Around Here: Week 8 2023

 {February 19-25th}

Grandpa's Washington State Cougar sweatshirt

Grandpa wearing his Washington State University sweatshirt

Grandpa's University of Arkansas sweatshirt

Grandpa wearing his University of Arkansas sweatshirt.

Thumbs up Logan! The Hawaiian hat is where it's at!

Recieving... a priceless gift from my grandma in the form of my grandpa's sweatshirts and hats.  That night after I got them I got really emotional. Just cried and cried.  The sweatshirts smelled just like my grandpa and it made me miss him so much. I am just so sad for Grandma that she has to carry on without him, and so sad for all of us that he's gone. The kids all got to pick a hat or two from his enormous hat collection, and I had fun watching Wyatt try them on. I think of my Grandpa when I see birds around and this week and last week birds have been randomly landing on the roof in front of my bedroom window.  It makes me so happy. 

Counting... down. It's only four months until our trip. (The one Jack and I are going on with some people from his school to Rome, Italy and the Grecian islands. Oh man we are excited!)

Trading... kids with my sister and having Milo here to hang with Wyatt while Jack, Ainsley and Carly went to Wenatchee for the day. The boys hung with my parents, but Carly hung with her girl cousins. Lucky!! Then Josh went to Costco and picked them all up. 

Spending... a long weekend doing chores and homework Sunday, and then carrying on with more homework on Monday and Tuesday. 

Enjoying... having Josh home so much. That is one part of teaching that doesn't ever get old. When we have a snow day, or random days off, he almost always has them off as well and I'm so grateful. Like on Wednesday when we all had a snow day!

Watching... The Way Down. Wow. It was like a train wreck. I couldn't look away. Fascinating.  Churches and cults fascinate me because of my past experience in church. If they fascinate you, too, The Way Down is not one to miss. 

Grateful... for Josh doing the dishes while the dishwasher has been broken and I've been doing school.  He's the best. 

Laughing... as Carly stuck a balloon under her shirt and pretended to be pregnant. I remember doing the same when I was a little girl.  She's also been enjoying playing with my hair and she is SO impressed with her results. I am... less so. Haha! She's so cute!  Again, her motto is "More is more". It shows in her hairstyles.

Ecstatic... that I am almost done with two classes. I am so excited!  I can't believe I'm doing it!

Ordering... a four heart necklace to replace the one I broke and then lost from The Vintage Pearl.  I love it so much and had missed it. 

Enjoying... Saturday morning donuts courtesy of Josh. Thanks babe! Great way to start the weekend for sure. 

Doing... homework Saturday while my parents came to town to hang with the kids.  It ended up being a little chaotic, but I appreciated the effort nonetheless. Teenagers can just be... hard. And it seems that sometimes it's never enough. 

Getting... a new computer chair for my desk in our room and I'm so glad.  Our old one was making my back hurt something feirce considering how much time I spend there. Especially now that I'm taking two classes at a time. 

Giggling... at George's angry ears in that last picture.  He was not impressed when my parents showed up with their dog Bruno on Saturday.  Haha! 

Changing... weekend bedtimes per the request of our children.  Logan had a good point when Josh and I were trying to rush them to bed on Friday night. And that is that the weekends are their weekends, too. Normally (since 2011 when we moved to Alaska) we would put the kids to bed on Friday night and have date night at home with yummy food (often homemade pizza) and a movie.  But as our kids are getting older, it's harder to keep that time sacred. So I talked to Josh and we decided that we needed to pivot. It wasn't easy.  We've been stuck in our ways for over ten years now, but we want to be flexible and hear our kids when they talk. So about twice a month we go out on a date (to a real restaurant! just the two of us!) because while the kids growing up is hard... it also means that they can all be left home together. And that's kind of cool too.  

***

Hate how true this is!

Came across this pic of my grandpa from heart surgery day-
I was in Alaska so he sent me this message. 
He was the best.

Grandma & Logan
Papa, who the boys called Nepaw, and Jack