Final Adventures in Idaho and Move #16.

So, while I was supposed to be packing for our move,  I kept getting sidetracked by the beautiful weather.  I admit, that perhaps it was part of my strong avoidance reaction to anything so unpleasant as packing up a house and cleaning for a move, but I also realized how much I love the month of May and every year it gets ruined!  So, part of it was a determination to enjoy the  beautiful weather and flowers, to see friends one last time and make more memories than just the painful kind of moving.

So first, my avoidance revealed itself in the form of just plain getting out of the house on a crazy whim, telling my two youngest (the oldest was at school) that we were going on an "Adventure" in which I packed a few snacks and took them in the bike trailer farther down the bike path than we had ever been.

Our first cool sighting was a huge bee swarm.

I actually just stopped to pump up my tires, but my four year old pointed it out in the tree next to us.

Luckily no one got stung, and I have a good zoom on my camera so I didn't have to get any closer.
As we got further out into the country we began to see more horses and cows.

We'll just pretend I was being all artistic with this picture
 and not that my auto focus refused to focus on the real subject.
I may have a good zoom, but lousy controls.

We even got to pet some chickens --one of which was really crazy looking.  The lady said it was a Polish Crested chicken, but her neighbors call it the headless chicken. My husband thinks it looks like a mushroom cloud, as if the chicken's head blew up in a nuclear explosion. (Just for fun, try googling Polish crested chicken and look for the david Bowie look-alike).

We stopped to smell the flowers several times,

Gotta love Lilacs!

And there were some cool rocks along the bike path that apparently needed to be climbed...

Although I wouldn't suggest sandals as proper climbing attire.

Finally, we stopped and had a picnic in a lovely little garden/park area where we enjoyed the trees, birds, and bugs and where the kids had a really fun time throwing rocks into whatever water they could find.

I returned home physically exhausted but mentally/emotionally invigorated. The kids had such a fun time they keep asking for adventures, which is much better than always asking for shows and computer games (which they still do, just less often).  I am usually happy to comply, since I prefer adventures over housecleaning any day. Besides, My oldest had missed out so we just had to do it again the very next day finding even more cool things to do and places to explore. :)

Our last Sunday there (Mother's day), we went for a shorter walk in the other direction on the bike path to see some baby goats.  The kids loved them.

The last crazy thing we did, at the invitation of a friend, was to go to the Boise Zoo. Like I said, I should have been packing, but who could resist a discounted trip to the zoo? We hadn't been for over a year, where we had pretty much gone at least once a week when we lived in Boise and had a pass.

It was interesting to see what had changed, for example they had a few new animals and exhibits.  I still think it's funny that some of the highlights for my kids were the Canada geese that roam all over the park and nest along the river --including in the zoo.

It was also a really hot day! Even though it was just the middle of May, when I passed a time and temperature sign on the way home it read 97 degrees!  I realized why I was having such a hard time with the heat.  We usually escape Idaho before it gets even close to that temperature, and in Wyoming where we live it rarely gets that hot. We'd expect that kind of heat visiting Utah in July, or in late August when we come back to Idaho, but seriously, May?  We were all sweating.  My friend who was five weeks from her due date was visibly melting, but she was a trooper. The kids loved it. To make it extra special we even got to feed the giraffe.

It was awesome. Look at that tongue!!!

Walking to the car afterwards we ran into this huge goose nursery, though this picture doesn't do it justice. There had to have been at least 60 babies. It was amazing to see all the different sizes of the goslings.

Since the geese apparently molt when nesting, the kids were able to gather quite the collection of feathers.
After that excursion, with only two days left to the first leg of the move it was down to business.  So we could get some packing done, we had to come up with things to keep the kids busy, like sending them out to catch butterflies.

Success!

And since it was so hot we turned on the sprinklers several times for them to play in.

Perhaps he has a future in the plumbing business?

My lawn was not doing so well and needed it really bad anyway.

I know, embarrassing.

At least the dandelions were thriving.

 There's something to be said for finding beauty in unexpected places.

Finally, it was time for the moving van. My kids thought we had brought home an amusement park just for them. Perhaps I should take a lesson from them. There's something to be said about the childlike quality of finding fun in just about anything.

That being said, moving, for me, was no fun.  That's about all I'm going to say about it.  I wrote up a whole long post about how bad it was this time (mostly due to my own pride and trying to do it all ourselves) and how late we were getting out of there (6 hours this time), but I've decided that whole post was too complainy and made me exhausted just to read it. Who needs to hear all that anyway?

I do need to say, however, just how grateful I am to those people who helped with babysitting, moving boxes and furniture, and even cleaning.  I couldn't have done it without your help. I'm also super grateful to those family members who have helped us all the other times we've moved.  I don't think I realized just how much you've always helped me until I didn't have you there this time (for good reasons of course --brand-new babies and company are totally justified).  Thank you.

Now I'll leave you with a view of the wet laundry I had to hang out on a make-shift clothesline when they came to move my dryer to storage and I realized I hadn't pushed start on the last batch. Oops.

Here and Gone

I haven't posted for a while.  

I skipped over Thanksgiving, overwhelmed by all the things I'm thankful for.

I was too busy for Christmas.  Too busy having fun to pick up the camera.

We traveled South for New Years, and found there was more snow and colder temperatures there.  More fun and family too though.

We came back, bringing the cold with us (and the colds that inevitably come when large groups assemble for the holidays).

Then, my grandma died.

I wasn't going to go at first.  I don't care for funerals, and it's a long trip to L.A.. How could I leave my little family for a weekend while the kids are sick?

But that night I sat down at the piano, and I knew I needed to go.  I needed to play at my grandma's funeral.  I could feel that she wanted me to.

We used to play duets.  She would send me music. I made copies of my music for her.  It was a special bond we shared. To my knowledge, I was the only grandchild who stuck with the piano. It pleased me to see how happy it made her.  Often, she would cry.

What should have only taken 6 hours to drive, took me eleven.  It was a bad storm.  Roads closed, and I had to take an alternate route, often going half the speed limit.  For most of the trip, no lines on the roads were visible, just white and grey.

I think my mother-in-law felt I was throwing my life away. "If you stop now, I will pay for a hotel... You've got people who count on you... those sweet babies need their momma!"

Despite the fear, I felt peace that I would make it ...eventually.

And I did.  First to my parent's home, then another 11 hours to CA in a van with a few of my siblings.

We stayed at her place, sleeping on couches and uncomfortable hide-a-beds.

Except for a little cleaning my aunt did, it was just as she left it.
I wandered around my grandmother's house, noticing things I had never noticed before, remembering things long forgotten.

I think she planned to live to 100 considering all her plans and projects.  Her body betrayed her in the end.

The funeral was well attended, mostly by her numerous posterity.  Not all were there, but she had 6 children, 34 grandchildren, and 85 great grandchildren!  What a legacy. 

My mom and others spoke.  We all cried, but laughed a little too.  I played, although the music notes got a bit bleary at times.

They laid her body to rest on a hill under a majestic oak.

I am so glad we visited my grandparents earlier this Spring so that my kids could meet her.

It was no coincidence that we went this year.  I didn't think the sense of urgency was for her though.  I kind of thought it would be our last chance to see my grandpa.  He's still kickin' -although in an assisted living center.
Now I wish I had spent more time talking to her.

But life's too short for regrets.

The morning before we left, I went out back and looked at her forlorn patio flowers. From the outside I took in the view of her glass bottle-lined windowsills and lacy curtains for the last time. I hadn't realized I was humming but suddenly the words to match the melody came into my head and I choked.  "Wishing you were somehow here again..."

She wouldn't want me to be sad.

I doubt she is. She is free from physical pain and suffering.
Not to mention that with previously departed family members and all the genealogy she did, I bet she had quite the welcome on the other side.

I took home a bucket containing a several bulbs of beautiful Amaryllis plants.  A silly thing to do, but I couldn't see why it had to die, just because she did.

Things like that, should be enjoyed and appreciated while you have it.

Like life.

Or a delicate frost that's here and gone.