Catching up

So, it's been a minute, eh? Let's catch up...

Remember how I mentioned that Nathan, Noah and Asher were sick when we got back from Montana? Well, shortly after that, I also got it...and it was a nasty, lingering bugger. Everyone had just finished getting healthy and then Micah came home for the weekend for his monthly infusion and dang-nabbit if that boy wasn't sick. So then Nathan and I got sick. Awesome. We're at the tail end of things now. Bleh.

(Fortunately, from what we can tell based on the symptoms and the covid tests that were taken, everything was just colds...just congestion and cough...just uber annoying. Generally, we tend to be very healthy here. But. Having two boys living in dorms and coming home somewhat regularly...especially when one of those boys is on immune-suppressants so is more apt to catch everything...is proving to be challenging. Ugh.)

Soooo. It's been a slow start to the year. Amid all of that, we've also been enjoying our squirrels... 

Nathan's trained a couple of them to eat from his hand...one day we looked up to see three of them sitting in the tree just staring at us waiting for Nathan to put out food (it was weird)...we've even gotten them to start cooperating and sitting together to eat rather than chasing one another off immediately...and apparently, January 21 was Squirrel Appreciation Day. 

Obviously, too, Asher and Micah started their spring semesters. Quick shout outs to blue IKEA bags and boys going to college in Colorado...both make move in and move out so much easier and are appreciated. (Incidentally, having boys nearby also made it easier when the car battery in the vehicle Asher drives died in the sub-zero temperatures. I was able to drive him back to campus while we kept the car here to get it fixed during the week.) 

So far, both boys are settling into their semesters and both are already starting to sort out housing for next year. 

And at the end of January, Karate West had one of their largest ever monthly promotions. The demo team performed eight routines...

In the last few months, the team has added a few new members, who were thrilled to perform in some of the routines and are excited to learn even more. And it was bittersweet because two of the members were performing for the last time and Asher's thinking about taking a break to focus on his collegiate taekwondo club. 

So, that's some of what's been going on around here. I'll work on posting more frequently...but am finding that more and more, the goings on of my life aren't just my stories to share, so I've been working to find that balance.  

I'll finish with this photo of a delicious cocktail I had last week with girlfriends...