December 2017

December was busy until the last week, when things suddenly slowed down for the holidays.  This was a good year for Christmas-related activities.  We attended several parties and shows, Kylen went caroling and started a little ministry handing out candy canes and tracts.  He also volunteered in concessions at a local theater and went to a Christmas dance and a couple of teen writer's events.  Greg had basketball Tuesdays, and Kylen had voice lessons Fridays.  Between the three of us, we saw four movies (two free from a rewards program), which is unheard of.  Usually, we see one movie every several months.  Our favorites were Justice League and Star Wars.

Christmas party #1 at a friend's house.  Kylen and his partner won the Christmas trivia game!  Their prize was festive antlers.  :)

Christmas party #2.  Technically, a game night.  I played Telestrations for the first time and was impressed with one of the drawings by a talented teenager.

Let this be known: my son seriously does not need to wear socks with holes.  He just doesn't tell me when he needs new ones!  Greg said when he was a kid this was called new crop potatoes.  Lol.

Christmas party #3.  An annual event at our co-op.  I helped make the yarn ball decorations.  :)

We ordered Christmas cards from simplytoimpress and were quite impressed!  A little more expensive than most but better quality.

I saw this picture in a magazine by Ken Orvidas and absolutely loved it, but I wasn't able to find a title or a way to order a print.  My picture of it is a little washed out, but you get the idea.  I love the happy colors!

We saw a couple friends' basketball games.

One of the shows we saw, Elf Jr., with several friends in the cast.  They did fantastic!

Kylen was inspired to write his own tract.  We added stickers, put them in plastic sleeves with a candy cane, punched a hole in each bag, and attached a rubber band.  A couple of families helped place them on doorknobs one afternoon.  Kylen got the idea shortly before Christmas, so we had to scramble to get them printed and prepped, but we were happy with how it went.  He'd like to do it again next year.

We enjoyed a Christmasy meal at the CDA resort.  I love, love, love their salad bar.  They have the best Caesar dressing.

I received an awesome belated birthday package from my cousin (belated is tradition!).  :)

A friend of Kylen's published his first book!  We went to his book launch party at a library and heard him speak about self-publishing.  We haven't had a chance to read it yet but will soon!

In recent years, we've made fudge for our holiday indulgence.  This time we made haystacks.  I grew up having them at Grandma's and my parents' house.  Definitely nostalgic, definitely yummy.

We had friends over for fellowship and a Christmas gift exchange.  They also gave us a great anniversary gift!

My first set of tiles in a Scrabble game.  Too bad proper nouns aren't allowed!

I posted about Christmas here.

After Christmas, we went to see Star Wars.  Greg and Kylen waited in line while I browsed shops.

The last week of December we mostly hung out at home and played Zelda.  We were going to have friends over New Year's Eve and meet family New Year's Day, but Kylen got sick.  So the year went out without a bang.  2018 should be eventful with Kylen graduating.  Our lives will change drastically, but we look forward to seeing what God has next.  :)

July 2017

July was another busy month, between Greg and Kylen's play and various get-togethers.  We had my brother's family over, I went out to lunch with a friend, we met old college pals at a restaurant when one was in town:

It was time to change the theme for the decor in our living area and put away the word magnets on the fridge.  Some of my favorite words/phrases this time:

he he he
time to play ball with the dragon . . . fire is joy
the space battle is live
geeking out about digital galoshes
never grow up
i am dad . . . you are my family
man, the white cloud's so soft
will they pull off an empire from dark hard drive interface?
good woman . . . teach us of speed cooking . . . do not ask it of me
that's no moon
i love you . . . i know
i think that kid's the avatar
to err is computer
the server always downloads their horrible upgrade
you make me believe in love [One of Greg's contributions!  Awwwww!]
how could boy monkey write linear source code for his dream girl?
share a silly garden together
imagine red candy . . . so sinister
wifi would rule one day
sing techy treky live action bot performance
say, it's a pig play
easy friend, put this stun tube under a bed
behind every system, there are mountains of information
get smarter
program more video game content
virus or cold?
she was sad when hub wanted laptop [written by me, of course lol]

I posted about the 4th of July here.

We went to a graduation at a roller rink!

I posted about the play here.

I got such a kick out of these coconuts at the grocery store.  I probably could have done an entire photo shoot with them.  :)  Greg took a few pics for me with his phone.

I posted about my birthday here.

And that was July!

June 2017

June was busy for a summer month, but it seems that as Kylen has gotten older, our summers have gotten busier.  He finished some subjects in late May but needed to continue others into June and opted to do math throughout the summer rather than buckling down and finishing.  Even though we are fairly strict about staying on track, it has always been a challenge to complete all subjects by summer when we often have only four school days/week instead of the traditional five.  The fifth day has been used for co-op attendance and other activities.  It's been worth it, but it's resulted in doing some schooling through the summer.

The play Kylen and Greg were cast in kept them busy multiple evenings each week, plus basketball one evening when possible.  Kylen also started voice lessons, which I am very happy about!  I've been encouraging him to take voice for several years, because I figured it would come in handy with his interest in music and ministry.  After a year of theater, he realized the value of it!  His instructor is an incredible teacher, and Kylen has noticed great improvement in a short time.

On June 2nd, we got a new niece!  She had a rough start, but when my brother and his wife finally took her home, they also took an incredible testimony.  This picture shows one of the many ways God showed His Hand at work.  The picture on the wall in her room?  Her name is Daisy!

Another graduation!

We attended our co-op's year end party.  Since we haven't been sure whether we'll return in the fall, they honored me with a certificate and gift for my service.  This is where I've put most of my volunteer time the past 10 years, between teaching, serving on the board, and leading in various capacities.  At times it felt like a full time job, because I poured everything I had into it.  This is where we met some of our closest friends, and this is the group of people who have impacted our homeschool journey the most.  The last few years, I've slowly moved toward "retirement" - handing off extra jobs and not taking on new ones.  In a lot of ways, my experience here was similar to being plugged into a church.  I got to know people, learned from them, worked through conflicts, and tried to make it the best place possible for our kids.

We enjoyed a dessert outing with friends.  :)

Here is company trying our Chewbacca mask! (And he wore it quite well, I might add!)

Something shocking and sad happened.  A relative who had just graduated from college, healthy and in the prime of life, was killed with her fiance in a car accident.  They lost control during adverse weather conditions, skidded across the highway, and hit a semi head on.  Both were killed instantly.  I never got to meet her fiance, but she was one of the happiest people I have ever known.  I had just seen her a few weeks prior at her sister's wedding reception, which made it all the more shocking.

You will be missed, sweet Debbie!

I posted about Father's Day here.

Kylen and I had another mother/son lunch outing.  This is a place called The Well Coffeehouse.  It's a cute place, and they specialize in healthy food, which I appreciate.  The problem is that they chop their veggies so large, Kylen and I didn't enjoy the sandwiches we tried nearly as much as we could have.  The ingredients are fresh, but it would be nice to get a bite of veggie, meat, and sauce together instead of just cucumber or tomato or sprouts.  We also did not care for the healthy drinks we tried.  I have a few healthy drink recipes that we love, so I know it's possible to make them taste good!

Kylen waiting for me to get back to the table.

I had a fantastic lunch with a friend at Beverly's in CDA.  When Greg and I ate dinner there 10 years ago, we didn't think the food was worth the price.  But my friend had been there for lunch and liked it.  In fact, it was one of the best healthy lunches I've had at a restaurant.  This was the "British Columbia Salmon Skewers" with jasmine rice, soy glazed broccolini, and hoisin-ginger vinaigrette.  They came by with a selection of warm bread/rolls to choose from, and we also shared a cute pot of coffee with all the fixin's.  Oh!  And their Caesar salad was excellent!!!

I will be doing a separate post about Greg and Kylen's awesome experience with Liberty Lake Theater.  It was a big part of June, but it didn't end until mid-July.  :)

The Amazing Birthday Gift

Something really neat happened in October.  My friend and cousin, Melody, sent me a belated 40th birthday package.  (It's tradition to send each other a birthday package several months late!)  It was definitely in the top five coolest things I've ever received by mail.  I was SO blown away!!!  She even got crafty and decorated the inside flaps of the box!  How cool is that???

The items were numbered 1-40.

So many wonderful things, but my favorites were the stickers and decorations for fall.

I immediately hung this on the wall.

It was fun to take items out and walk around the house, deciding where to put them.  I think my absolute favorites were the glass fruits.  They fit in perfectly with our fall theme.

Thank you, Melody!  This gave me a birthday memory I will always treasure, and your gift will keep on giving.  It inspired me to make my 40th birthday gifts to others extra special.  I'm already thinking about your 40th . . .  :)