The last bit of November...

I've been gone for a while now, haven't I?

November has been a very busy month. The kids went off track on the 26th of October. We had great fun on Halloween. I had a vampire, a bat, and a princess in my living room! The kids had a terrific time trick or treating, and had lots and lots of candy! We had some friends over and had a ball!

On the Second of November, I attended a service at the local Catholic Church. St. Anthony's was the church were my FIL's service was held last year. They do a special All Souls mass for those who have died in the past year. I roped my friend Zoe into coming with me. Her son attends the school at the church. She's Greek Orthodox and I'm Episcopalian. We made the perfect pair! DH couldn't attend because of work, but he wanted me to go. Hell, I wanted to go.

It was nice. The church is lovely, and even though I am not Catholic, I find a lot of comfort in the rituals (they say the Lord's Prayer "wrong", but still...). The best part was hearing Richards name out loud. I don't know why it meant so much, but it made him seem real again. We all miss him so much. Zoe was a great friend that night, handing me tissues, and sitting with me.

On the 8th, the East Coast contingent arrived. We had cousins and aunties and uncles....13 people were stuffed into my house. We had a huge Thanksgiving dinner that day, and talked late into the night. On Thursday, we got up and loaded into two minivans, and headed for the hills.

Richard had a favorite hunting spot, and there is a viewpoint/vista above it that is magnificent. It's in the Sierra mountain range, and at almost 8,000 feet, it seems close enough to heaven. We stopped at Twain Harte village(http://www.yosemitegold.com/yosemite/harte.html) for picnic supplies, then on to Pine Crest Lake http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/stanislaus/visitor/pinecrest.shtml
for a chilly lunch. Then we drove further up the mountains until we found "the spot". All the kids were there, and I was worried mostly about Matthew.

Matthew did just great. He wasn't upset at all, he was happy that his Papa was going to be in such a beautiful place, and that we could come visit him again. Joey had a rougher time, he was upset, but happy at the same time. Poor guy, it's so very confusing for him, he gets overwhelmed by his emotions sometimes.

Still, it felt good to get that box of ashes out of the house. By now, I've stopped thinking of the ashes as "him", and the box didn't represent Richard, and the things I knew and loved about him, they were just something that needed to be put in their rightful place. This spot was the right place. After a few words, and the children gently spreading the ashes (weird I know, but they wanted to do it, and it felt right), we came back home.

On Friday, we met a photographer at a local park, and had portraits done....with all the cousins and such. We got some great group shots, and some candids and some with just the kids and our individual families, even some with just David and I. The photographer was so terrific, she even gave me a CD with all the photos by SATURDAY, so that we could all see them together. Really a fun event and the pics are awesome!!!!

Saturday was football on TV and kids playing in the dirt, and lots of family time. Unfortunately, they had to leave on Sunday, which was actually pretty good timing! We were all getting tired, and 13 people in one house can be a little much. It was terrific, and I wouldn't change a thing. Lot's of bonding, silliness and new stories to tell next time we get together.

The next week was a blur, trying to recover from our visit. We made it to the Jelly Belly Factory for a tour http://jellybelly.com/Cultures/en-US/NewsEvents/Stores/Jelly+Belly+Visitor+Center+-+Fairfield.htmhttp://
which was amazingly fun! We got to try some new flavors, and we each brought home some candies. There is a HUGE factory outlet center nearby, so after the tour and some lunch, the kids actually let me shop for a bit.

We went to Chuck E. Cheese too. They wanted to go to the bowling alley to play video games, but that is very difficult with three kids and one adult. At CEC's they won't let you in without a kid, and they won't let you out without the kid you came with, so it feels a bit safer. I was able to sit near the door AND keep an eye on all three. No creepy men who should be at work were there either. The kids loved it, and that's what's important.

I wanted to attack Black Friday, but I found it difficult to plan with all three kids at home. I couldn't browse the papers for the best sales, and surf the web, because there were always little eyes peeking over my shoulder. I still managed to catch a sale or two, but only because my DH worked a double on Thanksgiving Day, so that he was home on Friday. I "couldn't" get up at 4am though, because he wasn't home yet....so I HAD to sleep in until 7! LOL!

The kids went back to school on the 27th, so things are getting back to "normal." Which means I should go to bed now, because I have to take all three to school bright and early.