A Trip Up North

Last week, I made a last-minute decision to get the heck out of Boise and take the kids for a visit to see Dana, Veronica, and Easton. I needed a road-trip with my kids, a visit with my brother, and some fresh air to clear my mind of people who have nothing better to do with their time than sit around and play mind games. It's nauseating, tiring, and frankly, pathetic. And a visit to the fresh, northern Idaho air was just what the doctor ordered. The kids did great with the ride, though we were set back on Whitebird due to a terrible accident, and we made good time. 

 

 

Friday evening was spent with a pizza dinner, followed by drinking and games after the kids were in bed. Followed by more drinking, therapeutic cleansing of the mind (also known as a crazy amount of shit-talking, one hell of a pissed off brother, and laughter), and more drinking. It was a crazy night, and one that I will remember forever simply because of the advice and pep-talk from Dana and Veronica.

I can laugh about the entire situation now simply because I see it for what it truly was, and am truly grateful to be removed from the.....shitstorm? Yes, that's what we'll call it. Having a guy's take on the complete lines of bullshit I had been fed for years was something I needed to hear, and I'm thankful to my brother for this.

 

 

 

 

We had already decided that Saturday morning would be spent hiking in the mountains of Coeur d'Alene. Since Easton wakes up so early, all of that drinking from the night before suddenly didn't seem like the greatest of ideas. Were we still drunk? We had a big breakfast and slowly got ourselves and the kiddos ready to head out the door. A couple of hours later, we were finally at the mountain base for our hike. I knew it was a strenuous hike and I was prepared for it. I wasn't, however, prepared for carrying Kendall virtually the whole way up the mountain, and back down. She wasn't into the hike at all and wanted to be carried. Even walking on the flatter portions of the trail was NOT her cup of tea. She kept telling me "mommy, this is hard" or "my legs hurt". She cried every time I made her walk. It turned a strenuous hike into an impossible one, but I stuck with it. There was even an older gentleman with his wife, who commended me as a "super mom" - taking his hat off and bowing to me. Rather funny, but I was exhausted!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were all exhausted, actually, and everyone in the house took a 3.5 hour nap. After the nap, Veronica made us dinner and then we headed to downtown Coeur d'Alene to check out a new park. The kids had a great time running all over the place. We attempted to watch a movie (Due Date, one of our favorites) after the kids went to bed, but I think all of the physical activity of the day caught up to us again, and we hit the hay rather early.

 

 

 

 

Sunday morning was another quiet one...just breakfast, followed by watching Dana and Carter play catch. They are such great buds and Carter really looks up to Dana. It made my heart happy to watch them play. The drive home was rather stressful as I hit rain from Lewiston through Whitebird. Whitebird was actually a bear, and really scared me on a couple of the turns. But we made it home without incident and I'm so glad I had the time to take the trip with the kids.

 

 

A new adventure is about to begin - I'm hoping this is something great for me. I can't run the risk of jinxing it, so hopefully a big announcement is coming soon!

Summer Nights

Last week produced some wonderful summer evenings. I spent quite a bit of time out in the sun later in the week. One evening after dinner, I took the kids down to the river. It's one of my favorite things to do with them and it was a fun evening.

 

 

 

 

 

Make the Leap

The vast majority of humans are creatures of habit. We stay in the groove. We find something that works, and we stick with it. And why not? You know the saying....."if it ain't broke..." You know how it goes.  And on the opposite side of that, even when things ARE broken, humans are still creatures of habit. We stay in the groove. It's familiar. It's comfortable. We are scared of change.

However, what if:

Do you rise to the challenge? When things are broken, do you go out and get that "everything" that you've ever wanted? Or do you remain stagnant? Do you stick with the familiar and the comfortable, and ignore all of those "everythings" that truly are just out of reach?

This year has involved some major steps for me, well outside of my comfort zone. It's incredible what you find out there.

Maybe, Just Maybe.....

It is better to end something

and start another, than to

imprison yourself in hoping

for the impossible.

The Roatan Adventure, Day 5 and Coming Home

Wednesday was a very quiet day, we didn't have anything planned other than laying on the beach, reading, listening to music, and swimming in the ocean. It was nice to have a day that wasn't busy. I noticed a little crab digging a hole, so I snagged a picture of him. For some reason, these guys aren't as scary in the daylight. Seeing them at night is a different story because they are sneaky....or maybe it has something to do with the amount of alcohol in my system by then! ;)  Nonetheless, it was fun watching this little guy putt around and dig holes.

Not a bad view at all. The water temp in Roatan is at a steady 79 degrees, so it was nice and refreshing to take a little dip when the sun got a little too warm.

I also found out that there are TWO cruise ports in Roatan. I originally thought there was just one, which I was definitely staying away from considering the rash of recent violence on the island. One of the cruises left at dark one of the nights - it was all lit up with the decorative lights. This cruise left right before sunset on Wednesday. I figured with its course of travel, he was going to directly block my sunset shots, but it worked out just fine.

One of the main things I came to see in Roatan.

The lower the sun got, the deeper the red became.

Perfection.

Everything about Roatan was magical. I'm a huge lover of tropical places, so I was excited to get out and explore a place I had never been to before. It was everything I wanted it to be - busy to a point, and quiet island life as well. I loved the villa, too. It was in a perfect location and I would not hesitate to stay there again. The owners were there when we needed them, and had plenty of advice for all of our questions. They are only two years into the villa project, and have plans to add six more and another swimming pool. They definitely have life figured out! We stopped in West End one last time on the way to the airport to grab more souvenirs. Coming back was stress-free, no flight issues whatsoever. It was truly a place I will never forget, and I can't wait to go back to explore more!

The Roatan Adventure, Day 4

Day 4 brought on another new adventure for me - scuba diving. I have done snorkeling several times on other vacations, but never scuba diving. I can't say that I was excited about this, and I was even more nervous after watching the video and going over all of the skills. It's just information overload, really. So many things to remember at the same time! Once the video was done and the on-shore skills were reviewed, we went into the shallow ocean water to test the skills. Right off the bat, it wasn't working for me. I came up several times, very frustrated. The instructor was very patient with me and she really assured me that everything would be fine. And if not, hey, I tried. After a great pep talk, I went back down and got everything figured out. Then we moved out into deeper water.  I had bought a nicer underwater camera just for this trip. Even though it was only good for about 10 feet down, I decided to take it along. I figured if I got some shots, great, and if not, oh well. It was only a $60 camera and I knew I wouldn't be able to trust a waterproof case for my big camera. So this was really my only option. Once we got about 30 feet down, the LCD display started to bubble. I kept shooting anyway, just in case the pictures kept.  And they did. The visibility wasn't incredible that day due to the rain we got the day before. But still, I can't complain!

The instructor leading the way for us.

Thumbs up? Maybe. There were several times I was late on pressurizing and my ears felt like they were going to explode. It was a terrible feeling, but once I remembered to do it regularly, everything seemed okay.

We also saw a barracuda hunting and kept our distance from him. I wasn't able to get a picture.

Once we got back to the boat, I was glad to be done. I am thankful for the experience, but it's just not something I would add to the top of my to-do list for other vacations.

We ventured back to West End for more exploring and ended up at a beach-front restaurant for dinner. There was a street vendor who would just not leave us alone, so we decided to just try his place to get him off of our backs. My dinner wasn't fantastic, but I was talked into trying lobster and it wasn't bad! My parents have been giving me grief for the better part of 25+ years to try lobster. They would have been proud of me for biting the bullet!

There were some teenage boys on a relentless pursuit of some ladies. They built a large bonfire on the beach and I wanted to snag a picture. Those boys - they never change!

Done

The decree has been signed by the judge and the legal part of this process is over. Obviously interaction and co-parenting will still be in play for quite some time to come.

I've been feeling a number of different emotions lately. Relief is the most prominent. I feel like all of the threats and poor behavior can finally stop - I can't be held "hostage" anymore.

The feelings of failure do not exist for me anymore. Granted, the marriage itself didn't succeed, but I haven't failed my children. They still have two parents who love them more than anything. They will still have a wonderful life filled with adventures.

I have learned many lessons during the course of this relationship. I hope that HE has learned even more.

I feel like there is so much more to say, but I'm going to keep the majority of my thoughts and feelings private.

Onward and upward, and here's to many more adventures.

Every Storm Runs Out of Rain

As I wait for the final decree to be signed by the judge, this song really hits home. It's been a trying couple of weeks. I have stopped, several times, to wonder when the conflict is going to end. When the fighting will stop. When we will just be divorced people co-parenting two amazing kids. Maybe we have reached that point. Time will tell.

Every Storm Runs Out of Rain

Gary Allan

Oh, so your standing in the middle of the thunder and lightning.
I know you're feeling like you just can't win, but you're trying.
It's hard to keep on keepin' on, when you're being pushed around.
Don't even know which way is up, you just keep spinning down, 'round, down...

Every storm runs, runs out of rain,
 just like every dark night turns into day.
Every heartache will fade away,
 just like every storm runs, runs out of rain.

So hold your head up and tell yourself that there's something more,
 and walk out that door.
Go find a new rose. Don't be afraid of the thorns,
'cause we all have thorns.
Just put your feet up to the edge, put your face in the wind,
 and when you fall back down, keep on rememberin'.

Every storm runs, runs out of rain,
 just like every dark night turns into day.
Every heartache will fade away,
 just like every storm runs, runs out of rain.

It's gonna run out of pain.
It's gonna run out of sting.
It's gonna leave you alone.
It's gonna set you free.
Set you free.

Every storm runs, runs out of rain,
 just like every dark night turns into day.
Every heartache will fade away,
 just like every storm runs, runs out of rain.

It's gonna set you free,
 it's gonna run out of pain,
 and set you free.

An Outdoor Weekend

Seriously, Boise was GORGEOUS this weekend!  Saturday was amazing and today was even better.  The kids and I were outside all day yesterday. We spent quite a bit of time out front, doing sidewalk chalk drawings, and then we went to the neighborhood park.

 

 

 

 

 

Carter is seriously the best big brother, EVER. Kendall wanted to do his hair, though he did draw the line at any sort of accessories. But seriously, he let her brush his hair and then use her little Minnie Mouse blow dryer. It was too cute!

 

 

 

Today, we met up with my parents again in the afternoon for more baseball practice with Carter. I didn't get a ton of shots because I was either shagging balls from Carter batting or playing first base when he was taking infield. His infield skills have really improved and he's pretty much a vacuum for anything middle infield. I'm so proud of him!

 

 

We've been working Carter on doing switch hitting since he could pick up a bat. He had a hard time today, but I think he was pretty tired from doing a few buckets from the right side of the plate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

It was a great weekend to be outside. I sure hope next weekend is just as nice!