And so it begins

So. The next couple-ish weeks are going to be busy. Like really. I've got window installation going on as I type...and, given that it's about freezing, there's still snow on the ground, and the winds are picking up, I'll try to make this quick.

1. Yes, I realize that this isn't the ideal time for having new windows installed throughout one's home. It was a great deal and this is when they could do it...and past Januarys have been weirdly lovely so there was some hope of that. Oh well. :) I'll let you know how it goes.

(I'm trying to be positive and think about how nice it will be to have all new windows...which we've needed since we moved in more than 11 years ago...and how this is a good opportunity to dust and clean window treatments and all the stuff we had to move away from every window.)

2. Last Sunday, my bookends had another JOAD tournament...this one in south, south Denver (okay, technically, SE Parker but it's all Denver to me, lol). Both boys set new personal bests and Micah even came away with second place. He's pretty happy:

3. Last Friday, Noah and I attended a new student orientation at Front Range Community College. Technically, he already has 18 college credits to his name, but all of those courses have been taken on the Colorado Early Colleges campus near our house (with only other high schoolers). Today will be his first class taken actually at Front Range (because he's now taken all of the math and science classes offered on the CEC campus), and he'll almost definitely be the youngest person in his calculus class. Fortunately, he looks older than he is and should be fine. Since he's only just turned 15, though, we'll still have to drive him to and from...and have him put in some of his driver's training during those drives. We're also going to look into the bus schedule, but a first glance tells me that won't work, as his classes at CEC don't get done soon enough for how long the bus ride will take. (He has three classes at CEC in the morning then comes home for a quick lunch then we'll take him to FRCC.)

4. Anyhow. I also, per his advisor's request/advice, registered the boy for the April ACT test. This one will mostly be for practice, as he's still only a sophomore. Still. I feel old. ;)

5. Regarding age, though, I'm actually pretty grateful for mine when it comes to boot camp. I've been doing better lately and am pretty happy about that. I remember, though, that some of the awesome people there have 10 or more years on me and are still kicking butt. I'm hoping I can do as well...they seriously inspire me. :)

6. On the subject of boot camp, this morning was...um...full. I won't bore you with all the details, but it included 400 squats (with kettlebells for different exercises), 175 burpees of miscellaneous varieties, 50 pull-ups, 50 double unders and 50 chin-ups. Oy.

7. This was all after my phone messed me all up early this morning. For reasons unknown, my phone alarm (which is the only clock I use in my bedroom) went off as usual at 5:20 am. I got up and got ready, though I was dragging. I woke Nathan...who promptly informed me that it was only 2ish and to go back to bed. Ugh! After some double checking, we determined that my phone (which was correct when we went to sleep just before midnight) had mysteriously decided to jump forward in time to Saturday, January 23. Specifically, it jumped three days, three hours and three minutes, I think. What the heck?! I've never had that happen before. Have you? 

Anyhow, Nathan manually reset my phone and we went back to sleep. I then got up at the correct 5:20 and went to boot camp. Nathan declined. ;) 

8. In any case. In the "coming up" department, then, we'll need to do some clean up after the windows this weekend. My mom will be here next Tuesday. Nathan's parents will join us next Friday. We'll all go watch Asher get his black belt next Saturday (hopefully...more on that in another post). My mom will then go visit my brother in Longmont. Nathan's parents will be here for the week. During all that, boys will still have karate and archery and gymnastics and such. Noah will still have school. Younger two will still have Options on Monday. Asher has an orthodontist appointment in there somewhere. And my bookends will have another JOAD tournament February 6 and 7. (Micah will shoot Saturday, and Noah will shoot Sunday.) 

9. After all that, I fully intend to crash on the couch and eat junk food and watch the SuperBowl on Feb 7. Don't even think about messing with me during that, lol.

I'll figure out what comes next after all that. ;)

Ten on Tuesday: Wednesday edition

Um, yeah, meant to post this yesterday... ;)

1. Last Friday, Noah didn't have classes (teacher workday). We spent the morning letting boys play with more of the Tinker Crate boxes:

Noah made a hand-crank flashlight, Asher made a bottle rocket and Micah made a bio-mechanical hand. Fun times! (Really love how well put together these boxes are...straight-forward instructions and everything so nicely organized.)

2. After that, we took boys to see The Martian...which was pretty cool.

3. On Saturday, Asher had another black belt progress check. All good. :)

4. Also on Saturday, Nathan took Noah and Micah to south Denver for their first JOAD tournament of the season. Noah shot well and felt decent about his day, despite being in one of the largest/toughest divisions. Micah declared it one of his favorite tournaments ever, keeping in mind that he's participated in more than 20 of these so far and has placed in the top three in all but 4 of them. He didn't place in the top three this time but apparently had a very good time. When asked what made the difference, he reported to me that he'd known two of his three bale-mates (they score in groups of four) and they had a fun time chatting the whole time. ;) (Also, notably, he shot a new personal best. He didn't even include that in telling me what had made the day good, lol.)

5. While those guys were in Denver, Asher and I enjoyed a day out together...wandering Old Town (eating at Beau Jo's and visiting the littlest toy store and stopping at Ben & Jerry's) and running errands and watching a dvd and such on our own. We got to see this street performer:

...and see the newly re-opened town square area:

Without prompting at all, Asher even thanked me for such a wonderful day. Happy.

6. As of yesterday morning, I'm FIRST in fantasy football league!! Woohoo! (Yeah, I'm sure this probably won't last so I'm enjoying it this week, lol.)

7. Asher had another black belt progress check last night (Tuesday). In preparation, we made flash cards and quizzed Asher on the names of the different forms. :)

8. I am hereby boycotting standing in line at my local post office. Don't get me started! Let's just say that I spent 40 minutes standing in line on two separate occasions (so 80 or more minutes total) in the past week and am just done with that...and the fellow customers and the clerks. Oy. Generally, I do my post office things online or at those self-serve stations to avoid this very thing, but these particular transactions had to happen at a counter. My neighbor kindly reminded me that there are other options, and I'll be utilizing those from here out. So there. :)

9. Just so you know...I was sorting out our games recently (I like to purge periodically). Somehow we acquired SEVEN different Monopoly games. Seven. Do you know what game I really dislike? Yup, Monopoly. The boys enjoy it, though, which would explain why we have even one version. But I really don't think we need seven. Thanks to my purging, we now only have three. Which I suppose is better. 

10. Would someone please tell me where all the time has gone?! I'm taking Noah to take his permit test this afternoon. For a drivers permit, people! What the heck?!

Okay, best get this posted before it becomes Thursday's edition, lol...

JOAD

Last Saturday, we finished up the JOAD season with the state tournament down in Denver. I won't get started on the organizational woes and politics involved. ;) Let's just say that after things finally got going Micah and Noah managed to shoot pretty well. Micah even managed to set a new personal best! 

(Part of our team...shooting during the first session of the day.)

(Micah waiting in one of the inspection lines before shooting got started.)

(Noah scoring during the tournament.)

And after this coming weekend's team potluck (and some final number crunching whenever the tournament organizers deign to share them), that will be that. Whew. :)

(Many thanks to LeAnn King for sharing these pictures, as apparently I didn't take any, lol.) 

Last Saturday

Last Saturday, my bookends and I journeyed down to Denver for yet another JOAD tournament. We stopped for brunch first, to fuel them up for the afternoon. The place we normally go wasn't open yet (we usually shoot the later session rather than the first one but were trying something different this time), so we ventured up the block a bit and found a lovely bakery. We all enjoyed our meals, but Micah REALLY enjoyed his:

That's the kids meal French toast, people. Apparently, it was awesome. I didn't get a bite because the boy pretty much inhaled it and had a huge smile for the next hour or so.

After that, we headed to the archery range to check in for the tournament. Can you spot Noah and Micah's bows? ;)

Both boys had pretty good tournaments! Not only did they both set new personal bests for total tournament score (at their current divisions)...but emotionally they both did a considerably better job at holding themselves together than tournaments past. And. Noah managed to place third again! (No picture of him receiving his award because we left before those were finalized after the later shooting session. He prefers it that way, lol.) Woohoo!

Whew.

And then we went home to have dinner with Nathan and Asher to celebrate a good shoot. During the meal, as is nothing new, I mentioned to Asher that perhaps using the napkin was better than wiping his hands on his pants. At that moment, he came up with a brilliant new invention idea: napkin pants! Seriously, folks, how useful would that be, right?! And, while we're at it, how about snot sleeves? Take note! When someone else actually markets these, I want it known that I said it here first. :)

And then, on the way home, very full from all the yummy food, the boys were insisting that they needed to simply sit and be lazy for the rest of the night. Nathan mentioned that perhaps being "lazy" wasn't the best word. He suggested "relaxing, recuperating or recovering." Noah, without missing a beat, explained that those words were too long and, thus, too much work, lol. 

Sigh. ;)

Change of pace

My "bookends" (yes, I call them bookends...it's easier/quicker than saying both their names, lol) had their third JOAD tournament of the season on Saturday. It was down in Colorado Springs. As it was Nathan's turn to make that trip, Asher and I stayed in Fort Collins and enjoyed the day together as our monthly "one on one" time (since we won't be able to do so on Wednesday when we'd normally do it...thanks, braces, lol). 

As per Nathan's reports, Noah once again *almost* set a new personal record, dropping points with his last arrow of the first round to end up one point shy of his personal best. Yeah. He was miffed and, unsurprisingly, didn't shoot as well during his second round. As luck would have it, though, he still managed to place third in his division...the first time he's ever placed! Nathan made sure to get a picture of Noah with his coach to commemorate the occasion:

Meanwhile, Micah shot decently, not setting any personal records but managing more consistency at this distance than his previous two tournaments...so that was okay. :) And, for the first time in the 20 tournaments he's shot in, Micah didn't place in the top three...which was slightly disappointing to him but a good reminder that he's got tougher competition these days.

(Honestly, we hadn't expected him to place at all during this first season at the longer distance. The fact that he managed to do so during the first two tournaments had somewhat skewed his expectations, so this is good for his motivation and goal setting.) 

So. A different outcome than we're used to and another tournament under our belts. Whew. :)