Look familiar???

I was at my grandparents home/farm this past weekend helping clean it out and get it ready for an estate sale, a task I'm beginning to believe is never ending. My grandparents house was always a treasure trove. They both loved to collect things, and they had a BIG house full of lots and lots of STUFF! Going through their things was bittersweet. There are lots of memories...lots of treasures. And as an adult, it was kind of exciting to get to peek at some of the things that were so intriguing to me as a kid.

Digging through the old photos was a true adventure. Being a photo lover, it was especially exciting for me to see some very OLD photos, some photos I'd never seen before, and some that I'd forgotten about. And SOME I'd really prefer TO forget about! lol

My greatest treasures were those that other members of my family were throwing in the trash. This photo was one of them. I can't help but wonder who took this photo...was it my granddad? And when was it? And where, exactly? This one was definitely a "pull it out of the trash and add it to my stash" photo. :)

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. :)