Girlfriends Matter

So I spent this weekend reconnecting with old friends, saying goodbye to my best friend and making new ones. Here are some photos that Lindsay last week. I stole them to make copies but I promised to quickly give them back.

This is one of my favorites of Gina with Wyatt during his first Easter. We went to Lindsay's house and Gina came along. They adored each other as is obvious in this photo.

This is Gina and I when she and Lindsay threw me a baby shower. I was as large as a house. I think that's where the term 'housewife' came from. She made all my favorite food and I was hungry but couldn't eat because I had no room for food in my belly. There was too much baby! Wyatt was born very soon after this photo.

This one cracks me up. Rhonda Rowe, Gina, Lindsay and I at a Breast Cancer fundraiser. I was barely pregnant here but I know I could no longer wear my regular clothes.Here we are at the Auburn fair. This had to have been in 2005. Katy McManus is in the background and Wyatt in the stroller and Cody, Jim and Gina in front. Gina and I went to every fair possible. Always the one in Grass Valley and always the one in Auburn. This includes last year when I relied heavily on a cane and it was Gina, Wyatt and I and she bought him a straw cowboy hat and he danced to country music for us.

I went to public services held by Gina's family this past Friday. It was great to see Gina's family again but also sad knowing I would probably never see them again. they were really a stand in family for me while I lived in Alta. I would go to Gina's for dinner and holidays all the time. Her brother Dale put together a great slide show but it was so hard for me to see the photos of Gina in happy times. She always had a smile. It just put it all into perspective for me at how real it was. On Saturday I went to Lindsay's where she had a group of Gina's closest friends over to celebrate her. We all brought foods made from Gina's recipes or that reminded us of Gina. Here are all the photos from that day. We all made a pact with each other that we would stay close, take more photos of all of us together and always talk to each other if anything is wrong. That's why Lindsay chose the phrase 'Girlfriends Matter' for the day.

This is Shelly Raab. Emma's mom. Gina was in the process of finishing up Emma's baby quilt (she turns one soon) and I was going to do the quilting ortion for her.

Everyone knows this is my other BFF Lindsay. Gina and I had done some design work for Lindsay's new book. There was going to be an artist signing party in July but Gina won't be there. Lindsa and I spoke at Gina's services together. There is so much the both of us could not have accomplished without Gina's unwavering faith in our abilities. For me it was sewing. Lindsay received encouragement with sewing and cooking. We all know I gave up cooking a long time ago, there was no use in converting me.

Our/my friend Carol. Just love her to pieces. She was the host of many Stitch 'n Bitches in the day. I'm sure she will be in the future. Carol was the one to finally be able to get through to me about Gina's death. Carol and I go to sewing class the second Saturday of every month. This will be our second year of class together. She another best friend who I can tell anything to.

This is Ali-pants. She's as close to my age as all these gals and trust me, we have a lot in common. Ali was the recipient of a ton of my castoffs after the accident and also her and her sister Holland came to visit me so often while I was in the wheelchair trying to deal with the Alta house. Ali is in the chair with her seven week old nephew Miles who reminds me so much of Wyatt. Ali and her sister Holland rescued me several evenings when I went to dinner at the MonteVista (their parents restaurant). I would come in with Wyatt in the car carrier and be as exhausted as you could possibly imagine. They would take him and carry him all throughout the restaurant while they took orders and delivered meals just to give me a break. Trust me girls, I know how big of a fovor that was and so appreciate every one of those 'baby-nappings' you guys pulled. Even your mom who we know, doesn't always want the babies. Thanks gals, I'm working on more clothes for your kids.

Of course I didn't shower before I left and I also was wearing the same clothes I wore the day before. So me: flip flops, jeans and a t-shirt or tank top. Ali and I are so super alike. Love ya girl, I'm here for ya! I miss our days at the pool.
This is so Lindsay! And Holland for that matter. Holland is so easy, she just goes along with whatever. And this gal just gave birth to her second baby, Miles cutie-pie. She's as cute as can be and has a hedgehog for a pet, what can I say? Oh wait! She's the best baker I've ever known in my life. If you haven't had one of her desserts you don't know what your missing. Holland, I'm placing my order for Oatmeal pies for the next 5 Thanksgivings. And trust me girl, I was in the same boat as you after Wyatt was born. It will get better give it time. And call me any time, I'll help out for sure!

As for making new friends, I have to thank Jay and Rachel for really bringing me a breath of fresh air. You two are a hoot to hang out with and I can't wait to see what fun we will have in the future.

Photo Session

We had a little photo session this afternoon when Wyatt came home from preschool. We were supposed to go to a formal photo shoot yesterday but the photographer had to cancel. So I put Wyatt in the clothes he was supposed to wear yesterday for this little mini shoot that I took outside our apartment. Hope you like them!

Summer is here...kind of

I don't think it's officially summer yet but it sure feels like it here. We have been going to the pool and spending a lot of time outdoors. My new header is a photo our friend Dave took of us at the pool together. Just Wyatt and I sitting by the pool splashing. There is so much stuff going on in our lives now I barely have time to think. I have started a ton of new sewing projects for samples for other people. My dining room table has once again turned into a sewing table. We now eat on paper plates in the living room. Because of our friend Gina passing away I have reconnected with tons of old friends from up the mountain. There will be a service on Friday evening in Colfax at the Vet's Memorial Hall just up from Gina's last tiny one bedroom house. It's where we used to gather to play Bingo. It is strange to me to have a service for her when she specifically requested that one not be held. Her family will be there attending from Redding and other parts. There will be another tiny intimate gathering on Saturday at our friend Lindsay's where we will all bring food and talk and laugh, no crying allowed! I'm actually thinking of skipping the Friday services in favor of the one Gina would have preferred on Saturday. I think there will be many people at the Friday services who did not know her all that well and it may be awkward. Anyway, Our Giants lost another game last night, boo hoo. My photo session with Wyatt was cancelled yesterday, another boo hoo. And my air conditioner has been leaking real bad everytime I use it. The maintenence man, Robert, has ordered a new part and will be out to fix it as soon as it comes in. It's kind of raining in my apartment until then. That's one of the good things about renting, you don't have to fix things yourself! So I'm off to take a shower and then find some place to cut and recolor my hair. I'm losing my blond and can't make it through a summer with out it. Take care everyone!

Sunshine makes me happy

Here are some photos of Wyatt and I today at the pool. He just got a new 'surfskate' and even though he's not quite big enough to 'ride' on it, he kind of likes using it as a kick board. And not to mention it totally tuckered him out today.

Still haven't figured out how to make the image quality better on Blogger but I'll put that on my long lst of things to work on.

This is with Wyatt's new friend Rachel who we met at the pool. She's eight and he pesters her just like a four year old would!

And this one of course being my favorite so far!

On a sad note, my good friend Gina requested that no services be held for her. So many people have wonderful memories of Gina. She ran the deli in our little town of Alta for a year before she sold it and opened a quilt shop in Colfax. She was involved in school functions both as a voluteer and as a mother and often made and donated homemade food and quilts. A few of her friends and I are going to be honoring her at a 'Stitch 'n Bitch' next Saturday at our third muskateer, Lindsay's home. If you are interested in attending please contact Lindsay our I for time and directions.

Love you all!

Gina

My heart is heavy tonight because of the passing of my best friend Gina. She was a mother to four children and a step-mom to one. She's been my friend since I moved to Alta in 2001. Of course she protected and cared for me more like a sister. Things haven't gone so well for Gina in the past year. We used to joke that 2007 was so bad, 2008 had to be the year for us. It just couldn't get any worse. Well I guess it did. Gina was unable to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I know how hard that can be, we had talked about the bad times so much. But talking about the lives of our children just made it so much easier. She really loved those kids more than she loved anything else. So I am awake, at 1 am on a Monday night thinking about how much I wish I was able to say to her. She knew everything there was to know about me but sometimes there's just a few more things you want to tell her, like how much she meant to me and how she was an absolute wonderful friend. I'll miss our long talks, nights at the bar, sewing and just hanging out together Gina. Find your new soul on this earth and come back to see me girl, I love you!

So much stuff

I know, I haven't posted in a long time. I have so much going on now I just haven't had time to post. I just got back from visiting my mom in Arizona. We spent a day on Lake Pleasant fishing with Wyatt. We went back a few days later on the boat to Lake Saguarro, about 20 minutes from my moms house. Wyatt practiced peeing off the back of the boat. The weather was in the high 90's. Love it!

I will be moving at the end of this year, more to come on that later as time gets closer but for those of you close to me, email me and I'll send you a forwarding address and more info. Maybe I'll film a little cribs like episode of the now and later places.

I've been hanging out at the pool a ton lately. Wyatt asks everyday after preschool if he can go swimming. He still uses a life vest but he can paddle and kick great and seems to get along fine without me being in the water with him. The pool here at the apartment still seems to be too cold to swim in. I'll wait until it's 100 plus degrees out before going in there. My new best friend Rachel just bought a place down the street from me and she has a pool so if I'm not with Wyatt I'll be down there. Also working on my resume so I can get a job by the end of summer. I can't be 'retired' forever! I've been asked to teach some classes but we'll see how that works into my schedule.

Dan bought Wyatt a dirt bike last week and although I was very scared of the idea, he really seems to have taken to it. Wyatt concentrates very hard on everything he's doing and this is no exception. He never was too much of a bicycle rider but I went to Dan's house today to see Wyatt ride and he did great. Here are some pictures of him from today on his new bike.

Here is Dan putting on his enormous helmet. Wyatt has a huge head and I think Dan said this was a youth medium. Wyatt icked it out. His favorite color is green and this one is silver with mosters coming out of it.

Here is a shot of him actually riding in the open lots next door to Dan.

And on to my other child, Zoe. She has been an amazing dog. I know I said before that she was super calm and hardly any trouble at all but she showed me. She is just like all the Jack Russells I've met before. She is hyper when outside, can get away from me in an instant, and pees on the neighbors bare feet. OK, they were in flip flops but same thing. I took her to the vet before I left for moms house to get her shots for boarding. The vet said she was on track to be the largest Russell they've seen to date. And they aren't talking about weight. She's actually really skinny but she's very tall. I think she got some mutant giant gene. When she is with Lucy, Dan's dog, she towers over her. She's double Lucy's size. A month ago she weighed in around 16 pounds and she's not even six months old yet! I'm very excited because I wanted a large dog but didn't want to have one in the apartment so I got her. But now if she turns into a large dog it will be like I secretly got my wish. Here are some photos of her today. Oh, and about her bad behavior, she's actually really good when inside with just Wyatt and I and when she was in the kennel they said she never barked and was a constant playmate for the German Shorthairs they had in there. They said she was a model citizen, so we'll see.

Please excuse the big tongue, it was in the mid-90's and she had been running around chasing Lucy in the dirt. She's a little thirsty!