Summer Vacation Has Begun!

MiniWarrior has completed 6th grade--with honors!

We attended an award ceremony for select kids and we were beaming proud when MiniWarrior was called up for an award in Language/Literature :)

This is a huge triumph for him as, if you understand Autism, one of the major deficits Autistics have is in language interpretation.

Did I mention how proud I am of him? :)

Tuesday, he and I are flying to Minnesota to visit my brother and his family. MiniWarrior is very excited to be flying again and to see his favorite cousins. This too is a triumph. Up until this past year it was not possible to take him on an extended vacation (away from his home comforts) without a great deal of stress.

I am still taking precautions in that I am renting a car and staying in a hotel with him so that if he should become overwhelmed and need complete defrag-from-people time we can leave immediately and head back to the quiet of the hotel room.

*sigh* Our MiniWarrior is growing up, Peeps. And as he is now officially an inch taller than me now--not so "mini" anymore.




MiniWarrior and his favorite cat, Harry.

UGH!

Will this rain EVER end?!!

We have had 2 sunny days in an entire month, Peeps.

2.

I fear not even my Northwest webbed feet will save me from drowning!

Gabby Abby

cuz I know you've missed her ;)

FROGNABIT!

Before this Saturday, we have had rain 19 days in a row.

Saturday the Sun (finally) came out!

My little family and I spent as much time as we possibly could outside, drinking in the liquid sunshine.

I spent most of the day cleaning the fountain in our backyard terrace--which involved scooping a Winters worth of leaves and 3 billion tadpoles out of the green water.

I used a pool net to scoop the crud out of the water and emptied the net into a wheelbarrow.

MiniWarrior spied the billions of tadpoles in the wheelbarrow and rushed over to fill it with water so the tadpoles would not die.

Mommmmm you are suffocating them!

...

So yeah. Now? Now I have a clean fountain and a wheelbarrow full of a billion tadpoles resting by the side of the house...

The plague of Egypt will someday soon rain upon our heads...

Girls Night Out: Two Claws UP!

I met up with my favorite girlfriends Friday night for a girls night out.

We ate at California Pizza (I had a black bean, grilled chicken, spring roll appetizer for dinner...mm!!)

Then went and saw the new "Sex and the City 2" movie. From all I had read about the movie I wasn't expecting it to be good. Actually, I went into the movie expecting it to be horrible and was just looking forward to being with my girls.

Surprise, I loved it!

It is a total chick movie. I don't believe any man would "get" it. It was way over the top with ridiculous outfits and scenes...but the underbelly was real and raw and 100% who we are as women.

When a woman loves, she throws herself fully into that love. Be it the love of one's children, career, self, a man...a woman. We envelop ourselves in that love, living and breathing it as it brings us such joy.

But, in that envelopment sometimes we get lost. The very essence of who we are as an individual gets shoved into the broom closet of our lives. Most times we don't miss it. We are so busy we don't stop to know we miss it. But every once in awhile, in the naked space of a moment we feel the loss. A curious empty space that makes us pause and puzzle as to what it is we are missing.

This, the internal struggle of a woman, is what the "Sex and the City 2" movie captured so well. And I'll tell you. Sitting in the dark theater, squished in the middle of my girlfriends, belly laughing with them...I felt a vital piece of myself that I had forgotten come back.

I love my life. My family. My home. I am surrounded by love. But you know, sometimes? Sometimes it is that moment when you are laughing with your chicks and just being a "girl" that is... indescribably wonderful. Nothing compares to it.