Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Week 26

Welcome back.  Here we are in the last week of June.  I can't believe the 4th of July is coming up and quick!  This summer is really moving fast.  I did feel like last week was at a much slower pace though and it finally felt like we got into the grove of our new schedule.  I'm all for the slower pace and the free weekends where we can hang with friends and just have fun.  That will be my summer goal.  I hear from Tyler almost everyday when the internet for him allows and it sounds like he's having a fantastic time on his trip.  He sends me a few picture here and there along with the group leader and some of the other kids so I'll share what I can.  That being said . . . 

Here are last week's pictures:


Day 172- Monday, 6/20/16
Justin wasn't feeling well this afternoon and buried himself under a blanket to sleep off a headache.  It might be the heat.  At least he woke up feeling much better.  In other news, it's a full travel day for Tyler's group as they make their way to Costa Rica.  Two flights and one long bus ride later they have arrived and are ready to start exploring tomorrow.  The map shows their stops and how many nights they will stay at each place.





Day 173- Tuesday, 6/21/16
Target ICEEs for the win on this super hot day.  We've hit triple digits again so a nice cold treat was in order.  Tyler, on the other hand, is enjoying cooler tropical temps in Costa Rica with sporadic rain.  He sent me this picture of Poas Volcano they got to see after visiting a coffee plantation this morning.  It was Tyler's first time trying coffee and he said it was ok with sugar.  Their leader, Brett, also sent a picture of the kids using a super large leaf to shelter from the rain.  These are found in the vegetation all around the volcano's crater.  How fun for them!





Day 174- Wednesday, 6/22/16
I used to get these National Geographic KIDS magazines when I was younger and loved them as much as Brandon does.  It's always a happy day when a new one shows up in the mail.  Why is he in a blanket with this heat?  Because "it's cozy with the air condition on."  Meanwhile, Tyler went on a chocolate tour at Tirimbina Biological Reserve that included them crossing a suspension bridge.  The picture shows them learning about the processing required to get the chocolate from the cocoa beans.  Later the group went whitewater rafting on the Sarapiqui River which he really enjoyed.





Day 175- Thursday, 6/23/16
In this heat I don't feel like cooking or even eating much.  It's just too hot so a nice cool steak salad hit the spot for diner.  Continuing on with Tyler's travels, the group experienced a canopy zip-line tour this morning and then enjoyed some hot springs in the Renal region before returning to the hotel for dinner and a night walk.  He sent this picture of a couple frogs they saw on their walk.  So cool and colorful!





Day 176- Friday, 6/24/16
Summer tennis club is in full effect and Justin has his matches with other school clubs on Fridays this year.  The most important thing in this heat is to stay hydrated.  Thank goodness he's all over that.  Hopefully Tyler is keeping well hydrated too as they hike and hike and hike in Central America.  Lindsay sent some great picture of the amazing foliage they are seeing.  Aside from hiking they also went kayaking on Lake Arenal and visited an organic farm where they got to taste some of the food made from there.





Day 177- Saturday, 6/25/16
It's time for dinner out with the Wongs and a little wine tasting.  Hello weekend!  Later Tyler's group leader, Brett, sent me this picture of Tyler hiding in the base of a jungle tree.  He's such a nut but I'm glad he's having fun being a nut in another country.  This was at Rincon de la Vieja national park in the Gunacaste area.  Unfortunately their group and another traveling with them all got sick from possibly bad chicken the night before.  30 people in all were affected but thankfully it was short lived and they were fine the next day.  It's all part of the adventure!





Day 178- Sunday, 6/26/16
These guys have the right idea!  The perfect place to be today is in the pool.  Hot, hot, hot is all we have in our forecast for the next week.  Tyler is also hitting the water but at the beach and is seeing bluer and clearer skies on his trip.  Today they snorkeled in near Palo Verde National Park.  It's still much cooler there than here--lucky bum.




That's it for now. Check back next week to see how we are continuing to handle the heat and to see more of Tyler's travel adventures.  He'll be home Thursday night.


Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Week 25

Happy Tuesday!  It seems like I blink and the next week is already here.  We're expecting triple digits again this week so stay cool out there.  It's been so nice not having to deal with homework and school functions plus we have no swim meets practice this summer which frees our evenings up all our weekends.  Wow! What a treat that has been.  We're still getting used to the new camp schedules during work hours but that won't take much longer especially now that basketball camp is over.

Here are the pictures from last week:


Day 165- Monday, 6/13/16
Brandon has basketball camp with the UC Davis basketball team for the next 4 days so he'll be my carpool buddy.  I had to adjust my work schedule to fit his camp hours which meant going in later and coming home later.  It's the coming home later that's hard.  I miss having those afternoon hours to run errands and prep dinner.  He's excited though and happy to be learning more about basketball from the college pros.





Day 166- Tuesday, 6/14/16
These Lily of the Nile flowers are now blooming in my front yard.  They remind me of exploding fireworks especially how they rise up above all the other plants. We also have some purple ones out back by the pool.





Day 167- Wednesday, 6/15/16
 Justin bikes to tennis club each morning which also just started this week.  He's happy to see a lot of friends there and had some good matches his first couple days.  I'm happy to hear HE finally feels like he is improving.





Day 168- Thursday, 6/16/16
*Blink* and it's the last day of basketball camp already.  The parents got to attend the last 30 minutes to see the kids play some games which was nice.  Brandon learned some new skills and is eager to join a winter league this year and hopefully play on the middle school team.  He's exhausted though.  7 hours of basketball for 4 straight days is A LOT especially for a kid that really only shoots around sometimes.  He pretty much went straight to bed and took a nap when we got home and there we found Justin looking out a window pondering life.  LOL!  He had no tennis today so was home by himself.  At least he snapped out of his trance and proceeded to tell me how he played with the cat all day and went for a bike ride and did some weight lifting to workout.  He cracks me up!





Day 169- Friday, 6/17/16
TGIF!  John got home early and did what he does best on Fridays--mix drinks and mix tunes. We're looking forward to a slow weekend.





Day 170- Saturday, 6/18/16
I was futzing around in the backyard as I often do on weekends when I stumbled upon this beautiful blue dragonfly.  I literally stood up from pulling a weed and saw it right there at eye level as close as could be.  I've always believed dragonflies are a sign of good luck and I'll take it.  Earlier I spent a great deal of time helping Tyler pack for a big international trip and stressing over what he needs and how he'll cope so I needed this.  It will be ok.  He'll be fine and will have blast.  The timing of this beautiful creature in my presence couldn't have been more perfect.  It truly put me at peace--right after I ran for my phone and snapped a picture of course ;0)







Day 171- Sunday, 6/19/16
Happy Father's Day!  The boys and I made John a nice big breakfast in the morning and in the evening we went to Buffalo Wild Wings to have dinner while watching the big game.  Sadly the Warriors could not pull off a win, but we still had a good day and enjoyed our time together.  Later that night (like much later) we dropped Tyler off at the airport for a red-eye flight to Costa Rica.  He'll be there and in Nicaragua for 10 days traveling with a school group for a grand adventure.  Talk about a super long and full day!




Wait!  One more:

June's Family Photo




We had to squeeze this one in early since Tyler is leaving the country today and will not be back until late on June 30th.




Ok!  All done!  Thanks for stopping by and see you next week.

Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Week 24

It's Tuesday again and welcome. Last week was pretty low key and relaxing aside from a few appointments I had made months ago popping up on me.  I didn't have a chance to get them on my calendar so thank goodness for reminder calls.  It was a much cooler week too with a good delta breeze blowing in that was greatly appreciated.  This week is the start of tennis club for Justin and basketball camp for Brandon so it's time to shift to a new normal and adjust schedules accordingly.

Here's how last week looked:


Day 158- Monday, 6/6/16
We were on the hunt for some basketball shoes in a particular color, of a certain brand, and in his size.  After 3 stores we finally scored and Brandon found the shoes he'll need for camp next week.  Now he needs to start breaking them in.  They look so big.  I can't believe he wears a men's 7 1/2 now.  My baby is growing up!





Day 159- Tuesday, 6/7/16
Even though school is out we still had the swim banquet to do.  I guess orders for the awards were placed a little late so the items didn't come in until after school was out which is a shame because the majority of the kids could not make it since they were either working or out of town on vacation. Luckily even though Tyler worked today it was an early shift so he was there but was the only senior that could be.  That's so sad.  Look at Nick's dad though.  Haha!  Nick was working so he went up for his son and played the part.  What a ham!





Day 160- Wednesday, 6/8/16
Today was full of those appointments I spoke of (three to be exact) and no good pictures came of that so later I spent some time in the backyard enjoying the new flowers in bloom.  They are all happy we seem to be done with the super hot weather and I'm happy to see more color in my yard again.





Day 161- Thursday, 6/9/16
There is nothing on TV right now except reruns but Justin doesn't mind especially if it's the Big Bang Theory.  That's one of his favorite shows and of course Sheldon is one of his favorite characters.  It's scary how much alike they are!





Day 162- Friday, 6/10/16
The kids were home all week but I had to work so this afternoon I made some time to spend with them. We still needed to celebrate actually being on summer break.  Last week was too busy with graduation to squeeze that in so now will work.  We went out to for frozen yogurt, picked up some pizza for dinner and then watched a movie together.  Yay for summer break!





Day 163- Saturday, 6/11/16
Yesterday was all about kid treats and today it's all about adult treats.  Time for some wine tasting on this perfect weather day with some good friends who came our way to taste locally.  We had a nice picnic at Bogle and then hit up two more places before having dinner at Club Pheasant. 





Day 164- Sunday, 6/12/16
This is pretty much what my Sundays are all about.  At least summer laundry is usually lighter with less loads.  The clothes are smaller and not as many layers. We also decided that since it's cooled a bit we need to put the solar blanket back on the pool to warm it before the next big heat wave which is coming soon.  




That's it--nice and simple and slow.  So much easier than a school week ;0)


Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Week 23

We made it past graduation week and are now enjoying the start of summer.  The house is much more relaxed.  Tyler is back to work as a lifeguard and the other 2 have a week to chill before their summer camps start.  It's been super hot so the pool has been in full use to help keep us cool.  This hot weather and pool time actually helps make it feel more like summer.  We're all so happy school is out and summer is here.  Yay!!!

Take a look at our crazy, eventful, and full week last week--prepare for picture overload ;0)


Day 151- Monday, 5/30/16
Happy Memorial Day!  We took time to reflect on those that lost their lives to serve this country and then we enjoyed our free day with some good family time.  Highlights included pool fun, BBQ goodness, and fire pit s'more creations.  The best part was that it didn't seem like a Monday at all.  That's the sign of a good holiday.





Day 152- Tuesday, 5/31/16
My family came to town today for graduation week.  These pictures represent that but were not actually taken on this day.  I was having so much fun enjoying my time with them that I just totally forgot about pictures so these shots were both actually taken on Thursday which was graduation day and as you can imagine I already have too many picture for that day so they'll go here.  My parents and aunt & uncle both are traveling in their RVs on a larger trip but planned it so they could be here in time for the big day.  It was great seeing them and having some good family time together.





Day 153- Wednesday, 6/1/16
Happy June!  The two younger kids got home just in time to help clean up after my cake making.  I let them lick the beaters in exchange for my monthly marker picture and of course they obliged.  Poor Brandon got a little too much sun today at the school's field day.  We all forgot he'd be outside all day and not in the classroom.  Later Justin had his tennis banquet and then we had another large family meal with the relatives.




Day 154- Thursday, 6/2/16
It's Graduation Day!  What an amazing journey it has been and we are so proud of Tyler and all he has accomplished.  Today was a special day celebrated with family and friends.  That last picture sums it up beautifully--a whimsical and magical moment where they are all graduated and headed off to take on the world.  Be still my heart!





Day 155- Friday, 6/3/16
What better way to start off summer break than with National Donut Day?! School is officially out or the summer and today we enjoyed these treats and just chilled at home to decompress from our eventful week.  The extended family has moved on and the only other thing on our plate was a quick trip to the vet for the dog's shots where Brandon was fascinated by the pickled heart full of heart worms.






Day 156- Saturday, 6/4/16
My front flower bed is exploding with these beautiful red and yellow day lilies which is great to see.  They seem to be blooming a little late this year but better late than never.  We also received a shipment of new bedding for the younger boys.  I was shopping for Tyler's college bedding when I found what I needed for the other two.  Go figure!  Don't worry though, I also found something for Tyler to take to school in the fall.  They all really needed new bedding and a fresher look in their rooms.  Now to find the time to actually get the comforters on the bed ;0)






Day 157- Sunday, 6/5/16
On to the next great thing.  These kids and their leader are headed out on an educational tour of Costa Rica and Nicaragua in two short weeks! We met today to go over the last details.  I can't believe it's finally happening. They signed up for the trip 18 months ago and now here we are.  There were 16 kids going back then and today we're down to 4 but that's ok--it will still be amazing and the trip of a lifetime for each of them.  What a week!  Is it really over? Time to take a breath and enjoy the serenity of the pool as I reflect on the past week, the past school year, and heck the past 17 years. Time sure does fly.  Enjoy those young ones while you can because before you know it they'll be preparing to leave the nest.  It's a good thing though, and I'm not sad about it--I'm excited.  I'm excited for what the future holds in the next chapter of my young adult's life.




That's all she wrote.  Check back next week to see how our first week of summer break went.