New favorite pic

While we were at my parents' place, on Sunday afternoon, my dad took it upon himself to walk a group of grandkids across the road to see Grandma Eva (his mom, my grandma), and Grandpa Doug. I was lucky enough to catch this sweet moment of the whole bunch...

Too cute!!

Cottonwood Lane

I've been having a lovely vacation at home in Idaho these past weeks. And it's even better, now that Brian is with us! I have lots to write about our trippings and lots of pictures of all our outings and innings.... just hang tight, they're coming, okay? (I'm sure you feel the suspense!)

That said, I'm taking a little detour here tonight. I've decided this is a good night to put up a bit of a journal entry I wrote last week, while I was at my parents' house. It has a bit of a melancholy tone -- something that comes and goes with me. (It's gone now.) I guess I just like to remember some sentimental things sometimes, and thought I'd share. So, here's my trip down memory lane, er, actually, it's called Cottonwood Lane...

I'm sitting in my car down Cottonwood Lane tonight, watching the sun set from the top of the canal bank. There's a new home across the road, on the other side of the canal. But it's not so new -- a grove of trees is growing up fast around it, providing plenty of shade and even some privacy. Other than that, the place looks pretty much the same as I remember.

The head-gate on the canal was open when I pulled into the field road, and still is. I can hear the water letting down into the pasture below. The same big old single cottonwood tree is down the bank a ways -- where I used to sit and swat mosquitos, watching dozens of summer sunsets as a teenager, listening to the crickets come out, and the frogs. Across the road, upstream a quarter-mile, the old bridge is still there -- where we used to put in to float, or swim, or just sit and drink a pop and let the evening pass.

I don't remember who owns this lovely piece of property -- maybe I used to know. It's just a big winding strip of farmland, heading down toward the river-bottoms. I don't even know what they farm here, but it has always smelled so fresh and clean. Probably alfalfa? I wonder if the people who own this place know we found their swimming hole by the bridge, or if they would care if they saw me here tonight?

Something inside me feels so sad, so wistful -- almost lonely -- as I look out across the fields and hear the sprinklers going in the distance. The clouds are blocking the last rays of light as the sun disappears behind the trees. All the majestic pinks and purples are reflecting vibrantly, just as I always remembered them. I feel very alive as I watch the magic bursts of cloud floating across the dusky sky.

From this spot, I prayed for a witness that God is real, that Christ still lives. And in the wind, the water and the stillness of another evening like this, I felt my answer. Even now, as I look out over the scene, I can feel that sweet serenity once again.

On that bridge, I sat with my first love and threw rocks into the water during our first fight.

Down that field road, I walked with my best friend on a bright starry night, and forgave her all the pettiness of our shared adolescence.

I stand by my little Volkswagon now, listening to the water gurgle down into the pasture below, wishing Brian were here to cuddle me out of my melancholy reminiscence. But even if he were here, would he know what I'm feeling? Would he really understand?

Maybe it isn't Brian I'm missing right now.

Maybe it's my past.

I have so many memories here, in this place I call home. Even years after I've left it behind me. It's still home, still a part of me. Not just Cottonwood, but this whole place where I was a girl. I have so many dreams and plans that I left here when I moved on, grew up, left home.

And yet, whenever I return, those old girlish dreams are still here waiting for me, almost haunting me with a sweet sadness for the path I didn't choose.

It's not that I wish I'd taken whatever unknown path I left behind me. I love the place where I am today -- and the choices that have brought me here. But still, some secret part of me just cherishes my past so dearly that I sometimes ache for its irretrievable loss, while loving the memories.

should be sleeping

It's getting late, and I should be sleeping. But I thought I'd go ahead and blog a bit, since I've been browsing around on the computer tonight. We've been in Idaho for a few weeks now, and it's been a lovely vacation so far. It's soooo nice to be home. I mean, New York is fun and all, but well,... I just really like being close to family. So, this has been nice.

I'm working on a quilt. My third one ever. And quite possibly my last. I'll have to put up some pictures of it, once it's finished. Did you know quilting is A LOT of work?! This is just a twin, for my niece, and it's been a fun challenge, since I'm not really a quilter or seamstress (I started to write sewer, and realized what that spelled. ha!)

That's all I'm going to write about quilting, because I know for the non-quilter any more than that could get boring. But it's what been filling my time of late, in case you were wondering.

I've also been worrying about my mom. Her back has been hurting her so badly. The whole time I have been here, she's been laid up in bed, on pain killers -- or off to visit doctors to see what to do about it. I feel so sad, and wish I could do something to help.

I've also been very excited to see Brian again. He stayed in NY and I brought the kids to Idaho to be with family. He's been VERY busy, and he's finally joining us here tomorrow, for a week and a half. I have plans of putting him straight to bed for several days, after all his many late nights, poor thing. Think he'll let me? ha! It will be very nice to be with him, and have him here with us. We have a fun Bishop reunion planned, and a trip to Redfish Lake. And a birthday party for me, with my family. Good times ahead...

And the kids. Well, they're little darlings and I love them. I have a hard time being the single mom, but I think I've managed a little better than I expected on this trip. (I say this when they're all fast asleep in their beds, of course.)

Spencer is LOVING being here! He told his cousin yesterday, "My dad lives in New York. But I live in Caldwell." Oh boy. Sounds like a "split family," right?! We may have some "adjusting" to do when this vacation is over.

Samantha is so occupied playing with all her cousins that I hardly see her. She totally loves an adventure, as usual. So, she's making the most of her time here.

And Natalie is on the move, finally. She's really caught onto crawling, and loves exploring around. She is a regular little vacuum and picks up anything off the floor and shoves it in her mouth, like a good nine-month-old. Her all-time favorite snack is paper. She attacked grandma and grandpa's Yellow-pages yesterday, was working her way through the "B" section when I caught her. She's also found her voice, and is quite assertive! -- Reminds me more of Sammie everyday. I hope that's a good thing?? ;)

As for me, I'm tired. I keep staying up too late -- tonight is no exception. But I have plans of changing my ways... after this vacation, probably. :) I also have plans of running again. I was hoping to keep it up while I was here, but I've been lazy. I did that 5k on the Fourth, and the altitude almost killed me. So, I've mainly just taken some brisk walks since then. Maybe once I'm back to the sweltering humidity of 6 a.m. mornings in NY I'll get my enthusiasm back?? (Sounds inviting, doesn't it?)

You can probably tell my brain shut off quite awhile ago? I guess I'll try sleeping now. Someone doorbell-ditched us a few nights ago at 1 a.m. and I've been "jumpy" since then. bleh. I just have to wait until I'm SUPER sleepy, then I can zonk out without thinking too much, ya know? Only one more night, then Brian can fight my boogy-mans.

G'night!

More vacation highlights

My absolute favorite day of this vacation was our day at the beach on the Outer Banks. In fact, if I could redo, I'd probably book a place for three days there, and just park in a beach chair on the sand. And then, of course, we'd just have to high-tail it home at the end, skipping the extras we did on our way back up the coast. Hindsight, eh?

Anyway, after Kittyhawk, we drove down the Outer Banks to Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. We got to the lighthouse just after it had closed, so we had a good excuse NOT to climb the 200-something stairs to the top. (ha!) But we got some fun pics...

I'm sorry, but sometimes I just think my kids are so stinkin' cute. I mean, look at that cheesy little grin, and those bare feet, just dangling... adorable!

So, here's the lighthouse itself, in all its lighthouse glory...

Melissa, (and anyone else who has a lighthouse obsession) you've GOT to get to this one; it's gorgeous! Really, it's one of the most impressive ones I've seen.

From the base, looking up...

The "crew" on the steps at the base...

And, looking back at it from the beach...

Another nice shot from the beach...

Ah yes, the beach...

It was completely dreamy... the kind of beach I adore: warm water, medium waves, soft fine sand, piles of sea grass and a few dunes. Like I said, adorable...

Had enough yet?

We all really enjoyed it. Here's Samantha and Grandma, looking for shells...

Grandpa, sketching a beach scene while he watched Natalie, with Spence in the background, "digging," ...

Spencer and Sammie, after Brian buried them...

Brian and me, trying to convince the kids that the water really IS just as fun as the sand...

Spencer was NOT convinced. A sneaker wave knocked at him, scared him half to death and sent him high-tailing it back to the shore, poor guy. Oh well... he has time, right?...

And just a few more fun shots from my little stroll along the beach, while the sunset...

Some funky rusty old metal jetty thing made for some interesting shots...

And, I've always wanted to try to replicate that "Footsteps" picture that goes with the poem. Here was my best attempt...

Ah, lovely, lovely beach. I could go on. You know I could. But I won't.

The next day, we toured the US Naval Base in Norfolk, VA -- a "guy" thing. It was actually pretty interesting, only, we didn't get to go on any of the ships, so I was a bit disappointed. I mean, couldn't they just let us take a quick stroll on the deck of one of those aircraft carriers? Nope. We were confined to a bus, with a super cool pregnant, 22-year-old navy girl private tour guide person. (I'm sure she had a title, but umm... lost on me. sorry.)

Anyway, here are the few pics we were "allowed" to take of the ships...

We drove right up close, but couldn't get out our cameras until we were about a mile away. Some security stuff, I guess?

I was hoping to get a picture of the second busiest McDonalds in the world, which is part of the base (1st busiest is in Times Square, which I now have a goal to visit!) Well, the bus didn't pass by McD's, too bad. Maybe another "security" thing??

We did get some fun pics of some of the officers' houses. Looks like they live in style, eh?

Our tour guide said the privates aren't even allowed to go on the street where the officers' houses are, except if they're "summoned" or invited to special parties, or giving tours. Interesting, eh?

We also saw some of the fancy air craft parked on the lawns all across the base...

Brian or my dad could probably tell you their names. To Spence (and me), they're just "big, fast, airplanes"...

After Norfolk, we started making our way home, up the outside of the Chesapeake Bay. Point of interest: Did you know there is a 20-mile-long BRIDGE across the bottom of the Chesapeake Bay? Oh yes there is! And we got to drive across it! Super cool!!

In case you were wondering what it's called, well, it's the Chesapeake Bay Bridge - Tunnel. Original, no. But descriptive enough, I guess.

Our handsome driver, as we set off over the bridge...

There's a fancy fishermans' pier right at the start, with some fun diagrams and a little restaurant. We stopped to get the scoop on what we were undertaking. Here's the detailed map of the bridge, including the two miles of tunnel, allowing ships to pass through...

Here's the entrance to the tunnel, taken from the top of the fisherman's pier...

On the pier, watching the fisherman...

One of my favorite pics of the trip -- Grandpa and Nattie Kay. (She just woke up; please forgive her the sweaty-head look.)

I just love pics of my parents with my kids. It makes me feel so happy to see the generations together, I guess.

Another bridge shot, with the sun setting...

And, goodbye sunshine. Goodbye, bridge.

After that, we were pretty much on the way home. And, to be honest, there's not that much going on up the coast of Delaware -- in case you wondered. But we did stop in Dover, to see the capitol building there...

Overrated. It doesn't even have a dome on top, can you believe?! ...

At least my kids were cute!...

Quick stop over in Philly, to see the lovely Liberty Bell, always nice...

We (or at least Brian) also wanted to go into Independence Hall, but all the tix for the day were gone. Too bad, but it was under construction anyway, and do you think our kids really would have cared? hmmm...

We also did a drive-by of Trenton, NJ, to see its capitol building. More impressive than Delaware, even though it's kind of crammed in the middle of the city...

At least it has a dome...

And Natalie loved it. Errr, at least loved getting a diaper change and a quick roll on the grass...

So, by that time, we were just about "tripped" out, and were ready to go home.

So we did.

Just a few extra random shots to remember from the trip...

Our "haul" up to the hotel rooms every night.

Ha ha! Poor Spencer. Look how Sammie thinks she's sooooo funny!!

Natalie, kickin' back in her car seat in the car, and my mom, snapping pictures of her every 20 minutes or so...

For those of you who know what this is, umm... yeah. We saw a lot of this on the trip. Six days, poor buddy. For those of you who DON'T know what this is, umm... you really don't want to know.

The man on vacation. Yay!! Nine days. Nine blessed days and no work. It was nice to see him sleep and relax, for a change!

And one last cute one of the babe...

Vacation over. Next one is on the horizon...

Back to the homeland I go, with three kids in tow. Tomorrow. Wish us luck!!

What a vacation should look like...

If I don't put up some pictures and details now, they will be lost forever, I fear. So... here are the highlights of our vacation down the coast a few weeks ago...

First stop, Ft. McHenry, in Baltimore. Yep, it's the place where Francis Scott Key penned the Star Spangled Banner. Quite a pretty place. We did a quick visit, on our way down to D.C.

Here's Old Glory, flying high...

The kids, acting very interested in the signage about cannons. Spencer wanted to pick up the lead balls...

Nattie, eating her "straps" -- always tasty!

The harbor. Oh, how fun to sail, brings back lovely Boston memories!!

Running by the seawall... I added this one because this is how things were for much of the vacation: "Sammie, come back!"

We stayed in the D.C. area for a couple of nights, with our dear friends, the Becks. We knew them in London and share Idaho ties, so we've kept in touch pretty good through the years. Sadly, I got NO pictures of them, or our other friends, the Eliesons, who we also saw while we were in D.C. How unfortunate!

But I did get some "we were in Washington D.C." pictures, such as...

And this one, recognize it??

We did a hour-long "run by" of some of the Smithosian Museums (which, let's be honest -- that's about all we'd really want with three tots in tow, right?) Here's Spence and the dinosaurs... he was a little scared, can ya blame him?

Samantha, admiring the Hope Diamond. This girl's already got some taste...

Sam's been studying about minerals lately, so she LOVED their mineral collection! She took this one herself, not bad for a 5-yr-old, eh?...

Spencer was really impressed with the Air and Space Museum. (for about 10 minutes, of course)....

We lucked into a Memorial Day concert in front of the capitol building, pretty cool!!

Here's the crowd and the stage...

They sang some patriotic songs and talked about our vets. The kids lost the plot after awhile, so we didn't stay for it all. But it was fun to be part of it, for a half hour or so.

Brian took this lovely shot of the capitol at dusk, from our spot on the grass...

We took a little night walk around the city. I just have to laugh at this pic of the White House (that tiny spec, way in the background). We were totally exhausted by the time we got there, and it shows. Check out Samantha's nice scowl...

After D.C., we drove down through Virginia to Charlottesville to see Monticello (Thomas Jefferson's estate). Quite the place!! A few pics...

No pictures allowed inside, such a shame. But here we are on the back lawn...

And then, Brian got up really early to see the campus of University of Virginia there in Charlottesville, while the rest of slept. No, this isn't part of Jefferson's estate, but it was designed by him, can you tell?? ...

An artsy doorway, for those who love college campuses (Brian). I'd like to photoshop out those handrails, fyi...

After Virginia, we swung by Raleigh, North Carolina to see Duke and pick up my parents, who joined us for the rest of our trip. Fun! Here's a quick look at Duke. (I have to throw these in, for Brian)...

That bell tower (above) was playing some lovely hymns while we were there. I LOVE bells!

Here are the little darlings, at a fountain in one of Duke's botanical gardens...

Another part of the gardens...

Just to prove that we were really at Duke, ha ha...

And from there, on to the Outer Banks and Kittyhawk, NC. Anybody know what happened there?...

That's right, the Wright Brothers first flew their plane at Kittyhawk. How exciting!! My dad really wanted to see it, so we were glad to add it to our plans. Did you know, that grassy knoll was NOT there when the Wright Brothers flew? They actually chose this spot for the great sand dunes. But of course, a memorial needs grass, right? So... well, so much for authenticity, eh?

We really should have gotten a picture of my dad at Kittyhawk, but he was off reading all the plaques and taking pictures and buying a 200-page book about it. So... all you get is us...

Inside the visitors center, they have a full scale replica of the Wright Brothers' plane -- named the Flyer (original, no?) It was pretty neat to watch the demonstration and see how mechanical the different parts of the plane were.

And, inside a replica of their little hanger...

Well, this is getting so long. I think I'll do a vacation, part 2. Hold tight!!