and tomorrow...

is the big day back. yeehaw! [insert sarcastic tone here]

needless to say, here of some cute pics that I took the other night of the boys goofing off in the car [and, yes, it was cold enough for vests]!

turd-day

what a misspell, eh? LOL

2 weeks today. yup, my venture into the land of jr high begins in 2 weeks. am I crazy? oh, so totally! livin' on the edge, baby!

so, some fraser family updates:

1. paint has hit the walls. a fresh, new, updated, washable colour...a darker brown behind the couch, and by accident, a darker gray in the back entrance! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!
2. nate is still in swimming lessons, and doing GREAT. yippie!
3. got nate registered for music lessons for the fall. my mom offered to take him and he is pretty stoked about the whole thing.
4. I have officially gone through all the boy's clothes: sorted out everything, got some new jeans for ty, hauled out all the winter wear, packed up the old.
5. got myself a bit of a new school outfit. brown cords, white shirt.
6. staples: a new binder. white board markers. smelly felts. sticky notes. I really love going back to school.
7. we have made it to season 5 of the sopranos. I am fully capable of swearing like a gangster.

and...quote of the day:
"the most important thing in life is to stop saying "I wish" and start saying "I will". consider nothing as impossible, then treat possibilities as probabilities." [david copperfield]

friday

normally I love friday. last day of the work week. beginning of the weekend. you know, the same reasons you all love friday too! yeah, not this friday. this friday is counting down the days until I go BACK to work. only 2 more blissful fridays. good times.

I am feeling slightly overwhelmed with the sheer amount of things I did not get done this summer. there is no way I can get all these things done in 2 weeks. not with a classroom in complete disarray. not with another week of swimming lessons. alas, does it really matter? nah. unsent emails. unmade phone calls. unpainted walls. uncleaned cupboards. nah.

question is, what did I do this summer? hung out with friends. hung out with the kids. drank lots of wine. shopped. stamped. all the fun stuff!

I am making some cards and things for the market. I will take some pics and post!

more pics!

books I read...

on my vacation!

1. peppermint filled pinatas [eric bryant]
2. a mighty heart [mariane pearl]
3. three cups of tea [greg mortenson]

I've been having a bit of a wanderous brain as of late, wondering how all of my life makes sense in the bigger, global scheme of things. I have had an interesting journey the last few months, and I believe that nothing happens without purpose. as a result, I have to trust that I am hearing the voice that I know I am - the Voice. the one that made me. the one that calls me. unconnected on the surface, but very interconnected beneath the surface. does that make any sense?

event #1 - changing classes for next year & applying for the epsb leadership course [mmmm, I should know about that soon, being that it is almost mid-august!]
event #2 - not going to convention
event #3 - going to LA with erika
event #4 - reading some pretty thought provoking ideas
event #5 - heading to washington to meet jules & jess in winthrop
and connect all of these with relationships [new & established]: susan, erika, yvonne, katrina, audra, jules, jess, mom, joy. relationships with strong, wonderful women who have surrounded me with support and friendship in ways I never thought possible. and even now, as I sit here, I know I have left names off the list. not intentionally. I really could keep going...but then I would really miss someone!

I am rambling. mainly because I have yet to put all of this together. what is my legacy. what kind of world will I leave for my children. what story does my life have to tell? I was created for a greater purpose and I am trying to just listen to the Voice that guides me. the Voice that loves me. the Voice that sees me as the woman He created me to be.

so much stuff!

so, the trip. driving with 2 kids stuck in car seats...not much fun! okay, so I lie. there were fun parts. seeing a big animal with mondo-huge antlers [super cool!]. conversations about animals that live in the mountains [are there llamas in the rocky mountains...nate is wondering!]. stopping at every tim horton's for coffee and timbits [fun the first 5 times until nate had a meltdown over the colour of his timbits]. the non-stop screaming between kelowna and penticton with NO PLACE TO PULL OVER [not such a fun moment!]. considering we had them locked into car seats for 10+ hours at a time, they did pretty well!

the resort in osoyoos was BEAUTIFUL and hot and all things wonderful! there were 2 days where there was a bit of wind and temps were at 30 degrees, but for the most part it was 35. our room faced the vineyard...so super wonderful. every morning we went out [to the beach, the amusement park, a vineyard] and in the afternoon, while ty napped, one of us took nate out [usually it was john taking him to the pool!]. then it was an early supper, then off to the pool again. great fun for all of us, especially after we got the kids some tubes and goggles! then, after the kids were in bed every night, we sat on the balcony with a glass of wine & just enjoyed the view. the best vacation ever!

I have more to tell, but that will have to wait. ty is waking from his nap!

tomorrow

I promise, I will blog tomorrow! I am exhausted & feeling crazed, so I will sleep and then tell all tomorrow!! as a teaser, some pictures to hold you all over!!