Day 44

The girl gets cupcakes in the morning, I get grumpy little boy that thinks Mondays are the devil. I bet that cupcake would have got him out of bed a lot quicker than my nagging did.

Day 43

Shhh! Don't tell her brothers that she ate Panda for dinner and they had to have waffle sticks.

Day 42

She was watching Sixteen Candles while we were at friends having a bonfire. Hoping it's not our last of the season. I need one more.

Day 41

The girl went to a ballgame, where the roof was closed and the air conditioner was cranking in the cool air. I went for a walk and noticed all the flowers/plants starting to die.
The girl is wishing for cooler weather and I am praying mother nature is kind to us and gives a little bit more warmth.

Day 40

Another restaurant I miss, one of my favorites. I believe we celebrated an anniversary there one year, I just don't remember which year it was. Mr. Fun and I went for a ride and stopped by the brewery for Thirsty Thursday.

Day 39

Her kitchen table, I love it. The boys are loving our evening walks, the weather has been perfect.

Day 38

I am not sure how she survived 6 months without DirecTV, again, like me, she loves TV. Today G received his badge and name for his firefighter gear, so proud of him.

Day 37

The girl is so much like me, we like paper and pens. We would rather write it down over typing it in our phones. Another fall picture from me, trying to soak it up because I think it's going to be a short fall.

Day 36

The girl moved to a new house, look at her backyard now. I sure do mis that type of view. But then look at my view on the same day. Beautiful as well.

Day 35

My guess is they are avoiding homework. We had friends over and of course, the whiteboard got a workout.

Day 34

I am so proud of my working girl and a little jealous of her cute dress and watch. We fed the birds in the field, one day I will have to get a video of them. They are noisy.

Day 33

They were celebrating the boy's 19th birthday! I went for a walk and wow, fall slapped us in the face this year.

Day 32

The girl texted me this photo saying this dog reminded her of Cready.
I went for a walk with friends and the horses were out, so fun.

Day thirty one

She studied for a test and we did laundry!! The joy of real life!! Woop Woop!!!

Day 30

It's really been a month.....that's crazy!!!

Day 29

Day 28

Costco trip for the girl with the boy's family.

Tonight we had artichoke with dinner, a favorite of the girl's. G had never tried it before, he never understood what we were eating. Tonight I got him to try it and his eyes lit up, he loved it. I announced that now we have to buy more when we cook them but Dub announced that G just replaces what the girl usually ate. BOO!!!

Day 27

On this Friday night the girl was enjoying an "I love Lucy" milkshake at Hopdaddy while we were sitting in front of a fire with friends.


And a bonus screen shot from our earlier conversation

I love that she is out there, in the real world, learning and growing.

Day 26

I am grateful the girl feels safe and is happy where she is. I don't like that she is so far away but we are blessed she is surrounded by people that care for her.
I went to the 9-11 ceremony in town, I love that we, as a nation, haven't forgotten.
I took my photo while waiting for the silent precession to start. This is Kasi, she has great taste in shoes.

Day 25

I received this photo and my response was "NOOOOOOOOO!!!" I am not ready for Christmas, I have to get through Halloween first.
I took a walk and ran across this deer leg, yes, part of a deer leg. No deer in sight either. Kind of gave me the creeps, being we have had two mountain lion sightings in town.

Day 24

The girl continues to make me proud. On this day she went and got the oil changed in her car, she used a coupon. I've taught her well.
Today I really missed her at homework time. See, she's always been my go to tutor when it comes to homework I don't understand. Today it was Dub's pre-algebra homework, I ended up going to Kane University to help us get through it.

We all missed her a lot on this day.

Day 23

The girl texted this picture and says "they are proportional to our size". I giggled. The boy is tall and she is short. He likes diet coke, she likes diet pepsi.

On this day I took a walk, a long walk. Mr. Fun was out of town, the house was clean and I needed to clear my head. The barns around here are amazing. From old to new.

Day 22

They got to watch the Niners beat the Cowboys.
Mr. Fun was out of town so I let the boys play Xbox on the big TV.

Day 21

The girl's photo is of a haboob approaching. I miss those storms, a lot. I remember we'd sit in the loft and watch the storms roll get closer and closer until day turned to dusk in seconds and then back to day.


We had yet another spur of the moment get together with friends. I'm learning to embrace the small town life more and more.

Day Twenty

The girl's first 8.5 hour shift at work and the day she received her fist paycheck. So proud of her!!

It was the first football game of the season so we had to go. Lots of friends and fun, the men got called away on a gas leak call so we left shortly after half time.

Day 19

The girl is killing me with her In-N-Out!! Just killing me!! How I miss Animal Fries, so yummy!! Hold the onion for us though.

I had to go shopping for more school supplies and some food so into the city I went. Look what I saw just sitting outside Staples, no leash, just chillin' waiting for his/her owner.

Day 18....

Making playlist, remember when we made mixed tapes? Now my kids make playlists.
It's so good to have this boy back home, he was gone way too long.

Day Seventeen

That is the boy you see in the girl's photo. He's lived in that house all his life, which blows my mind, hence the decor of his room.

Today was day one of school for the girl's bothers. It was weird that she wasn't here. I met a friend for coffee after drop off and got to enjoy these beautiful flowers and cool weather.

Day 16

The Girl texted me saying you would never know this was McDonalds until their food came and it was a cluster you know what. I am guessing it's a Scottsdale McD's. I hate that she is eating fast food but guess what, she's eighteen. And she's rarely ever had it so hopefully she'll hardly ever have it after she gets her fill of it.

I had to go to the store, not once but twice today. There are flags that line the whole main street into town, starting at the only stoplight in town which actually isn't even "in" town.

Day 15

I'm guessing she went out on the boat this day, just a guess.
Mr. Fun and I went for a ride. Hay season is almost over which means riding season is almost over, I think. I'm still new to this country living thing.

Day 14

On this day the girl forgot to take a picture until I texted her at 11PM. So you get the darkness from her. This day was my 40th birthday, who would have thought I would ever be forty with an eighteen year old that was out on her own?

Day 13

Her vice is Diet Pepsi. yes, we know how awful it is and how it causes cancer among other things but everyone has their vice.
I had to run an errand for Mr. Fun, something the girl would have done with me. BUT look at Mr. Fun's view from his office, pretty sweet deal, huh?

Day 12

On this day she texted her dad letting him know she got her first credit. Shortly after that her boss texted Mr. Fun with a photo of her on the phone processing her first credit!! AWESOME!!! She looked so cute. I do feel a peace that she is surrounded by so many people we call friends. Later she texted me this pic of her dinner menu. I'm a little jealous she has so many choices, I miss having multiple restaurants to eat at.
Mr. Fun and I finished the garage and then went for a ride. Our days for riding are coming to a close soon and I plan to soak them up every chance I get.

Day 11

She plays fantasy football with her boy, his dad and Mr. Fun. I love that she's into sports. Usually Mr. Fun and the girl sit side by side and do their picks, this year they were 1300 miles apart, texting each other.

The boys and legos and water...I'm gonna miss summer, something awful.

Day Ten...

I know everyone that reads here knows the girl's real name but just in case there's that one person that I don't know.

She had her first day of her first job today. She has an advantage since she knows a few people there already. Again, more people we know looking out for her while she is so far away. It's like we have these little villages thousands of miles apart. I love it and it does ease my mind, she is going to be okay. Actually, she is going to be better than okay. She's a superstar after all.

G and I worked on organizing and cleaning the garage in hopes to get the burb in the garage. Not sure it's going to fit but haven't tried yet. I do think the garage will be a motorcycle garage slash mudroom. My poor burb has never not been garaged until we moved here and I really miss it. Especially since our garage is heated and I wouldn't have to scrape snow off of it and wait for it to warm up. I wouldn't have to walk in three feet snow to get into the house while unloading a months worth of groceries, it would be ideal.

Day 9....

Today I woke up to her photo(made this mama smile), she had texted that it was first day of classes. Look at that smile. She says the business class seems interesting and her geography seems like it will be boring. Tonight as we were preparing dinner, I got a little sad....It was on of her favorites. Roasted brussels sprouts and carrots with grilled lemon salmon and a small fruit salad. As I was cutting the brussels sprouts, I was confused to as how many to make, I usually make a lot. I know her and I like to eat them, pick at them after dinner is over. As we start to settle into a routine again, after a crazy summer, I'm realizing how weird it is going to be without her around.

Day 8

Look who came home today, I am officially a mom to three boys again. And my how they grow while they are away. And I'm cracking up at their feet. T is barefoot, Dub has only socks on, and G actually has proper footwear on. The girl had a late night and snapped a pic as she arrived home. No, she's not driving, I raised a smarter child than that. Tomorrow she starts her first day of college.

Day 7

Meet Bailey, The Boy's dog. She's a sweet skittish dog. And see Mr. Fun preparing for his football draft as I make lists of things that need to be bought and done. It's almost back to school time.

Day Six

The girl found her brother's lego guys in her car from the road trip and I attended a benefit for Dave. It's weird, I still only have one child at home right now, so weird.

Day Five

She didn't waste any time getting a new license. First thing this morning, she was at the DMV. Gotta qualify for in state tuition next year. The price of out of state tuition is outstanding, almost unbelievable. The boys and I headed to the city for lunch and a little shopping, it's still a little weird not having her with us. I keep telling myself she's just away visiting......we all know that is not working.

Day Four

Doesn't she look happy? She figured out financial aid for college on this day. She's so grown up. I spent the day with friends, eating yummy food, enjoying a few adult beverages and listening to kids run in and out and up and down.

Day 3

The girl is sitting in Phoenix watching news coverage on the flooding , drinking coffee. All you Phoenix friends, stay safe. She text me her photo as I was taking my photo. My coffee is my first bullet proof coffee , gotta say I'm sold.

Day 2....

Today was exciting, the girl nailed her interview! So excited for her. She also watched movie, can you guess which movie? I got to watch little boys create a movie of their own.

Today was the start...

The start of something exciting! This morning the girl dropped her mom and littlest brother at the airport; driving off to start a whole new life. It's super exciting! Mom's morning, the girl's evening....

Here we go...

A photo from the girl and a photo from her mom every day. The girl is moving away for college and this is our way of staying close.