this and that

When I blog I realize how different our lives are now than they were on the road. Doesn't seem quite as exciting! :) I read about my friends that are on the road right now and get a little sad, as I am really missing the lifestyle. My kids are extremely happy though so I am good. My Dad and his wife hit the road a few weeks ago also, in their fifth wheel. They are in Oregon now and seem to be enjoying it as much as we did.

We made it through the first week with new puppies. Pheewwww! This is hard work, I think more tiring than having a baby. Things are going really well. We had a couple small issues come up so I called my "dog lady", Claudia, owner of Better Companion, and got some great advice that has made a difference. The boys start puppy class with them on Oct. 12. We had the puppies together in the same crate and that was causing some issues. She told us to keep them as separate as possible, as much as possible, so they will make a stronger bond with us than with each other. Last night was their first night in separate crates and they were having some separation anxiety. I was up at 5:00 practically rocking Billie to sleep. After 15 minutes of that she calmed right down.

Haven't made it up to Fairbanks yet, to see all my friends there, but hope to in November. Kevin's schedule has tied us down a tad bit. He has choir on Friday and Youth Court on Saturday, and is trying out for a play this week, so it makes it hard to go on weekends. He is bugging me to get a work permit for him so he can get a job and also ready to get his drivers permit. He is growing up fast! I am enjoying this stage of his development tremendously, he is such a joy to be around and has so many interests and passions it is hard to keep up with him sometimes. I love all the stages though, they have all been my favorite.

Tristan is starting to settle in also. The first couple of weeks in the house seemed to be a hard transition for him. Go figure! Sometimes it is hard for me to determine what is going to set him off but transitions are always difficult. Two of his friends knew what neighborhood we had bought a house in so they biked over and spent 1/2 hour searching for a house with a big motorhome in the driveway. They found us and rang the doorbell. Tristan was feeling pretty good that they would spend that much time searching for him. He is taking the puppy care very seriously and I have hardly had to do much with Dante, as he is right on top of it. He was also very excited to find out that our local bowling alley opened back up after being closed for a few months. We all love to bowl, especially Tristan, so we have been spending a bit of time over there. He has been happy to have his drumset back and is getting quite good on those too. Somedays we have to put up with a lot of noise but it is actually good to hear it again.

Calista is keeping fairly busy keeping Rylee entertained and vice versa. Rylee is attending public school so we don't see her as often as normal but enough to suffice Calista. She bought a pretty fancy, working cash register with her PFD (Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend), that us lucky Alaskans get every year (this year is $1100.00). We have had a bowling alley, a store, and a few other things. We are directed to purchase things so she can check us out. She had our friend, Mary, renting bowling shoes and a ball and bowling in her homemade alley, which consisted of cups, plates, and anything else she could find to stack up in a triangle. She even had bumper pads (wall shelves). She is feeling a little left out with the boys getting puppies. She wants a Pomeranian and actually made arrangements to get a puppy from a breeder that has two females ready to breed. I am hoping that the training with Dante and Billie go well enough that I feel up to bringing another one into the home but I am being cautious. She did a good job of "babysitting" a friends Pomeranian and I think it was a good match for her but I don't want to have more than we can handle either.

Martin is as busy as ever. He continues to love the realty thing and is selling a bit of property. Apparently he is really good at the people side of things, according to the those who have seen him in action. He has gotten compliments from clients who are impressed with his knowledge! lol. So far no one has asked how long he has been doing it and he hopes it stays that way. He has been busy trying to get Kevins room completed. We are to the sheetrocking stage now and had a friend offer to do the mudding and taping for us. Yaaaaa!! Martin hates that part of the job! We will have to trade for something else for him. His room should be done in the next week anyway and I am sure Kevin will be glad to have a bed to sleep on again, as he has been sleeping on the couch. I will be glad to have the living room back too!

I have just been trying to get the house in order, which is no easy task having two puppies! I had my "old lady friends" over for lunch on Tuesday. It is nice to be back surrounded by all these wonderful people! My "old lady friends" are some older ladies from church that, for one reason or another, I have bonded with. They are like my adopted mommies. They uplift and encourage me and I am lucky to have them in my life. I am also back to clogging. For those of you who don't know what clogging is, it is a dance that could be likened a little to tapping. The shoes and steps are different but there are some similarities. I didn't get to clog at all while we were traveling and was just itching to get my shoes on again. It is so much fun!!

Again.............................Life is Good!!