The Accident

David and I were in a car accident today. Probably totaled my car. We are fine
and ok. I did not have car insurance at the time - yes yes I know, but I simply
could not afford it for a while. Now that I had eliminated a HUGE debt, it was
on my list of things to purchase on the 1st when I got my check from Matt. Yep,
you heard it right, I had a quote and everything and was just waiting til I had
the money. And YES, I have insurance now.

I ran a red light at Andresen and 25th St. Right by the produce market. I was
lost in thought in my head about things that have been happening lately and didn't
even see the light/intersection. By then it was too late. A Ford Expedition
t-boned me in the front passenger tire area. My tire is bend, shredded,
radiator cracked, hood, fender and bumper are crumpled. And who knows what else
is happening under the hood area once they look at it tomorrow.

The car is only worth $3200-4400 before the accident, so I'll have to decide
what to do after the estimate. The woman who hit me and I have been playing
phone tag all day, so I haven't told her yet that I don't have insurance. No
police are sent to a fender bender accident, so no tickets were issued. I will
have to throw myself on the mercy of this woman and hopefully pay her deductible
(if I can). She was soooo nice! She even took David to the gas station and
bought him an ice-cream. Trust me, I've been crying all day regarding what I've
done and how irresponsible I've been. No need for the lectures, I'm pretty good
at beating myself up.

Splashing NOT allowed and lost Stanley

The day after my mom left, D and I headed out for a week vacation in Florida to visit my dad and step-mom. We arrived during the evening, so the next day Grandpa took us to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. We learned about the rehabilitation of sea turtles, otters and saw a dolphin show. At the aquarium, we met an inspirational dolphin, Winter. She was rescued as a baby with her tail severely caught in crab pot lines. Over the course of the next few weeks, her tail died and was amputated. http://www.tampabay.com/specials/2008/reports/winter/ She's a pretty amazing dolphin, she's learned to adapt to swimming w/out her tail. Scientists have even created a prosthetic tail for her.

Stanley came with us and it was the last place that he was seen. I lost Flat Stanley!!

I've now determined that D is a water magnet (more about that coming soon). If water is going to be dumped on or splashed on someone, it's going to be him and he HATES getting splashed!! He was the ONLY person who got soaked during the dolphin show.

Flat Stanley and River fun

At the time my mom was in town, I received a precious package from an old college friend in WI. She's a teacher and put a plea out on FB asking if people would host Flat Stanley's. Being that I'm way out in WA and heading to FL during Flat Stanley's time, I decided to host.

Flat Stanley Project.
The Project provides an opportunity for students to make connections with students of other member schools who've signed up with the project. Students begin by reading the book and becoming acquainted with the story. Then they make paper "Flat Stanleys" (or pictures of the Stanley Lambchop character) and keep a journal for a few days, documenting the places and activities in which Flat Stanley is involved. The Flat Stanley and the journal are mailed to other people who are asked to treat the figure as a visiting guest and add to his journal, then return them both after a period of time.

On a beautiful Sunday, C3 called to ask to meet at Kids Club and then we headed down to the river.

Hmmmmmm - do you think that they're related?

Granny

Granny (my mom) came to visit via train for 10 days. D was excited to have her here. He kept asking questions about where she was going to sleep, was she staying all night, and how was she getting here? She got here on Friday and it was the weekend I didn't have D, which was fine b/c I got to have some time with my mom. We did some shopping, saw a movie and just had fun. D loved being with his Granny while she was here. They played games - she even taught him a new card game. We all went to the Hazel Dell Parade of Bands and went to see Mt. St. Helens.

Hazel Dell Parade

Luckily, Granny came during the lull in the weather. Hardly any rain and mild temps. PHEW!