I'm suspending my campaign to bring you this overdue blog entry

Hey kids,

What an odd summer this has been. There's been some really, really awful stuff and some really, really cool stuff, and a minimum of in-between.

For one thing, this has been the summer of HOT. Not that it's been a particularly HOT summer. There have definitely been worse. But I've suffered heat exhaustion every time I've climbed in my truck this summer because my A/C is broken. And since I paid nearly $2000 bucks earlier this summer to get some major repairs done, I just have not been able to bring myself to pay one cent more for something as frivolous as A/C repair. Then there's teh previously documented case of my Towering Inferno of an office.

So yes, in that respect, I am definitely ready for autumn. Or fall. Or whatever the hell you call it. And pumpkin frapaccinos and pumpkin scones from that Coffee Place That Shall Remain Nameless.

Summer has always been my least favorite of all the seasons. But I've found that having kids makes it a bit more tolerable. We've been back and forth to visit the grandparents a few times. We've been to festivals and we've gone hiking and we spend countless hours outside in the backyard doing nothing in particular and having a pretty good time while we're at it. We've had lunches and dinners in the park, we've jumped in the car and gone driving just for the hell of it -- gas prices be damned. And now that it's almost dark by 7 p.m., I'm feeling nostalgic for those nights just a few weeks ago when we were cavorting outside until the sun finally went down at around 9-ish.

A couple weekends ago, Jake, you and I went to the office and put together some bookcases. The above photo showcases our handiwork. And now, for some reason, you think that's what I do for a living. "Are you going to work, Momma? Are you gonna make some more bookcases?" Funny little man.

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So last Friday you and I headed out of town one last time before all hell breaks loose at work. This is what my Google calendar looks like starting the first week of October:



Long story short: Between a million meetings and at least a couple deadlines each day, I won't be able to catch my breath until at least Thanksgiving.

Baby stayed home with daddy, I dropped you off at grandma's and after spending a night with them, I got myself a lovely room at the Beverly Heritage Hotel through Hotwire.com, from which I based the next three days worth of adventures. Mainly, that involved lounging in bed, catching up on my reading and taking long leisurely showers in time to wander into town in search of dinner.

This is the awesome room I got, for less than a room at the dreaded Motel 6. Hotwire has screwed me before, but this time they got it just right. This bed was WICKED COMFY.



Met up with your Auntie L on Friday night and saw X at the Catalyst in Santa Cruz. (B, if you're reading this, please know that we looked for you before, during and after the show, but couldn't find you anywhere. But we *did* run into Marty! He asked about you. The rockabilly opening band made me homesick for Teri and Andy...)



I almost passed out at the end of the last song during the encore. The world just kinda started swirling away from me, and I started listing to the left. Grabbed Auntie L and made it outside the club in time to sit on the curb, breathe some fresh air and process the Greyhounds I had been consuming that night.

Monday I had planned to go see a movie or two, but there is absolutely NOTHING out there that I had any desire to see. If I laid in bed one more afternoon, I was going to get bedsores, so I decided to drive down the coast to the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Ideally, what I really, really wanted to do, was to swing by grandma's and pick you up and the two of us would go together. But I knew Grandma would be upset that I was cutting into her time with you. And I sure as hell didn't want to invite her along. Oh wait. I didn't say that.

I enjoyed myself, I guess. But the whole time I was thinking how much more fun it would've been if you had been there with me. I was awfully lonesome for you. So next time, for sure. I'll never go without you again. But in the meantime, here are some photos:


I took all sorts of video while I was there, but damn... I could watch this one all day.


The jellies are my favorite animals there.


The sunfish is my favorite FAVORITE animal there. This guy alone is worth the price of admission. Freakazoid!


I've often had daydreams of hiding in the bathrooms here when they shut down at the end of the day, and spending the night curled up in front of the Outer Bay exhibit, watching the sharks and sunfish and enormous tunas.

I came and got you the next day and you were not happy at all to be leaving California and heading for home. As soon as I walked through grandma's door, you were twitchy and weird, asking me if I would be leaving again to meet up with Auntie L. By the time I had your stuff bundled in the car, you were adamant about not wanting to leave. It wasn't a pretty scene. The first half hour in the car was pretty heartbreaking:



You finally fell asleep and I woke you up in Jackson for some lunch, and you were in a much better mood after some chicken fingers and mac and cheese. We listened and sang along to "The Day Lassie Went to the Moon" about a dozen times, and we stopped atop Peddler's Hill and you peed on a boulder and we took some cheezy photos.



I imagined a misty, sentiment-filled homecoming, with the baby leaping into my arms and covering me with kisses, but the two of you started beating the hell out of each other and NOT sharing as soon as we walked in the door, and that's when I knew we were well and truly home.

I love you both so very much. Be good to each other.