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