My cosplay adventures didn't end with FanX last weekend. I had two HEROIC events this week, one for a PTA fundraiser and then on Saturday we marched in the Brazilian Festival Parade (pictured).

I also got to the Orthopedic doctor this week, who after taking xrays, thinks I have a herniated disk in my neck.  I'm now waiting to get in for an MRI to confirm that.

Fan X 2018

All year I've been volunteering with the FanX Street Team, and I've also done a few cosplay events for them, and I was asked to speak on a panel.  They pay me for each event with one ticket to comic-con so by the time we got to FanX this year I had seven 3-day passes, enough for the whole family to go.  Horray!!!

On Thursday I spent half of the day working at the HEROIC booth.  We were taking pictures with kids and taking donations for a women and children's shelter. 

Later on Thursday Ruth joined me and we went to some panels. Ruth was dressed as Tracer from Overwatch. I road Trax home dressed as Batgirl and only got a few strange looks. 

Friday will be one of those days that will be remembered as one of my best days.  Kate and Ben came down and we spent the day at con dressed as Star Wars characters. 

On Friday afternoon I was an official panelist where I talked about the technology I used in some of my cosplay pieces.  We had over 100 people attend - I was blown away. 

We sat in on some celebrity panels that day, including David Tennant of Doctor Who fame and some dude that was on The Office.

We were stopped often for pictures, and we had a blast visiting the Star Wars costuming club booths and taking advantage of their photo opportunities.  

Some of the Star Wars club people were really excited to see our cosplays and asked to take pictures with US!

Kate's magic moment happened when we approached the Droid Builder's booth and an R2D2 came speeding towards her, whistling and shaking with excitement.  

Ben we pretty excited to have a blaster battle with Boba Fett.

Quaid joined us on Saturday and was a good sport dressing up.

Kate and Ben made their own cosplay by hand sewing, buying stuff at thrift stores and generally being really resourceful and clever. Ben was the only Hercules we saw during all 3 days of con. 

Chuck doesn't mind getting dressed up if everyone else is. He looked handsome in his steam-punk tails. 

I wore my Hawkgirl all day on Saturday.  The wings are amazingly light and comfortable. Even with my bad back they were not a problem. 

Jared also came with us on Saturday. He doesn't like to dress up, and he doesn't like to get his picture taken, but he did consent to this picture so I could prove to the world that he was with us.  Thank Jared!

We spent Saturday walking the vendor floor and going to a few more panels.  I stood in line and asked Caity Lotz a question about her charity, which was super fun for me. Our official photos from Saturday haven't been released yet.  I'll post them next time.

Happy Birthday, Chuck!

We celebrated Chuck's birthday this week by going out to dinner, walking around the Halloween store trying out all the displays, playing Overwatch, and eating peach crisp.  In addition to a few gifts, Chuck also bought us a new/used motorcycle trailer (we had sold the first one we bought). 

So it looks like I'm going back to the orthopedic surgeon.  Chuck calls it my "year of pain".  I woke up with intense pinching pain in my upper spine three weeks ago that is not relieved no matter what I do.  A visit to the chiropractor was not helpful.  Last week I went to my family doctor who put me on steroids for a week.  That did nothing, so he is sure that it is something skeletal. He wonders if it is related somehow to my frozen shoulder (on the opposite side).  So on Tuesday, I'll be making an appointment with orthopedics to get some scans done.  At least I've paid off my deductible already. 

Back to School

I failed at a basic mothering thing this week because I did not take "back to school" photos of any of my children. So imagine to the right a photo of Jared, dressed in a grey henley and jeans, headed off for his first ride on the early morning bus to high school.  Next to the photo of Jared, would be a cute photo of Ruth in a blazer and jeans, sporting her new "business scholar" backpack.  And then finally, there might be a selfie I took outside my new elementary school on my first day of work.  Imagine those photos and think of those "first" weeks you experienced in your life and you will be well on your way of understanding our experiences. 

Jared, never verbose, seemed to feel just fine about his first week of 10th grade. He was able to name friends he was eating lunch with, and articulated that he particularly enjoyed his engineering class.  Ruth, ever verbose, really loved her first week of "real" university.  She was particularly happy to meet her assigned business group that she will be working and traveling with this year.  

My first week of work went better than expected.  The job description I was given when I took the position ended up being totally changed.  I would have never taken the job in its current form. After stressing out over it, I decided that I would try it out until Thanksgiving. So practicing positive self-talk, I gave my first week my best effort and felt that it went pretty well.  

Chuck's Trip

Chuck had a fun time on his trip to visit his parents and help them get settled in their new apartment.  He was able to set up their electronics and hang their curtains. He enjoyed dinner with his siblings and had a good visit with Chaz and Jeremy.  

Get Ready! Get Set!

This week I had a couple of days of training for the new job I start tomorrow, Jared spent a day at Sophomore orientation, and Ruth spent a day at Business Scholars orientation.  Tomorrow and Tuesday it will all begin.  Everyone is a bit anxious.

Chuck is in Minnesota this weekend. He went to help his parents settle into their new apartment and to visit Chaz.  He was excited to take a trip home.

Before he left, Chuck and Jared picked my first batch of plums off the tree and I made a dozen jars of tart plum jam. I hurt my back a week ago and have been somewhat limited since, so making the jam was a challenge, but ripening fruit is not going to wait for a bad back. Hopefully, with time and care, I will mend.

This week Ruth took a trip with Quade to visit his family, including a stop at the Tuachan theater to see Cinderella. 

Chuck and I always love watching the practice of the local moto races.
 Now that we are riding offroad motorcycles our appreciation for the skill of these riders have increased. 

I finished the Star Wars dress. I'm happy with how it turned out.

My biggest 3d print ever. This Overwatch gun took over 24 hours to print. 

This was Ruth's last week of summer semester and she celebrated by getting her wisdom teeth out.  While this process was easy with Jared it wasn't easy for Ruth.  She spent several miserable days on the couch and is just now starting to feel better.  She is glad she took several days off work for convalescence. 

We only have a few precious weeks left of summer before school starts for all of us again.  We are trying to take full advantage by sleeping in and being really lazy. 

A few weeks ago marked one year we've had our bunnies Peaches and Link.  

After planting a plum tree six or seven years ago I finally have my first crop of plums.  They are sour on the outside and kind of sweet in the middle. I'm not sure when to pick them or what to do with them when I do.