Spring Break

The weeks before spring break were full of sickness (Joel with pneumonia, me with bronchitis, and Greg needing prednisone to help him kick that cough), so we were in survival mode for what felt like way too long. We were very much looking forward to a break from school and work! We went to Sunriver and stayed in a big, beautiful house with the Millers and the Wilsons for three nights. It was cold but nice. We took walks, played in some snow, did two 1,000 piece puzzles, watched The Greatest Showman, and the kids and some dads went to the SHARC and went down the water slides. We had a ping pong tournament, too, and Joel and Mike played in the championship. Mike took first, but Joel fought hard and well for second place. It was nice to get away and nice to have the rest of the week still, too. We drove over to Sisters on our way home to give Brennan his birthday gift and hung out with Ryan and Michelle and their kids for the day before heading home that Tuesday. Our drive home became much longer when we got all the way to Government Camp and stopped for a bathroom break, only to hear that Hwy 26 was closed and that we'd have to take an alternate route home. The only other way home is to take Hwy 35 around the mountain through Hood River and up the gorge. It added 2 hours to our drive. We had some deja-vu when Aubrey started crying about her ear hurting.  We'd been in this very situation a couple years ago when an accident shut down the highway after Christmas when we were coming back from Sisters--long detour and Aubrey screaming because her ears hurt. We finally made it home, but it was not a pleasant drive in the dark and rain.

The rest of our week we got things done around the house. Greg spent hours on the roof, scraping moss and laying down moss killer. I scooped out muck from the gutters and took on the daunting task of cleaning all our carpets. I was determined to get stains out, which meant I went over and over the same spots many, many times. It took two days, but we finally got it all done. I could hardly move the next day, and my wrists and thumb still feel the effects of those same motions over and over again, but it was worth it. Some of the high traffic areas are permanently stained, but it looks better than it did before, and at least I KNOW the carpet is clean now. We'd like to put in hardwood and replace carpet next year, so I'm hoping we only have to live with this carpet for one more year. It felt good to get some things done around here. 

before

during

after

Regional Spelling Bee

Aubrey made it through the first round with “tragic” but got tripped up by a little Spanish word in the second round—“adios.” Appropriate, wasn’t it? We are so proud of her for all her hard work and being brave enough to do this. She competed against kids up through 8th grade! There were only five 4th graders out of 48 kids. This whole Spelling Bee experience has been so great for Aubrey! 

State Basketball Tournament

Joel's team made it to the State Tournament in Bend this year. They finished in the middle of the pack, won 2, lost 2. We enjoyed seeing Ryan and Michelle and the kids, and we watched a lot of basketball! Joel had had a fever and been sick the weekend before during the league tournament and was still getting over that sickness, coughing a ton. Greg and I both got sick that week, so all three of us were coughing and fighting sickness all weekend. The day after we got back from the tournament, Joel came home after school, saying he said he wasn't feeling well and fell asleep on his bed! I knew there was something really wrong then. He NEVER takes naps. When he woke up, he had a fever, so I took him in to the doctor that evening, and after listening to his lungs, they diagnosed him with pneumonia and gave him a Rosephin shot (not fun at all). Poor guy! Over the next two days, he watched all three Lord of the Rings movies while he rested.

This was a tough season for Joel and for us. He received very little playing time, and we watched as his confidence fell lower and lower. He felt a lot of pressure to not make mistakes, and there were times when the pressure was just too much, and he broke. That was so difficult to watch. We had lots of conversations about how we have to persevere through difficulties and work at becoming more mentally strong. We are so proud of him for his positive attitude and for trying his best, no matter the circumstances. He worked hard at being an encouraging teammate, too. There were some difficult lessons learned this season, but hopefully, God will use this time and these experiences to grow Joel's character and his faith. 

Greg's birthday

I asked Greg what kind of dessert he wanted for his birthday, if he could have anything, and he said key lime pie. So, I looked up Pioneer Woman's key lime pie recipe, bought the ingredients I needed, and made him pie. We had Aidan and Abby with us overnight while their parents and brother were in Washington D.C., so I wanted to make sure I had enough and may have over done it a bit. We had LOTS of pie. And it was delicious. :) One more year of being in our thirties. We're getting old. Next year I anticipate hearing a lot about being the "older woman," after I turn 40 and in those 40 days before he joins me in the next decade. That'll be fun. ;-)

Kari Piano Syllabus, year 2

Kari passed her second year of Syllabus, which really is a great accomplishment. She worked hard many months to prepare for it. The house we went to for the event was beautiful and had very large doors to the room with the piano in it. Kari looked tiny in front of those doors! She was disappointed with her performance because she felt should have done better and could have done better, but she still passed, and I was still proud! We celebrated with a Dairy Queen blizzard before I took her back to school.

Aubrey's Spa Birthday

Aubrey turned 10 this year, and she had grand ideas for this double-digit birthday. She decided she wanted a "spa" birthday, after seeing some ideas I had offered up from Pinterest, and she wanted to invite 12 girls. I was reluctant at first, overwhelmed with the scope of this party, but I started planning and got very excited to make it a great night for them all.

We had pizza and Italian sodas to start out, played a balloon stomping game, made Kool-aid lipgloss and let the girls choose their flavors, and then we did the foot baths. I had made a bath salt mixture that would fizz in the water, and the girls added their choice of essential oils to their salts. Each girl had her own foot bath, complete with Orbeez in the bottom. Turns out, Orbeez are very messy and bounce around everywhere! The girls had a great time with the foot baths. Thankfully, we had two extra sets of hands that night. Mom and Dad M. offered their services, and we gladly accepted. The party would not have gone smoothly without them! It was a lot of work.

After the foot baths, we moved into the dining room for facials. Each girl had a bowl for water, a washcloth, a headband, and a mirror. I made a mixture of avocado, yogurt, honey, and oatmeal for the facials, but I didn't mix it well enough, and it was chunky, which was just hilarious. The girls were such great sports and had a lot of fun with the failed facial mixtures.

We got everyone cleaned up, and moved into the other room for Aubrey to open presents. The girls were so sweet. They wanted to hear every word in every card and clapped after each one. So funny! Aubrey had requested red velvet cupcakes, so that's what we had for dessert, along with ice cream. I painted nails and did makeup for the girls while they sang along to karoaoke on our TV--"Can't Stop the Feeling," Shake it off," "Let it go," "Party in the USA," "How Far I'll Go" (Moana), and others. They had a blast, and Aubrey loved her birthday party. It was a great night!

We celebrated with family on her real birthday. Grandpa A gave her red roses when he came to pick her up for birthday breakfast. Apparently, she ate a ton of food for breakfast--hungry girl! :) We had more Italian sodas and more red velvet cupcakes. She was a happy birthday girl.

February Snow

I subbed in 2nd grade at the kids' school the day it started snowing. Early release makes for an exciting school and work day! We thoroughly enjoyed our snow days (and night).

Jump Rope Club

February 16th was a big day for Aubrey. She won the school spelling bee AND got to perform with her school jump rope club later that night at the Barlow basketball game during half time. It's always a big deal to get to perform at Barlow. The kids have to be able to do 30 seconds of "double unders" before they "make it to Barlow." This is Aubrey's 2nd year doing this, and she loves it. They performed at their school assembly, too, earlier in the week, which was also fun to go watch. The middle schoolers came with me, since I was their ride, and they got to watch for a while before they walked over to across the field to West Orient. .

Spelling Bee Champion

Aubrey's spelling bee for the 3rd-5th graders was in the afternoon. She had worked hard memorizing and reviewing the spelling lists the whole month prior, and we knew she was well-prepared. Turns out, she's a really good speller and quick, too! We knew she knew the words, but we wondered how she would do under pressure and with all those people watching. Turns out, she was calm, cool, and collected, so much so, that we were a little aghast at her confidence and antics while she was sitting up there. As soon as a speller got a letter wrong, she would shake her head sadly, as in, "Nope, that's not it!" and lift her index finger as if she were ringing Mr. Milliken's got-it-wrong bell. It was funny and terrible all at the same time. Oh, Aubrey!

The spelling bee was nerve-racking, exciting, and oh-so-intense at the end! They went through the lists of words the kids had been given and had to move on to another list, which had words the kids had not studied. "Superintendent" was the championship word Aubrey spelled correctly to win. The funny part was our district's superintendent, Dr. Katrisse Perrera was there, right behind the judges table, watching, as Aubrey spelled the word facing her. It was pretty great.  Such a proud moment for us parents. Greg has told the kids each year that he would help them study, if they wanted to put in the time, but none of them have been very interested. This year, Aubrey took him up on it, and her hard work paid off. Greg even ended up coming, at the last minute, to watch the spelling bee. I'm so glad he was there to see her win. Grant's teacher brought Grant in to sit with us when it was down to just a few students. His class had watched for a while but then went back to their classroom. We were especially thankful for his thoughtfulness in bringing Grant back, when she was the one who ended up winning. I loved seeing her classmates surrounding her after she won, too. It was very sweet how they cheered her on and how excited they were when she won.

Now she has to go to the regional Scripps Spelling Bee on March 17th. She's not so sure about that experience, but it'll be good for her to go.

Spelling Bee--Grant

This year was the first opportunity for Grant to participate in the school spelling bee. The 1st and 2nd graders had their own "bee" in the morning. Several kids from each class were chosen based on their classroom spelling competitions. Grant was the very first speller and made it through a couple rounds before he got out on the word "return." He did great, and I was proud of him for trying it. He did, however, keep chatting with whoever was sitting next to him throughout the time he was up there. I wanted him to look at me, so I could tell him to be quiet! He enjoyed himself, at least!

Snuggle Time

On Tuesday evenings right now between 7:15 and 8pm, Grant and I have reading and snuggle time while everyone else is at youth group and basketball practices. We’re reading The Trumpet of the Swan, a book I read to the other kids when they were younger. The older my kids get, the more I treasure times like this. 

❤️