A Week in Review (February 5-11)

A Week in Review (February 5-11)

Watched: I got all caught up on my TV shows that our currently airing.  I am really enjoying the new Masterpiece show, Victoria.  It's a British royals documentary, but it's not an era that I am very familiar with so I very intrigued by all.  I know it is a doing a great job entertaining me when I am googling things to learn more about them after the show just briefly covered them.  I also watched the movie Split with Nick while Jack got to celebrate his birthday with his Tio & Aunt Jess.  It had me totally creeped out. 

Read:  I was able to finish up Carry On.  When I first started I didn't know if I was going to be able to finish because it seemed like such heavy Harry Potter fan fiction. It took about the first quarter of the book for it actually take on its own personality. I ended up enjoying most of story. Although when I was trying to think of who I would recommend it too, I couldn't come up with any particular thing to say.  Next, I started a chapter in The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance: A Memoir.  It didn't really float my boat and so I decided to go with Our Souls At Night, which just came off my holds list.  It's a very short book, so I will definitely have a review of next week.

Listened: To the loud boom of the Dart Warz speaker as our school hosted a fundraising night there on Thursday.  We were able to take Landon and many of Jack's classmates showed up.  We got the benefit of the worker's sloppy writing and the boys were able to play for an hour and half for the price of only one hour.  It made squeezing in dinner in the car and wrestling practice extra tight, but luckily I was prepared for that and we squeezed into practice just in the nick of time.

Made: Jack an absolutely amazing Valentine's Day box.  This is the first year that we have gotten advance notice to make a box at home. He said he wanted the theme of Jayhawk's but didn't want to help make it.  After a google search, I decided to make a basketball jersey box. Luckily, Roy and Nick have had lots of conversations about Trajan font, so I was able to download the font that matched the jersey perfectly. I'm very pleased with how it turned out. Hopefully the kids like it a lot too. 

Felt: So thankful to be part of such a fun book club that really spends time discussing the book that we read for the month.  There had been lots of talk of reading a classic, so I suggested reading Murder on the Orient Express for our next novel.  It is coming out as a movie again this year and I thought maybe we could all go and see it together too.  It will be my first Agatha Christie book so I am looking forward to it.  She is one of Nick's favorite author's so I think it will be neat to finally share that with him.

Planned: All sorts of meals at home for Jack and I.  Nick was out of town this week which generally means that we will eat out often or eat snack type dinners.  We actually had yummy teriyaki chicken, pork chops, and a couple other yummy things.  I guess the more often Nick goes out of town, the more used it to we become.  He has been gone so much lately, but we are glad to say that, as now, he will be in town for three weeks.  He's gone a good chunk of March, but I guess you take what you can get!

Loved: Seeing all the volunteers come out to make our club ran tournament totally awesome.  It was great working a big event knowing that there were other people that I could count on to make the tournament great for everyone involved.  I didn't hear any complaints and I thought our club represented really well.  I made easy to read concession signs that I was quite proud of.  I also helped Coach upload some training videos and create a mock match.  Our table help really seemed to get it and we impressed the league too.  Hopefully we will be able to get another tournament in next  year.  I am also very glad to say that I was able to make it to each of Jack's matches.  He ended up with 2nd again, losing his only match 0-1 with an escape point.  He was so close to flipping him and I wanted him to know which is why you will here me yelling "You're going to lose."  I wanted him to know how hard he had to push.  It didn't work out, but I super proud of how hard he wrestled.  His opponent has only had wins by pins so I think that it is very impressive that Jack did not let him get a take down on him.  You can watch his matches HERE, HERE, and HERE.  

Here are the pics for the week:

 

 

 

 

A Week in Review (January 29-February 4)

A Week in Review (January 29-February 4)

Watched:  I got all caught up to live on Modern Family.  It is such a fun show and I love just getting lost with the Pritchett clan for 30 minute segments.  If you are looking for a show to watch, I would highly recommend starting with that one.

Read: A lot this week.  I made quick order of our next book club selection, I See You.  I thought this was a really clever book. I spent the entire time trying to guess who was behind it all. I thought it was an extremely fast read. I wonder if it will spawn a sequel. I actually preferred this one to the author's first novel, I Let You Go.  I also wrapped up Dark Matter.  What a unique book! For the first 1/4 of the book, I felt utterly lost. I asked Nick, who loves all things science, to explain some things to me because I was sure I was missing something. Shortly there after, the author started mentioning the things he had told me about. I would recommend this book to others just so that I could have people to discuss it with.  Jack and I also wrapped up Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio.  What an absolutely moving and amazing memoir. I felt all of Peg's aches and pains and struggled with her during her journey. I felt taken back to a time when it was just the radio and books to entertain you. When she mentions in the epilogue that she cried for joy when her kids received the polio vaccine, my eyes teared up a bit. I am so thankful to live in a era where vaccines prevent illness that use to impact the population so devastatingly.  I started on Carry On, which almost feels like Harry Potter fan fiction.  Since I read at such a frenetic pace this week and my coming week is pretty full, I am not sure I will have a review for you next week.

Listened: To Jack weigh all the pro's and con's for a friends birthday gift.  He put everything in the cart and got them all side by side and selected one for his friend.  He ended up with a football that his friend seemed to enjoy immensely.  It was pretty neat looking.  Of course, when we were in the Nerf gun aisle, the money he had in his wallet ended up burning a hole in it and he selected a Nerf gun for himself too.  The packaging was the same size as Jack and slightly hilarious to see.  We made him take a picture with it, just for prosperity sake.  

Made: A ridiculously long trip to Sam's Club buying food and supplies for the concession stand for Jack's upcoming wrestling tournament.  The other mother and I had four flat beds full.  10 packs of 40 water bottles and 12 packs of 24 Gatorade bottles, and 8 36 packs of soda was quite a lot in itself not to mention the items for nachos, meatball, subs, candy, etc.  Luckily, her daughter is away at college without her car and we were able to just load it in without having to unload it before the tournament on the 11th.  The poor suspension on the vehicle will really be taking a beating though!  I followed her home for quite some time and had to grab a picture of her low rider and text it to her with the lyrics "All my friends drive a low rider."  Haha

Felt: Disappointed with Jack.  He really just had an off day in sports on Saturday, where I felt like he wasn't really concentrating on the task at hand.  His bracket only had two other wrestlers in it, which is always a bummer.  He ended up with one win and one loss.  The loss is pretty awful and if you have tuned into his other videos you will definitely see what I mean.  You can watch them HERE and HERE.

Planned: For my brother and his wife to arrive late Friday night for a fun-filled weekend with us.  However, they got about 25 miles outside of town and their car ended up giving them trouble and making weird noises.  They decided it was best not to press on since they were travelling so late at night and in lots of areas without cell service.  The next morning they got on the road again and showed up around 4:30.  Jack wasted no time getting right down to the business of playing.  There was a small wrestling match, a lot of Nerf wars, a game of Sequence, a game of Neighbor, and even a dinner at HuHot.  We also spent plenty of time hinting about what they were going to do for his birthday celebration with him.  It is a surprise trip back to the museum he attended on his field trip.

Loved: The way the snow clung to the trees during out last winter weather.  The weather was really warm early in the week and then a storm rolled in late Wednesday night.  It didn't bring more than 1/2 of snow, but the way it just clung to the trees was so beautiful.  I tried to take an artsy picture of our evergreen because it was just so picturesque.  I didn't like the bitter cold  or lack of sun that came with the storm but at least it provided white frosted scene to look at during those bleak couple of days.

Here are the pics for the week:

So full!

 

Isn't it pretty?

 

Baby Von Miller.  I was the only person I surveyed that found this cute instead of creepy.  I just don't get how people don't see darling!

 

I think the box is bigger than he is!

 

One of my mom's presents didn't make it before she left to come down here, so she sent it down with Kyle and Jess.  It's a perfectly replica of the face her cat makes often.  Too bad it couldn't have been in black and white to match his looks too.

 

A Week in Review (January 22-28)

A Week in Review (January 22-28)

Watched: Modern Family.  I am not sure why my DVR didn't start recording this at the beginning of the season, but I have had to play catch up. I thought all the season would be On Demand, but some episodes are missing. I will have to pay for a couple single episodes through Amazon.  I am sure glad to be catching back up with the Prichet family. 

Read: So you know those nights when you know you should put down the book and just go to sleep, but you can't because you need to know what happens next. That's how it was for as I was finishing up All the Ugly and Wonderful Things. It is such a heartbreaking book. It will really make you rethink your first world problems. There weren't any big twists or reveals for me, but I liked it anyway.  I am still making good progress on my other two books and I started Dark Matter.  It is just leaving me very confused at the moment.  I wish I knew more science because I think that might answer some questions I am currently having.

Listened: I made time to listen to The Lost City of Z. The sections are long at about 75 minutes each.  It is an interesting to see the strides that have been made in technology and anthropology. I'm curious about how it will all wrap up. 

Made: A good plan for our school yearbook. Now I just have to figure out how to get people to send me in more pictures. One problem at a time. I am really looking forward to working with my partner as she also seems straightforward and to the point. 

Felt: Disgusted at the present that arrived for my boy. Aunt Valerie and Uncle Chewy got Jack a Dak Prescott shirt for his birthday. It arrived Saturday. He was very excited to try it on. He's a little worried about me throwing it away. I wouldn't actually do it, but it would probably make me feel better. 

Planned: Duct Tape peeling right off the wax paper when we duct taped our coach up to the wall.  I thought it was a ton of fun for the kids. We made sure that we saved the pink for the last. I love how fun our head coach is!  

Loved: Having some friends over for the KU v Kentucky game. It was ugly in parts, but the team pulled out a win in the end. After the game was over, we cooked tacos and played games. I love having a house big enough to entertain people easily. 

Here are the pics for the week:

 

 

 

A Week in Review (January 15-21)

A Week in Review (January 15-21)

Watched:  I caught up to live on This Is Us. I spent way more time watching it than I should have, but I just couldn't get enough. I am so glad that I decided to give it a try. If you are looking for a show to watch and you enjoy peeking into the lives of others, this would totally be for you. 

Read: I finished up three books that I was reading this week.  First, I finished up I'll Take You There.  This book was very disconnected to me. I'm not sure what the main point the author was attempting to drive home. It seemed like there lots of ideas, but no one strong theme. I think it was the bouncing around in ideas that made it take me so long to get through. I'm a Wally Lamb fan, if I feel like this one needed more focus.  Jack and I finished up the book he had brought home to share with me, Jennifer Murdley's Toad.  It is his favorite that she has read to him. He was disappointed that I only gave it three stars. He said it was deserving of 4.5 stars. It's a good story to share with students in grades 3-5.  On Saturday, I was able to wrap The Winter People. This book is more like a 3.5 half star book for me. I think that it would have been 4 stars if I had liked the ending a little bit more. It truly left me creeped out in several places. I think it would make a great Halloween read.  Next I am going to start All the Ugly and Wonderful Things and The Lost City of Z.  I am hoping they are both fast reads and that I have at least one review for you next week.

Listened: To Nick's co-workers talk sports during their Friday Afternoon Club.  Because Jack was over at his friends before their basketball practice, Nick invited me to come out for their weekly beer.  None of the beers sounded good, so I just sat around and listened.  He works with a lot of nice guys and I hope they all continue with the company for years.

Made: Three birthday cakes for Jack's 9th birthday. He requested a number 9 for his birthday, so I made it free form so that we could eat cake on his real birthday. For his party the next day, I made a helmet cake in colors of his choosing and a domed football. I was pretty proud of the way they ended up looking. They tasted good to boot!

Felt: A little bummed that Jack's opponents were mostly rematches from last week.  The one new opponent did beat him in OT, but it was a heck of a battle.  While they were waiting around to collect their medals (custom medals for 1st and 2nd place!), Blitz (the new opponent) and Jack got talking.  Apparently Blitz has been wrestling for five years.  It was good for Jack to see that his skills can hang with the likes of kids who have been in club wrestling for many more years than he has.  You can watch his matches HERE, HERE, and HERE.

Planned: On just a short trim to keep my hair more in line, but I ended up talking quite a bit off.  I really love the way it looks.  I am so bummed that I finally found someone who I like to cut my hair and she is moving to Texas in May.  She thought she would be able to refer me to someone else who can give me a good cut.  I am crossing my fingers because my hair is quite the pain to cut and style.

Loved: Celebrating my boy turning 9!  Since his birthday was Sunday were got to celebrate for almost two days.  The morning started with Madden (of course) and a stack of 9 donuts.  We slowly opened presents from Grandma Teri and Poppa Blas and from Nick and I.  We also went to HuHot, where he decided to wear his 9 gold medals, but then left them in car.  Since Grandma Teri had to get back so she could go to work, we went to Dart Warz a day early with her.  We came back in time to finish watching the Cowboys and Packers game.  Jack was pretty devastated that the Cowboys lost.  He couldn't even talk to Aunt Valerie when she called to wish him Happy Birthday.  Nick went from ecstatic at tie to bummed that the points were called back on a hold.  In the end, the Chiefs lost, but they did play pretty hard.  The next day we celebrated his birthday with friends spending two hours at Dart Warz and then two hours at our house.  I was pretty zonked by the end of it, but I think I made my boy feel special, which is what birthday's are all about!

Here are the pics for the week:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Week in Review (January 8-14)

A Week in Review (January 8-14)

Watched: I finally decided to watch This Is Us. So many people rave about it that I decided that I should watch a few episodes to try it. It didn't take me long to get hooked. It has a Parenthood feel to it.

Read:  I didn't make great progress on either of the books that I was reading.  I really need to pick it up as I several books that will be coming off my holds list soon.  Luckily I am doing one of them as a buddy read with my friend in Kansas and so that will help keep me on pace with that book.

Listened: To wind blow non-stop and ferociously for two whole days.  On Monday, it was the worst. The fences that we share with both neighbors broke.  I am glad Nora didn't get out since she had a wide open area to do it.  In the top picture below you will see a gigantic tree that was uprooted in our local neighborhood park.  I saw that the highest gust recorded was 101mph. Crazy, right?  Everywhere is sold out of wood so getting the fence fixed will be a real pain in the arse.  This is one of those times I am glad that I am not a homeowner because than I'd have to deal with fixing it, but then I wish I was the homeowner so I get fixed on my timeline instead of someone elses.

Made: A hard choice on Saturday.  Jack was getting far too aggressive and mean and I warned him that if he didn't stop it, I was going to give it to worse than he was getting.  He didn't listen and I had to show him that I meant business.  He was less than thrilled to learn that lesson and I was less than thrilled to give it.  Hopefully it's the last time that I ever have to physically show him that I say it when I mean it.

Felt: Frustrated that the tournament this weekend was so poorly ran. There were way too many wrestlers and spectators for such a small space. If you were sitting in the stands, you were totally crowded and then couldn't see any of the matches. All the matches you had to get out of the packed stands and push your way through the crowd to get to the mat. On the plus side, Jack got gold. You can see his three matches HERE, HERE, and HERE. 

Planned: On going to the Melting Pot on Jack's actual birthday, but because they are only open during evening hours and the Chiefs playoff game was pushed  back due to the impending ice storm Kansas City was supposed to receive, we had to go Saturday night.  It was an awesome time with my mom, Nick, and Jack. 

Loved: That we live close enough to my mom that she able to drive down and visit so much easier. She arrived Friday in time to watch Jack's first basketball practice of the season. Saturday we spent at the tournament, watching the Jayhawk game, and enjoying dinner. I love watching her be a grandma. She's so good to him and I just feel so lucky that they are blessed with a close relationship. 

Here are the pics for the week:

Nick as a Watch Dog to celebrate Jack's birthday.

Snuggle Time with Grandma
 

The Melting Pot.  Mmm...Yummy! 

 

A Week in Review (January 1-7)

A Week in Review (January 1-7)

Watched: Nora act like a scared little girl when she had to go in for her yearly shots.  I love how she just knew that she was at the vet and that good things just don't happen there.  They want us to cut back her food as he felt she was losing a bit of her waistline and labs are known to have weight issues since they love food so much.  Otherwise, they think she is doing great.  He noticed that all her teeth look great too. I guess all that destructive chewing is good for something!

Read:  I read The Snow Child this week.  A fairy tale about an old woman who believes in fairy tales. Definitely not like many adult fiction novels. I enjoyed it, but I'm not sure I would recommend it to everyone. I think if you love fairy tales, it is a big hit. If you don't, this book most likely won't hit the spot for you.

Listened: To lots of good discussion on our latest book at delayed book club.  It is so fun to sit around talking about the points of the book with people who enjoy novels the way you do.  We even pulled some of the topic questions out of the back of the book.  It was all literary and stuff.  We, of course, enjoyed plenty of good food (made by yours truly) and conversation.  I am very thankful that Katie asked me to join.

Made: A fool of myself at Nick's company party.  Thank goodness it was only in front of friends of ours.  They had it bowling alley this year and I was the first one one up.  I went out there to toss my ball and went flying with it down the alley. I banged up my knee and severely injured my pride, but it was a good source of laughter the rest of the night.  We paired off as couples to see which team could get the highest score.  On the first game, Nick and I came in second.  One the second game, we came in first.  It helped that I bowled pretty decent with 112!  They took us back to our dinner room at the end of the night.  It was there that they announced the winners of various trophies.  Little did Katie know that all her fancy moves she was attempting to do, but failing horribly at, would win her a trophy.  She ended up winning a bronze toilet for the worst score of the group.  Ha-ha-hilarious!

Felt:  Very proud of Jack.  On Saturday, he wrestled his first tournament in a month.  It was the Southern Regionals which means there is no seeding.  He had fourteen people in his bracket and he ended in fifth place.  The kids that won were all "A" wrestlers who have a lot more experience than he does.  I love how hard he tries when he is on the mat. If you watch all the matches, you will hear me yelling at him not to cry on the mat in the fifth one.  It's something we've been striving for and I was trying to remind him of that, but I know I sound awfully mean.  You can watch his matches HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.

Planned: On playing the hat games with Jack's friends before heading out to a free basketball clinic put on by the same college where they did summer camp.  However, the boys didn't want to play and managed to have a great time together.  I just piddled around the house getting some things don't that I otherwise wouldn't have.  It was nice to knock it out and have Jack be able to enjoy himself with friends.  The camp was really nicely ran too.  Jack was one of the hotter shooters for his group that day so that always makes it more enjoyable for him to watch.

Loved: That they called on snow day on Thursday.  I really just wanted a fun day to stay home and hang out just me and my boy.  We played some video games, watched some TV, messed around a bit around the house.  I didn't even get out of my PJs until after Nick got home.  He took Jack over the Petersen's to do some wrestling drill work with Rylan.  I ended up going out and scooping and cleaning up the house while they were away.  It was really nice to have a bonus day off that didn't crunch into my to-do list of things I wanted to achieve.

Here are the pics for the week:

Look at my cute girl!

Pics from camp.  I was pretty far away, but you can still see him out there.

 

 

He tried to wait up, but he just didn't make it.

 

Katie and her bronze toilet

 

A Week in Review (December 25-31)

A Week in Review (December 25-31)

Watched: The fireworks from my bedroom window to kick off the New Year.  It is awesome that we get a decent view of the fireworks from our window.  We had the Petersen's over again for another fun evening full of food and games. Nick and Ryan started to wrestle around at the end of the evening and I caught a hilarious picture of what looks like them hugging.  Bro-mance at it's best!  

Read:  I finished up my final Sookie Stackhouse novel, Dead Ever After. Not my favorite Sookie book of all time and not the conclusion I was hoping for in the last novel of the series. Just felt very open ended for a book you thought would wrap things up better. Maybe now I'll watch True Blood and see how that all goes down.  I had to spend a good chunk of my Saturday reading it so that I could achieve my Goodreads goal that I sat for myself of 50 books!  I am going to read Snow Child next.

Listened: To my boy tell me about all the fun things he got to do over at his friend's house.  He and Nick went over to a fellow wrestling coach's house for a bit of winter break practice.  The coaches were supposed to go out for the night so I assumed Jack would be coming back home while they went out.  Instead, he was invited to stay and play.  He had a great time and I was able to work on something things around the house that needed dealt with after our trip.

Made: Good progress in getting the stuff from our trip and Christmas decorations taken down.  Friday was beautiful weather, so we made sure to get all the outdoor stuff down.  The house always feels so much more plain after it all comes down.  I am sure it is a feeling of relief for Nick.  Now to see how many weeks it takes me to actually get all put away for good.

Felt:  Very excited that Santa brought us a cruise. Jack was less than thrilled that Santa decided to bring our family a puzzle.  However, when we took the time to put it together, it was an awesome message from Santa telling us that we could pick a cruise and let him know where we wanted to go!  Now we just need to decide when and where.  It's hard because we don't live near any port of call, so I want to fly and Nick wants to drive. I am sure we will come up with one soon.

Planned: On my car repair taking quite some time, but it really came together quite quickly!  I know both Jack and I were thrilled that Nick was able to repair the car.  Jack is extremely attached to the car and I just don't know what kind of car that I want and didn't want to have to make that decision yet.  It's awesome having a handy husband who can take care of things like that!

Loved: Spending the entire week with Nick.  He really was able to just take a break from work and focus on relaxing and having fun.  We didn't have a huge to-do list around the house either.  I know Jack has loved having him spend so many days in a row with us.  I am not looking forward to the return of the school week yet.  I could handle another week to continue to mildew, but it won't happen so I guess I need to start preparing for it!

Here are the pics for the week:

Christmas Day

Tio taking him out in the snow

I did it!

New Year's Eve Night