Here begins a tale of life post work…at least for now.
I quit my job (April 22nd) and almost immediately bought a 5 gallon bucket of paint. Flashback and remember that 3 years ago we built this fence in 100 degree heat, out of previously used salvaged fence. At the time our goal was mostly to get it standing. I slapped some watered down paint on it for color and to cover the wood but at the time, it was a shit job on a shit fence in even shittier weather. (I still remember it being 100 degrees, single digit humidity, and the watered down paint blowing off my roller because it was so windy!). This year I spend the better part of 3 days scraping, prepping, and actually painting. It’s still a salvaged fence, but at least it now has a fresh layer of paint which will hopefully last another few years. Wood fences in Utah don’t really rot, they just sort of weather in place. We’re hoping to get a decade or more out of this one. Fingers crossed. Fun painting related story. I learned that if you go to Home Depot early enough in the morning the staff is still doing their morning meeting and stretching routine and they are all VERY hopeful you are a customer needing help. They must not like morning meetings and stretching all that much!
Maycember as parents or school-aged children call it, brought all the standard school related end of year things PLUS a visit from my parents. For years we’d been discussing taking my dad to the Soldier Hollow Sheepdog Classic and this spring we finally made it happen! It was a beautiful day and the boys tolerated watching sheep and dogs for as long as my dad wanted to. It’s a pretty impressive course with some VERY impressive dogs. In addition, there were various demonstrations throughout the day. William really liked the duck herding, the boys enjoyed watching a bulldog try to do the agility course, and Andrew got up close and personal with an owl. They also really loved the demonstration dog that herded ducks with his emotional support teddy bear! On the way back to the house we swung past Bridal Veil Falls–which my parents had last seen before William was born.
The week after Memorial Day the boys wrapped up 7th, 5th, and 3rd grade. I’m so proud of each of them for the year they’ve had. William was student of the quarter this spring, got straight A’s, placed at the district chess tournament, and tried something new (ceramics!). Christopher graduated 5th grade, was nominated for “CEO-Chief Example to Others” in May for being a lifelong learner, barely ever took his nose out of his books, and was VERY proud of learning to play the flute. Andrew had an amazing year with awesome teachers, made great strides in advocating for himself and communicating his needs at school, was nominated for CEO in March for “Service” by his teachers AND the librarians, and became friends with many more classmates this year. We wrapped up the year with the elementary school growth parade and 5th grade graduation. It will be strange to only have one kid in elementary next year. Pictures are: 5th Grade Graduation, the boys at Chris’s kindergarten graduation vs 5th grade graduation, end of year Growth Parade posters, and student of the month and CEO presentations.
This spring/summer the garden has been my baby. After last year’s bug infestation I’ve been extra vigilant this year. The first bouquets are starting to be cut and so far so good. Last year the bugs really took hold in July so I’ve been extra watchful and will be proactive if I see the slightest trouble. People are always excited to get surprise flowers. The first three bouquets this year went to my Pilates instructor, a random worker at my pharmacy, and the mom of one of Andrew’s new friends. If you know me and are in the right place at the right time, odds are sooner or later you will get a dahlia bouquet.
With my expanded free time, summer gym time with William has been fun. We got a summer membership at VASA. I joke that it’s the only 3 hours a week we actually get along (teens are HARD). This is my first foray into club fitness since I was in my 20s. I’m not sure how I feel about it really but William put in the work for an entire year in our basement so he has earned it. I enjoy the comradery of seeing regulars at the gym during our workouts. There have been some great folks interacting with William and telling him how great it is to see a kid there (with his MOM no less!). He’s seen some great examples of what to do as well as what NOT to do. In fun mom-times, I got to explain to him what a t-shirt that said “MILFs are my Cardio” meant. I figure I’ve got about 12 months to continue impressing him before he’s fully outlifting me and I’m not nearly as cool. At least I’m training my own spotter. William is now tall. He’s grown a good 4-6 inches in the last year. Puberty is in full effect. We’ve been taking pictures with the shortest family member (Grandma Laura) to document.
Christopher started playing the flute in January and had his first flute recital in June. At the end of June he took part in a 4 day flute camp which culminated in an outdoor performance at Hogle Zoo. It’s fun to see him develop an interest all his own! In a few years if he’s still interested he will have opportunities to play in the school orchestra or band which will be a new adventure for all of us.
Excitement in Andrew’s world includes bringing home a new bike for William. Why is a new bike for William exciting for Andrew? Because in exchange for taking another hand me down bike, I negotiated letting him trick it out. His bike now has a cup holder, water bottle holder, light up bell, head and tail lights, and led lights on the spokes. He was pretty pleased. William admitted that Andrew rides his bike more than he and Christopher combined, so he probably deserves a tricked out ride. (I think the picture of Andrew rolling the bike out of the store is funny because it will probably be his next hand me down bike sometime in the future). Andrew is also convinced the cats enjoy going for walks and bike rides. I’m not sure the cats would agree, but Andrew is doing his best to show them a good time.
3 months into unemployment (with company coming to town) and I’ve started something I like to call “WHAT. WILL. SHE. CLEAN. TODAY?!?”. Think of it as a cheesy gameshow format where Jason leaves for work not knowing what project I might get myself into each day. So far there have been fun episodes including “Cleaning out the window wells”, “Organizing the Pantry”, “Drip Lines 101”, “Fun with Shade Cloth” and “Cleaning out your Closets”. Some of the episodes Jason has gotten roped into as well. I’m not sure if his favorite was “Carpet Shampooing for Dummies” “Dryer Vent Cleaning and Painting”, “Get your Garage in Order” or “Sprinkler Head Maintenance”. One thing I can say for certain is our house is getting cleaned at organized. Thank you Jason for playing along.
Projects and cleaning aside, we’ve all been living our best summer lives. There have been more play dates in our swimming pool than I can count. The boys (especially Andrew) have been biking the neighborhood between the playground, the 7-Eleven and the library on a daily basis. I should have started counting how many Slurpees and Frazzles have been consumed…rest assured they have all exceeded the recommended amount of added sugar and artificial flavoring. Christopher and William have joined a D & D group at the library and Andrew and Christopher have been doing the summer library STEM/craft events. Fourth of July brought fireworks with friends and during July 24th week our cousins from Iowa are visiting (with my brother and SIL). Everyone is tan, and as long as I can keep the fighting to a minimum, we’re pretty darn relaxed as well.
Happy Summer Everyone! (and a few more photos just for fun).
