Phew - it's been a whirlwind lately! Sorry I haven't written sooner. My mom made it here for her visit & we had a GREAT time. We were able to work out all the details of her dialysis & rides, etc. I know it was really rough on her to make the trip & she was a real trooper in having to keep up with me & my crazy schedule. She even made it to Tyson's Cross Country meet (yep, 1st 6th grader again!) & went out to a work party at the doctor's house & then on to do a wild night of karaoke with me, my brother, Lisa, Lisa's parents & several of my co-workers! (Thanks, Mom!) She was here for a week (during which I had to work day & night, as usual, dangit) & the day that she headed home, my 18 y/o niece, Mary, came to stay with me. She's ready for a change of pace & decided to take me up on my offer of giving her a place to stay while she checks things out & gets settled in the area. She's already made friends here, which is amazing!

Ty's Cross Country is over & basketball tryouts for AAU are on the 30th, plus he will be the manager for the 8th grade team. He's been going to the YMCA every chance he gets to practice & stay conditioned. He got nominated for Student of the Month. Here's what his teacher said when nominating him: "Tyson is a natural leader. He leads by example everyday in my class. He shows up prepared, works hard & volunteers to help. Tyson is one of those kids you would like to clone!" Talk about one proud mama!

Work is crazy, as usual, and maybe a little crazier than usual. We had our reviews last Tuesday, which is never fun, but went okay I guess. Can you believe I've been there over 5 years now?

Last weekend I went up to Eugene to see Krista & Dustin & the kids. I had planned to go on up to Portland for the annual Out-of-the-Darkness Walk, but I was just too exhausted to pull it off. I actually almost cancelled the Eugene trip, but decided that, if I stayed home, I'd probably wear myself out more! It was a nice visit, albeit way too short, consisting of thrift store shopping (I got SO many bargains!) & going to the Haunted Corn Maze. Tyson was going to come with me, but Seth finally got a weekend off (he usually has weekdays) & so he stayed with him, instead.

Tomorrow, Tyson & I are going to his Grandma Robbin's for a Halloween party. My costume this year is one of the three blind mice, along with Becky & Lisa. Get it - we work at the Eye Center?! That was my clever idea. When we were at the Halloween store, I made a joke to Tyson when I saw a boxing costume that he could be "Tyson" for Halloween & he loved it! We're having a terrible time finding a costume in his size, though, so tomorrow the hunt is on! Tonight we rented Transformers (good movie!) & Next (haven't watched it yet). Mary is staying with her friend for the weekend while her parents are out of town.

Well, that's all for now, folks!