Tuesday, April 24, 2018

Week 16

Hello there and happy Tuesday.  Spring is finally here and it's warm out.  We are looking at a whole week in the 80's which is nice for a change.  I'm ready for less rain and more sunshine.  Last week was a little busy and a little chill.  It started with rain but ended with beautiful blue skies so we could enjoy being outside on Earth Day.

Take a look at the pictures:


Day 106- Monday, 4/16/18
Here we go again with another wet start to the week. It's not the best way to start but at least most of it was in the afternoon and the thunder sounded cool.





Day 107- Tuesday, 4/17/18
April showers bring May flowers and we most certainly will have plenty of flowers for May.  This newly bloomed flower out front still has rain drops on it from earlier.





Day 108- Wednesday, 4/18/18
Now we start with the clear blue skies and the warm up.  It's even warm enough for shorts.  What a difference a day makes.  Justin is checking the mail for me as we head out to run errands.  It finally feels good to be out and about instead of held up inside taking cover.





Day 109- Thursday, 4/19/18
These two are watching a Warriors game together.  It's playoff season and they are geared up although I'm not sure why Brandon has a hoodie on under his jersey.  It's way too warm for that even at night.




Day 110- Friday, 4/20/18
Justin has been practicing ventriloquism and wants to use this puppet in an interview video for one of his class projects.  It sounds like a great idea and I can't wait to see it.





Day 111- Saturday, 4/21/18
Time to tend to the yard and get rid of those weeds so the real plants can shine.  The front yard is done and the back is started but will take weeks and needs to be tackled in zones.  John made me a nice refreshing lemon drop to enjoy during a movie at the end of my hard working day.  Thanks babe!





Day 112- Sunday, 4/22/18
Happy Earth Day!  The yard work continues but instead of just pulling things Justin and I decided to plant a few things today.  He wanted a ghost pepper plant and I wanted tomato plants and flowers.  We spent most of the day outside, as it should be on Earth Day, and then in the afternoon we picked up pizza from this new place who was having a fundraiser during their soft open for the Booster's Club--nice, productive and yummy end to the week.




That's it for now.  See you next week.


Tuesday, April 17, 2018

Week 15

Hello and welcome back.  It's another Tuesday and this year is flying by.  Only 1 1/2 months until school is out and 2 months before Tyler comes home for summer.  It seems like the school year just started--so crazy how time flies. 

Here are last week's pictures:


Day 99- Monday, 4/9/18
I heard about this book from an on-line group and just had to get a copy.  I know Goodnight Moon by heart from reading it to the boys when they were younger and this is a great, nicely-done parody for us lab people. My favorite part is "post-it notes on the lab coat"--that is so me ;0)





Day 100- Tuesday, 4/10/18
I was texting with my college boy today who was wondering about his state EMT card.  He took to the test for the national registry over Christmas break but didn't get the paperwork back in time to apply for state certification before starting his next school quarter.  Thankfully he was able to continue the process over spring break and is waiting on the official word and card.  Turns out it was sitting in our mailbox when I checked later this afternoon!  He's now able to work as an EMT which will hopefully be how he spends his summer this year.  What a long process just to get here.  It's almost been a year in the making but will be worth it eventually.




Day 101- Wednesday, 4/11/18
Evening antics.  The boys are hardly ever downstairs with us after dark but Justin got home late from a track meet and John popped some popcorn which lured Brandon down. Then there's the cat who was happy to have some warm flannel pj's to rub on for this cold, rainy night.  I'm not sure why Justin propped himself against the wall like that but whatever.  I think maybe it's because he only plans on staying long enough to finish his snack and doesn't want to get comfortable.  There's homework still to be done.





Day 102- Thursday, 4/12/18
This afternoon I was able to chaperone on a field trip with Brandon's class to see Finding Neverland at the Sacramento Music Theater.  It was done really well, funny, and a great thing for the kids to see and experience.  They even had a live dog in on stage that stole the show.





Day 103- Friday, 4/13/18
Someone just got home from his second track meet this week and is cold and wet and ready for a break.  These meets are so long--dare I say worse than swimming.  At lest there is no homework for tonight.  TGIF!





Day 104- Saturday, 4/14/18
John is experimenting with his new toy.  He got this fancy turntable for his birthday last week and is happy to have more time this weekend to give it a try.





Day 105- Sunday, 4/15/18
I recently noticed a distinct line of white hairs growing across Bella's hind paw.  She did get her foot caught in her pen trying to escape a couple months ago so I guess she must have damaged the hair follicles in the process. It just looks funny all in a line like that.  Crazy girl--keeps us all on our toes.  She's forever an escape artist but is getting too old to pull stunts like this.




That's all for this week.  Thanks for checking in and hope to see you next week.

Tuesday, April 10, 2018

Week 14

Welcome back and happy Tuesday!  Our spring break is over and we're all back at school and work plus trying to keep up with the ever changing weather.  One day it's spring and the next it's back to winter.  It can't make up it's mind.  John traveled for work again so it's been a bit of a circus with me juggling schedules.

At and rate, here are last week's pictures:


Day 92- Monday, 4/2/18
Today was the first day Justin was able to ride his new bike to school and it worked great.  He has such great friends to give him this bike for his birthday.  I meant to snap a picture as soon as he got home but he had quickly jumped in the shower and put his PJs on before that happened.  Funny thing is I see him so late in the day for the most part that almost every picture of him this week has him in these PJs.  LOL!





Day 93- Tuesday, 4/3/18
The weather has been very spring like the past week and I noticed that my roses are in bloom.  Sadly the weeds are super happy growing in these nice conditions too.  Time to do some yard work.





Day 94- Wednesday, 4/4/18
Justin didn't have any homework for a change so he watch TV comedies with me after Brandon and I got back from basketball practice and a very long Boosters' meeting.  Bella is missing John but is happy that Justin is giving her special attention.





Day 95- Thursday, 4/5/18
Tonight is the science fair so Brandon dressed up and stood by his board to explain his project to visitors.  The cafeteria where it was held is super tight and was over-crowded.  It made it hard to see anything but from what I could see there were a lot of good experiments out there.  This will be our last science fair which is kind of sad but also kind of nice ;0)





Day 96- Friday, 4/6/18
So much for spring weather.  It got cold and windy and started to pour rain last night continuing through today.  I had to dig out a winter sweater, some boots, and a rain jacket just to make it through work.  TGIF though!  John comes home tonight but pretty late so we won't see much of him until tomorrow.






Day 97- Saturday, 4/7/18
What a crazy busy Saturday!  First thing was an early morning drop-off at the bus for Justin's track meet.  Thankfully it only rained on them for the first couple hours.  He actually came home with a sunburn since the afternoon was so nice.  Go figure!  Next up was a basketball game for Brandon and then once Justin finally made it home we celebrated Bella and John's birthdays.





Day 98- Sunday, 4/8/18
Well at least Sunday was a lazy day.  Rusty and Justin are all for that.  They stayed in this bed most the morning.  Justin finally surfaced to eat and get some chores done around lunch time but the cat hunkered down and napped until almost dinner.  Must be nice!



That's it  Hope to see you next week.


Tuesday, April 3, 2018

Week 13

Happy Tuesday!  Yes!!  All caught up :0)  I'm so happy to be back on track and thanks to spring break for giving me the extra time to do so.  We had a full and wonderful family week with great weather and no rain.  Now it actually feels like spring instead of winter and we're so ready for that.

Here are the pictures from last week:


Day 85- Monday, 3/26/18
We hit the road again and headed further north to show my kids where I grew up. The surrounding snow capped mountains were very pretty and and it was fun passing by my old high school and the house I used to live in.  We also stopped at Burney Falls which is a great hidden treasure in that area.  Justin was so impressed he didn't want to leave.  Now back in the car to head west through many mountain passes to the coast.





Day 86- Tuesday, 3/27/18
We're in Arcata which is home of California State University, Humbolt.  It's time to check out this college for Justin.  He's interested in either wildlife or marine biology and this is a great school for both--lots of hands-on, back-to-nature teaching here taking full advantage of the natural surroundings.  There is a community redwood forest just steps behind the campus with wonderful hiking trails so after the college tour we did a little hiking.  Then after lunch where we ate at "A Slice of Humboldt Pie"--so yummy--we hit up one of the many beaches to explore a bit.  Another great day!





Day 87- Wednesday, 3/28/18
Today we are headed home.  It's a long drive with curvy roads and a lot interesting places to stop along the way.  We didn't have time to stop at all the cool places but we did at least stop here and drove through this tree.  I was a bit afraid my car wouldn't make it but it did and it was cool.  I should have had one of the kids outside filming or taking a picture of that but didn't think of it until after we went through.  At least we got a picture of us by the tree anyway.  We'll need to plan another trip to check out some of the other interesting stops like Confusion Hill, the One Tree Cabin, or the World Famous Tree House.  I'd also like to take the skunk train ride through theses amazing redwoods. So much to explore here--oh and more beaches to see!





Day 88- Thursday, 3/29/18
So much for all the fun.  Now that we're back it's time to get to work on school stuff.  John was kind enough to pick up a new printer while we were away and had it set up and ready to use when we returned. Brandon put it to good use printing up all the pages he had already prepared at school and then worked on setting up the board for his science fair project.  Almost done!  I really hate that it's due the first day back from spring break.  It sucks having this hang over your head all break but it is what it is.





Day 89- Friday, 3/30/18
Justin had friends over for a movie watching birthday party.  They were trying to get through all the Harry Potter movies but only made through the 1st four since there are so many.  This is a great group.  They all chipped in to buy him a new bike!  That was a wonderful surprise and much appreciated.




Day 90- Saturday, 3/31/18
And today is his actual birthday.  Happy 17th birthday Justin!  A Cold Stone store just opened in our area this week so he requested a Cold Stone strawberry ice-cream cake. Yum!





Day 91- Sunday, 4/1/18
Happy Easter Sunday and Happy April!  We're so happy to have Tyler join us this year.  Last year he missed out on Easter since it was later in the year and his spring break had already passed.  He still had to fly back today but at least he was here to enjoy a nice brunch with us.  Justin was kind enough to pose with my monthly marker mostly because I let him much the ears off that bunny right after ;0)




Wait one more:

March's Family Photo







Taken just before Tyler flew back to LA for the last quarter of his 2nd year.  Sadly we won't see Tyler again until mid-June.  It's actually now April but we're counting this as March since we couldn't pull it together enough to get a picture yesterday.  Such is life!




OK!  Now that is it.  See you next week.


Monday, April 2, 2018

Week 12

Almost there!  All the rain the past couple weeks has really started to get to me especially with John traveling yet again. Two weeks in a row is brutal and this week was for a full week. Spring break can't come soon enough. At least the oven is fixed.  That helps a lot.

Here are week 12's pictures:


Day 78- Monday, 3/19/18
Today there was no rain and we did have some afternoon sunshine so that was great.  Brandon enjoyed some time playing with the dog after school.  They love tug-o-war.





Day 79- Tuesday, 3/20/18
Justin came home yesterday in a bad way and ended up staying home sick today.  He was almost better from his last cold but suddenly got a lot worse. Poor thing slept the day away but at least perked up just before dinner.





Day 80- Wednesday, 3/21/18
The rain and wind has knocked the flower petals off the trees and made the ground look like it's covered confetti.  We've had a lot of rain this week too but at least it's warmer rain with no wind.  Still I'm ready to be done.  Later we finally got our computer back with all our recovered files.  What an ordeal that was.  Then I went to a Bunco Night fundraiser for the Boosters and won this huge bottle of champagne.   It was fun and I was on fire ;0)  Things are looking up.




Day 81- Thursday, 3/22/18
Awwww--sunshine and pretty new tree leaves!  I also ended up taking Justin to the doctor after school and they put him on antibiotics.  His lungs no longer sound right and he might also have a sinus infection.  At least the meds should kick in and help before leaving on our upcoming roadtrip.





Day 82- Friday, 3/23/18
We're celebrating the start of spring break with dinner at In-N-Out.  Those meds Justin were given are working great.  I already see a big improvement.  It's going to be a long day.  We pick Tyler up from the airport at 11pm and John gets in after midnight but then at least we'll have everyone home again.  Yay!





Day 83- Saturday, 3/24/18
Brandon had an early game and see those 1st 3 points?  He put them on the board!  Super cool to see.  Tyler is home and fitting right back into his room and the swing of things here.  Sadly he's sick with a cold too but he usually always comes home from school sick.  Must be the germ-ridden dorm life.  I'm just happy he here and has spring break at the same time as his brothers this year.






Day 84- Sunday, 3/25/18
Time for our roadtrip.  John needs to stay home for work so he'll keep an eye on the pets while we travel.  First stop is Lake Shasta where we toured the caverns.  You have to take a boat to cross the lake and then a bus to get up to the hill to the entrance.  It was really neat to see again for me.  I grew up in this area so I've been a few times, but the boys have never seen it until now.  They really liked it too.  Afterward, near our hotel in Redding, we were able to cross the Sacramento River on the Sundial Bridge and explore the discovery park area they have nearby.  This is all new for me to see and wasn't here when I was growing up so it's pretty cool.  Our hotel has only been open for a few months.  Great first day!




One more and I should be caught up.  Thank goodness.  It's such a chore when you have so many to do at once.