The main events this month were the end of Jada's school year, and Nana and Bapa coming to town. Since it was the end of the school year, Jada was at school most of the time for the first 2 weeks of the the month. She was able to spend some time with her friends and take the girls to their ballet classes and use any remaining time to take care of her mom. We used Nana and Bapa's vacation as an excuse to get a trundle bed for the guest room that we should be able to use for several years to supplement the hide-a-bed. We've also been worried about the Subaru. Ever since we had an oil change where the service department didn't re-seal a plug well, the car has stunk. Another shop recommended that we make it someone else's problem since this model has been known to have general oil leaks around the mileage we were currently at. Luckily, I'm still a member of IMBA (International Mountain Bike Association) who has a deal with Subaru where I can take advantage of the VIP program to purchase below dealer invoice. We worked directly with the Carr Subaru fleet manager, we exchanged emails on my trade-in, and set time to meet. It so happened to be the Saturday that Ellen had a party to attend, we got the girls pictures taken, and Nana and Bapa came in. Somehow we managed to get that all done with a steady rain coming down all day. Plus we got extra good news. Nana and Bapa had been able to get onto an earlier flight, and we could take the girls with us to surprise them at the airport.
After deciding that we liked the car and wanted to purchase it, we managed to get out of there in about 3 hours. Plus, we had just enough time to get home, swap cars and head for the airport. We got to PDX International airport early enough to to have a quick dinner at the Pizzacato. From there we were able to see the gate where their flight would pull in so we'd know when to head out to wait for them. The girls had fun watching the flights come in and guessing if it was theirs. As we stood there watching and waiting, we were next to some people that seemed to be able to screen Jada and Phoebe from view. Ellen hid directly behind me. When I saw them walking towards us, Nana was trying to check her phone and let Mandy know they had arrived, and dad saw me. That's when the girls sprung into action. Since they were just expecting me, when Phoebe and then Ellen came running at them, they were quite surprised, but in a good way.
Then next afternoon we went to a house warming at Jada's Mom's new apartment. Jada went over early to help prepare, bring food, arrange things, and get setup. It was a pretty good turn out. I think everyone who was invited was able to come. It seemed like Grandma enjoyed the time as well.
For the last week of school both Nana and Bapa were able to volunteer at the class room as she tried to get things ready for the end of the year. Nana got to help out in Ellen's class room. This was the first year in a long time when she was going to be in the same school the following year, so at least she didn't have pack up everything. During this week, Phoebe also had a program for her school where she and her classmates sang songs in front of everyone. She did a great job, and she was happy to get to stand next to her best friend at school.
The next weekend, Auntie Mandy came into town. We were all able to go pick her up too, and she seemed very excited. On Monday morning, Jada had to go in to school to finish up report cards while we packed for our trip to Sunriver, OR. We gave Mandy a choice of mountains or ocean back when she was planning her trip out here, and she chose mountains. It's one of Ellen and Phoebe's favorite places to go too. We rented a house for a few days to work out of. (they had free wi-fi too!) While there, we visited the High Desert Museum, the Newberry volcanic park, and, of course, the outlet stores (where we tried to find matching cycling outfits for all of us at Pearl Izumi, but the we couldn't find a men's jersey that matched the color that the girls all got). We did some traveling within Sunriver on the extensive bike lanes with the girls on their bikes over to the playground. Jada and I put 30 miles in on the tandem for training. Our attempt to ride to Mt. Bachelor was thwarted by both my laziness, and the fact that the road up there was under construction and not open to traffic. On the way home, we were able to have time to stop and walk through the Warm Springs museum instead of just stopping in for a potty stop. At the end of the week, Mandy had to return home, but her trip was not by plan. We went to the airport early to have lunch while we got ready for her to depart. Instead, the desk person tried to get her on standby on an earlier flight, but she had to go right then. So what was going to be a leisurely farewell lunch in the food court turned into a harried exit, and then she didn't get to get on that flight anyway. Not only that, United canceled the flight from Chicago to Bloomington due to lack of flight staff, so she had to get a flight later then too. Finally, to add insult to injury, her bag didn't arrive in Normal until the next day. I don't even think she was offered any compensation for them taking her money to book a flight that didn't exist. The air industry is quite the racket.
The very next day, Jada and I drove to Vernonia, OR early in the morning for Cycle Oregon weekend. It was cool and threatening rain, but it never actually did on the first day. The second day, however, was a soaker. (Journal for that ride not available at the time of this writing, but you can check the Shtuff link to see if it shows up any time soon). More on that later.
Only a few days later, Jada left for Philadelphia for the NEA convention leaving us home without her unifying force. I had to come up with a shopping list and meal plan for the week all on my own. I always know how difficult this is every week, but when Jada's not driving it, it's especially difficult. She'll be back in the first week of July. I only have to do up the girls' hair a couple time. (I find that it ends up looking like they've had it in for several days after I just finish) But at least I try. This was also the first week of swimming for the girls. That didn't quite go as planned either as the boilers at the pool were broken, so they couldn't have class the first 2 days. But they were able to have the 3 classes at the end of the week. Nana and Bapa got to take them to those. That's pretty much the end of the family excitement for June.
Ellen continues to be fairly popular in her class. She was invited to a couple birthday parties, but she was only able to attend one of them due to a combination of behavior and other plans. She is getting more subtle jokes now too. She has a good memory for things she's heard. She can repeat songs that she has only heard once. She was able to sing all the songs from Phoebe's program after only hearing them that one time. She also has inherited the talent for creating random songs out of things that just happen to be going on. Her temper continues to be a problem. We're working on figuring out how to help her calm herself down. We failed once again to get her on two wheels on her bicycle. She doesn't want to try, but she's more than willing to throw a huge tantrum about it. We don't live in a place where the girls can just walk out and ride with other kids who are close to her age without training wheels, so she doesn't get that added peer encouragement. She can easily do it. In fact, while she was throwing her fit, she did it accidentally while trying to prove to us that she couldn't do it. She's close though. If we get her on the right day, I think that'll be that.
On our trip to Sunriver, we split the girls up so Ellen rode in the van with Nana, Bapa, and Auntie Mandy while Phoebe rode with us in the Subaru. We got to have an uninterrupted display of what goes on inside Phoebe's head. Ellen is very dominant so Phoebe doesn't always get to express herself fully. She played for over an hour with just her one Groovy Girl doll. She also hasn't met a song that she won't sing. The stories that she can come up with are fun to listen to. I wish that I could come up with some stories when I'm typing this up. There are times when Phoebe wants to talk, and she actually said, "Mommy, I want to have a conversation." Of course, she also has a silly streak that gets her in trouble. She's got a bit of a mischievous side to her where she's trying to find how far she can go before she gets into trouble. Savannah finally got what she wanted one night. Phoebe was so tired, that she fell asleep quickly, and Savannah disappeared for a while. When I went to look for her to put her out, I found her sleeping on Phoebe's bed. She didn't even know.
When the girls play well together, they do very well. They build elaborate things on the Lego table from swimming pools and houses to ice cream shops where there are always free giveaways. They play Groovy Girls a lot, and while Nana and Bapa have been here, they've been living the Polly Pocket world. Of course, being siblings, we have to separate them on a fairly regular basis. But that's kids for you.
Next month, Jada returns, I try to survive until then with the huge assist from Nana and Bapa.
Journal entry: July 1, 2007