Hot Chocolate 10k

 

Who got up crazy early in the morning to drive to Seattle for the sweetest race around? Jason! But who got up crazy early in the morning to run a 10k? These boys did! Who spent the last few months training for this race and then ended up with a stress fracture? Me!

Michael finished the race in 56:55 with a 9:10min/mile pace. He was aiming for sub 1 hour so he was pretty happy.

Ben finished the race in 1:00:46 with a 9:47min/mile pace after not training at all even though I nagged him for months thereby proving that I don't know what I am talking about. 

They both did great and had a good time. Though Michael was unimpressed with the post-race chocolate. 

February on FB

Note to self: when picking classical music "videos" on YouTube to listen to while studying, skip any which include Brahms lullaby 😴😆

 

Me: Boys, you shouldn't cheat

Also me:

Almost exactly 9 years to the day after I had surgery to remove a bone from my foot that had died after being fractured, I have fractured another bone in my other foot. My podiatrist put me in a post-op shoe and told me to make sure I am getting a lot of calcium. I only assume this is what he meant:

Sometimes with teens it's just best not to know

We are experiencing some difficulties with our cell service. We ask for your patience at this infuriating time. If you called or texted me this last weekend or over the next week or so and don't get a response, feel free to email me as the situation is...not ideal.

Pippin

The school musical this year was Pippin. I must confess that I had not heard this one before. I grew up watching musicals, but apparently not this one. And what do you do if you don't know about something? You look it up on Wikipedia! Off to the internet we went and read the plot synopsis of Pippin. After which we decided that Isaac would (again) not be attending the high school musical regardless of what part Michael ended up having.

Once again, Michael got tapped for the pit. This worked well with his swim schedule since there was a bit of overlap but the pit didn't need to be at all practices at the beginning. 

We got tickets for opening night and sat up close and personal to the pit so we could see/hear Michael work his magic.

These last two are pics from the online play program. Michael played the keyboard and, for one amazing song, the melodica.

As always, Michael's dedication to his music and to creating a wonderful production showed in the performances and in the extra naps he takes to get through this exhausting time. 

Solo and Ensemble - Choir Edition

Pardon the blurry image, but this is a screen shot from the video I took of Michael singing O Del Mio Dolce Ardor at Solo and Ensemble today. He was, in one word, stunning. He sounded fantastic. And the judge apparently agreed because his only comments were on tiny details and then MICHAEL WON. This means he goes to State for the bass slot for this region in April in Ellensburg. We are crazy proud of him. As a bonus, his friend Etan is going also as he won the baritone slot. So we're off to Ellensburg in the spring!

January on FB

 Welcome 2023!

My kids tell me that the fact that I save and share memes is proof that I am old. All I have to say to that is,  "Eh, what's that sonny? You got to speak louder closer to my good ear!"

I have only gotten 3 texts and 5 emails (so far) that today is an early release day for the schools. 

MESSAGE RECEIVED

Mom finished my birthday gift yesterday: this bright and beautiful quilt! I proceeded to snuggle under it and then glare at the boys hissing "my preciousssssss"

Kidding, but I did tell them to keep their hands off 🤪

Note to streaming services: Please stop it with categories like "fun for the whole family". 

Just say what they are: shows that won't give little kids nightmares but will make teens and adults want to watch paint dry or water boil in search of better entertainment

B: A fiddle is just a violin that has gone to the dark side

PSA for parents of K-5 kiddos: Jan 30 is almost too late to buy Valentines for your kid's class 

Sincerely, 

A parent who had to dig among the partially crushed boxes of slim pickings at Target this morning

What's your superpower? Mine is almost getting stuck in the bathroom every morning because I put lotion on my hands right BEFORE opening the door.

Swim - A Season

Continuing Michael's year of sports-he's-never-done-before, he just finished up his first season of swim team. He started off the season thinking he was in great shape from cross-country. Then he went to practice and discovered that swim is another beast entirely. But, he persevered and made a respectable showing and definitely learned a ton in a relatively short period of time.

Now on to the play, which mercifully doesn't require the use of nearly as many towels every week! 

A Boy and his Pokemon

This is Isaac living his best life.

His best Pokémon life. Back in the day, I remember my cousin being into Pokémon. Who knew that many years later Pokémon would still be with us. 

And yet, here we are. Josh is flying around the country to participate in Pokémon video game competitions and Isaac is collecting cards and stuffies. The stuffy thing started with Josh bringing home a Dratini from SLC. Then Uncle Doug bought him Dragonite for Christmas. Aunt Rachel added Pikachu to the collection. And then Pichu from Josh when he returned from San Diego. 

I caught him watching Pokémon cartoons surrounded by his Pokémon on his "sick" day (spiked a fever the night before, totally fine now) so asked him to smile for a picture. I think Pokémon are here to stay.