Insert Big Sigh Here

Sighworthy few days. Pardon my wallowing.

Packing up the old house.

Sigh.

Lead paint in the new house. 

Sigh.

BFK is leaving for a month.

Big sigh.

I told him to make a cardboard cutout of himself and send that instead.

We'll see.

But for now, I'll just sit on the floor and get in touch with my inner "Frustrated Crazy-Haired Lady"

Can't hold it in forever.

I Don't Quite Know What Just Happened

First I was here...

Then here...

Then here...

And by some extreme miracle, I ended up

 Here

 Here

And here.

Cleaning out the costume room: $0

Hair beading: $20

Three playhouse dresses: $25

One trip down Memory Lane: priceless.

Made it to the Mountains

So when I left off, the Becker Crew had landed safely in Rocky Mountain National Park. We were greeted with this beautiful view:

The next few days weren't exactly as relaxing as the original four's trips were. Instead of being parked by the fire for the day, we were pretty much constantly in motion. The small ones were able to take themselves on mini-hikes around the campsite, and we all got out for a mile or so hike every day. Quite fun.

 Bear Lake: victory pose!

 Tired in the tundra.

Sprague Lake...that was pretty much our only quiet picture.

Feelin' Campy

Don't worry, Mister Man.

I don't quite know what happened, either.

The Becker Family has made a victorious return to The Gateway after a four-day excursion to Rocky Mountain National Park. All clan members have been accounted for, and no one is missing any important body parts. Phew-before we left I was pretty concerned.

And as it happens, so was FG.

Either she was afraid we were never coming back (a completely rational fear, by the way), or she just assumed we were drastically underpacked (which we were), but in any case she came to The Gateway with BFK and New One in tow. Also with them- three small lanterns, Bananagrams, swim diapers, coloring books, the Royal Wedding catalogue, and an Official Playboy Bunny camping chair. The fabulous FG-beautifying the world, thirty glow bracelets at a time.

Anyway, the next day we packed ourselves in the car and headed off-three hours late-for the adventure of a lifetime. Landed in a fancy-schmancy suite in Kearney, and the three young ones were so excited that they didn't sleep until at least 2.

First hotel, and they already hogged the bed. Nice.

The next morning, I woke up with what turned out to be a double ear infection, the cooler emptied itself on the highway, and the twins would NOT fall asleep. But we made it to Rocky Mountain and were out cold in an hour. And so it began. More later!

Well This Is....ummm..."Interesting"

La Croix-
Is it really French? Or just being fancy?

They say you have to try something five separate times before you form an opinion. Well, I've tried this particular grapefruit (aka pamplemousse) drink four times now and I'm not quite sure if I'm liking it any better.

Maybe it'll just become a habit rather than actual enjoyment. Kind of like watching Sister Wives on TLC.

But the thing is, I really want to like it. It's a much healthier alternative to regular soda. Plus I feel fancy with my pretty can of French sparkling water. I also like to say "La Croix" with a French accent and drag it out so I can let it hang in the air after I finish saying it.

Anyway, keep your eyes peeled for other fancy drinks that don't taste quite as un-fancy.

Get your "beverage-huntin'" face on.

Why There Is A Blog In Front Of Your Face

"Why is there a blog in front of my face?" you may ask.

Answer: this woman.

We are adorable. For real.

My Fairy Godmother. The person who, in some way, inspires exactly one half of the things I do. The other half is inspired by The Management, who will soon have a post dedicated to her as well.

FG used to scare the baa-jeezers out of me-I think I was in paralyzing awe of the Hair that I now admire and adore.

She can probably lift up the world. Actually, I think she already has.

Proof that she can do amazing things.

Proof that she loves people.

Proof that her policy of "glitter will fix it" can be very effective.

If we gave FG the Earth, we would all be very happy people. Anybody have a really big bow?

I Done Got Crowned, They Done Got Graduated

Last Thursday was the last of Hogwarts' Exercises in Stamina. These are three hour long Honors Day-type ceremonies that are reserved for the last two days of the school year. They are basically a two day contest to see who can sit through them without falling asleep, fainting, puking, or getting up to go to the bathroom. Kind of like spending a day watching all three Lord of the Rings movies back-to-back.

What my face looked like when I found out what Prize Day was.

But it was good. Lil' Newton got the award for being Super Smart, and Jessicaaaaaa and Glitter Unicorn got the "you are really creative and the whole school thinks you're awesome" award. My friend Reads During Prize Day (nickname definitely not set in stone) got the Big Prize which is voted on by the whole school community. Very exciting. Needless to say I survived and was competent enough to go to the Graduation of My Favorite People. I have to admit, a bit of Eye Water was indeed shed as I sat next to The De-Facto Mongolian Sweetheart, who brought tissues for the occasion. She knows us well. Part of me wanted to get out a bullhorn and Silly String when Trish went up, but the other part of me wanted to close my eyes because I didn't want to believe she was really graduating. But she'll be around.

Rock on, Trisha. Rock on.

There is no doubt in my mind that My Favorite People will do the world so much good. And then they'll come back and tell me about it.

Brace Yourselves.

I can sleep when I'm dead.

Very apropos as I am sleeping in a cemetery.

Prepare for a Long String Of Blogs. Sadly, it's been awhile since the last one. I am blogging with the same regularity as The Management. But I have much less on my plate. There are no excuses.

I've been out of school for two weeks, and it feels so weird! So to get used to it I've been going with The Management to The School I Have Yet To Nickname. Last week I glitter painted tunics with Tunic Tina, who happens to attend a very fancy college in New York. She's made at least one tunic every year I've known her. But I've never had the pleasure of glitter painting them.

Yes.

I was covered in glitter. Epic win. 

(p.s. I really like glitter.)

FG then whisked Skinny Me, Mister Man, Miss Thang, Body Builder Baby, and my glitter-covered self to Chuck. E Cheese's. Home of a large mechanical rat and a large mechanical, drum-playing dog that winked seductively at me. The Small Ones had a whole bunch of fun, as did I. The best part was learning the next morning that I did not contract some sort of disease/illness from the salad bar. Happy day!

That ended my first week of Summer.