JARRON PASSED HIS BOARDS!

'nuff said.

birds and bees: TAKE 1

Cameron learned a new, interesting, and fun fact from [name withheld for privacy]. He came up to me today and asked, "Mom, you know 'UTERUS'?" I said, "Um, you mean 'generous'?" He said, "No. UTERUS. With a 'T' sound. YOU-TER-US." Now that I was certain about what he was saying, I replied, "Oh, uterus? What's that?" Then Cameron educated me by telling me it was where babies grow and the uterus keeps them from falling out before they're born. Baby genius? No! He had a scientific discussion with [name withheld] about why older women can't have babies!

Oh, they grow so fast....

there and back again

Last Thursday, I ventured back to Salt Lake City from Washington. And when I say "I", I really mean my lone self with my two boys. It was a business trip, really; I apologize for keeping it on the DL but there was little pleasure to be had. I spent my time getting our apartment "move-out ready", doing paperwork for various things, paying money to greedy institutions, and taking care of last minute errands before we say good-bye to Utah forever. The few highlights were seeing Jarron's younger sibs (thanks to Rory and Cambria for watching Cameron!!) and briefly visiting a few friends. Other than that though, it was work, work, work. I do feel more resolved about our move to WA though; I had previously felt some sadness about leaving Utah. Staying a few nights in our apartment curbed those negative feelings--I will NOT miss the pigeons that roost and warble and poop on our balcony, and nor will I miss the 5 flights of stairs or sharing walls/floors/and ceilings with other people. But since I made this trip alone without my helpmeet, I need to toot my own horn and share a few road trip stats. So here goes:

Number of:
sick people: 3 (yes, the boys and I were virus ridden)
double ear infections: 1 (Mayes)
rock chips: 2 (and State Farm doesn't cover those, costing me $31.95)
partial tumbleweeds found stuck under the car: 3
miles driven: about 1500. give or take.
times the gas light went on: 1
minutes waiting in a rest-stop bathroom while Cameron decided if he still had to "go": 45
calls/texts from Jarron while on the road: 4
stops: one each way. My kids were awesome (or else I was just mean)

movies played: surprisingly, only three each way

Average speed: we'll say 84+

Top speed: 95 (accidentally and briefly reached three times)

times I wished I had cruise control: dozens (my driving is a little erratic)

hours each way: 9+

The worst part about driving was the WIND on the way back. Nothing could prepare me for the tornado-like gales of eastern Oregon/Washington. My muscles hurt from trying to keep our car on the road and I have yet to receive a full-body massage. This Wizard of Oz weather does not cut it for me.

We will be back in a few weeks to move all of our belongings. Again, it will be fast and furious and we wont get to see anyone (unless you want to help carry stuff down the said 5 flights of stairs...). Now it's time to unpack and zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.