I'm BAAAaaack... I know, it's been too long, but hopefully y'all can find it in your hearts to forgive me!

Wow, there's so much to post about, where to begin...? I guess I'll start at the very beginning, a very good place to start...On the weekend of the 14th (my big brother, Joe's, birthday!), Tyson & I drove up to Eugene to stay with the Dawsons. He was out of school & I took the day off work on Friday so that we could take our time & got there Friday afternoon. We met Travis & Keri (Dustin's bro & sis-in-law, who I also went to school with) and Dustin's Aunt & Uncle & cousin, Colton, along with Ed & Alex & their kids, who came up from Eagle Point, at a pizza place in Eugene that has an indoor carousel. The next morning, I watched Jake & they took Tyson to the Ducks' game. We had a potluck/party that night & another of our high school friends, Dennis, came over & we all had a great time hanging out together. The following morning was the Out of the Darkness Walk for suicide awareness & prevention in Portland, so Krista & I got up at 5:30 a.m. & drove to the walk. Neither of us was feeling great (espcially me, as I was puking on the way up from drinking too much the night before), but we were really glad that we did it...This was my second year & Krista's first. It's funny - last year, it was on Shannon's birthday (I blogged about it, if you want to read it in my archives), and this year it was the day before. It was really crappy weather & we were soaked, but it was worth it & so nice to have eachother there this year instead of doing it all by myself.

The other big news is that there have been some issues at Tyson's school & I wasn't very happy with his teacher, for several reasons which I won't go into right now. Tyson wanted to change schools & go here in town, but I've been playing the devil's advocate & giving him a couple of weeks to decide, even though it would make my life much easier, too. We went on Friday to tour the local school with the principal & were both really impressed by what we saw & the teachers & environment there. The final decision was up to Tyson & he wants to start on Monday. We went back to his old school to clean out his desk & say goodbye to his classmates & teachers & that's when he did get a little sad, but he still wants to go through with the change. I think it will be nice, because where he was going, there are mostly rich kids with two parents, & I think Tyson thought we were poor (which we are not! I can always pay my bills, even if I have to juggle some) & abnormal for having a single parent family. It will also make the transportation/work issue MUCH easier. As far as Tyson's grades go, I still haven't received a report card, but his teacher said that he should have no problem of attaining his goal of straight A's. He's definitely smart enough; it's just a matter of whether or not he applies himself & turns in his homework. This year, he's really made that a priority, so I wouldn't be surprised if he is getting straight A's. Hopefully, I'll find out for sure soon...

By the way, Happy Belated Birthday to my dad on the 19th, who is currently in Oklahoma, visiting relatives, and Happy Upcoming Birthday to my big sister, Laura on the 31st (yep, Halloween!), who is currently trying to recouperate from gall-stones! Love you guys!

Eventually, I really will sit down & blog so everyone is up-to-date, but in the meantime, here's some filler:

5 Best of TV This Season (Sorry, couldn't come up with the whole 10!)

1) Grey's Anatomy (Now McSteamy joins McDreamy - yummy! Only bad part is, where does that leave my darling Finn?)
2) Prison Break (they've been teasing me, but new episodes are back Oct. 23rd. As much as I love Michal Schofield, I must admit that I am tiring of the intense looks that the camera holds, then fades to commercial...)
3) Heroes (LOVE this show!!!! Was a big surprise & has great characters!)
4) My Name is Earl (Just good humor)
5) What About Brian (Not my usual style, but just got sucked in, so now I stay up for it.)

Mondays & Thursdays are MY nights - if I watch any other TV, it's usually stuff like Wheel of Fortune or Family Feud, Simpsons, Friends or That 70's Show.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TWYLA!!!!!!