Four on Friday

Sorry...I know I haven't posted lately. February always feels fairly hermit-y to me, lol. It's a quiet month with not much happening usually. Hence, I haven't had too much to write about and have taken almost no photos. Here, though, is some of what's been going on here...

1. Asher chose a college! So, Asher's decided he'll be attending the University of Nebraska at Omaha this fall...which is crazy because I swear he looked like this just yesterday... 

Yeah, okay, this picture was taken in September of 2008. But it *feels* like yesterday. Sigh. In any case, it's nice to have the decision made and to start making plans...though right now feels more about just finishing out this atypical senior year, lol. Along with all that, he's been taking care of all the various paperwork...applying for scholarships, housing, honors programs, graduation and the like. Whew. 

2. We've been watching Survivor. Once upon a time...years ago...we used to watch Survivor. At some point, I can't remember exactly when, we had to stop watching all reality tv shows. I'd guess Micah was around 5-ish. He became so invested in the contestants that it became impossible to watch shows with him if his favorites were voted off. So we stopped. ;) Earlier this month, on a whim, I saw that Netflix had a couple of old seasons of Survivor and started watching one. I lured everyone else into joining me, lol. Since then, we finished that one season, realized that Hulu had a lot more past seasons, watched one of those seasons, and are now watching another. Don't get me wrong. I fully recognize that it's not quality tv or anything, lol. But I'm having a great time watching with my guys. It's so entertaining to debate and discuss, and I enjoy spending the time together. 

3. Micah finished his last on-street driving session. Last week, Micah had his third and final on-street driving session with MasterDrive to officially complete drivers ed. Now we just have to finish out the required driving hours and year and take the driving test, and he'll be able to get his license in August. He can't wait. :) (And, yes, we're well aware that we may not see much of him once he can drive himself. It'll be an adjustment for sure, especially since that will coincide with Asher leaving for college.)

4. Meanwhile. Other things going on here...

• The treatment plan we started for Micah back in December doesn't seem to be working. So, it's back down to Children's in a week or so. Will update when we know more.
• Noah's doing fine...still enjoying apartment life but carrying a bit more of a courseload this semester and dealing with applying for summer internships recently.
• We had to replace our radon mitigation fan. (It was way past due and making weird noises. Fortunately, it was a pretty easy fix and provided another opportunity to sort out our mystery circuit breaker box even further, lol.)
• I've been reading up on estate planning and such lately, trying to get our ducks in a row while I have the time to think about that right now (and also realizing that our boys are entering a new stage and that our current wills don't address that).
• I've been trying to eat more vegetables. It's going just okay. ;)

So. That's what's what here. March will probably be more fun and less hermit-y. :)

Thankful Thursday

Happy Thursday, y'all! Hope you're staying warm wherever you are! :) 

Today's Thankful Thursday is also a Throwback Thursday. Thankful today for all the trips we've taken with boys! I've been sorting through old photos lately and have been enjoying the little bit of time travel they create. Here are pictures of each boy when he was seven...

Noah in July 2008, on one of our first vacations that didn't involve visiting family...we stayed down in Colorado Springs for days and saw Garden of the Gods, Seven Falls, Cave of the Winds, Peterson Air Force Base & Museum and the North Pole, among other things. I think it was one of the first times boys stayed in a hotel. 

Asher in March 2010 (also look here), at Legoland in California...we road tripped it to the Pacific and enjoyed time at Legoland, SeaWorld, the USS Midway, many museums, the ocean, and so much more.

And Micah in May 2013, during our east coast road trip...where we hit the Smithsonian, the Outer Banks, Busch Gardens, Yorktown, Biltmore, and heaps of other things.

Weren't they all adorable when they were seven? And I realized, too, that when Noah was 17, we went to Europe. And when Asher was 17, we went to Belize. I don't know yet what we'll do when Micah's 17...but just contemplating it is great fun.

And, yes, because I'm me, I do have a list of the many trips we've taken, lol. So incredibly thankful we've been able to see as much of the world as we have and that we've been able to share that with our boys.

Thankful Thursday

It's February somehow. And it looks like I missed a couple weeks. Sorry. No good or specific reason...just doing our thing here, lol. Let's see...life continues to be lovely. Thankful for many things. This week's list includes:

1. Boys being back at school. So, Asher and Noah's classes (and one of Micah's) finally started back up on January 19. The three of them have varying degrees of in-person classes. Micah now goes to CEC two days a week for a total of three in-person classes and is delighted to see friends again. (His calculus class has only five people on the two days he goes. His business class has about 10 I think and only meets once in-person.) Asher has just the one in-person physics lab. It actually hasn't met yet but will tomorrow. Noah started out all remote but has transitioned to now having one class that meets in-person three times a week, a couple of in-person labs and one hybrid class that meets some in-person and some online. I'm thankful that they're all able to make these conditions work and so thankful for all of the teachers and staff making it happen. 

2. Karate. As you may remember, Micah chose to stop going to karate at the end of August (it's hard on his joints) and we asked Asher to stop at the end of October due to our family preferences regarding exposure in these Covid times. It's been two-plus months without karate...which has been weird for us. But. We recently sent them both back for private lessons. The Yees' son, Adam, moved back to town and is teaching at Karate West again...so Asher and Micah are now meeting with him once a week for personal lesson time (with little to no jumping for Micah and plenty of jumping for Asher, lol). (Adam had been one of their favorite instructors for the first two years they were at Karate West until he moved away.) So far, it's going well and we're comfortable with the compromise...they still get karate (and Asher's so appreciative for the physical activity again), but they don't get a class full of other students to hang out with. Asher's also back to demo team practices...but only with two other boys on the team, no practices or performances with more people. Thankful we're able to make something work and that they have an activity together again. 

3. A bunch of random purchases. I've purchased a number of things lately that I'm thankful for:

• bottle emptier things: One of my pet peeves is pump containers that don't reach the bottom so that I can't get all of the contents out. Hate that. I recently found these, though, and they're working fabulously so far. Yay! (I actually got more than an extra week out of an "empty" lotion bottle already!)
• brownie mix: Found this brownie mix that actually works for Micah...it's both gluten and sugar free and actually yummy.
• mat in basement: When we redid the basement, I got myself this mat to use when I do things like jackknives. (I'd been using loose flooring mat tiles on top of the carpet that was there, and the new flooring isn't as cushioned.) I'd thought about just getting a yoga mat but found this and like it better...it's thicker and folds up easily and quickly.
• candy snap grapes: A couple weeks ago we ended up with some candy snap grapes by accident. (I'm pretty sure that's what they were called. Whoever was pulling our grocery order grabbed those instead of what Nathan had ordered.) They were delicious! Happy accidents!
• The Defining Decade book: I got this book recently for Noah. I read it also. It's got some great stuff, people. I highly recommend it!
• cereal for Micah: Micah decided he was really missing breakfast cereal for some reason. (I don't know why since he never really had cereal growing up in the first place, lol. He's been all about finding more snacks lately, though.) But, finding cereal without gluten or sugar is not the easiest thing. We found this recently and he's been quite happy with it. He's tried two flavors so far. (I can't remember if there were more flavors or not.) Whew.

4. Being done with my Lego eBay listings. Just after my last blog post, I shipped the very last of my 100 eBay listings of Lego stuff. Woohoo! Delighted to be done with all of that and thankful for how very successful my eBay listings were. 

5. Grocery delivery and pick up. Just gotta say that I love delivery and pick up options these days! Not only does it mean that Nathan can avoid time inside the grocery store each week and save that time in the first place, but it also means that when Asher and I decide one night that we just really need Skittles but really don't want to leave the house, we can get them delivered right to our front door two hours later. Sweet!

6. Asher. Asher's been busy off and on with senior year and getting ready for college stuff. He's still got three colleges under consideration...has reserved housing spots, been accepted to the honors programs, and applied for scholarships at each of them. We've "attended" some virtual presentations and have more of those on the calendar. Simultaneously, he's been trying to stay on top of the senior year to do list that comes with being both a high school student and a student at the local community college. As part of that, I convinced him to let me take some senior pictures. He wasn't thrilled and didn't really see the point, lol, but he cooperated. Here, though, are some of my favorite outtakes:

Such a handsome guy. :) Thankful, too, that the clouds parted for just the few minutes we were out to take these. I'll share the keepers later.

7. Nathan and Ted Lasso's biscuits. I don't know if you've seen it, but Nathan and I recently finished season 1 of "Ted Lasso" on AppleTV. It was both hilarious and sweet and we can't wait for season 2. On the show, the title character, Ted Lasso, bakes these delicious biscuits regularly. Nathan, being the fabulous husband that he is, surprised me yesterday with a batch that he'd made after looking up the recipe online. They're awesome!

(Nathan packaged them up just like on the show and welcomed me home with this box. Yum! He's a keeper!)

Okay, that's a lot of catching up for now. Lots of other every day sorts of things happening here. Will try to do a better job of posting more regularly. :)