Week 17

Hello and welcome back! It was super windy last night which made it really hard to sleep.  Hopefully it will not last too much into today.  Can you believe it's May tomorrow? May and June are jam packed with one thing happening right after the other.  It will be July before I even know it.  It's all good things though so we'll just enjoy the ride.

Until then here are last week's pictures:

Day 112- Monday, 4/22/19

Finally we have nice, spring, warm weather which is even warm enough for flip flops and cropped pants.  Bella and I enjoyed a long evening walk soaking it all in.  It's going to feel good to enjoy the outdoors this week.

Day 113- Tuesday, 4/23/19

It's always a nice surprise when Tyler sends me a picture.  His Easter care package finally arrived a week after I sent it for 2-day delivery--Why?!  I'm just glad to see he finally got it and is super thankful.  In other news from UCLA they had a student come down with measles exposing those in two engineering buildings.  Thankfully the school is on it and quarantined those that might have been exposed and could not show proof of being vaccinated to help prevent a full blown outbreak.  Sadly this is a sign of the times that should not be happening in this day and age.  No worries for Tyler though he was not exposed and is well vaccinated.

Day 114- Wednesday, 4/24/19

Yep!  Still nice out and actually down right hot.  Today I got to wear sunglasses and a sleeveless summer blouse on another beautiful evening walk.

Day 115- Thursday, 4/25/19

The flowers are loving the weather too and and I'm spending more time out in the backyard trimming them up and taking care of the pesky weeds.

Day 116- Friday, 4/26/19

Brandon has basketball practice on Friday nights and tonight as I was sitting in the car waiting to pick him up Justin popped over to say hi.  He just got out of a gaming tournament he organized at the school.  My kids are busy these days.

Day 117- Saturday, 4/27/19

The garden wars have begun.  I'm taking full advantage of the nice weather and putting in the time to tame my yard.  I just had to start early in the day because it got too hot quick.  That was ok though since Brandon had a late morning basketball game to attend.  He was the tallest one on the team today so he got to do the jump off to start the game.

Day 118- Sunday, 2/28/19

These two worked hard on chores today and helped with more yard clean up so after that one hit the kitchen for his go-to PB&J lunch and the other hit the couch for some screen time on his phone.  It wasn't really a lazy Sunday but we did have a nice balance between work and downtime.  Later it was Game of Thrones time and we are trying to stay on top of watching this season but it's on late and the episodes are extra long so we only made it through about an hr of the big battle.  John has a 6 am flight to catch and I leave for work just before 6 the next day so we'll just have to watch the rest later.  I wish it was on Saturday nights instead.  I need a good night sleep before heading back to work on Monday mornings.

Ok that's it.  We'll see you next week.

Week 16

Welcome back and happy Tuesday!  I hope everyone had a good Easter.  Ours was nice and relaxing with lots of good food and near perfect weather.  It was also great to be off last week to spend some time with the boys and have time to unpack all the stuff still in boxes from the carpet install.  I wish I could say we are done, but we still have some of the less important unpacking to go through and it will get done sooner or latter.  At least we are done enough to function which is all that really matters.

Here are the pictures from last week:

Day 105- Monday, 4/15/19

This afternoon it rained a lot so it was a perfect day to get the boys in the kitchen to help bake cookies.  We made cowboy cookies which was a first for them and a big hit for all.

Day 106- Tuesday, 4/16/19

We always schedule the annual vet visit for both pets over spring break because the boys like to go so today we did that and the darn cat got me again.  Ouch!  He hates me putting him in that box but when we get there the box is his best friend and safe space.  Next time I'll wear gloves.  That all happened in the morning so in the afternoon we had time for a movie.  Justin went with friends to see Shazam and Brandon and I went together to see it on our own.  It was a perfect movie for them--superhero stuff with middle-school like humor.

Day 107- Wednesday, 4/17/19

The last room to get the bed done up while putting the house back together was Tyler's since he's away at school so I tackled that today, and when I went in there to get started I found Rusty napping under the comforter.  I think he's also hiding to make sure he doesn't get taken anywhere again anytime soon.  LOL!  Much to his dislike I had to disturb his nap and and boot him out to get that bed made.

Day 108- Thursday, 4/18/19

With everyone home and more helping hands we decided it would be fun to make homemade pizza for dinner.  We always make 3 different kinds and work together to build them.  As usual they turned out great.  Yum!

Day 109- Friday, 4/19/19

I needed to get these guys out of the house and also needed a break from unpacking so we decided on bowling.  John won the first game and Brandon won the second.  It had been awhile so it took was all a few frames before we found our groove, but it eventually clicked and was fun.

Day 110- Saturday, 4/20/19

Today was a busy day.  Brandon had a basketball game this morning and a volunteer shift at the animal shelter this afternoon.  Then John and I went to see the remake of Pet Sematary in the evening.  They did a great job staying true to the original story while also adding a few new twists to give it a different perspective.

Day 111- Sunday, 4/21/19

Easter baskets, Easter flowers and Easter ham-- Happy Easter to all!

Wait!  One more:

April's Family Photo

Just a cute shot with us and our homemade pizzas ready to go into the oven.



OK!  All done.  Hope to see you next week as we end the month.  Wow!  April is flying by fast.

Week 15

Hello and welcome back. Happy Tuesday! We had been enjoying the spring weather and lack of rain until yesterday. Hopefully it's just a blip and more sunshine is to come as we're on spring break and would like to enjoy the great outdoors more. We're also enjoying our nice new carpet and can now slowly work on putting our house back together. What a process! But it's nice to finally be getting it done. We have no real plans for our break as we need to work on the house, but will try to fit in some fun family activities here and there. Now the only thing left is the upstairs bathroom renovation which will have to wait until after the summer craziness ends.

Here are last week's pictures which are a bit underwhelming because of the carpet install but such is life:

Day 98- Monday, 4/8/19

As we clear bedrooms for new carpet the pets and kids get displaced and have to find new places to do homework and hangout.  No one is happy about the changes but we all know it's just temporary.

Day 99- Tuesday, 4/9/19

In addition to working on the house, work in the lab must continue and of course just before I'm set to go on leave we get an emergency blood sample that must be set up in culture and tested for other possible processing.  As long as I can get it all started then hopefully, Brittany, our lab assistant can keep it going while I'm away.

Day 100- Wednesday, 4/10/19

All the bedrooms, hallways, and closets are cleared and now the stuff is either in our pool room or garage until the carpets are in.  Install day is tomorrow and after a couple weeks of packing here and there we are ready!

Day 101- Thursday, 4/11/19

It took 12+ hours but it's all done! We now have new carpet upstairs and in a few places downstairs.  The gold-like, smashed-flat carpet is the 17 year-old stuff that was removed and the beige-brown with grey undertones is the new stuff that went in.  It feels so much better on the bare feet. 

Day 102- Friday, 4/12/19

TGIF!  It's also the official start of spring break but the carpet installers left so late last night and we all had work and school today which means the rooms are not put back together so we're still all feeling super displaced.  Brandon is on his phone on the dog bed because his room is empty and our couch is buried in stuff that belongs in a the downstairs coat closet which just got new carpet.  Hopefully after tomorrow things will feel more back to normal.

Day 103- Saturday, 4/13/19

We made good progress working hard all day to get bedrooms set back up and our living space downstairs cleared from boxes so now we celebrate.  Cheers to a night out!  We so needed this after the week we had and what better way to enjoy than with good friends.

Day 104- Sunday, 4/14/19

Spring has sprung and my front yard is in full bloom.  When I feel overwhelmed with boxes inside I can just step outside and find peace in my yard.  Things are better and almost back in place  so everyone can be more relaxed including the pets who were just as affected by all this as we were.  Bella is happy to be able to come back inside and is enjoying the quiet afternoon on her bed with a couple new toys she got for her birthday last week

That's it!  See you next week after our spring break.

Week 14

Welcome back and happy Tuesday!  Finally we are looking at a week and maybe two without rain.  Yay!  I'm ready to ditch the sweaters and boots for tees and flip-flops.  Our house is a mess right now as we prepare for our carpet upstairs to be replaced.  It's time to clear some rooms and purge some stuff which is not a fun process but it will be worth it in the end.  At least this is will take only a couple days and then right after the younger kids will be on spring break so we can enjoy having it done and not having to suffer through it then.

Here's a look at last week:

Day 91- Monday, 4/1/19

Justin is holding the monthly marker for Bella since it's her birthday month.  She's turning 10 at the end of the week.

Day 92- Tuesday, 4/2/19

The rain and wind has knocked the blossoms from the trees in our neighborhood which means the streets and sidewalks are covered with nature's confetti.

Day 93- Wednesday, 4/3/19

Brandon made this basket in 3D art class.  It's so cute and looks like it was fun to put together.  Next they are working on ceramics.

Day 94- Thursday, 4/4/19

Justin and I braved the 10 hr (yes 10!) bus ride to Arcata for HSU's spring preview day.  This is how he would get to and from school on breaks so we wanted to try it out together first to see how it works.  Let's just say it was interesting and leave it at that.  We're on Greyhound and after reading some more reviews I think trying Amtrak as an alternative might be best.

Day 95- Friday, 4/5/19

We can't escape the rain especially here.  It rains a lot in Humboldt county but Justin is ok with that because he loves the rain.  We started out the day in the pouring rain touring campus but were prepared so it wasn't bad at all, and then by noon the sun broke through and it was gorgeous out.  It's really a beautiful place especially if you like nature.  The second picture is where the freshman dorms are, the third is at Founder's Hall, and the bio-dome in the middle of the last picture was the inspiration for Sandy's underwater lab in SpongeBob.  The creator graduated from here with a marine science degree.  Pretty cool!  We also met the chair of the wildlife department and turns out he knows my boss really well.  Small world!

Day 96- Saturday, 4/6/19

Today is another bus travel day headed home.  At least this journey was less eventful but still really long!  It's a great school but not easy to get to and from in a reasonable amount of time.  There is a tiny airport but flights are minimal and prices are through the roof.  Maybe ride-shares will be his best option?  We'll figure it out.

Day 97- Sunday, 4/7/19

Happy Birthday John!  We celebrated him and Bella today.  Sadly we were mostly packing stuff up in the house to prepare for a carpet install which is not a fun way to spend your birthday, but we did break away for a nice Red Lobster dinner and then had ice-cream cake to end on a high note.

Ok that's it for now.  Hope to see you back next week.

Week 13

Happy Tuesday! We had a wonderful sunny weekend that was a welcomed treat and we'd like more days like that but sadly it's raining again with more to come. At least our prayers about ending the drought have been answered. It's been great having Tyler home for his spring break but sad that the other kids don't have break until mid April so we couldn't really go anywhere fun. Maybe next year.  Busy times lie ahead for us. I'm having a hard time keeping it all straight and just need to focus on one day at a time.

For now here are last week's pictures:

Day 84- Monday, 3/25/19

Bella is so happy to have Tyler home.  He always spoils her with treats and is happy to take her on nice long evening walks.  He's pretty happy to be able to spend time with her as well.

Day 85- Tuesday, 3/26/19

It's cooler out again and we had a few over-ripe bananas in the house so it seemed like the perfect afternoon to bake a fresh loaf of banana bread.  Then, of course, as soon as it comes out of the oven the crowd assembles ;0)  This is one sure way to get them away from their electronics.

Day 86- Wednesday, 3/27/19

The rain is back in full force with scattered downpours--not showers but crazy insane downpours! Hopefully it will all end by mid May so we can open this pool and enjoy the outdoors more.

Day 87- Thursday, 3/28/19

After a morning at the DMV with this kid to get our Real IDs done we went to lunch together and got some important things done for him to start the next quarter at school.  It was a productive day so we earned that meal for sure.  And of course it rained and dumped some more.  At least the flowers like the rain.  Some of my roses are coming in bloom so their pop of color through the rain is nice to see.

Day 88- Friday, 3/29/19

The weekend in upon us and the sun is shining again!  Yay!!  These new green leaves on our tree out back are happy for that as are we.  It's supposed to be a very sunny and warm weekend.  Bring it on!  Bella is ready too.  She relaxing now after a nice long walk soaking it all in.  It's beautiful out.

Day 89- Saturday, 3/30/19

Our weekend days seem even busier than our mid-week days lately.  Today started with basketball for Brandon who went to the line a couple times and had some other great plays all while John took the older boys to Sushi for lunch.  Then after Brandon got back from a volunteer shift at the animal shelter we had an early birthday celebration for Justin who turns *18* tomorrow.  We celebrated today with presents, a nice dinner, and then ice-cream cake so Tyler could join in on the fun before returning to school tomorrow.

Day 90- Sunday, 3/31/19

Happy 18th Birthday Justin!  It's mind blowing that I have 2 adult children now. This morning we enjoyed a birthday brunch for Justin and a farewell brunch for Tyler who leaves to catch a plane in a couple hours.  Sadly I'm not sure when we'll see these 3 together again since it looks like Tyler will be staying in LA for the summer.

Wait!  One more:

March's Family Photo

We're so happy to have our full family here for this month's photo on this beautiful spring day.

Ok-- all done!  See you next week.