Full Speed Ahead

My awesome travel buddy.

I can't believe another week has flown by. The hours drag on a little bit, but the days seem to slip through my fingers. Things are busy on all fronts. Work is still a challenge, and we are continuing to plan full days of lessons and field trips. The students can smell summer and the teachers are even worse. ;)

Playing in the airport

We had some drama with the closing of our houses, but the week ended with both houses successfully sold, and money in the bank. This gets us one step closer to being free from our belongings and closer to complete downsizing. We still have the Fiat to sell, but hopefully that will happen sooner rather than later.

Relaxing

In the meantime, I took a trip to visit my mom in Phoenix this week with Paul. She has been wanting to see us, but hasn't been well enough to travel, so we went to her. It was great to be back in Phoenix, there is a comforting feeling about being there, even though she doesn't live in the area we grew up anymore.

Me and V for-eva!

Paul was an awesome traveller! This was the first time I flew with him since he's been old enough to get his own seat on the plane. It was so great, he just sat there like a pro, played his iPad, and finally fell asleep.

TCB

We had a spectacular day with V on Friday, she came over around 11 and we headed out to a hotel pool that is open to the public on weekdays. Paul lounged around on a lounger and played his new game on the iPad (a new spelling puzzle) and V and I were able to sunbathe and chat like old times. When Paul mentioned how hot he was, we took him to play in the pool for a while, then he was back to his "business" on the iPad. I was so content!

Heather and Her Derby Hat

Then we went to try to take naps, Paul was having none of it, so he played with her nephew's trains. Finally, we headed out to dinner with my dad, Grace and Vicki. We went to Guedo's, an old family tradition. It is also the place where Donnie and I had our rehearsal dinner. There are a great many good memories in that place. Paul was unbelievably tired, so it was a little difficult to enjoy the company, but once he got going with his train he was fine. :)

My sis and her awesome horsemanship

Saturday was spent with Mom. We went to a Derby Day fundraiser at Camelot Therapeutic Horsemanship. My sister, Heather, is a student there and by working with horses, she has grown stronger and more confident. She had a performance that day, so it was really cool to see her show off her skills. We hung around a little while longer, but then headed back for some delicious naps. :)

My lovely mother

When we woke up, we made a yummy dinner and V came over for a chat. It's so incredible having her in my life and how lucky I am to have such an amazing friend. She knows me better than almost anyone. She's going through some life changes too, so we traded stories, and memories and made promises to meet up soon. It'll probably be the last time I see her before we go, but I'm still in denial about that.

Breakfast at Nana's

Life returns to normal this week. As normal as it can be when you are trying to prepare to for such a big transition. We are involved with a QSI forum now, and our orientation starts this week. We also are getting our QSI email addresses, and beginning the process of enrolling Paul in school there. Our paperwork made it successfully to the school in Shekou, so hopefully there is nothing missing or any drama involving that paperwork. It's becoming more and more real every day.