Busy, busy, busy!! But I called in sick from work today, so I figured I should take the time to post, since I never know when I'll get the chance again! The visit in Eureka was awesome - it's always so great to see everyone & it really lifted my spirits. The first night, we went straight to my brother, Allen's house & picked up my oldest brother, Deland. Our other brother came over with his son, Joey & we surprised them by bringing Heather (Joe's daughter) down with us. Allen bought pizza & beer & we all just hung out & did some karaoke, including Lisa, who usually won't sing, but I think she got warmed up by all the air-rocking that we did in the car on the way down. We didn't get over to Dad's house until 2:30 a.m. The next morning, we got up & I went to get Allen & Joe & Joey to bring them over so we could all have coffee & chit-chat. Mom had dialysis that day (Saturday), so we just visited until it was time to pick her up, then we all went to the park for a picnic/BBQ & to walk through the zoo (an old family tradition). Afterward, my niece, Mary, & her boyfriend, Matt, met us in Old Town Eureka for an Art Walk they do there. We wandered through the galleries & listened to musicians on almost every corner! It was pretty cool. Also a nice way to introduce Lisa to Eureka, since she'd never been. From there, everyone went their separate ways & we headed back to Dad's for some much needed sleep. On Sunday morning, we hung out some more at Dad's over some rice & chocolate gravy (my dad's specialty!) & waited until Mom got home from church, then headed over to Fortuna to pick up Heather, who had stayed the night with Mary, & go see Mom. Deland, Allen, Lisa, Heather, & I made a detour by the restaurant where Mary is waitressing. (Joey & Tyson stayed at Dad's & played Deland's video games & watched movies.) After visiting with Mom, we all headed back to Eureka for the final night of our stay. After much begging, Dad reluctantly pulled out his guitar & serenaded us with some of the old favorites, including "Amanda" & "No Use Pretending", two of my personal faves. We headed back Monday around 1 p.m. & didn't get home until 5 or so. The next day, Tyson had a half day at the middle school, his first day as a 6th grader! He really likes most of his teachers so far & thinks middle school is pretty cool. They have lockers, they have PE uniforms, there are all kinds of clubs to join & I guess the lunches are better than some restaurants as far as selections go. On Tuesday night, they had an open house for new students & 6th graders & their parents, so we went & I got to see Ty's locker & meet his teachers. He is signed up for Leadership, a club that sends the kids into the community to help elderly & disabled people, which meets every Wednesday morning before school, Lifers, a drug-free club, which meets once a month during lunch period, & Cross Country. His first meet will be this Wednesday & practices will be every day after school following that. We went in to talk to the Chess Club advisor (Tyson loves chess!) & it turns out that he's also the basketball coach. (I'm incredibly grateful that there's a big, buff sports guy teaching chess so that Tyson won't feel the stigma of "only nerds play chess" & sees that he can be smart & athletic!) Since only 7th & 8th graders are allowed to play for the school, the coach suggested that Tyson could be his manager & travel to all their away games with them & maybe even practice running drills with the 7th & 8th graders if he shows that he's good enough to hang with them. That won't start until November or so, right around the same time as the Chess Club. Tyson has chosen Band as his elective this year & we found a trumpet at a yard sale with a case, the cleaning equipment & the book that they need, all for $75, so he'll be playing trumpet. Tonight is the first meeting of the Booster Club, which I'm planning to join so I can get involved in Tyson's school & fundraising efforts & also meet some of the other parents. Thank goodness we live so close to the school! I don't know if I mentioned previously, but I picked up more transcription work for the docs at the Surgery Center, so that's been a challenge, but I know that it will get a lot easier as I get more comfortable with formatting & terminology for these docs. This last weekend, Lisa & I drove to Crescent City to meet Dad & Allen & to bring Allen back to Medford with us to help Lisa & Anthony move into their own place! (This will be the first time in over 9 years that they've lived together without anyone else & I'm SO happy for them!) On Saturday, we got all their stuff from storage & made some progress on getting the townhouse set up. Allen & Lisa have really hit it off & I'm praying this will be a good thing for both of them. They both deserve so much happiness & have settled in the past. My own love life is still non-existent but I just hope that, if I stay busy enough with Tyson & work, I eventually won't notice. Here's the link to the pics from the Eureka trip: (Thanks for the suggestion, Kathy!) http://picasaweb.google.com/amanda32876/VisitToEurekaLaborDay2007