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.