Catching up – May 2016

May was…

Christopher turns 38 and went deep sea fishing for his birthday. He wore a GoPro camera so we now have hours of footage of him throwing up over the side of the boat…

Mother’s Day Tea at Logan’s preschool.

Gift from Ben, who looks like a teenager in this picture.

We moved around furniture (again!) in the house. Boys sharing a new bedroom. The playroom is downstairs and the loft is now a music room and Christopher’s office.

 

Hiking near our home…

I went to a women’s retreat where we did Laughing Yoga, meditation, and art like this:

While I was at the retreat Christopher and Gavin built a homemade ground station and can now pick up satellite signals…

Dad and boys campout. Logan caught his first fish!

And Ben lost yet another tooth! He loves any excuse to go to the health room at school.

Catching up – April 2016

April was…

A trip to Utah to meet up with new friends (and bosses) Naomi and Dianne, co-founders of Aspiring Mormon Women. While there I also got to see Linda, Rand, Jeff, Caroline and kids, Jeremy, Leslie, and kids, and Ethan and Catherine.

A hike with friends through Bellevue/Issaquah on Cougar Mountain…

Gavin and best bud Warren

Megan participated in middle school track. It wasn’t her favorite, and she regrets choosing it over drama club, but we were super proud of her for trying something new.

The “Rig-a-pa-looza” at Sammamish Commons. It was also the Grand Opening of the Sammamish YMCA, our new favorite place. The younger boys and I spent the morning climbing in the big rigs and playing games at the Y.

Spring Break trip to the Seattle Center and Pacific Science Center. The big kids watched an IMAX; Logan was content to play with the water.

A few days of unseasonably warm temperatures made our first lake day of 2016! Sadly there have been few lake days this year… (July 9 and 65 degrees…)

Catching Up – March 2016

March was:

 

Working in the yard…

Snack time with Brooklyn…

A new drum set. This poor kit had been sitting in someone’s garage for 10 years. I took it apart and soaked every head, bolt, screw, and stand, and wiped down the shells. It’s not a high quality set but it works for now! Gavin took a few lessons from Fred, who says he has excellent rhythm, but Gavin seems to be gravitating towards the bass, plus he’ll be starting clarinet in September!

Superhero play date with preschool friend Izzy, who has already moved back to Indiana…

Easter Sunday. I was sick and stayed home with Logan.

Catching Up – February 2016

February was…

A toymaker’s workshop at Ben’s school…

Muddy hiking in Beaver Lake Preserve…

Karaoke singing (“Heaven is a Place on Earth”)…

Ninja Escape Date Night (we died)…

Flashback Nation gig and photo shoot…

Mid-Winter Break

Our mid-February week off school was low-key like last year. We had some nice weather and did a few fun things. Megan started the week with a big haircut (Locks of Love!) Later in the week we visited the Science Center and Seattle Center playground next to the EMP. Rachelle, Maddie, and Ari went with us. The three big kids (Megan, Gavin, and sometimes Ben and Maddie) went off on their own. Logan wandered off, too, but usually he could be found sitting in a model space capsule, pressing buttons and flipping switches. We only had to report “lost preschooler” to security once, and we found him fairly quickly. No tantrums, no accidents, and Waze helped us avoid traffic on the way home. Overall a successful trip!

Gavin’s 11th Birthday

Gavin’s 11th birthday party looked almost exactly like his 10th birthday. Same friends, same food (pizza and cake), and same games (Legos and Minecraft). And he wouldn’t have it any other way.

At 11, Gavin’s favorite things are all things rockets and space travel (Kerbal Space Program) and hanging out with his friends. He still likes to bike, hike, read, and play (Legos), but his passion definitely lies in engineering and space. Not unlike his daddy.

Ben’s 7th birthday!

Ben turned seven at the end of the month, and I told him I would host a small home party to celebrate. He invited four friends, and two attended, which was perfect because we still had Gavin and Logan and FIVE boys is plenty. We ate homemade pizza, played Legos, ate a yummy cake that Megan made, and watched a movie of Ben’s choice, Big Hero 6. We celebrated the Saturday night before his birthday. On Monday morning there was no school so we made a special birthday breakfast (sausage and crepes) and opened family gifts. Tuesday was his actual birthday, and Logan and I joined him in the cafeteria for lunch, and later took a bag of mandarin oranges to his classroom as a birthday treat. In addition, he got frozen yogurt after his seven-year check-up (54 pounds, 50 inches) and a trip to shoot laser guns with his dad. Our Ben was well celebrated! At seven, Ben is still incredibly energetic, but thankfully he has learned to channel his exuberance into (mostly) productive endeavors. He’s reading like a champ, loves to play outside, and is very helpful–the more challenging the task, the more enthusiastic he is. We love Ben!

January

January was a rough month, but I can’t believe it’s over so quickly.

On January 2, after all the excitement of Christmas, the wedding, New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Day, I got sick with a bad cold. A bunch of us (like Megan) were sick and we took a week or so to get over it.

By the next weekend, we were feeling better. I spoke in church and everyone seemed healthy and happy.

Over the course of the next week, I started to feel bad again. I couldn’t believe I was getting sick, and at preschool pickup on Friday I commented to my friend Laura, “I’m sick.” She said, “Again?!”

Friday afternoon I crawled in bed and was there for about a week. Sunday early morning I woke up with chest pain and crackles, and knew it couldn’t be good. Sunday morning I was diagnosed with pneumonia. Thankfully, Monday was a holiday so the kids didn’t need to go anywhere. Christopher did his best to work from home and watch the kids so I could rest. My visiting teachers brought us dinner for two nights, which was a huge help. The rest of the week Christopher was busy at work, so we ate leftovers and I rested as much as possible.

The antibiotics worked quickly, and although I’m still tired, I doubt it’s because of pneumonia anymore. The last week of January Christopher flew his team in from Moscow, Tel Aviv, and Atlanta, and they are working non-stop to organize, strategize, and execute the company’s short-term and long-term goals. I’m happy to report they are making progress and we are excited for the future!

One interesting note. Mid-month (while I was still feeling pretty sick), I took Logan back to the ophthalmologist. I didn’t want to reschedule because the doctor books 3-4 months out. It was a short appointment, though. A quick check of Logan’s eyes told them we are going to patch, 2 hours a day, 7 days a week for the next three months. Recheck in April. Logan is not a fan, but we’ve tried multiple brands of patches and finally found ones he can tolerate. He’s super sensitive to touch. At the moment, he won’t wear socks, and doesn’t much like shirts and pants, either. If he had a choice, he would go around in fleece pajamas and bare feet.

Giant sized version of Logan’s favorite stuffed animal, Pink Fluffy Unicorn. Unfortunately he had to leave Giant Pinky at the store.

New Year’s 2016

Megan and I flew home on the 30th, and the boys were happy to see us. On New Year’s Eve my band played a gig in Kirkland, which was a lot of fun, although four hours was exhausting. I definitely won’t wear heels for a gig again.

On New Year’s Day we made barbecue (pulled pork), collards and black eyed peas and visited Holly and Jansen and their family in Seattle. Ben loved their hyper new puppy, Cocoa. After we ate, we went to Discovery Park and walked around. It was surprisingly beautiful outside for January 1 in Seattle!

Ethan’s Wedding

*Where did January go? It was the first month since 2006 that I didn’t publish a new blog post!

The day after our peaceful Christmas, Megan and I flew to Washington, D.C. for Ethan’s wedding. After a long day of traveling, my parents picked us up and we headed to the hotel in Maryland. Megan was sick and getting worse and we needed to eat, so I found us, of all things, some decent pho in a random strip mall in suburban Maryland. My dad was nice enough to drive us and they were nice enough to serve us at 10 p.m.

The next day we slept in and spent a gorgeous, warm, sunny day walking around D.C. The rest of the trip included lots of family time, a rehearsal dinner in beautiful Annapolis, the wedding at the Washington D.C. Temple, and a reception in Bel Air, MD. It was a whirlwind of busyness but so much fun. Poor Megan managed to be sick most of the time. We got her an antibiotic, inhaler, and lots of drugs, and bless her heart, she rallied the best she could. On the plane home, I gave her Advil PM and propped her against the window, where she slept most of both flights. I was happy to finally get her home and in her own bed.

The wedding was lovely. We love the Lunt family, and the Tresnaks (Hillary’s family) were there as well. The day after the wedding, Catherine’s twin sister, Cristin, got engaged to Ethan’s best friend Nathan, who is also from Maryland. We are happy and excited for all of them.