Halloween 2011

It has been a roller coaster of a weekend, which I guess is just normal for life with teenagers in the house.

 Beautiful fall colors all around!  I took this on my walk up to the rec. center on Saturday.

 Helena and I were the only ones in the family interested in carving pumpkins this year.

 We got part of it done on Saturday, but then she ended up leaving for a date, so we finished on Sunday evening.

 Helena posing for the camera.

 Helena's pumpkin was so thick that she was only at this stage when I was ready to carve the face on mine.  She was blown away by how much 'meat' there was inside hers.  The guts filled it all the way to the top!

 Every year, we save the seeds and roast them after soaking them in a salt bath.

 These are the boys from the Saturday date... although Helena insists it wasn't really a date, they were just 'hanging out'.  Braxton is in the lederhosen, and Dallin is the nerd.  Helena and Megan were in the basement putting together a quick costume for Helena.

 Group shot before heading out.

 Helena's pumpkin design.

 My pumpkin design.

 Look at how Helena's pumpkin seems to be welcoming everybody to the door!

 Dinner tonight.  Homemade chili in a bread bowl, "butterbeer", and a caramel apple for dessert.

 I wanted to make sure the little trick-or-treaters could find their way to my front door (since our front walkway has been temporarily destroyed).  It worked very well.

 Super salty roasted pumpkin seeds.  I now have sores all over my tongue from eating too many of these!

 The candy bowl.  We ran out early in the evening (at about 8 pm).  The weather was so mild that we had more trick or treaters than usual.

 The secret "butterbeer" recipe... butterscotch/club soda + cream soda topped with whipped cream/caramel sauce mix.

So.  I had a great day today.  It was my day off, so I dedicated the entire day to enjoying Halloween.  After dropping the kids off at school, I built some homemade chili in the crock pot, then headed back to the high school for Helena's SEOP.  That's a Student Educational Occupation Plan, aka, let's-make-sure-this-kid-will-graduate-and-has-plans-for-after-high-school meeting.  That went well, so next I stopped at the grocery store to pick up some items for this evening.

I went back home and put in the first Harry Potter movie as background 'ambiance' while I roasted pumpkin seeds and made caramel apples.  I was just really, really happy to be home and making stuff for my kids and their friends, who I expected to come by and hang out tonight.

I had told Helena we were lifting part of her grounding since she had fulfilled most of our requirements.  She got her phone back and was allowed to enjoy Halloween weekend with her friends.  She was allowed to invite someone to Preference, and we registered her for a college retreat weekend at Dixie State College with her best friend.  So, things were getting back to normal.

After picking the kids up from school, things got a little sidetracked.  Helena wanted the house clean for when her friends arrived, so the harassed her brother about helping out.  He reacts badly when Helena 'bosses him around' and shuts down.  When I follow up with a request for him to help, he is slow to respond.  After getting that smoothed over, I took Will to get his Sundance ski pass for the season.  Today was the last day of pre-season discount price. While there, we discovered a SCREAMING sale on last year's rental gear, so Will ended up with an early Christmas!  We were going to get him skis for Christmas, but this was too good to pass up.  $96 total for skis, binding, and boots!  And they adjusted the bindings for free.

Home again.  Time to set up the paper lanterns and shred cheese to go with the chili.

Will took off for a friend's house to watch scary movies.  Later, I found out that instead of watching scary movies, they turned off the lights in the basement and were scaring each other instead.  During the screaming and mayhem, one of the boys accidentally 'butt dialed' 911!  Three squad cars showed up to investigate the emergency call of hysterical screaming!  Oops.

Anyways, to make a long story slightly shorter (I do have work in the morning), Helena's friends came over and had a great time.  They loved the chili and caramel apples, didn't like the "butterbeer", but were polite about it.

Then they wanted to watch a movie.

I have very clear rules about ratings.  No rated 'R' in the house.  The only exceptions are those rare times when the subject matter outweighs the rating.  Like Schindler's List.  Or Last of the Mohicans.  In those cases, I have allowed it because there is an educational quality to the movie that is significantly important.  But your run of the mill rated 'R' entertainment value only movie?  No.

It has nothing to do with the age of the kids.  They could be visiting me as 30 year olds and the rule would be the same.  My house, my rules.  I am the one paying for the streaming video service and I just don't want 'R' in my house.  That is all.  When they pay the bills in their own place, they can do whatever they want.

Helena wanted to watch a scary movie with her friends and complained that it couldn't be done without the 'R' rating.  I repeated myself.  No 'R'.  Her friends heard me, too.  No 'R'.

So, when Bill checked on them in the basement?

They are watching an 'R' rated movie.

Here is where the roller coaster takes one of those nasty nose dives.  Not only did Helena let me down, so did her friends.  They all knew they were disrespecting me after all the trouble I went through for them.  Was their desire to watch an 'R' rated movie that much more important than treating me with respect?  I admit, I had thought more highly than that of them.  I hate being forced into the 'bad guy' roll.  I told her to shut it off and that the party was over.

Now I have to play the role of disciplinarian again.  I hate that.  I feel like I have been manipulated and I anticipate another stressful week, now, because I can't let Helena drive and, oh! I wanted her to.  All the good feelings of making a fun Halloween are completely gone, because what I offered wasn't good enough for them.

Why'd I even bother?

Overwhelmed

I can tell when I am getting overwhelmed.  I start missing scheduled events on accident.

I forgot to take Will to his check up at the doctor's office.  I keep forgetting to call and reschedule it (I only remember after hours).

I forgot that faculty meeting had been moved to Tuesday instead of Wednesday and missed it.

I forgot to bring scissors and crayons to the tutoring sessions (that was easy to fix, though).

I forgot to attend an art show that had one of my pieces displayed in it.  That is really bad.

I feel like a pre-emerging Alzheimer's patient when this starts to happen.  I know the cure, though, because it has happened before.

I need to find balance in my life again.  Either I find my equilibrium with this new schedule, or I find a way to reduce stress.  I'll let you know if I ever figure it out.  In the meantime, I hope I don't drop the ball on any more events.  Time to use the obnoxious calendar alarms on my phone.

"High Tide at Deception Pass"

I stumbled across this a few weeks ago.  It is a descriptive narrative that I wrote years ago (for a college class, maybe?).  I enjoyed reading it and thought I'd put it here, since I only have the one type-written paper copy, and don't want to lose it.  It is a bit wordy (I liked to use fancy descriptive words back then), but I hope you like it!

High Tide at Deception Pass

I often feel like a shadow of my former self.  The life of my youth seems as a tale told of long ago and far away in a wilder time and more mysterious place.  I have learned to bloom in this desert and to find satisfaction and even contentment in the practical everyday life of straight roads, wide panoramic vistas, and perpetual sunshine.  Yet, in private moments, my heart yearns for the soft haziness of damp, mist caressed forests, the peaceful patter of rain on moist rich earth; and, of course, the wild and vibrant song of the wind through the fir boughs.

In quiet moments, the fey part of my mind travels back to Deception Pass on Whidbey Island, which stands as a sentinel at the entrance to Puget Sound, guarding it from the Straits of Juan de Fuca.  This, to my youthful mind, was the place where the Garden of Eden met with Avalon of old.  Here the waves crash on rocky shores with a tempest born of yearning and driven by passion.  Every crack, every crag had a strange and mysterious hold over me.

As a small child, I would run through the sand, chasing tiny crabs that, despite their minuscule legs, nearly always managed to evade me.  I explored the woods, fully expecting to chance upon a faun beyond the next tree; or a dryad over the next ridge, bathing in an unexpected pool of sunlight.  I believed that I never startled an unsuspecting member of the faerie because I was too noisy and clumsy in my approach.

And so, every year upon my return, I would practice my woods-craftiness; always watchful of where my foot would next fall.  I was careful not to step on the crunchy brown needles, nor on the crackling fallen sticks and twigs that would give away my presence.  Yet, year after year, I would return home disappointed with my inability to find and befriend the wood-folk.

As the years passed, I slowly began to believe, perhaps, the fey had all been driven away by the encroachment of Man; for encroach he did.  My visits to my favorite haunts began to be disturbed more and more by the sight, sound, and smell of Man.  Man tromping over the headland, cutting an un-natural trail through the forest creating a shortcut from the west beach to the north beach.  Man blaring his obscene stereophonic noise and blaspheming the symphonies of nature.  Man's cooking smells obliterating even the scent of evergreen and salt waves.

On one of my last visits to this most sacred and hallowed corner of my soul, I arrived at dusk to a tempestuous storm!  The howling wind called to me and the crash of the surf seemed, yet again, to beckon me, trying to seduce me into the murky depths below.  Of course, I could not refuse the call.  What I beheld was the most violent and spectacular vision my changeable lover had ever displayed!  Never had the tide been so high!  The beach was entirely swallowed up by the sea.  Never had I seen the logs of driftwood dragged from their slumber and so ferociously slammed back to their resting places!  The trees bowed and swayed piteously to the abuse of the wind.  I had never felt so alive!

Early in the pre-dawn mist I ventured forth to see what Triton's passion had wrought on the borders of his kingdom.  All was calm and still, yet the flotsam and jetsam strewn about like hastily discarded rags of clothing bore witness to the previous night's fervor. 

Respecting nature's current mood, and not wishing to transgress it, I began to return to the woods with all the stillness and reverence within me.  As I broached the headland, I encountered another soul emerging from the mist.  Not six feet from me stood a majestic deer!  Her limpid brown eyes gazed into my startled blue ones with no apparent sign of fear.  I felt time stand still.  Here, at last, was the chance meeting I had longed for as a child!  For several moments I reveled in her companionship.  I could almost imagine I had met an ethereal spirit from the land of Avalon.

Like a gunshot, a sharp noise crashed down from the side of the headland, coming straight for us.  Instantly, my companion gathered her strength beneath her and bolted away silently through the thickets crowding the beach.  Moments later, two young boys erupted from the trees.  Seeing me they shouted, "We saw a deer!  We saw a deer!" and quickly thundered off into the thicket in a vain attempt to pursue.

Heaving a sigh, I thought, 'Yes, and not only did she see you, she smelled you, and heard you, too.  You will never meet the fey folk that way.'

"Brothers on a Sunday Morning"

12x18

(18x24 framed)

Pastel on paper

I started this so long ago I can't really remember when.  I think it was three years ago.  It sat on my easel in a mostly unfinished state until this fall.  I worked on it a little bit about a month ago, then finally finished it two days ago.  It had been taped onto the backing board for so long that the tape wouldn't come off the board.  Sigh.

Why did it take me so long to finish it?  Because I wasn't satisfied with how it was turning out.  I've had several positive comments on it from other people and that makes me feel good.  But it isn't how I had envisioned it in my head.  The colors aren't as unified and pure.  The proportion and rendering is too tight.  I tried to explain to Bill tonight how I struggle with my art, and I'll try to voice it here... if only for myself.

I want to loosen up on the rendering.  I don't feel like I need to be quite so obsessed with accuracy.  I'd like to push it to a more impressionistic level.  However, I also want to tighten up on the color palette.  The colors need to be more vibrant and unexpected.  I get so bogged down with shading that the colors get muddled.  And I definitely need a stronger light source.  More chiaroscuro. 

But most of all, I want to find my voice.  What am I trying to say with my artwork?  Is there a message I want to leave for the world?  Is there a theme I could focus on?  These aren't questions that anyone else can answer for me.  I have to do some soul searching, break out my sketchbooks, and start scribbling away at some ideas that have been marinating in my head for a while, now.

Hopefully I will find some answers.

Cheerleaders

I never saw much point in cheer leading.  I am sorry.  I have always kind of mocked the idea.  Rah, rah, and all that.  However, I have several friends who were cheerleaders back in the day (quick shout out to Megan B. and Myra W.).  They were the sweetest girls ever and shot the cheerleader stereotype right out of the water.  Still, I never encouraged my daughter to be interested in school spirit and was relieved (as was my pocketbook) when she showed absolutely no interest in the cheer squad.

I have recently discovered the importance of cheerleaders in my own life, however.  And it is a lesson that I should have learned much sooner.

I am signed up for the Utah Valley full marathon in June, 2012.  Right now 26.2 miles seems impossible. I am struggling with making myself do my daily workouts, and when I do them, my performance is lacking.  I can't seem to make myself go farther than 3.1 miles before throwing in the towel.  I do have to insert here that I am still doing fine on my swim and bike workouts, so it is just the running that has me down.

Just the running?!?  But that is the one I need to work on the most right now!  It is all mental, I know.  Obviously I can run farther than a 5K.  I just have to force myself to do it.

And this is where cheerleaders come in.

I have two old high school friends who have become my personal cheerleaders in this crazy plot of mine to complete a marathon, then an Ironman.  Sara L. and Doug C.  They both live in Washington State, so the cheering and encouragement happen online, on Facebook.  They cheer me on when I post workout updates, and give me encouragement and advice when I am down on myself.  That, I think, is the most important job of a cheerleader... to believe in you when you doubt yourself.  I really appreciate their support!  My husband is another cheerleader for me.  This morning, he asked me what my plans were for today (being a Monday and day off of work, :D).  I mentioned that I wasn't sure because there were several things that needed to get done.  He asked me to list my options and he'd chime in with his two cents.  When I mentioned exercise, he commented that he knew I would do that one for sure, because it was too important to skip.  That extra little pressure from him is what tipped the scales later in the day when I was trying to talk myself out of going to the gym.

Because, really, every day it is a mental struggle to make myself go to the gym.  I shouldn't have to argue with myself daily about exercise.  I don't have to argue about avoiding drugs and alcohol, drinking plenty of water, or getting the right amount of sleep.  But for some reason, my will power is weak in two areas... exercise and food.  I really need my cheerleaders for those two.

Anyways, remember I said I should have already learned the importance of cheerleaders?  I have an old story to tell you...

I joined the swim team in my junior year of high school.  I had a huge ego when it came to swimming, so I thought I would be doing the team a favor by joining it.  Um, yeah.  The coach had to teach me all the stroke techniques because I could NOT swim.  Not by any team standards.  That was a rough year. I felt like a drowned rat more often than not.  But, the coach let me on the JV team, because lets face it, the swim team was not a huge deal.  We really weren't any good.  I wasn't the only slowpoke in the pool.  In fact, coach Steve was usually frustrated with us because of our lack of effort.  By senior year, I managed somehow to get on the Varsity team and, miracle of miracles, I lettered in swimming!

I can't remember if it happened my junior year, or my senior year.  I was on the 4 person 4x100m medley relay team, swimming the crawl segment.  The medley relay consists of back stroke, breast stroke, butterfly, and freestyle (which can't be any of the first three, so it ends up being crawl).  For some reason, our team missed the call to the starting block, and we were disqualified.  The coach said it was his fault and went to talk with the officials about us.  They were adamant that the disqualification should stand, but they offered to stay a little after the meet to time us so we could see what our time would have been.

So, with the meet over, and most people packing up and leaving the pool building, my team took to the starting block.  The crawl stroke is the fourth and final swimmer in the medley relay, so I was last on the block.  You would expect the pool house to be empty by then.  But our entire team stayed on the pool deck to cheer us on!  Their parents stayed, too, so as I swam that final lap, I could hear everyone screaming and cheering FOR ME every time my ear came out of the water in a breath cycle!

Of course, I always heard screaming and cheering at the swim meets.  But I had never figured it was for me.  My mom was always at my races, but she was the sit quietly and give moral support kind.  And, after all, there are usually 8 swimmers racing against each other in the water, so I always assumed the cheering was for the other swimmers, not me.  This time, every cheer, chant, and shout was directed solely at me!

I had my best time ever on that race.  Knowing the cheering was for me made me push myself farther than I ever had before.  The coach was so touched by the show of team spirit that he even cried about it at the end-of-season party.

Personal encouragement is a powerful thing!  It really can help people successfully accomplish their goals.

We need more cheerleaders in this world.

Fall Break, Part 2

OK, then!  On to the weekend...

Saturday

IT WAS BILL'S BIRTHDAY!  My good looking boyfriend turned 41 years old.  Yes.  You heard me, he is, in fact, younger than me.  Only by a few months.  Still a fact that I get some harassment for every year.  He chose to only do things he wanted to do on his birthday.  So, he went biking in the morning with a group of crazy mountain biking buddies.  Then he went golfing in the afternoon with Will.

Helena spent Saturday morning taking the ACT for the second time.  She was supposed to report in at the high school at 8 am...

... I woke up at 7:45 am with a vague sense of urgency that didn't seem to fit with a Saturday morning, until I bolted upright and realized that Helena wasn't up yet!  I felt so bad!  She was so rushed getting out the door that she didn't have time to eat breakfast or pack any snacks.  In fact, she also forgot her calculator in her rush and ended up taking the test without one.  GAH!  She was hoping to boost her overall score a couple of points, but I am afraid that the bad start might have prevented that.  We'll know in a few weeks, I guess.

Will spent Saturday morning sleeping in.

And me?  I went to Bill's niece's wedding.  She is also my niece, of course, but it might have confused you if you know my side of the family.  Helena is the oldest girl cousin in my family.  Anyway, Kaitlin got married yesterday morning.  Bill has so many relatives that we don't even try to make it to every event we get invited to. However, Kaitlin is special.  Once upon a time, she was in my 6th grade class.  I was her teacher and her Aunt!  Hmm.  That makes me feel old all of a sudden.

After the wedding, I spent a couple of hours in the kitchen helping prep the food for the reception and made an important note to myself.  HIRE A CATERER whenever Helena decides to get married (hopefully in the distant future).  I do not want her female relations slaving away in a kitchen on her wedding day instead of partying with her.

Once I got home from the reception, I quickly changed clothes and went with Helena back up to the U of U.  Her college tour was for an English class assignment.  In fact, she is not done with that, yet.  She still has to sit in on a couple of college classes.  But her AP Art History class has a term project to visit an art museum and write about it.  We were going to fit that into Friday's activities, but found there simply wasn't time for it.  So, we returned on Saturday just for the museum.

This was the first exhibit we looked at when arriving at the museum.  David Burnett was a photo-journalist.  HOLY COW!  His work is impressive!  Think of every major political/historical event in the past 50 years that you can... he was there and took AMAZING photos of it!  Helena and I were both in awe of his career.  I can't believe how many historically monumental events he was a first person witness to!  This turned out to be Helena's favorite exhibit, especially since she has been considering photo-journalism as a career for herself.

 This guy was a Western American painter who lived and painted during the Great Depression.  His works are very painterly and impressionistic.  I loved seeing the paint strokes!

In the two pictures above, I tried to capture the sparkle and shine of the paint.  He must have mixed plenty of oils into his paint (linseed probably).  These were painted in the 1930's, but look shiny and wet like they were painted yesterday!  I took a picture of the bottom one because I just loved how quick brush strokes can make the impression of everything in the picture!

 This might have been my favorite painting in this exhibit.  It represents all the down-on-their-luck unemployed men riding the rails looking for work during the depression.  It seems to resonate with today's economic climate.  The men are out of work and times are hard, but the painting is full of sunlight and color, which lends it a hopeful air.

 This horse looks like it is made out of driftwood, but the plaque says that it is bronze with a special patina.

 Lovin' the Native American room!  These are all Pacific Northwest Indian works, which is probably why they drew my attention.

 Maori Islander mask!  From the South Pacific room.

 In the European art section of the museum, there were pieces of furniture on display, as well.  I loved the wood inlays on the top of this table.  I can't remember how old it is... maybe 200 years?

 Helena taking notes in one of the European art rooms.  As we worked our way back in time, it got more and more tempting to touch the artworks.  The idea of age and antiquity are very attractive to me. I would love to touch the same paint that someone else put onto that canvas 300-800 years ago!  I restrained myself, however.

 I just liked how these statues were framed in the balconies overlooking an exhibit below.

 I am tempted to head down to Southern Utah and paint red rock just from looking at this!

 Ahhh!  From the antiquities section of the museum.  A Greek urn.  It is a good thing it was in a glass box.  I might not have been able to resist this one.  They did have a couple of Roman marble busts on display without glass cases, though.  I got nose to nose with one Roman dignitary, but I was a good girl and did not stroke his cheek.

Helena on the opposing balcony above an exhibit room.  The museum is cool.  If you haven't been to an art museum lately,  GO!

After the museum, Helena and I did the grocery shopping.  Usually, this is not a blog-worthy event, but something happened that I just have to share!  As we were leaving the check out, a little girl (of about 18 months) came walking up to us, shouting in baby jibberish and shaking a couple of packages of Hostess Ho-Ho's.  Apparently, her mom was in line a couple of people behind us, and Helena had been 'flirting' with the little one.  When we started to leave, I guess the little girl decided she wanted to give a gift to her new 'friend'... Helena!  When we wouldn't take the treats from her, she shouted again and threw them at us!  IT WAS SO FUNNY!  Her mom laughed along with us as she collected her daughter and the treats, and we chuckled about it all the way out to the car.

When we got home, we had another surprise waiting for us.  There was a kitten in the back yard!  Our dogs had backed it into a corner against the house.  Helena discovered it and put the dogs in the garage temporarily.  I snapped a few photos, then gathered it up and took it off our property.  It probably 'belongs' to the neighbors, you see.  They feed the feral cats and call them 'pets'.  It encourages the ferals to breed and we end up with stray kittens fairly often.  They just don't usually wander into our dogs' territory.  I just send them back across the fence.  I have more than enough pets at the moment.  It does look like Pepper could be the daddy, though, doesn't it?  There is no way, of course.  We had our cats 'fixed' when we got them.  We are not responsible for any stray kittens!

And, finally, some pictures of the fall colors in our yard!

There you have it.  Fall Break.  The kids go back to school tomorrow and I have one more day before returning to work!

Fall Break

There was no school on Thursday or Friday.  It was Fall Break.  You would think that would mean I would have plenty of time to write on my blog, right?

Um. Yeah.

My days were so busy that I wasn't able to write.  Sorry.  So, instead, you'll have to make do with a quick sum up of the four day weekend.

Here we go.

Thursday

Um.... What did I do on Thursday, anyways?  Well, how embarassing.  I've lost a Thursday.  I honestly don't remember what I did all that day.

However, we did discover on Thursday that Bill did not, in fact, leave his debit card in the ATM at the bank.  It was well and truly lost.  We had to put a block on it and will be working on a cash only basis for the next couple of weeks while we await the replacement cards.

Friday

That morning the kids and I headed out for the University of Utah, so that Helena could take an 11 am tour of the school.  When we arrived at the school and walked into the high school recruitment office, Helena wondered aloud if we had found the right place.  I just smiled and pointed at the young man standing in front of the counter.  It was her good friend, Daniel A!  She surprised him with a hug from behind.  He had just finished the 9 am tour.  That was too bad, because touring the campus with Daniel would have made it so much more fun for Helena.  Still, we had a great time and it made Helena even more keen for college.  It made me wish I could have had a different college experience, too.  BYU is a different environment than the U.  UofU is very plugged into the community, with buses and Trax (light rail) connecting it to all the downtown districts.  A student ID acts as a public transit pass and opens up not only the city to students, but the nearby ski resorts, as well.

We also rode the on campus shuttle bus up to the residence halls, which were originally built to house the athletes for the 2002 Olympic games.  Then it was called the Olympic Village.  Now it is just on-campus housing.  However, it is some of the nicest on-campus housing I have ever seen!

These historic houses used to be officers quarters at old Fort Douglas (which stands just to the South of the campus) and have been converted to student housing.  Each can hold 12 students hand selected from the major sponsoring that house.

After the tour, Erik met up with us and ended up joining us for lunch at the Pie Pizzeria.  Erik (my brother), works for the U in the Athletic Compliance office.  He works to insure that all the student athletes follow NCAA rules and guidelines.

The Pie is... well, just the most amazing pizza on the planet.  Period.  It is a little basement dive underneath a pharmacy just half a block west of campus.  The only thing that Bill truly regrets about having Ciliac is that he can never eat at The Pie again.

If you are ever in Salt Lake City, I recommend putting The Pie on your list of 'must dos'.

We were only back home for a brief respite before the whole family piled into the car to head down to BYU for the chemistry department's 'magic show'.  Will can earn extra credit in his chem class by going.  We were hoping for the fun show we have seen broadcast on KBYU television.  It was supposed to be the same show, but it didn't live up to its reputation, unfortunately.  The presenter was not much of a showman and couldn't keep the audience riveted on him.  In fact, the audience was HORRIBLE!  Oh my gosh!  Is it just that I don't have any little kids at my house any more?  I seriously doubt that, because even when my kids were little, I would NEVER have let them carry on like the kids in that audience.  It seemed like every family there had 6 kids under the age of 10 and the parents weren't enforcing any kind of public behavior discipline.  And the adults in the audience?  They were as bad as the kids!  They were talking through the entire performance.

After having spent such a fun day on the campus of the U, BYU was a huge disappointment.  Not the 'magic show', but the general feel of the people there.  Lots of young families with too many kids to keep track of or discipline properly.  Even the adults there without kids were disrespectful.  Bah.

We finished the day with a family dinner at... where else?... RUBIO'S!

There are the first two days of Fall Break.  I think I will break this post into two segments so it doesn't get to big and cumbersome.  So, stand by for part 2!