Aye aye, Captain

J and I are working on achieving a financial goal right now (I feel like such a grown-up when I say that) which will, once achieved  greatly reduce our mortgage payment, which I am so excited about because a reduced mortgage payment opens up several new options for us. We have cut out a lot of extras since April so that we could put that money towards achieving our goal instead, and one of those "extras" was a summer vacation. As it turned out, our summer went nothing like we planned anyway, but still, once September rolled around I realized I hadn't been out of Tucson since March. MARCH! I was so ready for a weekend escape to Lake Havasu to celebrate my mom's birthday. 

We had a wonderful weekend with my mom, but, hands down, my favorite part of our trip was when we rented a boat and got out on the water. Especially because we have our own personal boat captain, Captain GG.

BB was initially anxious, but after a few minutes on the boat he became more comfortable, and by the end he kept requesting to go faster.

Safe on Daddy's lap, when BB was still apprehensive about the boat

My boys

The view

SS's first time in a life vest

Moments after the above photo - SS had mixed feelings about the life vest.

Or maybe he was just ready for a nap, because shortly after bouncing along on the water he was lulled to sleep in my arms.

When we were getting ready to go out on the boat, BB asked if he could be the captain, and we told him he'd have to take it up with his GG. Luckily, GG was happy to oblige.

Our Captains

BB spent most of the boat trip happily driving the boat with GG

I jumped off the back of the boat for a quick swim, and this was SS's reaction:

My boys

After we got off the boat we headed to Mudshark, where I worked for two years in high school, for lunch with my friend from high school.

I was able to hang out with Jess and talk for a couple of hours while the boys napped at the hotel - fun to catch up with an old friend.

And that night my mom organized a bowling night for us and my step-brothers and their families to all spend some time together. My step-dad treated us all to pizza, I got to meet my step-brothers kiddos, and BB got to bowl for the very first time - he loved it.  

And we even got a family photo.

This one's blurry, but I still like it.

Thanks Captain GG for a memorable getaway - we hope your birthday was a little extra happy!!

Only a Ginger Can Call Another Ginger Ginger

I may or may not have impulsively given BB a red streak while dyeing Auntie Seen's hair red.

J was not pleased.

What can I say? I got me a case of gingivitis!

References: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0IVuGK7sAw

(Warning: there is some salty language towards the end)

Chunky Monkey

You haven't seen delight until you've seen BB's entire face light up mid-whining-about-lunch to excitedly proclaim in his silly voice "I wanna chunky monkey sanwich".

J created BB this treat for the first time, and since then BB can instruct you on exactly what goes on a chunky monkey sandwich. If you're wondering, it's peanut butter, sliced bananas, a drizzle of honey, and chocolate sprinkles. Lunch of champions.

From Washington With Love

As I already shared in SS's birthday post, my sister and nieces and brother-in-law came to visit and celebrate SS's very first birthday with us back at the end of July. 

They stopped by Disneyland on the way here.

We ate a lot of meals, went to my soccer game, watched the Olympics, hiked and lunched on Mount Lemmon, swam at the hotel pool, went to J's sister's art exhibit, and my niece A even game me a (much-needed) soccer lesson.  And her lesson definitely improved my game - so much so that I even scored my FIRST GOAL EVER last week!!!  Which was the best feeling, I couldn't stop smiling (or talking about it). Oh how I love being a Pouncing Puma.

But back to subject at hand.

Cousins

At my soccer game the night they got into town - BB is loving his Eegee treat

Aub's taking mental notes of the game so that she can coach me later

Preparing to hike Mt. Lemmon

Hiking at the top of Mt. Lemmon

Overlooking Tucson

Auntie Jen hug

and a "Scawy kiss"

Didn't we order the large?

BB jumping in to me - unfortunately, BB's love of swimming has been replaced with F-E-A-R and getting him to swim to me or jump in took much, much cajoling.

Male bonding at its finest.

While my sister was in town, J's sister's art exhibit opened. The UA news did a video article on her art and exhibit, which you can watch here. 

http://uanews.org/videos/photo-slideshow-investigation-material-and-space

Even though I see and talk to Shawna all the time, watching this video really helped deepen my understanding of her artwork.

Her exhibit is impressive.

All concrete.

Hundreds of frames, tufted ottomans with patterned "fabric", a side table, all from concrete.

 

My boys with all of their aunties at Shawna's exhibit

And all of their grandparents

My family

The bonus to Shawna's art exhibit being on campus at the U of A was that I got to take my sister and nieces on a little driving tour of my college. My sister remarked about what a proud alumnus I was - and she's totally right, I am still enamored with the University campus, all these years later. And I love that J works on campus so we still occasionally get to spend time enjoying the turtle pond, playing soccer on the mall, driving past my dorm, etc. etc. etc.

Dinner at Oreganos after Shawna's exhibit!! Such a fun night. And for a real taste of the desert, we even saw a javelina driving out to my uncle's that night!

Breakfast before the fam left town

Squeezed in a soccer lesson before they left town. Real girls play soccer in dresses.

Come back soon.

Punctuate with Swearing

Sometimes I love photos, or the memories attached to those photos, so much that it is hard for me to let them go out into the world. I want to publish them in some heightened way with captivating words that fully honor the memory or emotion wrapped up in them. Which is challenging/often-impossible. So they sit in various draft forms for months at a time until I finally feebly post them in some recap post with one line of caption. That's how these pictures still aren't posted 6 months after they were taken.

But I thought today would be an appropriate day to finally post these. 

Matt, Serene, B, and Tada are in Boston, preparing to begin B's radiation treatments. The course of radiation is expected to take around 8 weeks. On Tuesday during some pre-treatment procedures, B developed severe pain and was admitted to the PICU for monitoring. She has fluid compressing her spinal cord. She was discharged yesterday, and woke up from a nap with more pain this afternoon and is back at the ER now. The initiation of her radiation treatments have likely been pushed back a week.

Pray pray pray. 

It's all we can do from so far away. I feel so helpless with no niece to sleep over or hospital room to visit.

Helplessness often induces swearing for me. During the course of B's diagnosis and surgeries here in Tucson, I'd say about a third of my prayers were just incredulous swear words. That's part of what drives me to call for others to pray for B, because my prayers in situations like this are kind of sucky. While Serene is searching the Word and writing out eloquent, powerful, scripture-based prayers for her daughter, I'm whimpering "Help B. Please, please help B," and angrily praying "A *cussing* tumor!?! Are you kidding? *Cuss*!"  But I know my Father understands that it was/is all I could offer. He's the one who made me me, and He accepts me as is, blanketed in grace in Jesus. And I am confident that he is overjoyed that I turn to Him in all things, even only with simple words and with our conversations punctuated with swearing.  But I do so appreciate those scriptural calls on His faithfulness that I know others are sending up on B's behalf. Hopefully they balance out B's aunt's potty mouth.  

Back in March, the girls came over to sleep over with their cousins, just for fun.  We watched Tangled and ate pizza and hot fudge sundaes, and I didn't say "No" for one whole night. 

Pure joy

Horsie

B's bear and Tada's Deet-Deet are riding the kids like horsies

Tada did not expect to be a pony, but BB just hopped right on!

Such a good big sister/cousin, reading the kiddos bedtime stories without even being asked.