Yes, I have shamefully neglected to update my blog this summer. But it just seems that work has been super busy and then my off time is go-go-go. Let's see, I took off 2 days to go to attend classes in Elk Grove being taught by Tim Holtz. He is a wealth of craft information and very creative. I learned a ton and spent less than I thought I would. It has been my only time to sit and create anything in months. Then we had scholarship award night at the high school. Son didn't get any $ but got recognized as part of the group having earned an Honors diploma. Then about 10 days later, we went thru the senior commencement exercise. Then it's on to the mad dash to complete FAFSA, pick a college, figure out what's being taken and start seeing what funding we can come up with. We didn't order grad announcements as we had few people to send them to but I finally got him to write thank you's for the gifts he did get. Father's Day weekend was another whirlwind. Drive to Sacramento for nieces' graduation (they both finished college in May/June). Left in morning for 2 pm commencement and then went out to dinner afterwards at Japanese restaurant. Stayed there visiting with family until sometime around 8 p.m. and then decided we'd drive home. Hubby came along -- was one of those yes I'm going, no I'm not going trips so we didn't really plan anything. He wouldn't have been willing to stay at either my mom's or sister's sooooo I just decided it'd be 1-day trip and we'd go HOME. Which was fine but then Saturday, he still had the traveling bug so we drove out to Pyramid Lake and found places we want to camp as family and fish. Then got rained out as we were hit with another thunderstorm - this was in the 2nd week of storms we had. Seen more rain in those 2 weeks than in the prior 4 years living here. And yet again, that wasn't enough driving as he woke up Father's Day morning and decided we'd take another road trip. We gave him a new cellphone to replace the one he'd had for 3+ years. He wouldn't switch right away (no big surprise) and so I introduced the idea of using it for his trip to Vegas (that was coming up Monday & Tuesday). So off to Lake Tahoe we went, the little one brought her suit and could hardly wait for it to warm up. It's a bit cooler in the mountains than in the city in the valley. First though we went bowling but I found out the kids had emptied my bowling stuff when they put the bench back in the van. (Said bench having become the choice of seating for the garage hangout that has workout equipment, air hockey table, TV with PS2 and XBox as well as a Dell with flat screen out there.) So bowling was first on the agenda, then to the restaurant we used to know as the Shoreline Cafe which was now something else (and even more expensive). Drove around a bit and recognized places we stayed when we went from Sacto to Tahoe to play in the snow and also to come play in the springtime a few years back. Finally made it to the beach and found a nice area that also had a playground. Then it was back home so hubby could prepare for a drive to Vegas on Monday and a drive back on Tuesday. The oldest teen went along to help drive and for company. This, of course, after $400 repair to the car's radiator to prep it for trip. He did take his new phone to Vegas and has been using it ever since -- it was technically an upgrade since he'd been using Nokia E62 and this was unlocked Nokia E63, the sexy red one. Last weekend we went to 6 Flags in Vallejo. I used to be a season pass holder to 6 Flags of Mid-America and I realized it's been about 29 years since I've been to a 6 Flags park to go on a ride! And we started off with a doozy -- the Tony Hawk Big Spin roller coaster -- a family thrill ride that led the 4-year old to yell "oh my GOSH" just as the ride was almost over. She then proclaimed "I like Tony Hawk but I do NOT like his ride." It was a bit much for her and if I had realized how fast and how much it whips you around, I wouldn't have taken her on it. She met the height requirements but the ride tipped her head to the left and it stayed there the whole time. So after that we hung out for a while at the Looney Toons Seaport so she could take in the kiddie rides. We went to see the animals since this particular park used to be a MarineWorld and then they added rides to it. Tried to get through the Tiger show but that only kept her attention for a brief time. The last ride we went on got us soaking wet so on the drive away, I had to cover my lower half with a blanket as I was only partially dressed as I let the rest of my clothes dry as I was driving. Of course, the drive there (as well as the drive back) was only 3 hours and it wouldn't have been so bad except that I had already driven from Reno to Sacramento Tuesday evening so I could fly out of Sacramento to San Diego on Wednesday. I slept less than 4 hours, just couldn't crash out. Hubby was angry with kids before we left and so I had planned to go alone but decided to bring the girls for company. So then when I landed on Wed, instead of heading right for the freeway, I had to go stop by my mom's house to retrieve the girls. And we couldn't just leave 6 Flags and go home, had to go by Elk Grove to pick up a kid, the 15-year old's best friend from California, that he hasn't seen for 2 years who was going to spend a week at our house. So, you know what that meant? After the week was over, another drive back to California. I think I'm done driving for a while! Good thing I like to drive. Too bad his bladder is like an old man's. The 4-year old could control her bladder but we had to stop for the 16-year old to pee twice. I'll have a ton of photos to post after they are edited. But no room for them on this blog so they'll have to go to my photobucket.