Mexico

I shot so many photographs and it is so very hard for me to choose which ones to post. I wanted to share a glimpse of all the things we did. The shots I didn't take were the best times, when we were just hanging out in the condo, being together.

The weather was perfect. Mid-seventies and low humidity. It was amazing!

We did get out and do some sightseeing.

The Aquarium at La Isla

We finally made it out to Chichen Itza. It's about a two hour drive and we went through downtown Cancun. This is outside of the tourist zone. This is only a little of what we saw. Driving down the highway, we saw people who had structures (I couldn't get photos of these) they lived in built a few yards from the highway. It was rather shocking to see. Here are a few shots of downtown Cancun.

Then there is Chichen Itza. It was amazing!!!

Old time tic-tac-toe?

This is the only structure where climbing is permitted. The steps are extremely narrow, but the perfect size for Princess' feet.

The beach! We couldn't go in the water because it hurts Princess' skin (eczema), but we had fun!!

We ate out one night. Bubba Gump...run Forrest, run!

Can you believe I even got some Shady Lady shots?!

We're here!

Princess and I arrived in Cancun yesterday afternoon. We were exhausted after waking up at 4:30am to catch the 5:30 shuttle to the airport. It was, of course, amazing to see the Lizard King again. I love how we fall right back into "us" again.

The view from the condo. Isn't it beautiful?!

We went shopping for supplies today. Besides food for the next couple of weeks, I wanted to buy some baking soda for doing laundry. After finding the Spanish words for baking soda in the dictionary, slaughtering the pronunciation and finally showing the store employee the dictionary, she led me to the location. I'm guessing they don't use baking soda the way I do. It's my all purpose cleaner, my laundry booster, I use it to exfoliate, and so many other uses. I buy the giant Costco bag. Costco Cancun didn't have it. I bought enough for maybe 2 loads of laundry.  

LK cooked dinner tonight. Shrimp & Chorizo with peppers, onions and cilantro with sour cream (which was different than US sour cream), salsa & steamed corn tortillas on the side. It was so good!! Yes Freckle, white cabinets like yours, but these ones are shiny white! Ooh! I know you're jealous. ;)

We finished the day with a rousing game of "Guess What I Am!", one of our favorites.

I wonder what tomorrow will bring...

Mexico Exploration

The Shady family is going to Mexico!! We meet the Lizard King there in 43 days. LK's best friend has a condo in Cancun and we are using frequent flyer miles for Princess' and my flights. The only cost with this trip is food and some spending money. Who knew a trip to Mexico could be so affordable?!

In preparation for our trip, we are learning about Mexico through DVDs, books, crafts and a lapbook. Fun!!

Look what I found:

Lapbook Links
Hill of Fire book with a related lapbook
This great site and this site
and a Magic School Bus site with more volcano information (relating to Hill of Fire)

and this treasure trove from the library, with more on the way!

We'll be spending two whole weeks in Mexico in order to keep LK out of the country. Spending less than 35 days in the states allows us a big tax savings.

LK's next leave will be at home here in Oregon. Stay tuned...soon I will share what we will be doing in June when he comes home. And we're hoping for a visit from Tatt-man (LK's son), his wife & the new grandbaby in July once LK is home on leave and we're settled in!

Did I mention Jamaica & Afghanistan?

On September 22nd we are joining our friends as they renew their wedding vows in Jamaica. The Lizard King was just home for a visit about 2 and a half weeks ago. The plan was that he would meet us in Atlanta and we would fly together to Jamaica. We were all looking forward to spending a whole week together.

The Lizard King emailed me on Monday with bad news, ugly news and good news.

The bad news: he was leaving for Afghanistan in a week. Yes, my bloggy friends. They need LK's expertise in Afghanistan. They asked him to go over. It will be a shorter trip and he assures me that he will be safe.

The ugly news: he will not be able to go to Jamaica with us.

The good news: he is spending a long weekend with us.

He arrived yesterday evening.

Right now I am trying to focus on the "I get to spend time with my husband" part. I'll think about the Jamaica vacation without him later.

A Month of Family Time

I have been putting off posting an update. I wanted to share all the things that we have done over the last month. It was amazing to have so much family time. There is one problem. I took so many photos and I want to share them all. So, I will tell you all the things we did and offer you a link to view all the photos at Picasa online.

We spent a lot of time hanging out and playing in our back yard (and took lots of pictures). I got a new camera. It is awesome! and I took lots of photos. I love the settings on this camera. You've got to see the pictures.

The garden is growing like crazy.

LK sold his Jeep and his Harley.

We went to the Enchanted Forest.

LK and Princess made burgers for the July 4th party.

Of course, a little dress up always happens.

We had a fun-filled week with LK's sister and brother-in-law. We went to Multnomah Falls (so beautiful), the Beaverton Farmers Market and Saturday Market. LK took them (Princess and I stayed home) to Cannon Beach.

We went to swimming lessons (and soccer).

Princess used her allowance to buy a tub toy. It's Barbie Mermaid. Fun!

After LK left we got back to school work...and we talk to him everyday using Skype online so we get to see each other.

Whew! I'm glad that's done. Hopefully, I hope I don't get so far behind again. Enjoy the photos here!

Riding the Roller Coaster, Shady Style

Lizard King's sister and brother-in-law left today, after a fun-filled week. We went to Multnomah Falls, Beaverton Farmers Market, Saturday Market and Cannon Beach. I will post more about the visit and some pictures later. We had so much fun spending time with them. Princess really loved her time with them and was so sad when they left.

I thought you all might enjoy riding the roller coaster with us. That job that we were waiting on did not come through. However, LK got a call yesterday from the company that offered him the Afghanistan job. He had sent a very professional letter, informing them that he would not be going to Afghanistan. He also told them that if anything came up stateside, he would be very interested. We never expected to hear from them.

They must be extremely impressed with his resume, because it looks like they pulled some strings. LK will be working for the same company BUT in South Carolina, specifically Greenville. The money isn't quite as good, but it is still very good. He will come home once a month and Princess and I will also fly down to see him.

I always say that everything happens for a reason. I know that if Afghanistan had not happened, this would be so much harder for us. LK is leaving Sunday morning. We are trying to get as much time together as possible, so it will be a few more days before I'm back to the bloggy world on a regular basis. I hope you all understand. We also have some last minute shopping to do. He and I feel so much better about this job. I know it will still be hard, but nothing like it could have been.

I hope you have enjoyed today's ride.

Happy Father's Day, Lizard King!

It's been a casual day. Lots of hanging out. Slow cooking ribs on the grill. Nothing fancy, simply spending time together. This is something we haven't had much opportunity to do over the last several years.



The Lizard King is an amazing father. He is the epitome of "don't judge a book by it's cover". At a BBQ yesterday two friends told me that they decided that my husband is...hmmm....I can't remember the exact words (as you know I forget stuff)...but they pretty much said that he is pretty awesome. You've got this tattooed tough guy exterior, who is an Attachment Parenting, organic eating, sustainable living, amazing husband and all around great guy. It took me a lohohohong time to find him, but he was so completely worth the wait.



I asked Princess, "Why is your Daddy a good daddy?" Her response, "He plays with me a lot." Which is so true.



He spends a good deal of his limited home time playing with Princess. He lets Princess "do" his hair with all sorts of clips and accessories in it. He plays Princess Wii. He gets down on the floor and plays all the creative imagination games. He plays board games. He lets her "help" him in everything he does.



We are trying to find ways that he can still play with her from Afghanistan and so far, we're coming up with some pretty good ideas.

The Shady Family Goes to the Beach

We built sand castles

played in the water

gazed in awe at Haystack Rock

walked, played and collected rocks

and had an all around fun time.

His Last Day

Last year the Lizard King learned that his company, Boise Paper, was laying off 300 employees at his location in St. Helens, Oregon. He was supposed to be done some time in January. Then the powers that be realized that they needed someone to restructure and get things in order and they asked him to stay on until the end of May.

The last several weeks have been so stressful for him. Today was his last day and he has breathed a sigh of relief. He will receive three and a half months severance and can collect unemployment until he is able to find a job.

He has been job hunting for quite a while now, but with the state of the economy jobs aren't all that plentiful. It's all good. The right thing will come along at the right time.

After leaving work early today (his final day), LK came home and we had a lovely afternoon together at the Oregon Zoo.

After the zoo, Freckle, the Ogre and Blue Eyed Boy came over to our house for dinner. We had a wonderful time!

We now look at the time ahead with a little uncertainty. I believe that everything happens for a reason. I also believe that something very good is coming. I look forward to it all. Life is a big adventure...we might as well enjoy it.

Happy Friday!

The Purim Party

Today we attended our first ever Purim party. It was at the same place we go to Sunday School. Who knew there were so many humanist/atheist Jews?!

We started with crafts - painting masks and coloring pictures.


Bowling was a big hit with the kids. They used the basketball....

...to knock down Haman pins. (Haman was the evil guy who wanted to kill all the Jews....well, one of them.) So the kids knocked him down.

A guy named Jon read the story of Purim. Each child had a sign to hold up. The signs had words we (the audience) were supposed to say when different names were read in the story. Chloe had Vashti and we were supposed to say "oo oo". If ya wanna know why, you'll have to read the story. Or, you can read this poem I just found.

We had a fun time, but the best part for Princess was getting to dress up like the princess she is...and she's still dressed that way (even for the movies this afternoon). Notice the pink?

Family Gained, Family Lost

Family Gained
A few weeks ago I rearranged my schedule to allow for more family time. With LK working two jobs and me my part time job we haven't had a regular day together as a family in a lohohohong time. I moved clients to weekday evenings and cleared my Sundays.

Today is the first full Sunday together. We enjoyed a delicious breakfast together and have plans to go to a movie, do some jeans shopping for LK and maybe a few errands. At the moment, as I blog, Princess and LK are playing...you guessed it...Disney Princess Wii! It's so wonderful to be able to spend time together no matter what we're doing.

I am so lucky to have such an amazing husband and daughter. Every day I am grateful to have them in my life. My husband supports me always, in everything I do and with all my decisions. He is my rock, my strength and my partner through everything. He is always there for me.

Family Lost
This is an extremely shortened version of what transpired. My father and I have had a dysfunctional relationship always. After the Disneyworld trip, that was less than a stellar experience, I decided it was time to attempt a healthy relationship.

There have been a few emails back and forth ,which Freckle and HerbiFaery have read and been an amazing support to me. They have helped me to understand how my father is treating me and helped me to find ways to try to make the relationship healthier.

In my most recent email, I told my father the things that needed to change in order for our relationship to have a chance at being healthy. He responded yesterday. His response? He was furious. And he ended our relationship. Yes, you read that right. He ended our relationship.

I feel very sad about that. I don't understand how anything I said would have him willing to never see his granddaughter. The things I said were stated with the utmost respect and with the desire to built a strong and healthy relationship. Now it's done.

My daughter has lost the only grandparents she ever had, as crappy as they were, at least she had grandparents. I don't understand his being so unwilling to work on this.

So today is a day of family gained and family lost. I'm trying really hard to focus on the family gained. We're heading out soon to enjoy the beautiful day together. I wish you all a happy Sunday!

Dinner Time

This is how we dressed for dinner last night. The adornments on our heads were space helmets that were necessary for our trip to Mars. This is the second day in a row that we have had to take this trip. The reason we visit Mars is that it is a hot planet. Perhaps Princess is looking for a break from the cold?

And yes, this is evidently appropriate attire for washing dishes as well.

Later we had conversation about our day tomorrow. I reminded her that we have Math class with Rooster X. Her reply? Can we stay for the whole class this time? Yes, homeschooling rocks. My daughter was disappointed when we had to rush out last week for my chiropractor appointment. I assured her we could stay for the whole class this time.