R is for Ronnebeck!

 The Kids have been trying to help me pack They're so helpful! Gracie's favorite place is on top of the suitcase ... every time the thing comes out of the storage room she's laying on top of it, or in it. Aquaman is snuggling with my travel pet Captain Derg. Let's just say the snuggles are there to stay, It will be weird sleeping in a bed with no one (ahem Aquaman) trying to steal my covers!

*** Somehow this didn't get posted when I wanted it to... so I'm posting it now... Because it's such a sweet post :)  My surprise trip to South Dakota went off without a hitch. I was so worried that Mom would find out the moment I landed in Sioux Falls and the whole ruse Kathy and I had been working on would be ruined in moments. Once I landed, Kathy & Shari picked me up at the airport and we made our way to Watertown, we stopped and grabbed some Hardee's and then picked up Kevin (Kathy's grandson) at school. Then we went over to the Junior high where we knew Shannon would be to pick up Erica from school hoping to surprise them each in a unique way. When we got to the Jr. High I saw Shannon's car parked and she was sitting inside with the window down waiting for Erica to get out of school. I walked up to her window and said "Hey Lady can I get a ride" and she looked up at me and said "WHAT??" and then she said "What ... when di

ReanimateHER - aka: Mater Really - how could I pass up an opportunity to see my girls (the Rat City Rollergirls) this close and in full action. They lost... Quite badly actually, but I still enjoyed every hit!  Check out the girl flying off to the left - just came off an awesome hip check by ReanimatHER.  We saw a lot of this - Oly being in the lead jammer position, scoring. Ugh. Did I mention we lost pretty badly, like 99 to 230.  This was kind of cool to see though - Lots of other skaters there to cheer on the All-stars. Trouble Loves Mimi, Jalapeno Business, Goodie two skates, Shedonist, Foxy Throwdown, Kamikaze Kim, Anya Heels... the list goes on.  Happy mistake... Rettig 2 Rumble

Momma's had a rough week. We're still fighting the fluid on her lungs and heart, and right now she needs her family, to help, to love, to heal. I'm flying out Wednesday or Friday - still working on that detail. My amazing work place has given me the opportunity to be able to work from South Dakota, so I won't miss much work as I still need a paycheck! Thank you for your thoughts and prayers in my travels and Momma's health.

He is SO proud... so are his parents, so is his Aunt Abby :) Congratulations Troy !

1- My brain is a little sticky today. I might have to struggle through this one. Thinking, Thinking, Thinking... 2- Mom is at home finally from the hospital, that makes me happier than words! 3- I am very thankful for co-workers who can relate to me. It's a blessing I never thought I'd have, because, well, working in Seattle is a very diverse place - people come from different places and different lives. 4- I'm skating with Laurel tonight - Huzzah! 5- The green fest this weekend was way more fun than I anticipated - I ate a Soyjoy bar for breakfast and actually enjoyed it. 6- I hit half way to my fundraising goal for Relay today --- Donation location on your right click and charge! :) 7-Aquaman has a play date with my co-worker's daughter sometime this month or next; he's excited! 8-I need to get my camera back out to play - I took a TON of pictures on Saturday and totally miss it. 9- Scrapbooking has eluded me as well... need to get on that - I have 4 stack

 My Dog is a total weirdo. Today he found a potato that had fallen on our floor (don't ask) and he picked it up and started to chew on it and wanted to play fetch with it. He was totally thrilled... Eric and I got a laugh out of it.

On Friday night we went to Ivan and Dawn's house! It was so much fun to stuff ourselves with amazing cooking, friendship and dessert! We caught up and agreed that It had been TOO long since we had hung out. I managed to talk Dawn into going skating with me sometime, so hopefully we'll be able to make that happen! On our way up there, we stopped by Fast Girl Skates in Wallingford and got me some skating pads so I don't hurt myself skating! It was a much needed purchase. On Saturday I spent the morning with my dear friend Mariya. She lives up in Everett so we try to get together at least once a month. We had a blast thrifting our morning away and catching up. I was also excited to hear more about her new home, and baby! I found a new dress at Goodwill for $6.00 and I was super excited! I can't wait to model it here! In the afternoon Megan came down from her abode and we made our way to Olympia with Eric to see the Oly Rollers.  Brace yourself for some Derby pictures.

Some Mornings I wake up and wonder why and when I thought it was a good idea to start work at 6:45 in the morning. My alarm clock going off at an hour that in my teen years I still would have considered "night" is somewhat scary to me. But then I walk outside and see this sunrise... and it refreshes me, and reminds me that the best part of my day is morning - I never used to rise before noon.

I have kind of forgotten to mention that Eric's working part-time right now. He's been hired by my boss Julie and her partner Nelly to assist with the renovation of their new home they just purchased at the end of April. He's been painting, and tearing down cabinets, flooring, and storage sheds. He's been coming home tired, sweaty and happy. We're saving up for our trip to see his Mom in July and couldn't be more thrilled to have a little boost! I'm very proud of him - he's doing something he loves and that makes him happy, and that makes me happy.

1- I am back among the world of the living - no longer do I feel like I am in a post vacation haze. Yay Me! 2- I have a lot of stress going on in my little brain this week - I am thinking I need to take some time out for Meditation, Yoga or Roller Derby - Hey Aggression is a good thing! 3- Momma's had a bad week - lots of fluid, not enough easy breathing and lots of frustrating doctors visits. We're still hopeful, however - hoping that we'll keep making baby steps. 4- Seattle is sunny today - I don't want to jinx it, but I think Spring is finally here. 5 - Sad note -we missed the cheese festival this weekend, booo - we just wanted to avoid all the people! 6- More derby this weekend - Oly Rollers VS: The Texas Rollergirls in Olympia ... DERBY! DERBY! DERBY! 7- Just as I'm breaking out of my shell - I feel the need to crawl back in. Just frustrated with it... that's all. 8- I have 36 twin bings after my trip to Watertown - SUCCESS. 9- Ten on This Tuesday s

 I am smashing all the rest of my pictures together so I get them posted before I reach my 2 week benchmark of being gone.  Saturday night after the beautiful nightfall - Kathy drug me out of the house (somewhat willingly) to buy 61 bags of sunflower seeds for the races. They had not ordered enough so hopping from gas station to gas station is what we did at 11 o'clock on Saturday night.  Sunday Morning was Mother's Day. Mom, Erica and I Hung out most of the day  together as Shannie had to work, Kathy & Todd were at the races, and Tony & Julie were out of town with the boys till evening.  There was some time well spent in Mom's favorite chair, then there was some Taco Johns and Shopko shopping. Then we headed out to Tony & Julie's with Nani to celebrate Mother's Day. Making a pit stop on our way to run an errand to County Fair for Kathy to buy 60 bags of tortilla chips - apparently 60 bags was our number.  I wanted to get a photo of each of the boys in