Too Bad They Don't Make 'em Anymore

We bought this car:
1995 Camry Wagon. They don't make the wagon anymore. Too bad, because my cousin, Andrea, is expecting her third and is lamenting the need to upsize her vehicle. No minivans for her. I loved my Camry wagon. It was the first new car I ever bought. And I picked it out myself. We got it because we had three kids, so I can relate. I got stopped everywhere I went, "Is that new? What kind is it?" for years people would ask. My oldest son is still driving it. This photo was taken today. It still looks kinda spiffy, no? But since they don't make 'em what's a non-minivan mom to do?

Today on my way home I saw this:
Volvo XC90. Not cheap. But it will hold 7 people. I actually was following one that had two little boys in the far back. It reminded me of Andrea's lament. It comes as all wheel drive, too, which I would have loved.

We ended up buying a Honda van for Mike in 2000. It has many advantages, including better gas mileage than an SUV and lots of cargo flexibility. So I guess I would just go for the van and secretly pretend it was a sports car as I drove it to the store and to little league. Ah, the sacrifices a mom has to make sometimes. Sigh.

Rachel Ray hangs out where we do

When Mike and I went to Denver last October we ate lunch at this kitschy old restaurant called the Rocky Mountain Diner. It was funky and fun. The food was ok, nothing to write home about, but good. Tonight we were channel surfing and stopped to watch a Rachel Ray episode about downtown Denver. Sean and Andrew have been talking about visiting there so we were looking for things they could do. I was surprised old Rachel highlighted the Rocky Mountain Diner as a great place to eat. I mean, there were two other restaurants we ate at I would have picked for her to review. They were both more pretentious and had better food. Well, at least I can say Mike and I have "excellent taste" in funky diners.

My Cousin is the BEST!

Yesterday was my eMINTS night. While it sounds kind of edible, it's really just a class I have to take in order to get all sorts of fun electronic gadgets for my classroom - a digital projector, camera, scanner, and a computer for every two students. Anyway, twice a month I have to attend 4 hours of class after a full day of work. It isn't especially fun. So I'm always pretty wasted when I get home. I walked in about 8:30 last night and found a package for me on the counter. I couldn't remember ordering anything - then I noticed the return address was "C.Roth" - my cousin in Washington D.C. Inside I found a wonderful little Earth Day care package. It included some environmentally safe cleaning stuff, a CD of earth related songs, and my favorite - a canvas shopping bag marked with our family name and wedding date.

Thanks, Christine, you don't know what a pick-me-up that was at just the right moment. Everyone should have such nice people in their family.

What you find when you clean...

I've been looking for this photo for a couple of years now:

This is how Lucas got hooked on the computer. He was about 21 months here. It was the summer after Anna was born. He figured out that if he pressed the keys something happened on the screen. You could see his mind working. He would press the keys, watch what happened and giggle over and over and over...

This just reinforces the idea that one should clean out their sock drawer more often than once every three years.

Babies are so wonderful

I spent a lovely afternoon holding my cousin's new baby girl. I haven't spent much time with babies lately. Whenever we have parent/teacher conferences I try to snag the baby from the carriage or stroller for a cuddle. But lately, no one in my class has had a baby sibling for me to get my baby fix.

Thanks Aimee and baby Olivia for letting me get in touch with my grandmotherly side. Keeps me from annoying my own children.

Ancient Life

If I did have to live in ancient times I might want to live here:
It stayed relatively cool in the summer, was easy to warm in the winter. And the views are magnificent. Just watch that first step!






Mesa Verde National Park was spectacular. I had never been there before. It was a nice getaway and not to far from home. I even felt good enough to hike some. Woo Hoo! And when we weren't hiking I managed to find a shoe store that carried really comfortable shoes. I came home with two pairs of shoes that appear to keep my feet from hurting when I walk on the darned concrete floors at work.

Where Is March???

I just realized I have no posts since February 14th. And I even had a whole week off at the end of March. No one will bother to come here because it's so out of date. Sorry, friends. If you do come here hoping to see an update I'll try to provide one more often.