I need to get a blog

I just wanted to make a whiny facebook status and I thought to myself "I need to get a blog". But then I realized I have one. So here goes:
I have been feeling really apathetic lately. I can't find the energy to do anything. I am tired, and I hate being tired all the time. I'm tired of John being sick and wish his doctors would find the magic cure to make him all better. I'm run down, and I just need a break. I feel like I'm failing my kids because I don't do enough with them. Eloise should know the alphabet by now, or at least how to write her name, and I've not taught her a single thing. And to top it all off I'm just lonely. It's stupid, because I have more friends at the moment than I've ever had in one time before, but I'm still just lonely all the time. I have nobody to talk to because John is sleeping all the time, or he's up and I'm too tired and I'm sleeping. And I don't know what to do about any of it.

Boat ride picture dump.

The lake looked kind of cool with the sun coming through the clouds. The lighting is kind of messed up but i couldn't figure out how to fix it.

 

Excited children

 

The shipwreck on the island. It's apparently over a hundred years old.

Eloise is an excellent driver, provided you want to go in circles.

Serafina catching water spray and watching them drip off her fingers.

Isn't she adorable?

Random birds

Serafina was a little bit better of a driver. She was making very serious faces while she drove though so it was hard to catch a smile.

 

Last day of school

Today was Fina's last day of kindergarten. I was reading a blog the other day that mocked parents who take a picture of their kid on the last day of school to compare it to the first day of school. I don't care if it makes me seem like an overachieving parent, I thought it was a cute idea.

Look how much she's grown up! I'm still a little annoyed at John for not taking a proper first day of school pic so that my mom had to snap one with her cell phone as she dropped her off.

The original plan was for us to go to West Yellowstone tonight, but the Yukon broke down yesterday and was in the shop until this afternoon. So it forced us to take a day of relaxing. We stayed up late watching television. Maybe a little too late.

 

Hopefully she doesn't pee on my couch before I get her to bed.

I HATE THE PARK!

I NEVER swinging! Harumph.

I don't know why you even bring me here.

Okay, I'll climb up, but I'm not having fun.

And I NEVER going down the slide.

Okay, I go down the slide.

I NEVER swinging! Never Ever!

I made a doll.

Or more accurately, I assembled one. Weez and I found this kit at a thrift store yesterday with a plastic head and a presewn body.

The sculpting instructions didn't call for a butt or a belly button or knees or elbows, basically just boxy fingers and toes. But I did everything anyway, because I happen to know how from repairing CPKs.

She looks very cpkish from the back. The hands are really boxy and I wish I had thought to modify it and sew thumbs into them before I stuffed her.

Oh, and on the other side of the thrift store, I found a prepackaged doll baby outfit in her size.

Bizarrely, the unfinished doll was in the toy section and the outfit (which would fit any 6-7 inch doll) was over with crafts. I don't pretend to understand these things. Eloise is pleased with her new "baby".

Spokane

We got delayed in Spokane because the weather was shitty towards Montana and we didn't feel like going home. The hotel we were staying at was called "The Red Lion at the park" so I asked John to look at maps and figure out if it was the awesome park with the carousel and skyride and everything and sure enough it was, and was close enough to just stroll over there.

We shelled out 10 bux which was enough for 3 rides on the carousel for each of the girls and one of us, and 2 rides for the other. The first ride, Eloise rode a tiger which didn't go up and down, but the other 2 she wanted to ride a horse. She looks a little nervous.

Fina rode a horse all 3 times. John had wandered off to ride a horse leaving me with 2 girls side by side and I snapped these pictures quick before it started moving. When it started going fast, Eloise cried and tried to climb off her horse, but I told her she had to stay on the whole ride. As soon as it stopped she said "that was fun! We go again?"

Here's my favorite picture ever, which John took while we were going and he was watching.

They had a great time and were bummed when we had to go.

That evening I mentioned to John that there was supposedly a giant "little red wagon" somewhere in the park but I had never been able to find it. He looked at a map and told me it was right by the carousel but we had gone the other way back. So the next afternoon while John and Eloise were napping, Fina asked if we could go find the wagon because she overheard me mention it.

The handle is a slide. It had been raining earlier so the slide was wet and the first time she went down it she went very slowly.

But luckily for her, a group of 4 young adult tourists came by and all went down the slide so then it was dry and it worked a bit better. She played for quite a while.

Then I suggested she pick up some leaves and garbage and go feed the garbage goat, who we had discovered the day before. There's a button on the wall behind him and he's basically like a vacuum, you hold out a piece of paper or a leaf or a bit of trash and he sucks it right down.

She did a silly pose, because she'd been watching that group of giggly tourists pose silly by the wagon. Then we walked across the street to a store I had wanted to go in the day before but didn't want to take Eloise in.

On the way back she found a giant oak leaf. She wanted to bring it home but unfortunately I "forgot" to pack it in our suitcase and it got left at the hotel.

Spending the afternoon with Fina might actually have been my very favorite part of the trip. Also I really like Spokane and would like to go back there and spend a few more days exploring.

5 years apart...

Fina and John by the Bonneville dam in Oregon, March 2008

Fina, John, and Eloise same spot March 2013.

I find it awesome that John is wearing a nearly identical shirt in both pictures, he does not. It was freezing cold and raining this time, but I couldn't resist making them pose. It's funny that the weather was similar both times too.