Just One More Game...

I think Finley and I are on track to set the world record for most days in a row playing Uno. She's obsessed with this game and I cannot get away with playing less than three games each night. "Just one more game mommy...." 

I know the day will come when she doesn't want to play games with me so I'm trying to remember to enjoy it.

Hard Goodbye's

My grandpa died the first week of November.  He was my mom's step-dad, but he had been married to my grandma for almost 40 years and the only grandpa I ever knew.  He was loud, full of jokes, opinionated, loved sports, and most importantly loved my grandma!  Growing up I spent a lot of time with him and my grandma; summer days I lived in their pool with my cousins and he was always quick to make silly jokes and tease us.

My grandma died three days ago; almost two months exactly to the date her husband died.  She just didn't want to live anymore.  She was old, tired, sick, and most importantly lonely without her husband.  She wasn't afraid of telling us how she missed him and simply wanted to go be with him.  I truly believe she willed herself to die and I'm OK with that simply because that is what she wanted.  My grandma was almost 90, had lived a very full and happy life.

I was sad about my grandpa, especially because it was somewhat unexpected.  I was very upset about my grandma because if felt like a chapter of my life was closing.  Like the puzzle of my life was slowly breaking apart and chipping away.  My grandparents had been there in my life for every major event; HS graduation when I was a total brat, college graduation when I was a hot mess, my wedding when life couldn't have been more dramatic, the birth of our first born...her first great-grandchild when I was so young and naive, and the progression of my life as an adult and mother.  She never had anything unkind to say or a harsh judgement to make.

My grandma wasn't one to give her opinion or involved herself in anyone else's business.  She wasn't extremely affectionate, but always gave hugs and told me she loved me.  The most amazing thing my grandmother did was raise her four daughters to be such fantastic, strong women...and I thank her for that because my mom then passed that along to me.

I will miss them,  yet I know it was her time.  The morning after she died I was dropping Beau and Finley off at school before I headed to Wenatchee to help my mom.  Beau was asking all sorts of questions about death and talking about heaven.  As I pulled into his school he said, "Mommy, I know that grandma is in heaven and beautiful again!"  It was so sweet and tender.  I know she is too Beau!

Welcome 2014!

The lack of snow put a damper on our ski trips for New Year's Eve so instead we headed up to the cabin with some friends and rang in the new year redneck style!  As soon as it was dark (like 5pm), the guys let off a load of cool fireworks and we called it a night!

We busted out our fanciest attire!

Watching the fireworks from a safe distance...

I'm not big on making resolutions, but I do have a running goal for March and April.  Last year's nose surgery threw off my plans for a 1/2 marathon, so I'm trying again for this Spring.

The start of this school year I made a pact with myself that I'd go home from work and focus on home...not on work or what crap was happening elsewhere.  In 2014 I aim to continue doing that, even though it can be hard.  This school year I've also worked very hard to not sweat the small stuff and just enjoy things much more without letting stress get to me.  It helps me to try and keep things in perspective to what really matters...which can be hard when life is busy and starts to swallow me up. So giving myself time to take a breath, think about things, and remember to have grace and kindness in my heart really helps.

During the school year I attend Mass almost every Sunday...I would say that about 50% of the time I'm alone because Husband and kids are at the cabin or doing something else...(football...) but I really don't mind going alone as this time of reflection has really become important to me.  I totally own the fact that I'm a seasonal church goer...Sunday's in the summer you won't catch me near church, but God understands that boating season is limited.  The point is I believe all people need reflection time to calm the noise in their head and be honest with themselves.  I find this on Sunday's in my old Catholic church filled with a group of random people who have become a great support system for me.  I'm super excited that Beau starts CCD classes in March for First Communion/Confirmation.  I can tell you he isn't excited. at. all....but I do hope our kids learn to take our example of faith with them as they grow.

Happy New Year!!!

Big White 2013

We discovered last year that going to Big White in December was the best....no lines or crowds and surprisingly good snow...and cheap prices!!! So we did it again this year and luckily had a snow filled weekend of great skiing with friends!!!  Ski trips continue to be hectic because of the amount of stuff required...food, gear, warm clothes, etc. but well worth it. Since our trip, the snow has been almost non-existent so it was great to get an early good weekend of skiing in!

Girl using her poles for the first time...she ended up dropping them back off at the ski rack by mid morning.  

Ready to go!

Trying to stay warm...while also attempting to keep up with our kids!

Turner and I have mastered the art of wrangling our families on the ski slopes...the trick is to identify a leader...usually Husband who wears BRIGHT YELLOW....and direct everyone to follow him.  The trouble is Coley and TJ are skillful tree skiers who fly all over the mountain.  My preferred position is skiing 'clean-up'!!!

My baby is no longer a baby...she's a skier!  Waaaaaah!

Christmas 2013

It's hard to believe Christmas is over!  It always feels like such an enormous amount of build up between Thanksgiving and Christmas and then on the 26th life just returns to normal.  There was a general consensus this year that the holiday season seemed a bit more frantic due to Thanksgiving being so late in Novemeber...therefore cutting it even closer for those of us who really procrastinate.

December looked a lot like this....holiday party...school concert...holiday party...school concert...holiday party...school concert.  By the time all 3 of our kid's had their school concert I'd heard Jingle Bells on the trombone (TJ), sung with percussion instruments (Finley) and lip synced beautifully (Beau).  Actually he did a great job of standing front and center and periodically moving his lips and smiling/waving at me...but of course not swaying or doing any of the hand movements the other 150 children were doing!

Anywhoo's....the exciting news for our family on Christmas Eve was the surprise that we are taking the kid's to Disneyland for Spring Break!  Husband and I had been planning this trip for a while now and it was fun to share the news with them.  They got a Disney ornament for their 2013 addition to our tree along with a letter from Mickey and Minnie Mouse!  Finley and Beau thought that was pretty cool!  Though they have all been there before, this will be the first time they are all old enough/tall enough to ride everything...and we are going with some pretty special people who haven't been there before! Yeah!

Besides the trip, each kiddo got a special Santa gift and three gifts from Husband and myself.  We've tried very hard over the past several years to keep the focus of Christmas away from gifts and instead on the true meaning of this season.  I find it really hard considering the endless amount of commercials, etc. that blast all the latest and greatest toys/electronics that every kid "needs" however they were all very thankful for the thoughtful gifts they received.

Two days after Christmas we enjoyed our Oly cousins for a whole WEEK...along with an extra long vacation that truly recharged our batteries! Bring on 2014!

Observations!

The most obvious observation is that clearly I've neglected keeping up my blog, which makes me sad because I love the idea that I'm creating a keepsake that we can look back on and see what life was like at different points in time....good or bad...so I'm going to be more diligent about trying to post about important stuff.

Another (much looking forward to observation) is that life will be slowing down significantly starting tomorrow when Husband has his last football game of the season.  This hasn't been a good season; if there was a stumbling block his team experienced it from injuries, to bad grades, young players, code violations...more injuries...every week felt like Groundhogs Day.

I observed my Husband exhibit a strong sense of self this season, calm and very untainted by all the challenges they faced.  I am SO proud of him and his coaches for rising above any negativity and being a class act.  I observe him giving a really good perspective to his boys as to where high school sports ranks in terms of importance in the big picture of life.  And I appreciate that.

The last two months of school I've observed some very unique differences between boys and girls...as directly illustrated to me by my daughter starting Kindergarten full time and our oldest son starting Middle School.  I've heard more about Finny's school days in the last two months than I've heard from TJ's last 6 years!  I'm not kidding...my boys just tell me life is, "Fine...Good...OK...Fun" while my girl gives me detailed run downs of her day.  It absolutely cracks me up and I'm finding it very entertaining.
 
I have observed our children become so much more self sufficient as exhibited by Beau and Finley on their second to last soccer game when we were at home getting ready and I went to tie up cleats and they were both fully dressed, shin guards on, socks on, shoes tied, sitting on the couch waiting to go to the game with their water bottles.  It caught me off guard and then I just smiled because I felt like we had reached a milestone.

TJ's Independence has been exhibited by walking to and from school by himself in the morning and after school, and traveling with Husband on the bus to all the games and needing no reminders to pack warm clothes and be prepared.  His school is having their first dance tomorrow night, however he'll be going with his daddy to the game...plus Husband and I talked and we just aren't quite ready for dances.

I've observed myself become much more comfortable with my job as this is my second year and I don't feel as clueless.  I'm enjoying it more than last year because I actually know what to do and how to handle the stress and multi-tasking a bit better.  I find myself laughing more this year and truly enjoying the kids and my coworkers; that's really due to the fact that I'm more confident in my position.

One of the most important things I've observed recently is the amazing support system we have!  I see it everyday when our parents help out with the little kids in the morning, or my sister in law and I share carpool duties between our kids.  I observe my friends providing support and laughter or just an ear when I'm needing to vent and I observe myself paying closer attention to the kinds of relationships and friendships that I want as a person.

So here's to taking time to stop and observe the little things..the big things..the important things around us that influence our lives each day.

Beau spends almost every Sunday riding his dirt bike...makes me nervous!

A typical Friday night!

Sporting our OP Nation colors with pride!

 These boys had an amazing season!

 Dancing queen and her sidekick!

Our soccer team the Skull Crushers..a fun group of kiddo's!  Now that soccer is over I'm needing to come up with creative ways to keep Beau moving after school. Sigh.

Oh...and yeah...I went to Orlando for a week in October.  It was awesome!

Welcome Fall!

I've been on a blogging hiatus...no reason in particular except that summer was the perfect balance of relaxing-busy and I just didn't feel the need to document every boat trip, road trip, or family visit.

So we've said goodbye to Summer and greeted the busy-ness of Fall with a positive and eager attitude.  I feel so much more confident this year going into my job than last year, which is nice, I love my building, the kiddo's, my coworkers, and I know without a doubt we are giving these kids the best possible educational experience around.  It is the first time in over 3 years that I haven't had one of my own children in my building...which initially left me with a tad bit of a heavy heart, but thankfully I'm managing just fine.

 Husband is basically teaching the same stuff, so nothing major for him at work except that he had to move classrooms 2x times until he finally was settled into his current room.  I cringe at HS classrooms because they are so 'un-fun' but that's the elementary person in me.  He thinks it's just super snazzy.

The biggest and most exciting events have been TJ starting Middle School and Finny starting Kindergarten.  Both have loved going back to school and I've found that the more positive and upbeat Husband and I are about school (mainly Middle School) the easier it is on TJ.  He's such an easy going kid and we went into MS knowing one of our biggest challenges with him would be staying organized and getting all this work turned in.  So far so good....

Anywhoo's...here's to another attempt at documenting our year...I know someday when the dust has settled we'll be able to look back on these posts and go, "Oh yeah...remember when...!"

Beau, TJ, and Finley all dressed up in their Pioneer gear!