The End?!?

All good things must come to an end?

It's May 16, and we're almost home. Chris has taken a temporary school position in Seattle that lasts through the rest of the school year. The kids and I are on Day 86 at La Casa de Los Abeulos in Bend, Oregon. The plan is for all of us to be in Seattle by June 1 at the latest. Our house probably won't be available until June 15, so we will test the limits of friendship by staying with the Ritscher family for a few weeks.

For closure's sake, here are some of the happenings of the last month or two:

* The chickens have grown! They were barely an ounce when we brought them home in March, and now they're pushing two pounds. They are currently living with the big girls in Grandma's coop, and get to roam the yard most every day. City living will be a big change.

Little Dixie (March).Charlie Horse talks to the chickens.
Big Dixie (May)!

* Company. Since our last blog, we have enjoyed visits from our cousins - Doug, Kim, Zachary, and Mara Drape. We snowboarded, rode horses, hiked Pilot Butte, and ate at all our favorite haunts.

We were also visited by our Seattle roomie, Stephanie Hill. We ran/walked in a 5K, hiked Pilot Butte, and ate at all our favorite haunts.

* Snow. Last week, on May 9, the boys snowboarded one last time. Today, May 16, it is over 90 degrees. That's Central Oregon for ya. We took advantage of the Mt. Bachelor spring passes, and figure we were at the mountain at least 15 times this spring. Probably more than the whole of our lives up to this point.

May 9, 2008

* Soccer. Matt has spent the spring playing soccer for the Hot Spurs of Bend Rush, with his cousin, Caleb. Andy got to practice every week with a competitive team, and see what life is like in the select soccer realm. Chrissie and Jeannie (her sister) logged many miles walking laps around the practice fields.

* Iowa. Chris managed to sneak back to Iowa to help with the spring planting. This time, he took his wedding ring off BEFORE operating heavy machinery, so he came home with all his fingers intact.

*Miscellany: Yes, we've remembered to do some home-schooling, although not quite to the extent that we had planned / hoped / dreamed. It's much harder than it sounds, so hats off to people who do it "for real". It's much more fun to ski and snowboard, feed the chickens, talk to the horses, and play with the cousins.

Not sure if we are done blogging, or not. We still haven't adequately answered the questions, "What did you learn on your trip?" and, "How are you going to be different?" We've journaled, but haven't compiled our answers into any meaningful form yet. So stay tuned... or not...