Welcome to our World

 The weather continued to be perfect to watch Natalie play softball in, this time a double header at a place that had shade sails installed over the bleachers.  It was amazing!  But then the next weekend she was due for a double header in windy Wyoming and the girls were so cold they were huddled up under blankets in the dugout. Hubby even went and bought himself a camping blanket at Menards. That’s really saying something because he likes the cold! Although the weather was better at home, the drizzle put a damper on the Homecoming dance for a lot of high schoolers. Danny and Michelle just had us take pictures on our porch right before they left with friends but Kate had joined her friends early enough in the day that she got some good ones to send me. Luckily the powder puff game, drone show, football game, and parade had happened while the weather was still perfect! That drone show after the powder puff game was very fun to watch. I didn’t get our favorite parts on came...

School is in full swing with high schoolers doing lots of different things like Kate and Danny going to their school’s sporting events (photo stolen from friend Adrienne) and Michelle volunteering with the leadership academy (photo stolen from the LA president). Most of the family hasn’t been feeling the greatest physically this week but Labor Day weekend had almost nothing on the calendar (N got to go to J’s birthday party and M volunteered at Bingo again) so Hubby took Michelle hiking in the gorgeous weather before the Chautauqua shuttle closed down for the fall. I was happy for them! While Hubby and Michelle were off hiking, Natalie and I did things like bust out the sidewalk chalk because the weather was just too nice to not be outside. I have noticed that being outside is essential to me feeling emotionally well as I recover from my surgery so when Natalie decided she was too tired to hike I was glad we could do something outdoors together even if we weren’t up to hiking. She has ...

These two wonderful ladies both started at a new school on Tuesday. First day for 6th graders and Freshman with a sort of orientation and making sure they know where all their classes are. It was great to hear about their day when they came home. I’m glad the schools do this for them. While Michelle and Natalie were at school our new washer and dryer were delivered!  Yes, both machines had been limping along and we finally decided to put them out of their misery when the washer door couldn’t close and therefore couldn’t wash anything. Luckily Hubby found ones on sale that could be delivered in just two days. They are so different from the ones we are used to but it’s kind of fun.  Also, they hold so much more and can things things washed and dried a ton faster if necessary (which we learned the day I forgot to wash Natalie's softball pants for practice). Then it was the real deal: all of my children heading to school with a true schedule and all the students in the building. ...

Michelle made us a lovely Summer 2024 bucket list.  I have to say that somehow the summer got away from us and so many things got left without being done.  Sometimes we even had an activity on the calendar, something would come up, we would reschedule, and somehow it just never got done.  For example, Danny was supposed to get his wisdom teeth removed the last day of July and the oral surgeon ended up postponing because Danny was so congested he didn’t want to take the risk of sedating him. Other things didn't seem big enough to need a plan and we never got around to checking it off.  Really makes me realize I don't have many summers left with my teenagers and that we may have to do less relaxing next June and work on that list early instead of waiting until August to realize how much we wanted to do. My dear sweet Natalie finally got to go to camp at the local humane society this summer and had a wonderful time learning about, meeting, and making things for the anim...

  Michelle and Natalie really wanted to go camping in Colorado this summer and Michelle planned a wonderful trip that led us to Great Sand Dunes National Park (the sand was so hot!), Mesa Verde NP complete with a Cliff Palace tour, gorgeous Ouray (we didn’t want to leave), Island Lake in Grand Mesa National Forest with beautiful wild flowers, and Rocky Mountain National Park before heading home. We did this after dropping Danny off at the airport to head to Vegas with his basketball team and Hubby and Kate stayed home. They didn’t mind doing things like seeing Deadpool & Wolverine in the theater together.     (Kate said she had already been on a camping adventure with E and Hubby said he couldn’t take any more time off work since this was so close to our California & Chicago trips.) I am grateful for Michelle’s planning. This would not have happened without her hard work!