Thankful Thursday

So, Nathan and I were out of town for a bit. :) We flew up to Bozeman, MT where Nathan's parents picked us up and drove us west to their new home in Philipsburg, MT. It's actually a 20 acre property outside of Philipsburg, and they've been building since the start of 2021. The plan was to be done last October but (thanks to multitudes of labor and supply issues) they're still going. ;P The end is in sight, though!!

While we were there, we helped them with some household projects like hanging cupboards in the shop, unboxing and hanging pictures/frames around the house, fixing computer issues, installing shower doors, and installing stair handrails. We took some breaks, too, and visited a nearby ghost town (Granite Mine ghost town)...

We also went into Philipsburg and visited the museum there that had information about mining in the state and specifically at the ghost town we'd been at...and visited an art gallery and the general store and the candy store and the ice cream shop and the thrift store that Nancy volunteers at. 

And here are some pictures of their home...this is the basement. It's got a big garage, a shop area, a fly tying area, a pantry, a bathroom and a gathering room...

And this is the main floor...it has offices, a dining area, a sewing area, a parlour, the master bathroom and laundry, and the master bedroom...

And this is the loft (upstairs)...it has a sitting area, bathroom and three bedrooms. There's still a lot of blue pine to be put up for walls but it's coming along...

And here are some shots from outside...they're hoping to finish the siding soon (their siding guy is AWOL) and then get the deck finished before winter...

The trailer that they'd been living in while the house was being built is actually parked in the pole building there.  

So that's their place. It's so fabulously quiet (they're calling their property Serenity) and the forest is beautiful.

And since it's Thankful Thursday...thankful for my new spinner carry-on bag (so much easier to wheel that around the airport and down the plane aisle), this tool that I found to help hang photos on the walls, the fact that museums preserve stories and history, and the gorgeous weather we enjoyed while we were there.

Mostly, though, thankful for the time together--getting things done, learning stories about things in the house, enjoying good home-cooked food, playing pinochle, and just being. :)

Thankful Thursday

Just a quick entry today. Things I'm thankful for:

1. CU Boulder visit. Last Saturday, Micah and I drove down to Boulder for the Business at a Glance program for diversity students at the Leeds School of Business at CU. We got fed and listened to a number of informative sessions...

...and appreciated the beautiful campus...

Thankful for the time and for this step along Micah's college journey. (For anyone trying to keep track, CU Boulder is currently the only school in Colorado that Micah's considering. Also, yes, he's back to considering business as a major, though kinesiology is still in the mix.)

2. Car rides. The drive to and from Boulder reminded me of how much I miss time in the car with boys. I appreciate the captive audience, lol. I get a few minutes with Noah each day when I take him to and pick him up from work (thankful!) but don't get much car time with boys in general.

3. Sudoku. I recently tried sudoku for the first time. I now have an app on my phone and a daily habit, lol. I like and appreciate the challenge.

4. Autumn. Happy fall, y'all! I love fall. It's my favorite season for sure. And I'm thankful that the weather yesterday and today has ushered in fall appropriately. After the 90s earlier this week, the overcast and rainy weather has been a welcome change. 

Okay, back to my list of things to do today...here's to a fabulous fall!

Thankful Thursday

Well. Middle of September already. Weird. We had a taste of fall last weekend but mostly it's been a continuation of summer here, weather-wise. Since last week, here are some things I'm thankful for...

1. This little guy. Asher and I found this praying mantis on our front door last Friday. I just think he's cool. :)

2. New tree. Remember awhile back when I told you about the new tree I ordered? Saturday was pick up day and the weather was perfect for it! Nathan and I picked up our nice little skyline honeylocust and managed to get it planted in the front yard... 

We've been taking good care of it and think it's a lovely addition to our front yard. Hoping it grows sturdy and strong (and quickly). We're pretty sure our other trees will need to be removed in the coming years (based on similar trees in our neighborhood planted at the same time) so are trying to be proactive. Thankful for this program for providing an affordable incentive to take action.

3. Campus Repair. Sadly, our Nissan Pathfinder's radiator neck broke on Tuesday, spewing coolant everywhere. Thankfully, Nathan was driving it at the time, not in traffic, and was able to get off the road safely. We had it towed to Campus Repair. We've worked with them before and so appreciate their excellent communication. Got Reg (that's the Pathfinder's name) back today, having replaced the radiator, thermostat and drive belt. Bleh. Thankful for the service and communication...and that we're in a position to just get things fixed and shuffle vehicles in the meantime.

4. Movie night. Now that we're settling into more of a routine here with all five of us home again, we're instituting a family movie night each week. Our first one was earlier this week and seems like it was a success. To avoid the inevitable staring at each other pondering what to watch, we actually made a list...starting from an IMBD best 250 list. Everyone got some input so there are definitely compromises but it's mostly agreed upon. Right now, we have about 40 movies on our list. We have our list broken down somewhat by type of movie (drama, comedy, etc), length of movie, and availability on our streaming services. You're probably laughing but this made choosing SOOOO much easier. (Only four were currently streaming for free and three of those were about 3 hour movies, which left just one that met our criteria/wants for that particular evening.) We ended up watching The Breakfast Club. Obviously not the world's best movie, but it was useful for cultural references and we appreciated the time/experience together.

That's my list for now. Noah and Asher seem to be enjoying their new jobs. Micah's enjoying at least some of his classes this semester and is busy with college application stuff. (One of the classes is pretty dry/boring but at least he has some friends in the class, lol.) We've been plugging away at homeowner type stuff (Nathan's partially through sorting out the garage and is oh-so-excited about it, lol) and will be tackling some campus visits this weekend and next month with Micah. Yup, life is good. So thankful.

Thankful Thursday

Happy Thursday, y'all! My list this week is somewhat random but sincere...

1. Public libraries. So, while we were homeschooling, obviously the library was our friend...for recreational reading, to supplement curriculum, to research random interests, etc. I'm not there as often these days so I sometimes forget what an awesome resource the library is. As someone who still reads a good deal "just because," I truly appreciate my local library! (Yes, even without the homeschooling, I regularly visit and use the library.)

2. Tour de Fat. So, for those who aren't local, Fort Collins has this event called Tour de Fat most every year (except the last couple). It's a costumed bicycle parade followed by a party at New Belgium Brewing with music, entertainment, contests and games. We've lived here in Fort Collins for 20 years now and had never been so we decided it was time. Um, wow. 

We went mostly just for the people watching, and we were not disappointed! Estimates are that there were about 20,000 people...most of them riding bikes in costumes. We saw numerous flamingos, Aladdin and Jasmine on skateboards decorated to look like magic carpets, Where's Waldo?, a music toting Darth Vader, plenty of pirates, and so much more. People rode bicycles, tandem bikes, tricycles, big wheels, specially constructed ginormous wheels, roller blades, unicycles and more. It was impressive. After the parade (which just loops around and people join as they want), people journeyed over to New Belgium for beer, food and entertainment. The number of bike racks was amazing.

All five of us people-watched aplenty, wandered the farmer's market and enjoyed lunch before venturing over to New Belgium. We didn't end up staying and drinking but are thankful we went so we finally know what it's all about. I wouldn't be surprised if you find us there next year... :) 

Here's Nathan and I at the entrance near New Belgium and then just a handful of photos from the parade:

3. Strong women. Nothing at all against the guys at boot camp, but I'm so blessed by the women of boot camp. On Monday, since we didn't meet over Zoom to workout given the holiday, four of us met up and went for a hike to Horsetooth Falls. It was a beautiful morning for it and we had a great time chatting along the way...

...and at the top of the (very dry right now) falls, we stopped to do a wall sit...which was part of the workout Tim sent us to do on our own. Some of us actually did the workout later...some of us maybe went climbing after the hike and called that good, lol. 

This same group plus one also met up last night for dinner and drinks and even more chatting. (Sad we didn't take a photo!) So thankful to have such fabulous, strong women in my life!

4. Nordstrom Rack. Mom, you'll appreciate this one. I have fond memories of back to school shopping trips to Seattle and to Nordstrom Rack...with my dad sitting outside waiting for us and grousing about how a pair of overalls and some flannels should be sufficient, lol. I don't think I've really been to a Nordstrom Rack since high school, though. That changed this past weekend when I took Noah to get some more dress clothes for work. (Tee shirts and jeans don't really cut it for working in a bank.) Thankful that we have one here in town, that I remembered that, and that Noah was able to find what he needed for lower prices than the other places we'd looked. I'm also thankful for the memories that are associated with the store in the first place. :)

And that's my list this week. Noah and Asher seem to be enjoying their jobs so far. Asher's getting a few extra hours this week since schools have been letting out early due to the extreme heat (it's been in the high 90s this week)...which means the YMCA after school program just runs longer those days.

Micah, unfortunately, had to quit his new job shortly after starting as we discovered that a full day of standing and lugging tires was not good for his arthritis. (He'd had the arthritis under control for more than a year, so the flare up took him by surprise and reminded us all of how thankful we are for his meds. Given that the flare up also involved joints he hadn't had issues with before, though, we decided that it wasn't worth it even if he'd been able to find a way to manage.) We're proud of him for getting the job in the first place and for recognizing that it wasn't going to be a good fit. He's decided to focus on college applications for a bit and keep his eye out for another opportunity that works better for him.

So, we continue to adjust to our new normal around here and are looking forward to some hopefully cooler weather. :)

Thankful Thursday

Happy September, everyone! Feels like I have a bit of catching up to do. Here goes...

Mostly, it feels like August was primarily a month of transition as we adjusted to having all five of us at home again, job searches, and Micah's school year starting. It feels like we're almost settled into a routine...almost. :) Here's some of what's been going on and what I'm thankful for...

1. Continued date lunches. Back when the pandemic started, Nathan and I switched from date nights to date lunches (lunches are easier to eat outside or get food to go). I suppose we could switch back now but I actually rather like the lunch situation. I don't even know why. ;P But, look! After a date dinner we probably wouldn't be sitting outside enjoying the sunshine after having delicious ice cream cones...

Thankful, too, that Nathan's work schedule allows the flexibility to make this possible. Yay!

2. Deanna lunches. Similarly, when the pandemic started, Deanna and I became more diligent in meeting for lunch monthly. (Okay, it may have also coincided with having more time to actually meet up as our kids got older, lol.) August's lunch was to celebrate Deanna's birthday, so we also took a picture...

Very thankful for Deanna and friendships and sunshine and walking to lunch!

3. New jobs! Okay. The biggest news is that all three boys have new jobs! The past couple of weeks have been filled with interviews and paperwork and getting fingerprinted and taking drug tests and online training and all sorts of things. Whew. And, today, Noah started as a full time teller/personal banker...

(Yes, given our vehicle situation and other details, I dropped Noah off at his job so felt justified in taking this picture as he walked inside.) And Micah started today as a tire technician at Discount Tires. (He's looking forward to learning more about cars and is pretty happy so far.) And Asher starts tomorrow with the YMCA After-School Program, having decided that working with kids was actually nice. :) (As a bonus, the after-school program hours will work well with morning flight lessons.)

I'm sure we'll figure out more in the coming weeks. In the meantime, very thankful that they're all starting! 

4. Random reminders. This was my afternoon tea bag today...

Such a good reminder. Seriously, people, read it again.

Okay, that's my update for today. Thankful. Here's to settling into September...