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I DID IT!

We moved Kyle into the dorm at Sac State (California State Univ-Sacramento) yesterday (happy dances for everyone!) and yes, I am taking all the credit for this monumental occasion. And I don’t even care how that sounds. I have gotten a lot of things accomplished these last 8 months, but nothing took more of my psychic energy than Kyle. The stress that kid put me through caused full-on panic attacks, more sleep-less nights than I can count, and it has taken quite a toll on me mentally and physically. There were several times earlier this year that I tried to write a post about all the shit going on, but I was unable to get past the second sentence. There was just too much and I wasn’t ready to share it on this or any other social media platform. I still don’t feel like suffering the  carpel-tunnel that I would inevitably get trying to write about “all the things”. But let me tell you the story of Kyle. Kyle, whose graduation ceremony was on a Thursday night and we didn’t know if he would even graduate until Monday afternoon of that week! Let’s let that sink in. The child almost did not…

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Merry Ho Ho Ho

Santa came! and replaced my daughter’s regular legs with mile-long spider limbs!   freaky oh man. Kyle, Erin, and I played a game of Life – it was almost as painful as the real thing! And with this gift, Chris gets his phone back. Priceless. But then he had to build the Monster High Catacombs. No Barbie Dreamhouse for our little ghoul. I don’t think Chuck Norris appreciated his inflatable unicorn horn, but I sure appreciated this box of art supplies from Santa! And with the arrival of the grandparents, came an outfit change. Girl cleans up nice. We are in trouble with this one. Merry Christmas ya filthy animals!

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Think Happy Thoughts

It is Halloween and I spent the morning listening to Kyle complain about how uncomfortable thong underwear is. wow. They really do grow up so fast. So, to try and erase the images of him and his teammates at last night’s costumed volleyball practice – sports bra and thongs oh my – I have been clicking through my computer files looking for cute and innocent pics of Halloween past. I wasn’t finding what I was looking for, but ran across this series of images from our Florida trip in 2012.   Sure, it has nothing to do with Halloween, but it made me smile. I mean really, who hasn’t wanted to chase Kyle around with a big stick!

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Septem … what do you mean it’s October?!

hells bells How did that happen?! I swear I was still writing August on things when suddenly it was October! What even happened in September?! ::consults Facebook wall:: oh. right. September was full of crazy – good and bad – and it flew by. Everyone was back in school – here is photo proof: Wow. And then there was the headache week from hell that ended with me getting shots in my butt on Day 6. Day 6!! damn. But to spin a positive from all that pain, I did create a couple more pieces of ‘migraine’ art. A Day 4 painting: And a Day 6 photo became a drypoint that I’m still working on: Of course that was the end of my 29Faces run. That week really wiped me out! The next weekend had me and Kyle in San Mateo for the 2-day tournament that starts the fall volleyball season. Always fun. And then Ericfish and John came to visit! And that was more fun! And then, just like that, is was October. so yeah. September was a blur and it’s already the 11th! The Halloween decorations have been up for over a week, and its time to think…

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NOT MY BABY!!

Remember these kids? Christmas 2008 Hells bells. Kyle was just a baby! And look at how short Erin’s hair was. crazy. And there is our old cat Bodhifattba! And while putting together the slideshow for the Uber’s 50th anniversary party I found these pics from 2009. Apparently that was the year no one wore shirts! Summer 2009 And now? Today? Today Kyle is 16. And he doesn’t want me taking his picture. Maybe because I do things like this: And this: But he’s okay taking selfies in my bathroom mirror! I see how it is. I managed to get this pic last weekend. Kyle is the big one. 16!! ::thud::

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4th-7th of July: a picture parade

The 4th of July was on a Wednesday this year. So this was the first time in years we didn’t spend the holiday in Santa Cruz. We hung our new flag, Chris made abalone, we introduced Erin to sparklers and lit fireworks in the street. A fine day despite the lack of ocean breezes. Erin definitely approved of the sparklers! July 5th. Thursday means more swimming lessons! This was Erin’s last week of her 5pm “Duck” classes and the start of her next session as an “Alligator”. This next session is Tues/Thurs at 2pm for a month. So twice last week she had 2 lessons in one day. That made for a mighty tired little swimmer! Alligator time A little TV between classes And back to the pool! July 6th. Friday. Not having to be anywhere until 2:30 when I have to pick Kyle up from summer school (I still don’t want to talk about that!), I ended up spending the day shooting photos for the next series I’m working on. Shot mostly digital, but did break out the Hasselblad *and* the Polaroid! Proof of Polaroids Took a shot of the flag with the Polaroid. This is the negative! And…

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