Phew.

Its been a busy week this week, and the fun just keeps a going.

Tuesday and Wednesday are naturally busy, and on top of that Rob had the privledge of carrying the torch for the Special Olympics.

We brought him there and waited and waited, but we had to go to baton and missed it.  So I handed my camera to the other wife there and she did it.  The DOC employees were responsible for 18 miles.  Rob ran six or so of them. 

The torch is HEAVY!

The torch run is done by law enforcement agencys.  The sheriff's department was spear-heading this leg of it.  I said something about Rob being a runner naturally.  And the sheriff said.  "Those are words DOC employees never want to hear."  Everybody laughed about that, and thus the title for the scrapbook page.   

They ran to the county line, and were met by the next county's team, along with several competitors of the special olympics.  It is a program I believe strongly in and we were both delighted that he could participate.

Yesterday was ALSO Sam's birthday.  He's a double digit boy!  TEN.   Woot.  He had a royal blast with five of his buddies this afternoon.  They ran around playing kick-the-can, hide and seek, etc.  And then were let for free time which most was spent sword fighting.  Indiana Jones being a favorite game of all of them.

Its a quiet memorial day.  I spend a good hour or two drawing the little boy in the middle of this tag. 

Rob is of course at work.  Time and a half being a very needed blessing. 

It is now costing us $145 to fill our gas tank.  *cringes*

We still chose to go for a drive last night.  I will give up quite a few things to be allowed the freedom to explore.  We chose a shorter drive, but still found a road we'd never been on, and had a lovely time.  We found a alpine meadow all of ten miles from here as the crow flies.  One I had no idea that it existed.  So that was cool.

I haven't uploaded the pictures for it yet, so when I do I'll see what's worthy of sharing.

Our beach pictures from Saturday.  The "baby" posing.  He thought this rock looked like a great recliner chair.  And then demanded Take my picture mommy!  His glasses leg is broken, so we have him sans glasses.

The tide pools at the beach were such a lovely blue color I had to share.

My husband not so willingly posing.  The haircut has a story behind it.  I shaved Jamari's head at his request, and then Rob was next on the agenda.  "What do you want."  "Shave it off like Jamari."  "No, I don't really want to.  I don't like that look."  I replied.  I started giving him his normal hair cut, and then decided it wasn't very nice to not respect his request and shaved it.

Two days later we were at my moms house.  "Nice haircut Rob."  Robs response.  "It was a failure to communicate."  I blinked 3 or 4 times at him.  "I told her I want it shaved, but I didn't mean it, and she shaved it."  I blinked 3 or 4 more times.  "And now she's gonna spend 3 days mulling over this conversation trying to decide wether I wanted the haircut or not, and then corral me in the bedroom and ask me wether I did or not."

Stink!  He's exactly right.  And he didn't want the hair cut...he was teasing me, but forgot to tell me he was teasing.

I pointed out the failure to communicate was HIS fault not mine.  And everytime I look at his head I just start rolling my eyes.

After quite awhile just enjoying the beach.  I gave several kids tacit permission to get wet.

Three of them took me up on it.  Although for some reason I don't have a picture of Jer in the water.

Most people go foot side down to wade.  Zeria always has to be different.

And this picture, Oh I love this picture.  They were jumping the waves...I think he thought they were a bit higher then they were. 

The other three built elaborate volcanoes in the sand which I didn't get great pictures of.  Basically they were just sand mounds.  LOL  Eventually we reluctantly headed home.

And on the way home we spotted this.

We *think* he was tame gone wild.  The Peninsula does have a few pheasants, but I'm not sure if there this far out.  Whatever he is he sure was beautiful and it was a lovely find. 

It was a lovely quiet day today without one single drama.  Not even a boo-boo.  Scarey.  ROFL

The kids played nicely, there were no major squabbles, etc.  Rob woke up a bit early about 2:30 this afternoon and said lets go to the beach.  It was overcast but no rain, so I shrugged my shoulders and said okay.

By the time we got to our beach destination (15 min) we were in the sunshine.  We ended up staying for two hours.

Soooooo nice.

This evening 3 of the kids are sleeping in the attic.  The other 3 didn't want to.  And mommy's just puttering.  I drew the above graphic and just had to share.  I was rather proud of the way it turned out.  Everything on it is mine. 

Mommy there's pink, and yellow and purple.  Jer's black eyes taken on Monday.  Their finally losing some of their brilliant colors and is hope that they may someday just be eyes again. 

And I finally loaded the play pictures so here's Zeria as Mooch Dotty's dog in Wiz of the west.

I loved that pose on her...it was taken during the candid camera time they allow parents at the end.  No pictures allowed during the play as it distracts the kids too much.

And a close up just before the second performance, she had the greatest make-up on. 

My little tarantulas otherwise known as Jamari and Rainee.  The only spiders that might not scare Zvanzivou

And the very scarey buzzard.  Kaylin Joy. 

I have a ton more pictures but I'll spare you.    Its horribly hard to take pictures inside a dim they just wash out, but at least they have some for there scrapbook.

The question has been posed to me on several occasions wether I had a specific prayer request, and I'm finally gonna actually voice it.

I need a friend.  Somebody NOT my husband who is a strong Christian, preferably someone who lives close by and I can see frequently.  I was very blessed in childhood of having a best friend from fifth grade through my first year of college.  And at college I was given a best friend who has joined the xanga land for the last year and a half.  But alas she lives a long long ways a way, and while we are still good friends its just not the same.

After college I had my family, and my little sister Karla.  Who also blogs, and also now lives a long ways away.   I've never regained the intimacy of a best friend.  And I've prayed about it off and on, and I've been blessed with friends, but not someone I felt like I could just connect with on a deeper level of intimacy.

I find myself really needing to bounce stuff off of someone that's not my poor broad shouldered husband.  Today I was just desperate to talk to someone and I ended up venting to the baton coach.  She was molested as a child, and the "father" (step-father) she recently buried was the man who did it.  She's NOT a Christian however, and as a result her advice doesn't totally agree with my world-view.   

In the past I've felt selfish for asking for a close friend, but right now I just feel needy.  So if those who truely want something to pray for for me, that would be it.

I'm alive.  My mouse died.  again.

You know this has been a marvelous computer, and extremely reliable, but I think I'm on my fourth mouse.  And four different brands to boot.    I guess I'm hard on them.

The kids had there Misoula Play last week and did very well.  I have pictures that aren't uploaded/edited yet.  Maybe I'll do that later tonight.

We actually had several just gorgeous days last week and enjoyed that immensely.  The kids mud-bathed on several of them.  It was supposed to be swimming/wading in the river, but the water was apparently just too cold, so instead they mudbathed.

Jeremiah did a face plant into the bottom bunk in the girls room and is supporting two spectacular black eyes.   He's rather proud of them, and likes to study himself in the mirror and discuss what colors they are now. 

Mommy is rather amazed she didn't get turned into CPS while taking him out in public.    Fortunately his glasses hide a lot of it.  Also fortunately he was NOT wearing his glasses when he did the face plant...or they would have been crunched.

Jeremiah had another first this last week and that is he learned to wade all the way across the river.  HE had his trusty big sister to supervise, but he did it on his own.  Before this Zeria/Sam/mommy or daddy has piggy backed him across to play in the mud.  But Rainee taught him he is now tall enough to walk.

  It was very scarey, but he was quite proud of himself when he accomplished it.  The current is a teensy fast there, so I'm sure it felt like it was gonna knock him down.  It was also VERY cold still.  LOL

  That would be a nice close up of where Jeremiah hit himself on the nose.  It however is not a great shot of his spectacular black eyes.   As they had barely begin to get black that day.  Actually I'm not sure I have a good one of it....I should take another one tomorrow.  LOL

And this picture...it just makes me giggle.  The down-side of mud baths is mama doesn't like it in the house, and insists that it be cleaned off IN the river, not in the tub.  Moms are soooooo mean.

So Rainee volunteered to get Jeremiah's back.

  You decide how happy he was about it.  And yeah that shows his black eyes a bit better, and his cross-eyed'ness.  He couldn't wear his glasses for several days as it just hurt too much.

This week is Rainee's turn to get hurt.  She has had three major boo-boo's and several minor ones in the last 48.  Including a face plant at baton...of which she came up smiling from.  The four foot fall of the back deck landing on her head, that was a whole nother story.  And her leg falling through the attic floor in the garage and scraping her thigh...was even worse.   It must be summer.  Boo-boos happen.

Oh and as requested by Louann here is a picture of *some* of the kids spray paint art.

  That is the kids garage attic fort.  The window was umm made by Sam.  It wasn't exactly an authorized window, but we also didn't get as mad as we should have as they didn't have a lot of light up there, and he didn't cut through anything structural.

All of us are struggling a bit emotionally around here.  Its just been a rough ride lately.  But things have to get better right?

I spend a great deal of my life looking for my keys.

I get in a habit where I put them in the same place, and it works, and then I change purses, or coats, or habits, and tada we are all looking for mommys keys again.

And then last month Rob had a major scare over his keys at the prison.

So I made a story about the blue dragon that stole keys.  And only the little boy could see them.  It was a instant classic in this house.  I haven't actually written the story down, but have full intentions of doing so. 

Any how, this week I finally mastered the art of playing with bezier curves and vectors on psp.  And then decided that I needed to attempt to create my little blue dragon. 

This is all mine.  I looked at many different pictures to get lengths/and perportion, but he's MINE.  LOL 

I've also learned how to make my own textures and patterns, so created my own scales from this little critter.  Usually when I do a graphic something is 'borrowed"  but this one's 100% mine, and I am thrilled with the way it turned out.

He's supposed to look somewhat friendly, and a lot like a stuffy.  Usually when I share I don't care about c/write, but there's a chance I might actually attempt to get this story published when I'm done with it.  So I did a rather obvious watermark on him to share here just in case.

You can still get a good idea of how he looks.  Enjoy. 

Today I have been married 9 years.

Its been a wild ride!  After all we aquired 6 in 6 of those years.  *snicker*

But one thing I do know.  I love being married. 

At the parade on Saturday I sat with my mom and a childhood friend.  I hadn't seen the friend in about five years.  We spent the whole parade chatting.  She is somewhat recently divorced.  It wasn't comfy sitting between two man haters.

I finally had to say.  "I like being married, it has been good to me."  I felt ashamed when I said it.  It wasn't a good feeling. 

It is something I'm proud of, and something I fought for. 

Which is ironic considering we have below ZERO plans to celebrate said anniversary. 

We haven't had any form of a baby sitter since last October. 

We had almost relaxed and decided we would ask my mom, when she had another set of trauma's with her teens.  And besides that its a two hour drive one way to get there.

So we will give each other hugs, and laugh at the fact, and move on. 

Next year for ten.  We are already planning.   We are hoping his parents will come here, and we are flying to sun, and surf.  We love surf.  LOL  We just can't seem to go somewhere without it. 

So anyhow all this to say.

I love you Rob!

On a lighter note I got a really good laugh today.

About 3 months ago at my moms house the kids learned a "new" game.  I was less then impressed with it, but ya know grandma's they get away with murder.

So the game.  You get a big baggy sweatshirt, and you put your hands down by your tummy, and your feet in the arm holes.  And then you walk around like a chicken.  Its great for making sweatshirts even baggier.  *snort*

Now if I'd been at all smart I would have video taped this, cause I guarantee I could have got in the finalist of America's funniest videos.  But I was too busy laughing, and my camera was in the car.

So...I hear gut wrenching cries coming from the laundry room.  It was Sam.  He *never* hits that level.  But Rob was back there, so I let him deal.  I hear Rob a bit disgusted talking, and what were you doing type questions.  And then I hear, you'll have to get mom's help...we might have to cut you out.

This doesn't bode well.  But I still haven't heard "MOM!"  So I'm still pretending I don't exist.

Moments later Rob walks out carrying a sweatshirt...filled with Samuel.  His head is stuck inside the sweatshirt, his feet are in the sleeves, his hands below his feet so he can't use those to push, and his head is buried somewhere inside.  Its all a bit like being in a womb.  And he's crying.  And I just start laughing hysterically. 

Rob starts snickering and says,  "So, its not just me?"

I laughed for several minutes before I could assit the dimwit. 

And then I started laughing some more as I couldn't figure out how to get him out.  And I didn't want to cut the stupid shirt.  I just got it for him yesterday!  So I grab his hands and start pulling, only to realize those are actually his feet. 

Its very hard to help someone while laughing hysterically.

I tried to pull his head into the head hole.  Nope no go.

Back to the arm holes, but this time I know its the foot.  I'll hold onto the sleeve you pull your foot Sam.

And shortly thereafter he was unstuck.

I wonder if he still thinks the game chicken is fun?????

Its not really been a good few days.  I went off my paxil about 3.5 weeks ago.   It seemed like it was going well, but I went back on it this morning.  It will probably make my coping a little better.

Friday and Saturday were dedicated to the parade.  It was fun, but exhausting.

Saturday afternoon Rob bought chicken and we celebrated mothers day with my mom.

Sunday...the less said the better.

I just rather melted down.  It had been coming.  I hadn't gotten mad about dad being in jail, or his failure to give my mom her support check, or his claims about Jdai's lies.  So it just all came over the stupid saga of Rob not making pancakes like I'd asked.

Yeah stupid huh?

I was over the top ridiculously and horribly angry.  And dealing with incredible back pain as well.

So as I was working my way down off of that.

My homeless and broke brother showed up just as we were sitting down for mothers day dinner to "beg."

I just wanted to shriek.

Instead I played nicey nicey.  ROFL.  And Rob got the anger afterwards.  The guy just didn't catch a break.

We would NOT give my brother money.  But we told him we had wood to split, and if he split it we'd put gas in his car.  He's always been an incredibly hard worker.  And very very quickly we had a huge pile of split firewood.

It was intresting as it also calmed him down a LOT.  He was a lot scarey when he first came.  Not in rage...just very much in the depressive side of his bi-polar.

The extreme physical exercise mellowed him greatly.  He mentioned that the reason he quit his job was he was bored.  He was following his boss around begging for work, and there just wasn't enough.  He's too ADD to be bored.   

He has work back where he came from, and will go back to dry-walling.  He said a couple weeks of that and he will have money for home, in the mean time he'll bunk with his girl friend.  The bizare thing is how he got to Clallam Bay.  He lives in Aberdeen.  He doesn't honestly remember driving here.  He spent four days couching at a neighbors house.  (He's good friends with her.)  Before he'd go to family and ask for help.  *sigh*

So he left.

And the anger I hadn't really gotten control over burst out fairly shortly there after.

It needed out.  I know it did.  But I should of just kept slamming the door rather then hurting Rob's feelings.  Slamming the door only hurts the door LOL. 

Poor guy.  I'm not sure he really understood what was going on. 

I did however feel better when it all came bubbling out. 

Yesterday was the first day of Missoula, and more back pain.  I am however figuring out what caused it, so there's light at the end of that tunnel.

Sam is not participating this year, but Zeria, Kaylin, Jamari and Rainee are.  Zeria got a main roll...she will be Dotty's dog.  Dotty from the Wiz of the west.  A wildly amusing spin on the Wizard of Oz. 

If you have a child intrested in Drama at all.  Go to the Misoula site, I can almost guarantee that sometime during the year it will hit a town near you.  They travel year round.  Its a FANTASTIC program.  And free.  You have to get through the audition process, and sometimes that is very hard.  But in our small town its not.  They were actually short some players, and had to combine a few roles.  But they do that some times so it works.

I'm doing better now.  For the most part.  And life moves on wether I want to or not.

I've spent quite a lot of time working on Sam's scrapbook as his birthday is the end of this month.  This page highly amused me, and I had to share.