Home Alone

I had a good trip to Andover (despite some annoying travel delays heading east). Meetings proved helpful and worthwhile. In taking this job last December, I had hope that there is a positive connection between a job you love and a happy home life ... my time in Andover reassured me that this is not a silly idea. I am very excited about what I'll be doing, and I am buoyed by my boss' genuine support of me and of our family life. Granted, the pace of the past few days turned me upside down ... too much in too little time ... evenso, I have more faith that our return to Andover can and will be a positive experience for all of us. Of course, as soon as I saw the Tetons as I landed in Jackson, I just felt my whole entire self exhale ...

Much of my faith in a happy return I am sure has to do with the short, but deeply rich, time spent with my family. I had a wonderful evening with my parents and Maribeth and 4 of her children. I missed Michael. Those children have grown so much ... I have always thought of MB as the mom any kid is so lucky to have ... and seeing her happy, well-adjusted, polite, articulate, eccentric, confident kids who are so caring toward each other, I was reminded of MB as a child! I also had a wonderful evening with our best friends, the Greens. Kath and Chad and their 3 children will spend next year in South Africa. In essence we will all be apart for 2 years. However, knowing what I know about what this year has been for us, my happiness for them and the year they have ahead transcends any sadness I have in being away from them for another year. I shared some special moments with each child. The time with the Bechtold and Green children was a big highlight of this trip.

Corbin reports a fun and celebratory trip to Oregon. They had a surprise party for Sue's retirement and a lot of good family time. Corb and the kids are now in Washington with Sue and Gary. Brady has already made a birdhouse with Gary. Connor ventured to the nearby tennis courts and befriended the tennis instructor yesterday. Today he took a lesson and apparently there will be another lesson tomorrow! Maggie is as playful as always ... good to know she can do that anywhere.

Now I am home alone. I'm good at being alone. But I have that uneasy feeling you get when your family is not with you. And I find that free time makes me want to be uber-productive! Hmmm ... maybe I need to work on this being alone thing ... I just know that I will be VERY happy when Corb and the kids return home.

Separate vacations ...

I never thought I'd see this day ... early tomorrow morning, Corbin will drive West with the three kids. He'll spend a few days in Central Oregon with his whole family, then head to Yakima, WA to spend a few more days with Gary and Sue. The kids are very excited about time with their cousins. They will also have time in the pool at "Suey and Poppa's," and all the boys will hit "Bobble Head Doll Night" at a Mariners' game, while Sue and Maggie have a little girl time!

Saturday morning I will fly East for some job training. Despite, a ridiculously (eastern) packed scheduled, I will get to see my friend, Kath, and my parents during my stay! I'll return mid-week in time to have a day or two to myself (!!!) and then run Lisa's Final 50 miles with her on Sat 6/19.

I think I'll be a little lonely here in my log cabin. I think that will be good for me ... for a short time, anyway.

Who IS that guy?

The reactions to Corbin, after shaving his beard, have been absolutely entertaining. While the kids and I were amazed at the change, we recognize clean-shaven Corb as a guy we know well. In town, people walk by him without recognizing him. In fact, people have talked to him without realizing who he is!

At the first 4H meeting last week, Harley invited Corbin into his house, wondering, "Who the heck is this guy?" He finally realized who it was when Brady joined them at the table and Harley just started laughing, fully admitting, "I had no clue who you were!" And Harley is someone with whom we've spent some time.

This reaction has been recreated in quite a few situations. Corb and I laugh about it! It is kind of funny to stop and reflect on the fact that in many ways Corb with the beard represented a big part of who he is ... and is a part that is not revealed to many ... and yet people here don't recognize him without it. Ahh ... sabbatical. Ahh ... Driggs. We love our life here.

Of course I loved the beard. And I think he looks absolutely adorable without it!

Two plays - Connor's last game

Connor had his last baseball game on Monday night (can't believe the season's over!!!). We were running late after spending the day shopping in Idaho Falls and Connor had to change into his uniform in the car and run to catch his chance at bat.

At his first at bat, he struck out. He was resilient and continued to play well with his normal intense level of enthusiasm. He had a couple of great hits and was active in fielding. In fact, he wisely got out of a potential "pickle." There are two plays that must be recorded here. Note that all day today, we've been playing the game of "what's the call?" with some hypothetical baseball scenarios.

Play #1: Connor hits a double and is safe on second base. The next hitter gets strike one. The catcher overthrows back to the pitcher and the second baseman is slow to respond. Connor jumps off the base, fields the ball, and throws accurately back to the pitcher. Fans laugh in amazement, coaches exchange looks and agree to let it go.

Play #2: Connor is on deck. The batter fouls with a ball that pops up back toward the backstop. The catcher is too far to catch it and doesn't make a move. The ball was heading for Connor's head, but he was watching. With the bat in his right hand, he casually reaches up with his left hand (with a batting glove on), grabs the ball out of the air, and tosses the ball back to the pitcher (with his left hand). Fans call, "Nice catch" and the coaches just chuckle.

Our Little Cowboy

Brady had his second 4H Club meeting tonight. Last week was paper work and getting organized. This week the kids needed to show up with hats and boots for riding. They started by brushing the horses and learning how to saddle a horse. Then they got to ride. Brady and his friend, Elsa, were the least pushy ... kind of sitting back and observing while others were saying "Harley can I ride next? Can I ride that horse?" It was nice that Harley was observant and patient ... his quiet comment as he got to Brady and Elsa was, "Those who ride last, ride longest."

While Corb stayed at 4H with Brady, I took Connor and Maggie to the track on bikes for a little "mommy" workout. Susie (Elsa's mom) and Heather (Harley's wife) showed up at the track (along with a few other moms and kids). We had a marvelous time ... good speed workout for those of use who need it and nice social visit during recovery time! Connor was very entertained by a softball game on the field next to the track, and Maggie was great running around her her soccer cleats!

Nice end to the day ... Brady's response to "favorite part of my day" was ... "I can't decide there were so many!" We had his friend, Lea, over for a good part of the day and they found MANY adventures on their bikes and then played a good round of soccer in the backyard, with the new net we bought in Idaho Falls yesterday. This afternoon we had a short trip downtown and the kids got "99cent Rootbeer Floats" at Corner Drug. They were offering a special for our neighbor, Mike Ehredt, who is running across the country placing a flag every mile for a life lost in Iraq. Mike came through Driggs today. When we found the flag downtown, Brady was very excited because he remembers helping to assemble the flags before Mike's run began. Many nice moments for Brady today!

Favorite Part of My Day

Every night we do "favorite part of my day" with the kids ... each kid with each parent. Sometimes one child gives different answers to each parent, often coinciding with time together. Tonight was Maggie's end-of-year program for her school. As always ... just adorable! Her class sang the Air Force fight song ... with a couple of minor adjustments ... with hand motions and everything.

As an aside, how funny is it that Maggie learned the AF fight song at her preschool? Here's another funny thing ... a couple of days ago the weather was good and the whole school started the day on the playground. As I dropped Maggie off, I walked her out to the playground. Along the way we stopped to greet the bunnies in the cages. Outside on the playground the ducks and chicks were roaming freely. This is quite a contrast to her preschool in Andover where there is a strict "no pets" policy anywhere near the playground or school. I'm not saying one is better ... just tickled by the differences :-)

So tonight at bedtime, Corb and I got the same response (about 10 minutes apart) from Maggie. Sleepy little Maggie said, "Favorite part of my day was at my program ... and I was so proud of myself."

Baseball Photo Night

Baseball team and individual photos were taken tonight. It's the second to last game of the season ... just as the weather's getting better. We are all sad to see this short season end!

Notice that the hand-tailored shirt has made it through the season!!