Monday, 29 August 2016

A Week in Review (August 28-Sept 3)

A Week in Review (August 28-Sept 3)

Watched: Several kiddos come in and try my short obstacle course during meet the teacher. The two years that I took really made me forget how tiny those 3s start out. I'm looking forward to getting to  know them and have some fun in PE with them. My day may be short, but I think I'll be exhausted by the end. 

Read: To be honest, I am not sure that I even cracked a book this week.  Not sure what's going on.

Listened: To Jack cry about his knee after he tripped over a chair. I really thought he was just being melodramatic. I gave him a pretty hard time and then we hopped upstairs to get ready for bed. I told him to let me look closer at it and I was quite taken aback by the huge bruise up his knee. I am not sure if he got it from the chair or if the chair just made it worse. I didn't sleep well for fear that he had really done something to it. But the next morning, he was good to go.  I felt so much relief. 

Made: The long, boring drive across I70 of Kansas. It's just so flat and empty.  I just tried to focus on all the fun activities that were waiting at our destination for us. 

Felt: At home walking through the aisles of HyVee getting all the groceries that we would need to make our tailgate awesome (and stuff that was just for fun too). I have yet to find a grocery store as awesome as HyVee in Colorado.  Jack was so excited that had a bag with Chiefs schedule on it. I think this year he will spend the majority of the season cheering for both teams. He might just try to be Switzerland in their head to head matches. 

Planned: On taking Jack and his friends out for Dart Warz because we had a coupon that was expiring. We make the drive over and find out that this was the day it doesn't open until 7pm and then only for 13+. Luckily the day was beautiful and there was a park not to far away. The boys created some sort of a game with a brick maze that was there.  Even though the day didn't go as planned, they still enjoyed being together which was half of my mission. 

Loved: Spending time back in Kansas. After our run to HyVee, we headed over to Oklahoma Joe's to pick up some bbq for Saturday's breakfast. Then it was off to get Joe. We were so glad that he could stay with us.  Then we headed back to Lawrence where we had splurged and stayed at The Oread. Jack describes it as the fanciest place he's ever stayed. It's right up there for me too.  The room was huge with high ceilings and a ceiling fan. It was big enough to hold a king size bed, a twin roll-in bed and a queen air mattress and still have room for Jack to sleep on the floor and plenty of room to walk around.  We were all excited to see each other and then Roy showed up, which added even more to the fun. We ended up staying up quite late.  Early Saturday morning, I awoke thinking Joe was having a seizure. His air mattress was at the foot of our bed and our bed was shaking back and forth. I bolted upright to check on him and that's when I noticed other things were rattling too.  We were just experiencing the tremors of an Oklahoma earthquake.  Not long after, we went and found the perfect tailgating spot under a nice shaded tree. Nick started warming up the bbq for breakfast and the boys messed around. When breakfast was finished, we headed over to Fieldhouse to try and find Nick's paver that we bought him for Father's Day.  I thought it was supposed to be close to the new building that is housing the rules of basketball, but it is right out front of the Fieldhouse near the Phog Allen statue.  We messed around at the exhibit inside the Fieldhouse.  Back at our tailgate, the boys convinced the big boys to verse them in football for a bit. Jack was so excited for the HyVee Hawk Zone. He checked on it many times before it opened. He can proudly say that he was the first kid to enter the Hawk Zone for the 2016-2017 season.  Before you could blink, it was time to head into the game.  The game was awesome. KU played phenomenally against a weak opponent and won 55-6. The students rushed the field and Jack wanted to go so bad. He convinced our usher to let him run on the field for a super quick picture. After the game, we celebrated with some Hot Box cookies. They were so yummy and fresh.  We had another late night just hanging out and feeling divine. Due to some lucky scheduling KU has a better record than OU, KSU, and MU. As the band said, it's a great day to be a Jayhawk. 

Here are the pics for the week:

The bruise up Jack's knee

Mrs. Thomas is back. Look at the fancy name tag!

A shot of the brick maze 

Joe's face as Jack attempts to tackle him cracks me up. 

Tailgating 
     The rules of basketball bridging from the building housing them to the Fieldhouse. 

We found his paver. It's right by the shadow of Nick's head. 

Jack's wingspan 


Inside the game





A Week in Review (August 21-27)

A Week in Review (August 21-27)

Watched: Jack get his jersey for football. His coach lined them up and then announced each one of them.  At the end, they had to dance before he would give them there jersey. Jack was the first one he called. You can watch him getting it too HERE. It was a bit emotional for me because Jack chose to honor our friend Laurie by choosing a number of a great Chiefs player who shares our last name, Derrick Thomas.

Read: A bit in my book, Child 44. While it seems to be very well written, it just isn't floating my boat. Maybe next week I will be more in the mood.

Listened: To a CPR instructor.  With my new job I have to be current in my CPR training. It was a good class until the first aid section. That was a very long video that just about put everyone in the room to sleep.  When it went back to live instructions, it was much more interesting again.  I feel better having had a refresher course.

Made: Popcorn for 500 people on Thursday. It was the last big pop that we will have for a while.  Once a month the PTA pops popcorn for our students. I know that the kids love it. We have started popping earlier in the day, so that we get the students aware that they need to be prepared for the next day. Next month, we will only need to pop about 250. Pretty big difference.

Felt: Bummed about Nick's birthday. This is the second birthday of his that we have had to miss with him. He was in Utah last year and this year he had to go to Denver for one of their Higher Relationships conferences. I think that he had a good time on his birthday, so at least there is that.

Planned: On playing shuffleboard down at Phantom Canyon brewing on Sunday to celebrate Nick's birthday a little early. When we got there, the shuffleboard was being used. Instead of waiting there, we walked down to a local park and tried some free outdoor shuffleboard. I had never played before, but I thought it was a blast. Nick, not surprisingly, won both games. We walked back to the brewery and they had the table open. We realized that Jack most enjoyed attempting to knock off your pucks rather than shoot his well. It was a really good time. 

Loved: Our neighbors, the Millers.  I found a new basketball hoop for Jack, but then I realized that I had no way to get home.  A quick text to Kelly, and it was arranged for John to go with Nick to pick it up.  They have helped us entertain Nora when we go out for long days.  I can always count on them. It's nice to have someone like that in our neighborhood.

Here are the pics for the week:





Nick in his new shirt from Valerie and Angel


Jack and his teammates after their jersey reception


Ready for game day



Monday, 22 August 2016

A Week in Review (August 14-20)

A Week in Review (August 14-20)

Watched: Odd Mom Out. I don't remember where I saw an advertisement for it, but it is pretty funny. I often feel like the odd mom out, so while I don't identify fully with her, it's a good way to fill the empty silence made up by Jack's absence.

Read:  I finished up The Girl in the Red Coat.  This book just wasn't for me. The characters lacked depth and I just couldn't connect to any of them. The way the book wrapped up was just as odd as the rest of the book. Not one that I would recommend.  Next, I started A Madness So Discreet.  This book was quite entertaining to me and earns closer to 3.5 stars. I have read other books about women who were cast into insane asylums at the whims of their family. I thought the whole book was rather well put together. Good for a quick read with a bit mystery and madness so discreet.  I started a bit of Child 44, but it is hard for me to really get into a book over a weekend.

Listened: To the rain and hail that came down hard Tuesday after school.  Jack's friends needed a ride home because there mom had an appointment with the cable guy.  There was a bit of thunder that indicated a storm was close, but I had no idea what was coming.  The car has a few new dimples to add to it's character.  I was glad we were able to safely get everyone home without any real drama.

Made: A bulletin board for Jack's teacher.  I was glad to see that she wanted to get me into the classroom right away.  I am such a perfectionist that I really wanted to measure things out, but I just tried to eye ball it.  It looked pretty good.  She called me in the next day to help her run some copies so that the kiddos could have things to do when the finished up their work early.  

Felt: Glad to have my September lesson plan done.  I tried to make it pretty detailed just in case I had to be absent.  Plus, when I look back a month from now it will be nice to have a clear plan of what I need to do to be ready for the day.  I am excited to see what the year has to offer.

Planned: Day at Elitch's during Jack's free day due to the district's elementary testing days.  We woke up at a good time and got to Elitch's just after it opened.  We would have been there early expect the traffic going into Denver was just a nightmare.  Luckily most of the kids in the area have went back to school and the lines were very short.  We were able to do all the thrill rides that we wanted.  Jack even rode the Boomerang four times in a row without getting off.  There is no way that my stomach could handle that.  We ended our afternoon in the water park.  We got lightening out about 15 minutes early, but we really enjoyed ourselves.  It was nice to have such a quiet day in the park with just the two of us.

Loved: Saturday.  We started out our morning at the football field for our last Saturday practice.  There were cupcakes for a birthday celebration and donuts to celebrate the boys awesome start.  After coming home for a quick shower, we went to celebrate the fourth birthday of our baseball coach's son.  We had a good time visiting with friends, enjoying the beautiful day, and watching the kids have a good time hanging out with each other.  When the party was over, we headed to the grocery store to get some artichokes.  We dropped the boys off with Nick so that my friend and I could run to American Furniture Warehouse and help her find some new furniture for her living room.  I thought we were going to strike out, but we found some great stuff just as we were leaving.  I am excited to see how it all looks in her house.  She's got an eye for style so it's fun to watch how she puts everything together.  We wrapped up the night by enjoying some delicious artichokes that Nick prepared while we were out.  All in all, it was a wonderful day.  

Here are the pics for the week:

First day of 3rd grade


Practicing Cornerback


Tuesday, 16 August 2016

A Week in Review (August 7-13)

A Week in Review (August 7-13)

Watched: Jack really love football.  He is having a great time and is working hard at all the drills.  They started full pads on Friday.  I wasn't sure how he would do with getting hit, but it doesn't seem to phase him.  I can definitely tell that wrestling has improved his skills, as you can apply some of the same basic moves in football as in wrestling.  He found out that he will play cornerback when he is on defense.  He  was also told by coach that he will most likely play wide receiver and back up QB for offense.  These positions aren't quite as amazing as they sound in a league that focuses on running, but he is excited about them.  It will really help grow his blocking skills in the position.  


Read: We finished up Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.  It's hard to not say too much because I don't want to spoil it for others. It moved me to tears, but I was annoyed at inconsistency in some of the way things were applied differently in play. They really bothered Nick, who's a true sci-fi fan. However, all of us enjoyed it and took something different away from it.  I am still working on The Girl in the Red Coat.  It just isn't drawing me in.

Listened: To Jack scream my name.  Since he knows that screaming is only for when there is real trouble, I had to book it upstairs and see what was up.  While I was doing laundry, he was in his room watching a video. He decided to open all his dresser drawers and then lie down below them.  Moments later, the dresser came crashing down.  Luckily, its a small room and tall dresser and it was not able to come fully down on him.  I think that as one of the drawers slammed to the ground, it caught his hand with the corner.  He also got a few good wacks on the back.  Thank goodness it did not hit his head and he returned to normal pretty quickly.  We are so lucky because it could have been so much worse!
Made: A quick scramble around the house before some impromptu guest arrived.  Saturday was Wilson's summer picnic.  They held in at the Sky Sox stadium.  They paid for the kids to be able to play in the fun zone and had us sit in the catered section for our seats.  While talking with some of his co-workers, a couple of them wanted to try his home brew.  So we invited everyone over for some beer and darts after the game.  Jack managed to even get four people to play soccer hockey with him.  He really was in heaven.  I am thankful that our house is big enough that we can easily host a gathering like that.  Of course, I would have loved being able to offer everyone some great snacks and such, but I think a good time was still had.  We might have even found a new couple to play cards with.

Felt: A mix of emotions for Jack.  We are excited because he got the teacher we both really wanted for him, but he did not get his best friend in class.  They aren't even in the same hallway because at the last minute they had an overflow class added and she offered to move so that the new teacher could be close to the other teachers.  This means that they wont even have a chance to bump into each other in the hallway.  We did find out that another one of his playground friends was going to be in the class, so he is looking forward to that.  We also made plans with his best friends mom for us to be able to get him after school once a week so that they can still play.  

Planned: On doing something for our last free Friday before school started up again, but Jack wanted to just chill at home. I think we have went and did so much all summer that a day at home just chilaxing was what the doctor ordered.  We played soccer hockey, Skylanders, watched some TV, and were just all around bums.  Jack said it was a great day because we didn't get out of our pj's until it was time to go football practice.

Loved: Spending the day with Kyle and Jess at Elitch's.  Mother Nature wasn't the kindest to us forcing the park to close down for almost 90 minutes but we still made the best out of it.  We rode most of the coasters in the main park and then wrapped up our time together in the water park.  I am so glad that they live close so that we get to do things with them more often.

Here are the pics for the week:









Piggy Back drills are so much fun...  ;)


It's a good thing she's cute because she is a destroyer!


Sunday, 31 July 2016

A Week in Review (July 24-30)

A Week in Review (July 24-30)

Watched
Jack and his friend Landon have a great time playing together.  Landon will be gone until school starts again so we made sure to squeeze in a day between our return and their departure.  So many of our friends will be gone during the month of August. We will really miss them all.

Read:  I finished up The Children on our plane ride home.  I found this book through a mommy bloggers recommendation list. I can see why someone in that profession would enjoy the book. I personally thought it was a bit predictable. It wasn't awful writing or anything, but it definitely doesn't make me want to rush out and pick up another Ann Leary book.  Next, I started The Girl in the Red Coat, which I found through the same list.  I will be interesting to see what I think of it.  It's been okay so far.  I like hearing the same story from both the mother and the daughter's perspectives.

Listened: To Jack pop bubbles. When we were taking off on our plane ride last week, I had made a bubble. Jack asked me how it worked and so I explained the mechanics of it. He tried it once or twice, but was too distracted by being on the plane.  On Sunday, I bought a pack of Hubba Bubba for him. On our way home from the show, he gets excited and tells me to turn around quick because he made a bubble. I am driving in Vegas traffic so I really can't do that. I handed him my phone where he proceed to take a ton of pictures of his different bubbles. Since he has figured it out, he just can't stop. I love his excitement at picking up this new skill!

Made: Jack start to train for his run with the Olympic torch. He hasn't really done any distance running this summer and we want to make sure that he can handle the pace and distance. They have told him to try for 2 miles in 20 minutes.  While he isn't exactly there, I don't think he will have any problems when he is in with a group to help pace him.  I drive beside him in the car to help keep his mileage and time. I am pretty sure that most people think I am making him run for punishment.  I keep waiting for something to pop up in our neighborhood Facebook group about it. Haha

Felt: Devastated. Our friend whom we got the sad news about last week passed away. My dear friend Laurie, whom we saw on our trip back to KC, had a stroke and ended up passing away several days later. I will honor her memory each year by having a day of random acts of kindness to replace just a few of the ones she would have performed that year. She will greatly be missed by our entire family.

Planned: On having Jack be awake for our plane trip home but he was zonked out and didn't spend much time awake. He fell asleep on the car ride to the airport. He fell back asleep while we waited to board and then fell back asleep before we took off. He didn't wake up until about 25 minutes before we landed. We are going to have to work to help return his sleep pattern to one that will be more beneficial for school hours. I always hate doing that because then I feel like I am shortening an already too short summer. 

Loved
Jack seeing just light up at Penn & Teller show. It is so amazing!  I was surprised because over half the show was new tricks that I hadn't seen before. We had great seats too. Before the stage Jack went up in the box. He even examined it thoroughly. He was blown away when the trick with the box was revealed.  He also got to help lift over the disappearing cell phone box to the stage. During the final trick, he got to go on stage and be the human wall and watch an "elephant" (really a cow dressed like an elephant) disappear and a chicken.  As he was walking off the stage Penn stopped him and made him promise that he would always let people know he saw an elephant vanish from the stage.  After the show was just as amazing. Penn and Teller wait and speak to every person. Teller was much better with Jack than Penn. Jack saved their force card and Teller signed it with saying "This is your card". He also noticed that Jack had gotten dressed up for the show. So he took off his tie that he had hacked off during the show and gave it to Jack and autographed it just for him. Penn was clearly more tired and wasn't as interactive. He did congratulate Nick on his weight loss when he let him know that he listened to his podcast and was inspired by Penn's weight loss. I made a side by side and the changes, especially in Penn, are pretty drastic.

Here are the pics for the week:

All dressed up and ready for the show












Nick finally made it in the Luxor.  He has apparently wanted to go there forever, but we made it happen this trip. 

Konked out


Saturday, 30 July 2016

A Week in Review (July 31-August 6)

A Week in Review (July 31-August 6)

Watched: Jack dread going on the Twister II, Elitch's wooden roller coaster. Like me, he thinks they are just the worst things ever.  However, his friend was super excited to go on it so Jack went with him. They tried to get me to ride, but I was pretty firm putting my foot down and let them know that I don't ride wooden coasters.  In the end, he still didn't like it but his friend really enjoyed it. 

Read: The entire first part in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. It is Nick and I's tradition that I read all of the Harry Potter books aloud. Jack is excited that he gets to be a part of this one. He is reading the part of Albus. This week he's wanted to spend all our family free time reading it.  I've also been trying to work on The Girl in the Red Coat. I am liking it, but I am not getting very far in it. 

Listened: To a car salesman tell us the finer points of owning a Hyundai. I don't know much about them, but I really enjoy their outer styling. Also, their price point is pretty reasonable. Jack still doesn't want me to get rid of my car and is pretty emotional when we discuss it. I am sure the time is coming when we are going to have to make some major repairs to it and I don't think I would be willing to do that. Therefore, I want to make sure I know what car I want next. Right now, a Sonata is on my short list. 

Made: An impromptu lunch date with Jack. When we went shopping for his football gear, we were almost right next door to a Chuck E Cheese. We just couldn't pass it up. He paid for the tokens. He was sure glad he had put his coupons from his Aunt Debbie into his wallet. I picked up the tab for the buffets. We spent several hours there, but it was a good time. We scored our highest ever score on the football game, finally making it to the Pro Bowl.  While we were there, we saw a school acquaintance who is friends with a couple of our friends. She offered Jack some used football stuff. It was nice to have an uplifting person to talk too. We became Facebook friends so it will be easier to stay in touch with her.  It's always nicer to have more people to chat with. :)

Felt: E
motional on Friday. Our dear friend was memorialized by her family and many friends. She was loved deeply by us and we were sad to miss it. But we celebrated her spirit here. We spent the afternoon volunteering with Landshark team. Then Jack took the run with the torch. Afterwards, we took some time to see the performers that were downtown.  We splurged and ate at the Melting Pot for dinner. We came home and read several pages in the newest Harry Potter.

Planned: For Jack to kind of have slow introduction to tackle football, but his coach put a practice schedule that's going to really work them. They will practice for about two hours on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday evenings and Saturday mornings until games start.  After that, they will just go to the three weekday practices. Players got to pick there own numbers and Jack decided he would like to honor his "Aunt" Laurie by wearing the number of great Chiefs player who happens to share his last name, Derrick Thomas.  I think it's going to be a fun season. 

Loved: Having a lazy day Saturday. With school and sports starting back up those will be getting fewer and farther between. It's nice to have some time just to chill. 

Here are the pics for the week:

Aren't they just the cutest?  She loves to snuggle with him, even if he is fast asleep. 

All ready for practice

Some shots from before the Torch Run




Friday, 29 July 2016

A Week in Review (July 17-23)

A Week in Review (July 17-23)

Watched: The Mike Hammer Show. It had great reviews on google and TripAdvisor. It was good. It was more comedy than magic, but we all laughed. Apparently it was supposed to be a 13+ audience and some of the comments were racier than what Jack normally hears, but I don't think he got those.  It was exciting because Nick got taken to the stage for a trick and then Jack got picked to help distribute some newspaper for a mind reading trick.  If you are looking for an inexpensive Vegas show, I'd recommend taking in Mike at the Four Queens. 


Read:  I finished up Britt-Marie Was Here before I left for Vegas.  It was another winner by Fredrik Backman. I really think you should read My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry before this book so that you can better understand Britt-Marie and Kent. I shed a tear or two at the end. I'd love to see him continue on with this series of people and maybe we could hear more from Vega.  During the plane flight I was able to get a good chunk of Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock read.  I was also able to finish it while we were in Vegas.  Obviously, a very fast read that deals with some intense topics. Your heart aches so much for Leonard. Are there really mothers like Linda out there? I sure hope there are teachers like Silverman out there because the world needs more of them. A great book for anyone struggling with being different or facing challenging times in their life.  Next, I started on The Children.  It's a different, but I am interested to see where it takes me.

Listened: To Jack kind of freak out when he got near the top of the High Roller ride. He was so excited to go up and see all the lights. But as it climbed, he just wasn't so sure. He knew how big the buildings looked from the ground and could see how small they were looking now. We could even see the casino we had visited earlier in the night, which was about a 20 minute drive away. It didn't take too long before he had gotten used to it and was enjoying himself. I made a collage below.  Earlier in the night, we had visited Sam's town. He was playing Deal or No Deal. It came down to the final two where there was one case that had 1 ticket and another case that had 200 tickets.  The bank offered him 100 tickets. I tried to convince him to take them and run. He ignored by advice and got 200 tickets instead. He was a pretty happy camper then too!

Made: Jack's first flight in 4 years. I think he had forgotten all about what it was like to take off and land. He wasn't a huge fan of the trip, but he did like the fact that we made it Las Vegas in such a short amount of time.

Felt: Sad.  We got some devastating news on Saturday about a very dear friend of ours.  I don't want to share too much of the story, as it really isn't mine to tell.  I am just hoping that things are able to work out for the best.

Planned: On having a fancier date for our 15th anniversary, but that's just not who we are, so that's really not how the day played out.  After doing an early check-in a hotel, we went to get Nick's haircut. While there, I saw that lunch Nick wanted from Fogo de Chao was about to time out, so we went over there. From there we went down to the Golden Nugget to play some poker. I got out pretty quickly, which was a bummer, but Nick made it to the final 5. After that we headed back to our favorite place to gamble, El Cortez, and played some roulette. We never got lucky and hit it big. We went back to our hotel and played craps and ate dinner. By then it was after midnight!  We exchanged our presents. He gave me a crystal heart which is engraved with our names.  I am so lucky to have chosen such a wonderful partner to spend my years with!

Loved: Having so much together time with Nick and Jack.  Nick has been able to really step away from work and just enjoy the moments together.  He even attempted getting into the water once, but swimming just isn't for him.  I have no idea how he can set poolside in the triple digit weather Las Vegas has, but he does and doesn't seem to mind.  We have a good time playing Keno, swimming in the pool, and just loving being together.  As the crystal heart that he gave me for our anniversary says "Together is our favorite place to be."

Here are the pics for the week: