Six on Saturday

I missed my Thankful Thursday post this week so here are six things I'm thankful for this Saturday. :)

1. New to us vehicle. Back on Asher's birthday, Nathan and I drove down to Golden to look at this Nissan Xterra. The drive, itself, took an hour longer than the anticipated hour and a half thanks to torrential rains, construction detours and two semi-truck accidents. It was a bit stressful. But. We made it and were able to check out the vehicle and (insert numerous variables and weighing of information here) decided to get it. Yes, it's remarkably similar to our Nissan Pathfinder, Reg. That was kind of the point. Asher will be taking Reg with him to Omaha so we were looking for a replacement...something with 4WD and cargo space. So, allow me to introduce Daichi...

Daichi is the captain of the volleyball team in an anime show called "Haikyu!" that we've all watched here recently. He's reliable and sturdy and a good leader...traits we wouldn't mind having in this vehicle, lol. Thankful we were able to find him and that we're in a position to add him to our family.

2. Shopping trip in Denver. Last weekend, Micah was invited to a birthday party at Water World. After we dropped him off there, Asher and I spent the day doing some more shopping for college...at IKEA and the Container Store. We also wandered around Park Meadows Mall and had a nice time just picking up a few things and chatting and people watching. Asher now knows who his roommates will be and has been communicating with them. It's starting to get real. :)

3. Reactive antibody test! On Tuesday, Micah had his covid spike protein antibody test to see whether his immunosuppressants had prevented the covid vaccine from working. While not absolutely conclusive, since there are many immune system variables at play, the results said "reactive" which means that he has antibodies. Whew!! 

4. Barbells. This past week, I started using Micah's barbell set up after boot camp. I'd planned to start a couple months ago but my sprained wrist kept me from doing it until now. I'm still working on my form and am starting with relatively low weight and such, but it's nice just being able to use them. As with getting back to climbing, it's showing me that I need to build strength back up...and it feels strangely good to be sore.

5. Streaming services. I've said it before, I think, but I just have to reiterate how thankful I am for streaming services. Having them has been such a blessing throughout this pandemic...enabling more time spent with my teenagers, together and safely. And while I miss the theater experience a wee bit, I really enjoy being able to pause shows and rewatch them...to see even some new movies in the comfort of our own home...and to subject boys to older shows, lol. We've done plenty of all three over the course of this pandemic. :) 

6. Demo team friends. You may recall that Asher didn't have an actual graduation party back in May (when Micah was still not vaccinated). With Micah being cleared, Asher opted to just get together with his demo team friends to belatedly celebrate. Yesterday, they met up at a local park and hung out for the morning and walked into Old Town to enjoy lunch and dessert and window shopping together. They even took a group picture for me...

One friend had to leave early and a few couldn't make it but they had a great time. I love that they love hanging out together even with about a six year span in ages. Having had such an atypical high school experience (homeschooling to start, having mostly community college classes, and then being shut down for a pandemic), most of Asher's friends are from homeschooling and karate. So incredibly thankful for this group!

Off now to try to be productive. Happy weekend to you all!

Nineteen!

Yesterday my middle baby turned NINETEEN! During a summer of indecision, he didn't have any big requests so it was a pretty quiet celebration. 

People slept in or worked and then we picked up Noah on our way to Old Town. We enjoyed lunch at The Exchange and had yummy ice cream. Then we continued appreciating the lovely weather and walked down to The Cupboard to browse a bit and buy some candy. Along the way, I made them take some pictures... 

They're not the traditional height comparisons in front of our garage, but they'll do. :) Yes, they're all pretty close to the same height. (Technically, I'm fairly sure they're all within a couple inches...that Noah remains the tallest and Micah is still the shortest...and that they were wearing shoes of varying heights, lol.) 

After that, unfortunately, we cut the afternoon short and took Noah back to his apartment, stopped by the bank, got gas, dropped Asher and Micah at home (so that Asher could drive Micah to work) and then drove down to Golden to look at a used car. That's a story for another post but, suffice it to say, it took up much of the rest of the day. We finally got home and Asher opened a few gifts. And then we pretty much crashed for the night. :(

Since I already talked about my boy back in May for graduation, I'll just direct you there for a recap of the past year. Still so incredibly proud of this guy and his perseverance. It's been a fairly quiet summer for him...enjoying a summer of no big responsibilities before starting college and internships and all that sort of stuff. He's gotten together with friends a few times, continues to play plenty of games on his computer, is happily back to going to karate a few times a week, and is slowly getting things ready for the fall and moving to Omaha. 

Apologies to my Asher for a not very celebratory celebration! Hopefully we have made and will make up for it in other ways throughout the summer. I'm so looking forward to seeing what the coming year will bring for this boy of mine!

Happy 50th Anniversary!

Happy, happy golden wedding anniversary to my fabulous in-laws! They've been married FIFTY years now and I so appreciate them, the example they set, and the family they created. Once upon a time (about a year and a half ago), we thought we'd be celebrating this milestone with them on an Alaskan cruise. But. Thanks to the pandemic and the fact that they're now busy with a new adventure this summer, that'll have to wait a bit. So. It's a poor substitute for the time being, but I'll just share these pictures from their wedding day that I found and wish them many more happy years together!

So very thankful for these two! They've touched and impacted so many lives along their journey and stayed strong together through it all...they're amazing!

Thankful Thursday

Apparently it's been a bit since I've done a Thankful Thursday post. So. Here's a list of things I'm thankful for this week:

1. Father/son time. Nathan and Asher spent a great morning together a couple weekends ago. They went for a hike and got some lunch and dessert before heading home for afternoon naps. Thankful they were able to enjoy that together and get some exercise.

2. College prep. Asher and I have been having fun starting some shopping for his college experience. We've wandered Target together and placed some Amazon Prime day orders and have been checking things off the list. :) I've accepted that I'm not going to have one of those experiences where we shop for a fully decorated dorm room with coordinating accent pieces and such; I have three rather pragmatic boys. Thankful just to get them to pick a color for sheets, lol.

3. Summer clean up. We didn't do a large spring cleaning session this year, but I did take a minivan-full load of stuff to Goodwill and the recycling center recently. We'd just been accumulating a pile as we found things and when we went through everyone's clothes (which I do about twice a year to verify that boys have more than a week's worth of clothes that fit, lol). Feels good to have the piles out of the house. :)

4. Climbing. I've been back to climbing for a few weeks now. It's a little annoying how quickly you lose muscle but feels great to be back at it. I'm thankful that Micah got me into climbing!

5. Mom friends. On Monday, for the first time in about two years, we managed a small gathering of our homeschool mom group. Not everyone was able to make it due to work and health issues (missed you ladies!!), but the five of us who were there fully enjoyed catching up and visiting...sharing how all our various kids are doing since we've all seen them all grow up. Our kids are older now but, once upon a time, we all homeschooled and came together to support one another and share curricula and ideas. Between the five of us, we celebrated five graduations this year (Dalliss had two graduates). Yay, us! I so appreciate these women (and the ones who weren't physically present) and the journey we've all taken together.

6. Boot camp ladies. A couple days later, I enjoyed happy hour with most of my boot camp ladies...

I've been working out with these wonderful women three times a week for eight years now and am so very thankful for their camaraderie and encouragement. Yes, one of these days we really are going to include the guys, lol. For now, though, we enjoy our sporadic ladies' gatherings...getting to have full conversations not interrupted by burpees or plyo lunges and wearing non-workout clothes. :) So glad to have boot camp and that it has continued without a hitch even through this pandemic. 

Okay, that's a good list for now. Looking forward to some cooler weather for a few days and amazed that it's somehow already almost July...

Happy Father's Day

Here's to all the dads out there...past and present...happy Father's Day! Here are some of the dads in my life...

My dad in May 1976 at the airport when I arrived from Korea:

 
Nathan's dad in August 1975 shortly after Nathan was born:

My mom's dad in 1952 (my mom's on her mom's lap):

 

My dad's dad in 1952ish with most of his 8 kids and his mother in law during a vacation to California (he's holding my dad):

Nathan's mom's dad on Easter 1954 with three of his (eventual) eight kids (Nathan's mom is sitting on the right):

Nathan's dad's dad with his wife in 1940 (I don't have any pictures from Nathan's dad's childhood):

And, of course, Nathan...in November 2000 shortly after becoming a father:

And here he is today with our three weirdos:

When I told them to stop messing around and take a good picture, this is what I got:

(Asher gave me the picture off his phone, lol.)

Whew. Plenty more that could be said but it's getting late and we've just been enjoying a quiet day here at home with some shows and games and good food. Thank you to all the dads for everything they do and have done! Blessed to have so many good men in our lives!