Brennon's a Teenager!!

 Where has the time gone?  This generous, gentle, spiritual, peacemaker, tenderhearted, brave, smart boy is a teenager!  Oh, how I love him.

He's asked for this cake for a few years now.  The first year he asked, I did a Krispy Kreme doughnut cake, second year a cookie tower cake, this year the one he originally wanted.  Third time's a charm.

Shelby got him a spoon that says, "Cereal Killer. Weapon of Choice."

Tyson got him a DQ gift card, a game on his phone, Roebucks for a game they love, and a coupon book to do his chores for him.  Such well-thought-out gifts!

He asked for a Newton's Cradle, and I just thought it was cute that they all pitched in to help him set it up.

Family birthday lunch, covid-style.  He wanted to go to Denny's, but they had a 45-minute wait since this is the first weekend they're allowing indoor seating at restaurants.  So he chose to go to Sonic for his favorite: corn dog.

He wanted to try somewhere new for dinner, so we went to Woo's Teryaki, one of our local favorites.

My timid Brennon even tried sushi!!!  He contemplated as he chewed.  His verdict: He didn't gag on it, but he didn't love it either.  I'm just super surprised he wanted to!  I'm so proud of him.  He doesn't like cake, most cookies, many candies, or pie, but he'll try sushi and loves cow stomach.  Go figure.

Brennon, we love you to bits.  You laugh, your seriousness, your excitement for things, your bravery when you're scared out of your mind but try it anyway, your perseverance to keep at it when you want to stop, everything.  You are my B-boy, and I love you!

Sampler

 Tyson was learning about "samplers" in art.  Instead of having him draw a sampler, I decided to have him cross-stitch his project instead.  He may have protested, but he forgot to add real feeling behind it.

He did the border in a green that went from light to dark in color, and just one letter (even though he learned that they usually did the alphabet, poems, name, birthdate, flowers, buildings, and anything else that would showcase they were ready to have their own household) in a thread that went from light to dark blue.  He did such a great job.  I love that he half-heartedly protests projects that include hand-sewing, but ends up loving it when he's done.  Art has been so much fun this year.

Surprise

 I'm not sure if this is how things go now with technology and everything, but this is the only thing we have received.  Out of the blue.  Nothing in the mail, no big white envelope with a "Proud to announce."  Nothing.  We decided to celebrate anyway with a scream and a jump and a wahoo.  Now, she needs to get her motivation in gear to graduate High School.  It feels, at this point, as if we're crawling to that finish line.  Who knows what her future will bring.  For now--- SHE'S BEEN ACCEPTED TO BUY-IDAHO!!

Tooth Takers

 February 16, 2021

7:37am-- all smiles until 7:39am when she found out she was getting an IV.  "It's not too late to cancel, right?" as she clamps her elbow pit closed.  7:43am I walk out of the room and out to my car for the 25-30 minute wait.  Covid rules meant that I couldn't wait in the building.

8:25am-- all done.  Went well.  Pull up to the front of the building.  They'll come talk to me about instructions, she'll follow in 5-10 minutes.

8:35-- someone comes out to tell me she is still quite emotional.  They're going to give her another 10-15 minutes to come off of the anesthesia.  By this time, a boy that had walked in with his mom when I was waiting in my car is now being wheeled out.  He was not emotional when he woke up, I guess.

8:59am-- Video recording started.  A shortened (because some things were just flat-out sad) version of the video available HERE.  It's longer than most videos you usually see, but it is FULL of the funniest conversations you can ever imagine, as well as parts where "water" will be "added to your eyes."  It was the most fun 20-minute drive of my lifetime, not to mention the additional 30-minutes entertainment she provided us at home.  We quote her all over the place now.  SO MUCH FUN!!!!!!!

She fell asleep in stages.  She'd be talking, so expressive and happy, and then droop down as if she was joking.  The boys would look at her, look at each other, look at her, and then look at me, astonishment and shock in their expressions.  We'd all giggle and then jump when she'd gasp, sit up straight, and then start animatedly talking again.  A couple minutes later, she'd be talking, pointing, trying to stand, and then literally fall on her face on the couch.  I knew she was coming off of the anesthesia and would sleep for a while, so I grabbed her a drink for her to take her pills.

When I walked up with this, she gasped and whispered, "Mom, I can't drink that, it has a bad word.  (Even quieter) Naked.  I can't drink that."  I told her it was ok to drink, so she perked up (like you see in the video), "OK!" and took her pills.

And she was out for hours.

Once the numbness wore off, the giggles were 100% gone.  Poor girl.

My swollen sleeping beauty.

February 21, 2021

Can you spot the bruise along her jaw-line?  Poor thing.  She is healing well, though, thankfully.  I'm so grateful we can afford these kinds of expenses for our kids.  The bottom ones really were causing her pain.

Cool Kids

My kids, especially Keilie, are always correcting me on ways to be less "geeky," more "lit," and less "old."  First thing first-- Lit is definitely not a word I should use.  Ever.  Lesson learned.  To help the world, I thought I'd share new knowledge learned from my young, modern, "in" (my goodness, I don't even know what the new slang for that would be these days!) kids.  

 This is no a spot for your water bottle, should you get parched during your workout.  Oh, no!  This is the appropriate place for your snacks, should you walk yourself to starvation on the treadmill!  And now you know.  You're welcome.

Plowing Forward

 The boys came home from Jaxson's house in a flurry of chatter and energy.  "Dad!  We need a four-wheeler with a plow on the front!!"  Jason hooked up two sleds and pulled them around an empty lot.  Who wouldn't want that.  After the house spent shoveling this last week, I think I would be ok with a plow...

Week of Winter

Where was this on Christmas Day, the only day I wouldn't mind waking up to shoveling first thing in the morning?  It just keeps coming, and coming, and coming!  With four of us working ourselves to exhaustion, we finished in an hour.  I'm so grateful for boys that don't even need to be asked to help.  

16" of snow

More where the plow pushed it.

The only one of us that loves every single aspect of the snow.  She doesn't even care when she has to thaw out on towels for an hour after, she'll go out 100 times a day if we'd let her.  Give her a tennis ball on her way out, and you have entertainment that you'll pop popcorn for.  She is adorable in the snow with her ball.

What a mess.

The forecast for the next ten days has it warming back up again, even to 57 in a few days.  I'm glad that this is our only real week of Winter this year.  I would be ok if it is the only time we need to bust out those shovels until 2022!

Cabin Cravings

 Ensign Ranch February 2021

I wanted to capture a family picture before we forgot, so we're still freezing, but smiling.  Keilie chose not to come with us.

Despite this heater that they left for us, it was still freezing cold and took a bit for the fire to radiate into the whole cabin.  Brennon got resourceful.  Cutie.

We played games, snacked, played with the fire, and just had a blast.  I love these cabins so much.  Nothing glamourous our fancy, by any means, but perfect for what we use them for-- family time camping.

Snowmobile coat, comfy, three layers of shirts, including thermals, two layers of pants, again thermals, three layers of socks in fur-lined boots, scarf, hat, and two coats.  With a blanket across my legs.  Barely warm enough for a few hours.

We had a great time watching the fire for a few hours.  Randy is so good to keep it burning through the night.

The next morning, the kids woke and went out sledding while we packed up.  Breakfast consisted of all the packaged donuts that we never allow ourselves to buy, but love with a fierce love of deep desire.  I'm not ashamed to say I ate an entire box of them in one day.  1) I won't buy them again for a year, and 2) I don't need to worry about the calorie intake for one more day.  Powdered raspberry-filled, you are my heart's desire.

Before leaving, I capture just one more with our cabin.  So many fun memories made at this place.  I cannot wait to come again!!!

We got home just in time to shovel the 10" of snow that had been dumped while we were away.  More snow at home than we dropped where we were in the mountains.  Once the driveway and sidewalks (who's idea was it to buy a home with a 3-car garage driveway plus RV parking on a corner lot anyway?!) were shoveled, the boys got to work on a snow fort.

When stepping on the top to see if it was safe, it collapsed and became their snow throne.  Cuties!

Puddle of Lies

 Our most extensive (and hopefully last) snowstorm of the season has begun.  This left-behind puddle does not reflect my true feelings, especially since we're packing up to go camping at the cabins at Ensign Ranch in Cle Elum even after our entire state has been placed on a Winter Storm Warning.  Believe me, we remembered our sleeping bags this time.  They were packed first.

Wisdom

 At the dentist yesterday, we mentioned that Keilie's wisdom teeth had been bothering her.  They gave us a referral to the oral surgeon.  We were lucky enough to get in for an appointment today.

Yep, those bottom ones are definitely causing some pain.  We were even more surprised to hear they had an opening this coming Tuesday, meaning she wouldn't be marked absent from school and would be done healing by the time she made it to her first in-person day of school in more than a year!  Things were falling into place nicely for Keilie-girl!