Scatterday

Today is the first day of public school and I feel totally scattered.

We're not starting homeschool until next week, which turns out to be a good thing

as Tate is working five shifts this week.

Whew!

So many plates to keep spinning right now...

* getting into the school groove

* managing Tate's work schedule

(I think his boss didn't realize school started so early this year

and she'll not schedule him so much starting next week!)

* potluck / block watch meeting tonight (make food!)

* catch up on laundry before (potential) rain later this week

* try to pin down dates/locations for several things

(family birthdays, medical tourism, and the camping trip)

* reclaim the living room (Kerry is putting the last coat of paint on now!)

The camping trip is really tugging on my heart right now.

We're been anticipating going to some very beautiful areas,

but there's a catch:

Right now we can't even get to our first destination because the highway
goes right through that horrible red blob and is closed due to fire.

So much incredible beauty in that area!

Here's what it looked like last fall, when Kerry and I drove through:

I pulled some pics off a news site taken by

South Whatcom Fire Chief Mitch Nolze

to show what's happening now.

Firefighters aren't yet able to contain the fire,

so they're concentrating on saving structures

that feed power to the greater Seattle area.

My photo

His photo

They're trying to save the little company town that serves the employees of the power company.

The playground may survive, but the trees on the hill behind?

Not so much.

My photo

Here's where we pulled off to get treats at the little store on the right,
and duck into the visitors center (and bathroom!) on the left.

My photo

Facing the other direction during the day...

His photo

and overlooking the little store at night.
Those hot embers are the hillside right above the playground.
*sigh*

His photo

The highway is closed, for obvious reasons.

News photo

And this beautiful valley...

... looks like this.

News photo

And though I'm not a fan of profanity,

this (from Idaho?) struck a chord.

Whose photo?

Anyway,

we may have to explore alternate destinations for our camping trip!

Which is small potatoes amidst such destruction,

but still something I need to manage.

But there are other things tickling my brains,

like Shakespeare (for my sister),

... and this, for my brother - the Disney lover.

This, for my Star-Wars-fanatic boys...

And this, for parents everywhere.

And speaking of parents...
doesn't our good-friend-new-dad
just melt your heart in this pic?

Yes.  Definitely.

And then there's this... for me.

Because YES, wouldn't that be fabulous?
You're going along through your day,
something frustrating happens, and

POOF!

a piñata appears.
You whack away your frustrations,
and CANDY appears.

Let's not consider the psychological lessons here,
let's just think about candy.
And whacking.

(Really, I can deal with frustration...)

But piñatas!  And Mexico!

Turns out Kerry and I are headed to Mexico.
Sort of.

If you're picturing this...

... just stop.
Think again.
More like this...

Because we're all about AWESOME vacations.

Also, because Kerry needs about $6000 worth of dental work
(U.S. prices)
that we can get done for a fraction of the cost in Mexico.
Even with travel expenses.

So I'm researching flights, hotels, rental cars, etc.

Bring on the piñatas.