A random list of stuff that hasn't been mentioned in other posts recently

1.  Will signed up for classes for JUNIOR HIGH a few weeks ago.  We won't find out his official schedule until August but he picked Spanish, a combo of shop and home ec, life skills and something else as his electives.  He only gets three of them so we'll see what happens.  Junior High.  Crazy huh?

2.  Reina is finishing up the first Harry Potter book. She tried reading it last year and couldn't get into it.  Some of her friends this year are big Potter fans so I think that's helped peak her interest.  She knows some of the plot points of future books from hearing her brother talk about it but she seems ready to tackle the whole series.  It's fun for me to read along with her again. 

3.  Glenn and I are playing co-ed volleyball and it's been a lot of fun.  As I type this, Glenn is tossing a volleyball up against the den ceiling over and over and over again to practice his serving technique and I only want to mildly murder him.

4.  It's -12 degrees right now and that's without the wind chill.  The chickens are snuggled up in their coop with a hot water bottle and we'll put another one in there before bedtime.  It seems to work pretty well and the bottle in the coop this morning wasn't even frozen. 

5.  We have a remodeled kitchen!  We are waiting on more piece to be completed before posting all of the pictures but we have new paint on the walls, a new counter and backsplash and a floor.  We're putting the finishing touches on a kitchen island and then we'll be finished.  We've had about two weeks with limited kitchen access and I didn't think I'd get sick of eating out so quickly.  I also really missed the sink. 

6.  Will's elementary basketball team won the city championship for the second year in a row.  It was a really exciting game and the boys were super excited.   

7.  Reina designed a poster about Lewis and Clark and included a mountain lion.  Naturally. 

8.  Last weekend, we watched the UW Cowgirls play a great game in Laramie.  The game was honoring cancer survivors and raising money for a cancer center there.  Reina wrote this sign for her Aunt V.  

9.  We had a funny moment after the basketball game.  Will didn't come with us because he had a friend's birthday party to go to.  Reina was in line getting autographs and we thought it would be fun to get the team to sign a poster for Will.  One of the players wrote "To Will, love the Wyoming Cowgirls." I laughed and said something like 'he'll die of embarrassment' but somewhere along the way, the players thought I was saying that Will was going to die.... and it got all weird.  We quickly corrected the conversation and got everybody on the right track.  AND we were wrong about the poster, Will was excited to hang it up on his wall. 

10.  We can't wait for baseball. 

We interrupt this blog to bring you kid sickness part 5006

Flu positive but looking stylish anyway.  

I had big plans to blog several times last week, but influenza impacted my plans.  Will had a cough on Saturday, was a little droopy on Sunday and was at the doctor's office on Monday where he was diagnosed with influenza A.  Yes, we all received flu shots but influenza has been running wild in the schools apparently.  Will wasn't as sick as some kids can get with the flu so the doctor thinks that Will's shot worked on some level.   The doctor prescribed tamiflu, we bought juice boxes and chicken soup by the bagful and headed home to help this kid feel better.  

Will and I stayed home together on Tuesday and I worked a little bit while he set up camp on the couch.  We watched some movies and lots of sports news and just hung out.  It was nice to get to spend some time with my tween.  On Wednesday, he was still home but starting to feel better.  He missed the Jessup basketball team playing for a spot in the playoffs but we had some good friends who kept us updated on the score and Jessup won!  Will's fever stayed away so he was back to school on Thursday.  

Will and I played some cards when he was able to sit upright and someone found the card-playing to be fascinating.  

The dogs miss laying on couches will Will all day but everyone is back to good health and so far, none of the rest of us have caught it. We hope it stays that way! 

A letter to the birthday girl

A girl and her phone

Dear Reina:  Today you are 10.  Ten!  How in the world did that happen?  I think I start all of your birthday letters with that phrase but this year it rings especially true.  You are taller every day and I can still tuck you into my armpit (does that sound weird?) but probably not for long.  You are still a few shoe sizes smaller than me but that window is rapidly closing too.  You have fabulous taste in shoewear so I don't think I'll mind sharing when the time comes.  You are so excited to be double digits and your enthusiasm has rubbed off on the rest of us.

This morning, you unwrapped a doll and some stuff for your dollhouse.  You also received a movie and a phone charger.  I hid your phone in one of the cupboards and tried to get you to believe that we weren't sure it would arrive in time. I called your phone while I was pretending to take your picture and your eyes lit up when you heard it ringing.  You told me a few days ago that you've been waiting for your phone since Will opened his a little less than two years ago.  You have a snazzy phone cover picked out by Aunt Vicky and you are ready for this new piece of technology. 

Reina, what can I say about the last year?  You are one of my favorite people to hang out with, when we aren't rolling our eyes at each other.  You are a good friend and you have a nice bunch of girls and a few guys who you like to hang out with.  You are still enjoying your dance classes and you are less grumpy about practicing piano (most of the time).  Your drawings and doodles are ever present in my purse, car, on top of the kitchen table, your desk, etc.  In the evening when I'm washing dishes, I'll play old songs on my phone and rather than roll your eyes at my 80's and 90's classics, you'll often sing right along. 

Dad and I often talk about your big heart.   We tried watching a nature show the other night but we had to turn the channel when wolf pups were in danger.  You like to help others and you've been a great babysitter when we've taken care of your little cousins more the last few months.  You cried when I told you about Aunt Vicky's diagnosis but you've prayed for her and held my hand when I was sad and you've been such a trooper. 

You've discovered a love of musicals and chic flicks and you still have a delightful sense of humor. You still love a good cat video and giggle like crazy during America's Funniest Home Videos. People falling down is still hilarious.  You are crazy competitive at card games and Uno often ends in someone screaming.  I taught you and your brother how to play Speed this weekend and you picked it up in a flash. 

Reina, you have so much to be excited about as you turn 10.  You are rocking 4th grade and we have some fun things to look forward to this spring and summer. Keep that wonderful sense of adventure.  We love you Reina girl.  Happy birthday! 

More basketball and more family visiting!

Last weekend, we had an amazing visit with the Dunlap aunts and Uncle Doug.  It was such a nice treat.  I had to work a little bit more than I wanted to but we still managed to do some shopping, eat some delicious food courtesy of our new Uncle and just hang out. It was almost like a little mini-vacation in January.  When we weren't shopping or eating, we also watched a certain almost 12-yr old play some basketball.  I don't know how but I managed to not take a single picture all weekend but luckily Aunt Vicky had my back.  

Post-game picture.  A little reluctant but that's basically what amounts to a smile from a pre-teen. 

Will's team is sponsored by CRMC which just happens to be where Aunt Vicky works and where she's getting her treatment.  Go CRMC!

Uncle Glenn on snuggle duty.  It''s hard for me to admit but the Baby Cousin likes Uncle "Gen" more than me!!  What?!  

cutie alert!  

On Sunday, Reina and I along with Grandma and the baby cousins went to see "The Kid Who Would Be King."  I'm always up for a King Arthur tale and this one was a lot of fun.  It was a little scary at times and I had to cover Baby Cousin's eyes.  I could tell when it was really scary because he wouldn't bat my hand away.  Preschool cousin spent most of the movie on Grandma's lap.  Reina and I have been dissecting the story all week and now I have to find her a good King Arthur book. 

Now we are back to real life.  We'll have to find something fun to do this Sunday because no one gives a fig for the Super Bowl.  Go Rams?  Will has to make a diorama about China and Reina is busy planning her upcoming birthday/slumber party.  Stay tuned......

Grown-up Cousin Visit!

Last weekend (how was it already a week ago!) we had a visit from our amazing Grown-up Cousin.  The baby and toddler cousins make many appearances on this page so it is with delight that we get to see Will and Reina's grown-up cousin Alena.  She graduated from college last spring and is headed to the Peace Corps in just a few weeks.  We were thrilled that she could squeeze in a trip to see her little cousins before she's heads off to awesome adventures.  And thanks to the government shutdown, Uncle Mark made the trip, too!  Yah for the government shutdown!  (Not really, the whole thing makes the Broncos Baby Mom angry but that's a story for another time.  Or a story for never because this is a FAMILY BLOG.)

What did we do with our Grown-up Cousin? What didn't we do?  We shopped, we jogged, we watched tv, we ate and ate and ate and ate.  She and Uncle Mark even helped babysit the little cousins so that we could celebrate Uncle Matt's birthday at a grown-up establishment.  Some of us showed Alena our prowess with video games.  Some of us choreographed complicated dance duets and had our hair braided.  Some of us thought about kidnapping her and keeping her in Wyoming - there's Peace Corps stuff to do here but didn't ultimately carry out a plan.  All of us had a great time and made some memories. 

We didn't take enough pictures and the visit was too short but everyone had to get back to work and school and international travel.  We are so glad that she came out to see us.  What a great start to 2019. 

Trying to get cousin pictures and the dogs couldn't stop getting in everybody's business. 

Will micro-managing the picture and hey that's Coco.  

Awwww... a little blurry but awwww.

Reina  and her fabulous braid and I snuck away to see The Sound of Music.  I bought the tickets months ago and almost forgot about it.  It was a great performance and all week Reina and I have been listening to different songs.  Her favorite?  Doe a Deer.  Mine?  Climb Every Mountain.  

Back to the chain gang

We are back in the swing of things, mostly, from a great holiday break.  This is our first full week back and man am I feeling it on this Wednesday night.  We had a nice little weekend.  We zipped down to Colorado for some shopping on Saturday and used the giftcards I received for Christmas and my birthday on new clothes and some cute shoes.  Reina was pretty helpful - pointing out when a shirt looked like something a doctor (in surgery) would wear and when something else made my bottom look weird.  This is the kind of feedback I definitely need.  Will and Glenn came with us and shoe shopped and Grandma Hansen helped wrangle kids and shoes.  When we came home, Will had a bad cold and a fever so we had to stay away from Vicky's house and kiddos so we didn't spread germs for the rest of the weekend. 

I had a lovely birthday last week. I got the chance to go with Vicky to chemo and we actually had a fun time.  I can say that because I didn't have to deal with all of that yucky medicine.  I helped her pick out some wigs and we had a few giggles.  She was the spitting image of our mom circa 1989 in one of the wigs.  The cancer center is a beautiful facility and the staff does a great job of keeping a cheerful attitude, even though the patients are all facing tough battles.  We looked at seed catalogs and picked out plants for the spring.  We also talked about canning and looked at new recipes to try this summer.  Time sped by (for me!) and before I knew it, it was time to drive her home. 

The morning of my birthday, the kids and Glenn gave me my presents.  Reina picked out some jewelry featuring the letter L, Glenn gave me a generous giftcard and Will had ordered some Nike running tights that came in the mail yesterday.  I am all set to tackle my forty-something year. 

This month, Will has school and city basketball leagues.  Reina is back at dance classes and piano lessons.  Will has a couple of confirmation classes.  Glenn has to keep an eye on legislative action for his agency.  My work schedule isn't too bad but who knows what's around the corner.  We have some family coming to visit at different times this month and a lot to look forward.  Let's go January!

Happy New Year!

 I didn't make my goal of blogging more in 2018 so I'm starting off the New Year with a new goal and a shiny post about our kitchen project.  But first, a little bit about our New Year's Eve.  We stayed home this year.  The wind chill brought the temperature down to negative numbers (I think -20 was the official low?) so we cranked up the woodstove and watched Office reruns as a family.  I made french dip sandwiches and we topped the meal off with an ice cream sundae bar.  I'd been promising Reina for about 6 months that she could do my makeup so I let her go for it.  No pictures will be posted here for several reasons (one being that Glenn said it looked like I was transitioning...) but we had a lot of fun with it.  It was a nice way to ring out one year and welcome a new one.

The other big project of the holiday break is our kitchen remodel.  We are getting ready for new flooring and countertops so we decided to paint everything before the big work begins.  Nothing like a four-day weekend for a painting project. 

Glenn painting over the infamous vine in our kitchen.  It's been on the wall since we moved in ten, 10! years ago and I've been meaning to paint over them since day 1.  Finally!  

Bye big blue wall! 

A view of the before floor and countertops.

No child labor laws here!  

While we worked on the kitchen, Will finished up a school project on ancient Rome.  He even talked his sister into helping him draw a Roman shield.  Siblings helping each other?  Holiday miracle!  

The warm gray walls.  Can't wait for the rest of the transformation! 

Happy New Year!