Reunion!

So...last weekend I had a fabulous fall break reunion with girlfriends from college. These are women I've known since 1993 when we all lived in the same freshman dorm hall at Whitworth (well, one of them I've known since we were four, lol). After the dorms, most of us lived together in apartments also before we all graduated and moved on. We've mostly been at/in each others' weddings (barring snow storms and obligations across the country)...have celebrated the births of our children...have been there when two went through divorces. These are the women who have been there as we've all become adults. :) 

Here's one of the earliest photos of all five of us together (taken in 1995 in Spokane's Riverfront Park during college)...

And here's one from the last time all five of us managed to get together...

That one was taken in 2003 at Elitches in Denver. (We actually got together a number of times between 1995 and 2003...but then we had kids, lol. We still got together, but not all five at once.) So, sixteen years was quite long enough! Here, then, is the most recent shot of us altogether...

(Taken October 20, 2019 on a VERY windy day in Estes Park.)

Three of us live here in Colorado so the other two flew in from Texas and Washington. We started with pedicures in Denver then drove up to Estes Park and reminisced over photo albums I'd put together of our gatherings over the years. Saturday, we did lunch (complete with mimosas) and headed into Rocky Mountain National Park...ending the day warming up in our lodgings and playing hilarious games and visiting even more. Sunday was for shopping in the wind and seeing elk just off the side of the road and dinner out and more visiting. Monday we loaded up and I dropped one friend at her place before taking the other two to the airport. 

Here are some of the more random photos...

That bottom left photo is on the shuttle heading back down from the Bear Lake trailhead. We did the Bear Lake loop to start when we got up there...

...and then decided we may as well do another hike and went to Alberta Falls from the same trailhead...

Yes, we took loads of pictures on Saturday. We utilized Molly's selfie talents, my selfie stick and the kindness of strangers, lol. We were hoping for some end of the season bursts of fall color but mostly just got chilly weather, lol. It was fabulous, though, to catch up and spend the time together!

And that was our reunion weekend. :) So blessed to have these women in my life! And, we're determined not to let another 16 years go by before we all get together again. ;)

Thankful Thursday

Happy Thursday, y'all!

1. The DMV. Surprisingly, yes. I'm thankful for the DMV today. We've had a couple of incidents now where Micah's school paperwork has run into trouble with someone else already using his social security number. This latest time, I was told that they could verify his social security number through the DMV (since they require proof of that for licenses and such). We couldn't take advantage of that since Micah isn't old enough to currently have a permit or license. Soooo. This morning I took Micah to the DMV to get a state issued ID (which also requires proof of social security number and, thus, gets him in the system). We were in and out in less than 20 minutes--very professional and helpful service. Sweet.

(In case you're wondering, too, I was able to get his paperwork sorted out in all of the situations, though it was a bit of a pain. Hoping that having the ability to verify through thd DMV makes it easier in case it happens again.)

2. Typhoid vaccine pills. We're planning another out of the country family vacation and have been slowly getting all of our required/recommended immunizations up to date. One of the things we all needed is the typhoid vaccine. We opted for the oral vaccine instead of the injection and I finished my series last week...woohoo! (It's been a bit of a production with travel consult appointments required for Nathan, Noah and me and additional shots for Nathan and me. Asher, at least, had everything taken care of before he went to Costa Rica in June. We're down to just Nathan finishing up his series. Whew.)

3. Overcoming fears. Last weekend, friends from boot camp met Micah and me at Ascent to climb. It was the first time for some of them (or the first time in a long time) and a good reminder for me of how far I've come since the end of May when I started going with Micah. We had a great time and they talked me into using the auto belays...something that I'd avoided since the first time Micah made me try it last spring. I hate the falling feeling when you first let go. I *know* it will catch me (I watched it a number of times before trying it, myself) but I hated it enough that I hadn't tried it again in months, opting to get belay certified instead so Micah and I could belay each other--which doesn't have the same lurching feeling. But. Last weekend, I did it!

Thankful for these lovely ladies for pushing me outside my comfort zone!

4. Fall break. CEC is officially on fall break today and tomorrow, and Asher and Micah are glad...as there have been a number of midterms and papers and such leading up to this. To celebrate, after the visit to the DMV, the three of us went to Ascent to do some climbing and then go out to lunch. 

Look at those handsome boys of mine! It was a nice start to the long weekend. :) And, hey, I used the auto belays again! It still isn't my favorite thing, but I'm so glad to now have that option for times when Micah isn't available to belay me. Climbing ropes works different skills and muscles than just bouldering, so it's good for me to mix it up some.

5. Nathan's job. Nathan's been in London this past week meeting with numerous business clients. I don't say it often enough, but I'm so incredibly thankful for him and for his job. I'm grateful for the work that continues to challenge Nathan and help him grow...for the reliable and good income that makes it possible to support our family and has allowed me to stay home with the boys. Love him!

(Just one of the shots from last weekend's leaf pictures.)

Okay, off to enjoy the rest of fall break!

Leaf picture tradition

Okay. I was going to wait until Thursday to include this in things I'm thankful for. But I can't wait! :)

So, on Saturday, I decided to seize the day and take my annual leaf pictures. Like last year, last week's snow and freezing temperatures caused most of the leaves to go all ugly and fall off before they had a chance to turn beautiful fall colors. Worried that I might not get another chance, then, I took advantage of having Noah home for the afternoon and stopped at a local park to find some leaves... 

We started with some traditional jumping photos. To get better cooperation, I told them all that the person who jumped the least high would be the one to get buried in leaves, lol. We ended up with a "jump off" between Nathan and Micah and ended up burying them both, even though Micah clearly won. :) 

Then, I also tried to get some nice pictures of me and Nathan...with boys showering leaves from above. The boys, though, interpreted this to mean throwing armfuls of leaves directly at us, lol. Still got some good shots, though... 

And I got a nice group photo...

Here are some other random shots from our time at the park...

Yes, leaves down other people's shirts became a thing...and I wore my shiny silver shoes...and they continued to pile leaves on me even while I was taking pictures. :)

And after all that, they decided to have a foot race for some reason. Nathan took the early lead but then somehow fell, and the boys finished alphabetically. 

There was also some backflipping by both Asher and Micah (I didn't get any photos of that, unfortunately...Micah's been delighted that he finally learned how a few weeks ago). And just before we wrapped things up, I decided to get some jumping shots of Nathan and me...

Do you see the arm coming out of my armpit back there, lol!? Yes, Asher and Micah were in the background photo bombing us. Of course. :)  

And, thus my leaf tradition continues. Yay!

(I'm still hoping, by the way, that the remaining leaves turn beautiful...because I love fall. But, if they don't cooperate at a time when we're all in the same place (which also might be tricky for the rest of this month), at least I got my leaf pictures!)

Thankful Thursday

Okay, it might take me a bit to make this routine, lol. Here are my five things I'm thankful for this week:

1. Heat. Given the snow and the significant drop in temperatures over the last 24ish hours (from about 79 degrees and gorgeously sunny on Wednesday to about 20 degrees now), I'm thankful for heat...in our home, in our cars.

2. Being done sewing Asher's patches. It only took me a few months, lol. When Asher promoted to second degree black belt back in July, he earned a new uniform, including jacket. That new jacket meant I needed to transfer his patches from the old jacket. He rarely uses the jacket, though, so I hadn't quite gotten around to it. But, class/group pictures are next week, meaning he'll need the jacket. So. Finally sewed those suckers down. Glad there weren't more and that it doesn't happen too often. :) 

3. To do lists. I just love to do lists. I'm weird like that. :) I have a number of lists going at all times and have made good progress on them this week. Lots of little things done. Happy. 

4. Climbing. Back in May, I'd only climbed once or twice and didn't think I'd be doing much more of it. Now, I climb three times a week. I'm no where near as capable as most climbers and don't progress as quickly as Micah, but I'm happy. Just going and working at my own pace is helping me to (slowly) improve as a climber and to get stronger in general. I'm thankful that Micah got me involved...that it's something we can do together...and that I have the time to do it.

These are my climbing shoes. ;)

5. Online shopping. While I do try to support local and small businesses when possible, I must also say that I'm incredibly thankful for the convenience of online shopping. I love being able to comparison shop...to ship to others quickly...to find things that I can't find locally. I've made good use of online shopping lately. ;) 

Whew. Okay, it's still Thursday, so that's good. 

Thankful Thursday

Last week, the ladies of boot camp gathered for drinks and visiting. We got to talking about the upcoming holiday season and self care and a challenge that Susie'd heard about. Basically, the challenge runs from October 1 to the end of the year and has five parts: 1. drink more water (half your body weight in ounces each day) 2. move for at least 30 minutes a day 3. remove one category of food you know you shouldn't be eating 4. write five things you're grateful for each day and 5. get up an hour earlier and spend that time on yourself.

Well, I already do most of those things and can't really commit to writing five things I'm grateful for each day (I've tried that before and feel like it becomes more of a chore when done daily). So. I've decided I'm going to try for Thankful Thursdays from now till the end of the year. :) Here, then, are five things I'm thankful for this week:

1. These women. We see each other most Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings for boot camp...but we're always sweaty and out of breath and not really able to visit, lol. We haven't done it nearly often enough, but we've been known to gather when not in workout clothes. We clean up pretty well. ;) I'm so thankful for their camaraderie. 

2. Being done with the FAFSA for this year. Dropped by CSU yesterday, and Noah and I got the FAFSA submitted. Not counting on it at all, but it's just nice to have that out of the way. 

3. The fact that Nathan handles the math homework now. So. I have a decent head for math. Completed through Calculus 3 and all that. I was homeschooling math with boys just fine and honestly could have continued through high school. Continuing, though, would have involved prepping the lessons and refreshing myself on the material as we tackled it. Without the refreshers, I'm not as helpful. :) Thank goodness Nathan can tackle it now!

4. Time. Since I'm not homeschooling boys any more, I find myself with somewhat abundant time. I'm still adjusting, lol. I'm taking this semester to work through a number of projects. So far, I've weeded through homeschooling materials we no longer need...made a number of lists...started sorting through all the printed photos in the house...stayed on top of boys' lists...made time to climb still with Micah...helped out my sister in Washington...and shuttled vehicles back and forth for numerous visits to the auto shop (see me putting this on my list of things I'm thankful for?! trying to stay positive about the replaced brake pads on the van, replaced brake pads and rotors on the Pathfinder, new tires for all three vehicles, and miscellaneous little things that Nathan's taken care of at home). So very thankful that I'm able to take this time right now! I truly am blessed and know it.

5. Nieces and nephews. I have six nieces and seven nephews. The newest one is a niece who was born about six weeks ago. I haven't met her yet but I'm assuming she's wonderful. :) One of my sweet nephews turned four yesterday, and one of my beautiful nieces turned 17 last week! (They're the two in the photo below. This was taken this past February.) 

I'm so thankful to know them all...wish I could see them more often...and truly love being a fun aunt. :) 

So. That's my first Thankful Thursday. My life is pretty dang awesome!