Tornadoes, Mother-In-Laws, sad pet news, and the end of school

I've been a little MIA lately. I'll be back to my regular postings soon, and I'll expand, but all of the above is true. My mother-in-law actually came in the midst of the tornadoes, which, of course, don't happen in Wyoming....or so we were TOLD (WRONG!). One of the ones that hit here was close enough that I could hear it, and so could my kids who were on lock down at their schools. It totaled cars in Paityn's school parking lot, took down fences and garage doors in our neighborhood, and put the football bleachers on top of Cassidy's school. So I guess you could say we were in the thick of things. BUT...we were all okay, and that's what important. My mother-in-law played "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" to get here. After getting as far as Denver,her flight to here was canceled, so she took a shuttle part way, and then some kind strangers that she'd ridden the shuttle with brought her the rest of the way. By then, we'd already lost power...for two days. And then came the snow. She had quite a "vacation", I'm sure.

On a very sad note, Paityn's parakeet, Sky, passed away last Thursday. She's still pretty heartbroken. I got her a new parakeet, whose name is "Cloud", but I'm afraid it's not the same. Time will tell.

And...on a much brighter note (it IS a bright note, right?)...SCHOOL IS OUT, as of today!!! It was time. It's an adjustment for all of us. For me, it's about finding the balance between being a good mom, making sure we all have fun, and still managing my work. I'm sure we'll find it though. :)