevated heart rate.  Coffee and exercise were out.  I stayed close by when Michael was at home because I never knew if I would need to take him back to the hospital.

Michael's surgery was at the end of January which coincided with some of our coldest weather here. (highs in the mid to low 30s) My knees started hurting again.  Not hiking had eased the pain a bit, but I was back to that happy medium between activity and pain.  After all, I still had to climb the stairs.

I finally felt I could take advantage of the physical therapy referral without being concerned about leaving Michael.  My therapist is an amazing gal.  We'll call her Sarah.*  Sarah started with a completely different approach than any of my other therapists.  Instead of immediately having me do leg lifts or walk on a treadmill or use a stationary bicycle, she started with exercises to strengthen and stabilize my hips.  Then one day, she asked another therapist to consult because he had been using a different manipulation technique with good results.  For the next four or five visits, that was all Sarah did.  It felt as though she was trying to rip my kneecaps off, but what she was doing was working.  One day she asked me to do squats.  I have not been able to do squats without pain since before my surgery in 1997.  18 years.  I not only did pain free squats, I was able to do much deeper squats.

For the first time in 18 years, I can walk up stairs and it doesn't hurt.  For the first time in 18 years, I can do a workout that involves bending my knees repeatedly and I can still walk the next day.  Yes, the workouts hurt, but it is muscles that are protesting, not my joints.

Last week, I started a couch to 5k (c25k) program.  And yes, I am running without knee pain for the first time in 18 years!! It has been hard.  I'm extremely overweight.  I'm extremely out of shape.  But I am amazed at how God has orchestrated all of this.

You see, back in October, when I finally got the referral approved from my insurance company, Sarah was about to go on maternity leave.  She had been back at work perhaps a week when I finally got around to setting up the first appointment.  I believe that she is the therapist God had in mind and while I wish Michael had not experienced the heart issue, I am thankful that it caused me to wait until February before going to therapy.

Where do I go from here? Well, I have three more therapy appointments scheduled.  After consulting with Sarah, I will be doing the c25k program twice a week, a workout video that is squat intensive once a week, and walking the other four days a week.  In addition, I will continue the strengthening and stabilization exercises.  Sarah told me last week to be prepared.  She was going to come up with some tough new exercises for me to add in to my routine.  I am also working on better eating habits.  Sugar and cold seem to be the two major factors that currently contribute to my joint pain.  I can't change the cold.  I love being outside in the cool weather.  I can change the food.  I'm ignoring the call of the Congo Bars as I write...

I am hoping to be able to run consistently again.  I loved feeling the wind on my face and hearing the sounds of feet on the pavement.  Our goal for Michael's retirement is to hike the Appalachian Trail.  Whether it is a section hike or a thru hike, I need to be ready.  Running, and hiking, around here is like being in paradise.  The scenery changes from minute to minute and is breathtakingly beautiful.

The time outdoors doing the c25k has become a prayer time.  I may only run for 6 minutes out of 25, but I am running because of God's great provision.  And every time I run without knee pain, I am thankful.  I am thankful when my calves cramp on my 4th run instead of my 1st.  I am thankful when I see Miss E encouraging her sisters and hollering back to let them know when we are running and when we are walking.  I am thankful for the 25 mile an hour wind at my back to keep me going and I'm even thankful for it being in my face to cool me down during the last half of the workout.  It did catch Michael and his coworkers off guard though. They had been doing a gym workout that ended with a 15 minute run.  They decided to run outside just as I was finishing my run.  Yep, they didn't discover how strong the wind was until they were headed back to the gym.

I know this has been long, but I just wanted to share this with you.


*not her real name

More photos

Buskin at sunrise

Looking out at the snow

Snow Day! Too bad it was a Sunday :)

High Tide

Road to Anton Larson Bay

Boats on the water9

We've officially made it to the end
of the road in three directions

Sheltered harbor

Fishing boat returning to port

Sunrise

Our neighborhood during an evening walk with Michael

To compare

A few days ago, I posted some photos.  The very next day, I went out to the same location and took some more.  Do you notice the difference?

And now the following day:

the view upstream is mostly ice

Almost completely iced over

quite a bit more ice on the 2nd day

Sunrise on the Buskin

I went out to the Buskin River this morning because I was awake before sunrise today.  Being awake before sunrise isn't unusual when sunrise is at 9am.  Being awake before sunrise on a cloudless morning is unusual right now.  We have about 7-10 days of rain or cloudy weather and then one or two days of sunshine followed by 7-10 days of rain or cloudy weather.  While the sun was shining and the sky was cloudless, it was certainly not warm this morning.  The white patches in the photos are ice. 

the mouth of the Buskin before sunrise

the mouth of the Buskin just after sunrise

further upstream on the Buskin

some recent photos

I know the story of the Grand Adventure is stuck in Great Falls.  I promise to get back to it.  In the mean time, how about some recent photos? Recent meaning photos from the past few months...

Moonrise at Jewel Beach

Sunrise

All of us at Ft Abercrombie - it was a gray day, but we got a much
needed stroll and fresh air!
In front: Miss E and Lady A
In back: Mom, Princess N, Michael, the Duchess, and me

Pretty in Pigtails

I'm a bit late, but HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! (at Jewel Beach)

The mountains at night

Stranded Starfish

The Bering Beauty - Photowalk 2014

Me, Michael, and the Duchess on a hike at Ft Abercrombie

Cheyenne to Great Falls

June 11/12th

One of the things that both Michael and I commented on several times is how green Cheyenne and most of Wyoming is this year.  When we lived there, we pretty much saw only two colors - brown or white.  I think there may have been green for about two weeks during the entire time we lived there.

I mentioned the R&B Breakfast Club in my last post.  If you ever happen to be driving through Cheyenne at breakfast time (or even almost lunchtime) we would wholeheartedly recommend you stop in for a breakfast burrito served with a side of Elvis.  And pick the red chili... it is milder!

Our second morning, we were trying to get on the road a bit earlier so we skipped a second visit to R&B Breakfast Club.  I can't say I'm totally disappointed about not getting in another visit.  I think I was still full from breakfast the day before.

As we drove out of Cheyenne, the girls pointed out every antelope and snow fence they saw.  They found it very interesting to see the antelope as they wandered freely around the base.

The scenery from Cheyenne to Great Falls was simply incredible.  When we lived in Wyoming before, I didn't get out of town too much.  When I did, it was usually to head toward Denver or Ft. Collins, Colorado.  Michael and I agreed that if you simply sang the first verse of America the Beautiful, it might come close to what we saw.

I took quite a few pictures of the landscape along the way.  Looking back over them, I realized that the majority of them do not show the majesty of what I was trying to capture.  As well, being shot from a moving vehicle with a cell phone camera, the majority are also of questionable quality.

Getting into Great Falls was a bit of a challenge as I went to refresh the directions on our cell phone's GPS only to discover that we had no cell service.  I knew the road we were on would eventually lead us to an interstate that goes to Great Falls.  We were thankful that we passed through a small town with cell service just in time to turn on a road that cut almost 4 hours off of the trip had we ended up going directly to the interstate.

Once we checked into the Temporary Lodging Facility on the Air Force base there, we all agreed that next time we'd take an extra day in Great Falls rather than in Cheyenne.  Most times, the Air Force bases have very nice lodging facilities.  Cheyenne, being an old Cavalry base, has their temporary lodging in historic buildings.

Up next: Great Falls, Montana to the Canadian border to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Amarillo to Cheyenne

June 10/11th

After a later than desired arrival in Amarillo, we also had a later than desired start leaving Amarillo.  It was a fairly uneventful beginning until we came to a stretch of highway designated as a "safety corridor."  Neither Michael nor I could figure out why until quite suddenly we were surprised to see a very large B-52 flying very low over the roadway.  I fumbled with my phone to pull up the camera and managed to get a not-so-good photo of the plane. The girls were excited and a bit scared by the plane as well.  Michael and I both commented on the fact that we could barely hear the plane as it flew overhead.

Only picture I managed to get of the plane

We had originally talked with Sarah about meeting her in New Mexico and while I am sad we didn't get to see her before we headed north, I am glad we cancelled.  We did not cross into NM until almost 11am local time on the 10th.  We had planned to meet on the 9th.  I am looking forward to finding out her schedule for next year so we can send her a plane ticket to visit us up here.

Colorado was absolutely beautiful.  The girls asked about the mountains they saw and they enjoyed the changing scenery.

It was in Colorado that we ran into our next challenge.  Michael called to pay for our ferry reservations.  The military has a fairly straightforward way of writing orders for PCS (Permanent Change of Station) moves.  However, since we were going to Alaska, there were some extra items that were not written into Michael's orders that the travel company needed in order to process the payment.  We attempted to sort that out while our cell phone reception dropped in and out due to the increasingly hilly terrain.

We finally arrived in Cheyenne around 8pm the evening of the 10th without any resolution to the ferry/ orders issue.  We checked into our room and took the girls on a brief tour of the town.  Princess N was excited to see our old houses and the other girls asked lots of questions about what we did when we lived there.  There wasn't too much that had changed though there were certainly areas that had built up in the decade since we were last there.

Michael and I decided that with a very long day of driving ahead of us, we would take a one day break.  Besides, we wanted to eat at our favorite breakfast spot before we left.  We actually planned this section of our trip around this particular restaurant.  The R&B Breakfast Club has been around since 1997.  Their burritos were still as good as we remembered.  And the pancakes were just as big as before!  If you are on Facebook, Michael posted a photo of the burrito.

Later in the day we went to the park that was down the street from our first house in Cheyenne.  Michael and Princess N went running while the rest of the girls and I walked around the lake.  It was just over a mile.  Lady A and Miss E were both surprised that 11 years ago I wasn't able to walk that far without being in a lot of pain.  This time I was a bit winded, but otherwise it was an easy walk.

The lake

The Duchess enjoyed swinging

Michael and I had a lot of hard times in Cheyenne.  Neither of us have too many fond memories of our time there.  Being there still dredged up some hard memories, but overall we were able to remember more of the good times than the bad times.

Up next: Cheyenne, Wyoming to Great Falls, Montana

Houston to Grand Prairie (no extra 'e' on Grand) to Amarillo

June 8/9th

The Houston to Grand Prairie segment of the trip was mostly uneventful.  Michael traded his motorcycle for a truck (much more useful up here) and the shipping office was located in Grand Prairie, Texas.  We laughed because they most likely would be sending the truck back down to Houston before it headed to Alaska.  There was a bit of confusion beforehand because we visited the office that handles the household goods shipments at the end of April.  We were instructed where to go to ship the truck.  When I called a few weeks later to make sure I had all the necessary paperwork, I learned the contract had been awarded to another company, effective May 1st.  Then it was a bit of a scramble to figure out who the new company was and where they were located. 

Monday morning, June 9th, we washed the truck, in the rain, and dropped it off.  While Michael was handling all the paperwork for that, I stepped outside for a moment.  As I walked down the steps I suddenly realized that I was falling.  Unfortunately that realization came just as I hit the ground.  I am thankful that my wrist had been hurting from the packing and cleaning we did just before we left.  The wrist brace I was wearing took the brunt of the fall.  My left ankle was hurting and I wasn't sure if I could stand up.  I texted Michael and he came to the rescue.  Before he could get to me, two employees came out and helped me up.  It turned out that I had not sprained my ankle as I had originally thought, but I had scraped it up pretty badly.  

Once the truck was sorted out, we decided that it would be best to pick up another copy of the registration receipt in the event we needed it for border crossings.  We still don't know if the sticker on the window is the official registration or if the receipt is the official registration since commercial vehicles are the only vehicles required to keep the receipt in the vehicle.  Either way, we thought it would be a good idea to have a copy.  After waiting in the courthouse parking lot for over two hours, I was beginning to rethink our decision to pick up a copy.  Michael had gone inside and when he first picked up a number, his was in the 500s.  They were still working through the 300s at the time.  As people left, he noticed someone throw their number to the side and walk out.  He picked it up and moved up almost 70 places in line.  It took about two minutes and $2 at the window and he walked out with a copy of the receipt.

Finally, around 2pm we were on the road.  Until we got into Wichita Falls, Texas.... Michael noticed that he had been passing quite a few cars and asked me if I'd noticed a speed limit drop.  I told him I had not.  Just about that time, Michael noticed a police officer on a motorcycle turn his lights on and pull in behind us.  Apparently we'd missed several speed limit signs while we tried to figure out which road we needed to be on.  After being issued a ticket for speeding, we were on our way again. 

And that was only the beginning of the trip.

The rest of the day into Amarillo was uneventful.  Lady A became the official Speed Limit Checker and called out speed limits as we drove. She even had a whole list of items to check off.

It went like this:
Speed Limit Checker? Check.
Parents? Check.
Sisters? Check.
Truck? Check.
Everything we need in the truck? Check.

The list varied once in a while, but this was her usual list. Lady A enjoyed having a job to do and she did it with great enthusiasm.  

Up next: Amarillo, Texas to Cheyenne, Wyoming

Year in Review - Mid Year Edition

January:

• January saw the beginning of the craziness.  We knew we were moving.  We just didn't know where.  The countdown was on and we had about six months to finish everything we needed to finish before Moving Day.  Michael also started an intense travel schedule again in January.  I had only one class for the Spring semester and absolutely no motivation to work on it.

February/ March:

• While Michael was traveling, we received word that our orders had come in.  He had been interviewed by a unit in Florida and it looked as though that would be where we would be heading.  Instead, we ended up going in the opposite direction! Alaska would be our new home for a few years at least. The Overseas Screening was supposed to be completed within ten (10) days of the receipt of orders.  Michael arrived back home ten days after he received the orders so we tried to finish the screening as quickly as we could.  A round of doctor appointments and dentist visits later and we handed everything in.  We were then told that the paperwork was incomplete as it needed signatures on another form in the packet.  I went back to the doctors and the dentist for signatures.  As my doctor was only part time, it ended up being a week before we were able to send the packet back in.  Again we were told it was missing a signature.  (and we were told the forms were self-explanatory - I disagree) Since it was again my doctor who needed to sign, it took almost another week to return the forms.  By this time we were into the middle of March.  

April:

• By the time April rolled around, we were beginning to get concerned about whether or not we were approved to move to Alaska.  We discovered the official approval came on March 29th.  We were going to Alaska!  Almost immediately I began to wonder if we made a mistake or if this was truly where God wanted us.  After all, we'd hit nothing but roadblocks up until this point.  At the end of the month, we began the process of setting up our household goods shipment. 

May:

• I finally finished my class.  It took a lot of work but it was mostly because I was so focused on trying to sort out all the details for the move that I didn't want to waste time on classwork.  I still passed with an 'A', but just barely.
• We took a short trip to Florida to visit family before we moved to Alaska.  It was a sweet time and we really enjoyed being able to see not only Michael's family, but part of my family as well.  We may not be officially related to the McQuearys, but they are officially part of our family. The girls had a great time playing with their cousins and all of us enjoyed celebrating lots of birthdays. 

June:

• June is where things really got interesting.  The girls finished their last week of school while the movers packed and loaded our belongings.  On June 8, we headed out of the Houston area.  I'll be writing more detailed posts about our trip.  Stay tuned for some beautiful scenery!!

Done

After a very long and challenging semester, at the end of which contained two very difficult final exams, I am done.

I am glad to be finished and I have learned that even though I was only taking 7 credit hours, three classes was a bit much for both me and my family.  When I started the semester, Duchess L was sleeping through the night.  By the time I finished she was waking up two to three times between midnight and 6 am again.

I have to say that I am very thankful for an understanding professor for my computer class though.  The college switched to a new company to conduct their online computer classes this semester.  There were so many issues with figuring out the new software that my professor wasn't concerned with due dates. By the end, when I emailed to ask about the assignments for a particular section and the final exam, his response was to "not worry about [them]."  I did call to confirm that he was not including those sections in our grades and he said that he was grading on work completed and again told me I did not need to be concerned about those assignments.  That was a weight off my shoulders but I didn't stop stressing until I saw my grade posted last night.

I have maintained my 4.0GPA and I am in the process of figuring out classes for next semester.

Overheard

I made Princess N's lunch this morning. The past two mornings, she has been up early for basketball tryouts. I put in an extra sandwich on those days so she could eat a small breakfast before the tryouts and then have something closer to the beginning of the school day.

This morning, as we got into the truck, Princess N peeked in her lunch box.

She said, "Yay! Two sandwiches! Oh wait... Never mind." Her disappointment  was clear. As I got out of the backseat after putting Duchess L in her car seat, Princess N added, "Thank you anyway."

It may not be the most enthusiastic thank you I have ever received, but it was sweet that she still said thanks, even though she was quite disappointed.

Overheard

After Miss E fell for the third time in about 5 minutes, we had the following conversation.

Me: Are you having trouble staying on your feet?

Miss E: No. I'm having trouble running on them!

It is perfectly logical. If you are running and then fall, surely the problem is in running on your feet.

Birthday!

Lady A turned 9 today.  We had a great time celebrating her and being able to give her a very special surprise.

Michael and I have been plotting for a couple of months now about Lady A's birthday.  The gift I planned to get her for Christmas, he planned to get for her birthday.  Since they are so close and since the weather has been beautiful, we went ahead with his plan.

The actual purchase was supposed to happen yesterday, but a series of events derailed the plan.  This morning, Michael had plans to meet with a friend of ours and so we decided he would make the purchase on his way home.  While he was gone, I decided it would be great if we could give it to her right away, so I took some note cards and the scavenger hunt was created.  

Michael called to let me know he was heading home and we discussed the plan for when he arrived.  I asked Lady A to help me with sorting laundry in my bedroom.  She didn't know that I was hiding the clues to her gift.

After Michael came in, he gave her the first clue.  She was able to read, or sound out, most of the words.  We had to help her a bit, but once she understood, Lady A was off!

Reading the clues

She eventually made her way out to the driveway where the truck and motorcycle were parked.  

 Lady A searched the motorcycle first.  She thought she was getting a motorcycle ride.  I reminded her what the clue said, so she wandered around the truck for a minute.  Finally, I told her the last part again and instead of going to the back like I expected, she opened the side door.  I tried to get a picture of her face when she saw her gift, but it was a bit difficult.

Think she is excited??

She rode for most of the early afternoon before I took her on a shopping trip.  She found a pretty pink skirt, a headband, and a scarf that she liked.  The shirt she liked didn't fit well so we will be trying another store to see if they have one that fits better.  

After the shopping trip, we finished the cupcakes.  They were made to some demanding specifications. Well, maybe not too demanding, but the day was filled with lots of rainbows.

Rainbow cupcakes with rainbow sprinkles added to the colored batter with rainbow swirled icing on top

I think it was a good day.  I know I enjoyed it quite a bit.  Michael asked Lady A several times if she thought we needed to return the bicycle.  Lady A insisted that she would keep it.  It brought a huge smile to her face and had the rest of us laughing and smiling at the pleasure she took from riding up and down the street.

5 months

How on earth is it possible that our sweet little baby is now a chubby, though not according to Aunt Laura's definition of chubby, baby?

We are so blessed to have Duchess L as a part of our family.  Her big sisters adore her and Michael and I enjoy seeing all four of them interact.  A few nights ago, Duchess L looked over at Lady A and just broke out in giggles.  I hope this keeps up!

New pictures to come soon!

Overheard

Miss E: My bones are pushing on my brains!

It took a bit for Lady A and I to figure out what she was saying.  Lady A had been telling me about how she scraped her knee on something and that the bandaid hurt when she bent her knee.  All of us got a laugh out of Miss E's bones pushing on her brains.  Because, you know, she has more than one brain!

All the girls (but mostly the Duchess)

She still fits... mostly

Practicing standing with lots of help from Daddy

Playing outside

Helping big sister with her homework

Lounging around

Naptime.  Homework is exhausting.

At the park. I love their expressions because they didn't pose for the camera.

Our sweet Baby Red as a friend likes to call her.