Last post on this blog

For the sake of my sanity (what little there is left of it), all family posts will now be on the Coach Mom Says...blog.

See you there!

Taking Mike to School - Last Day!

On Friday, we took a tour of the campus. We got to see Mike's dorm room. Somehow the kid managed to put it all together! Unfortunately, we ended up having to take back home one piece of furniture. Phil was predicting it though so it wasn't unexpected. LOL!

We also got to meet his roommate and his suitemates. I think they will have a great time.

I laughed because the college gave us a folder with all this advice. One of these tidbits said that we should teach our child to do his own laundry. It's a little late now, isn't it? I mean, if they wanted people to know that, shouldn't they have sent that letter home at the beginning of the summer? Anyway, fortunately for Mike, he has been "coached". He knows how to cook, do his laundry, and clean a bathroom. Now, if he doesn't choose to do those things, that's his choice. He'll figure it out. Everyone else does.

So we gave Mike a big hug, and we were off. And yes, he has already called me.

"Super" Climbs a Mountain of Sand!

On Thursday, while Mike worked on unpacking his bags. We took the boys to Great Sand Dunes National Park. The mountains were beautiful. I had never seen anything like them before. But the sand dunes were crazy! (Yes, those specks at the bottom of the picture are people!)

A movie in the Visitor's Center explained how the sand dunes were created. It seems the dunes were formed from sand deposits from the Rio Grande (and the streams coming from that). Then the wind picked the sand up and carried it until it hit the mountain. This process continues to happen today. The wind reshapes the dunes on a daily basis and the streams keep bringing the sand back. I know, the kids were thinking, "yeah, yeah, whatever" too. But Phil and I thought that was cool!

Super might not have been as interested in how the sand got there, but he made up his mind that he was going to climb to the top. The top is about 800 feet high. That may not seem like much, until you realize that you have to climb up sand. And that it's not just one dune. It's one dune that goes up 100 feet, then down 50 feet. Then another dune that goes up 50 feet, and down 25 feet. Then another dune that goes up 100 feet, and then down 25 feet. You get the idea. It's like a Stairmaster...in the sand.

Tutone and I got about halfway up and then he decided he was finished. I was just as glad to let him take the blame. "That's right, he can't make it any further. Sorry, that's too bad. " But Super was determined and there was no stopping him. I told Phil that we'd see them back down at the bottom. And we waved goodbye. Tutone and I made our way back down while they continued the climb up.

Don't you know that kid made it all the way to the top? He was mighty proud of himself. And he should be. When we got back to our B&B, The AppleLodge, we found out that in the all time that they had owned their place (which to be fair was only three or four years) only three other people that had stayed with them had ever made it to the top. And, of course, they had all been adults.

Super said it was one of the two best vacations in his whole life. Our family reunion where he gets to see his cousins being the other one. Yes, he is for real.

Taking Mike to School Day 3

After two long days in the van, we finally arrived! Mike spent the night with his grandparents in their RV, while Phil and I and the boys went to a great bed and breakfast. The next morning we went to the campus and signed Mike in.

Then we prepared mentally to unpack the van. We pulled the van around to the side of Mike's dorm. But we were pleasantly surprised to find out that the college had the football team, girl's volleyball team, and both basketball teams there to help student's unload their vehicles. What a relief! It took less than 5 minutes to unload the van!

And soon his room went from looking like there would be enough room for all his stuff, back to my worrying about where he was going to put everything! But we left him there to figure it out and we went to lunch. We enjoyed our lunch at the San Luis Valley Brewing Company. Then we went to the Great Sand Dunes National Park. But that's a story for another blog.

Taking Mike to School Day 1

I am amazed that it takes 9 months for your child to come into the world, but it takes only one day to get them packed to leave! Okay, to be fair, all the fathers out there are thinking, "One day, nothing! These kids have been here for 18 years!" But it still seemed like it didn't take any time at all to turn Mike's room from the mess, I mean, home it was into our new guest room.

Meanwhile, Mike was excited. And so he should be! College is going to be a great experience for him. He told me, "This is the coolest thing I've ever done." Hopefully he'll still feel like that after his first test!

He did have a hard time leaving the dog though.


We left the dog behind at home. Some friends, The Potts, came in a few times every day to feed and care for her. Our friends, the Viljoens, came by to visit her as well. With her well cared for I could relax and concentrate on Mike.


Now, I started crying before we even got in the car.
But I did get a sweet picture of Mike with Super and Tutone.

The van was filled to the brim with Mike's stuff. Phil and I couldn't imagine where he thought he was going to put it all! Mike kept telling us that dorm rooms were bigger than they used to be. Not that much bigger!

Finally, with the van all packed we were on our way.

Brotherly Love

Breakfast at our house is usually an animated experience. In other words, the boys like to start in depth discussions in order to stall on doing chores or getting ready for school. They think I don't know this, of course. But this morning, Tutone actually came up with a good one.

He said, "I really wanted to be a Longhorn (University of Texas) but needs to be an Aggie (Texas A&M) if he is going to be a Vet and I don't want you to be confused on who to
root for on Game Day, so I guess I will just go ahead and be an Aggie." And he heaves a huge sigh.

I told him, "It's ok, Buddy! They have special flags made for just this reason. It's called 'House Divided'. One side is UT and the other side is A&M. But no matter what college you go to, I will root for whichever team you are playing for. And when is competing in something I will root for his school. Does that sound fair?"

He looked so relieved.

I thought it was so sweet that he would be willing to give up what he wanted for his brother. Usually it's Super that makes all the sacrifices for Tutone. Maybe I am getting through to him. LOL!

Meanwhile, I would be thrilled if Tutone was able to play football for any college team. Of course, I can't blame him for picking the Longhorns!

Bird Watch

On one of our frequent trips to the beach in July, we went to a popular bird watching spot, Goose Island State Park. The park is well known for being a winter home to a large variety of birds. Of course, July is not as active. We were happy to catch a glimpse of the local wildlife.

We happened upon a cardinal, which happens to be Super's favorite bird. He has seen many cardinals and happily reports that he has even seen several female cardinals when we lived in VA, as he says, "which is rare." I think it was probably the same female cardinal several times but in any case these sitings have made it his favorite bird.

So this day in July, we sat in the shade of a tree in the park for a while and watched as the cardinal ate his lunch.














Later in the week, we were fortunate enough to see some American Oystercatchers! I was surprised since they are reported to leave the Gulf of Mexico in the summer months. But I have picture evidence that for whatever reason this small group did not. You can read more about the American Oystercatcher here.
American Oystercatcher

You can read more about the park and it's winter friends here.
Goose Island State Park

I knew that my friend Molly would have enjoyed going with us but of course, she was very busy being chased by sharks and stuff. Oh well! Maybe next time! But if you enjoy birds like we do, you can read all about her birding adventures with her sons on her birding blog at
The Birding Family blog.