Biking for Chris and Tyler

Chris sent me a photo of him and Tyler as they mountain biked on Saturday morning. It was perfect weather though a flat tire slowed them down a bit.

Chris always loves a day when he can get up to the mountains and ride.

A Prom Date to Frederick's Prom

Kristen's friend Kyle asked her to be his date for his Prom at Frederick High School.

They had originally planned to go to Boulder for pictures, but chose a location closer to home. I think all of the crazy wind (and perhaps Kyle's mom) talked the kids into planning for pictures a little closer as a convenience for parents who wanted to take pictures.

Chris and I met them at Milavec Lake and got a few pictures before they drove to Boulder for dinner and then the dance in Lafayette (I believe).

Chris and Covid

Chris didn't feel too badly for the first couple of days once he tested positive for Covid, but on Monday or Tuesday after taking the Covid test, he came done with symptoms similar to a cold.

This began the next week of him quarantining and me bringing him meals and snacks in the basement.

As far as being quarantined goes, he had pretty comfy digs in the basement with his office, the family room, and guest bedroom.

I added a sheet over the doorway to the basement. It certainly wasn't 100% for coverage, but it worked.

Chris finally started feeling better later in the week, and by Friday after work, he was feeling good enough to come upstairs for dinner.

Funny how we got lonely for each other and were still in the same house.

Kristen and Misha and I were all fortunate in being able to stay healthy.

Chris to a Tennis Match

Chris was beginning to feel better by the end of the week after testing positive for Covid. Kristen had an "away" match in Longmont.

Chris had been planning to be in Austin for work and would have missed seeing Kristen's match, but he was able to drive in, sit far away from everyone, and watch her play.

He still wore a mask while outside and distanced himself from people, but some lady still made a snarky comment to her kids about Chris loud enough for him to hear, "Some people live in such fear..."

My thought, "Some people are poor examples for their children..."

She Got the Job!

Hooray! Amy is thrilled! Chris and I are thrilled for her.

She found out on Wednesday, the 20th and began officially as a manager on Monday, April 25th.

She's 17!

Kristen had a busy day on her birthday with school and tennis AND I was the only one who was around to celebrate her birthday. Chris was quarantined to the basement and the Amy and Misha were at school.

I celebrated her with a birthday muffin and added decorations outside her bedroom door for a surprise.

We ordered pizza for her birthday dinner and then Chris, Amy and Misha facetimed with us when Kristen opened gifts.

Crazy to think that our youngest is 17 years old. When these girls were younger, it was hard to imagine that time would fly by so quickly. Kristen will be a senior next year and then after that, she'll be off to college.

Happy birthday Kristen.

Interviewing for a New Job

Working at VASA has been a great blessing for Amy while she has been going to school at BYU. 

Combine that with the time she worked at VASA in Colorado, and she has had quite a bit of experience.

When her friend and manager moved on to a new job, Amy was thrilled to apply for the manager position at VASA. 

She had an informal first interview and has a second interview with more of the management.

Amy is crossing her fingers that she will get the position as it will allow her to work full-time for the summer, give her a good wage, and give her experience that will hopefully work in her favor when applying to the business school.

Chris is Sick

Chris arrived home from a fast-paced, productive week in London yesterday afternoon.

He wasn't feeling too perky this morning when he woke up and had a bit of a scratchy throat. Just to be safe, he took a Covid test.

He tested positive.

He is doing fine right now and just relaxing in the basement watching tv. Probably what he would have been doing in order to recover from the jet lag anyway.

The rest of us will wait five days to test and do our best to avoid interaction. Apparently, wearing a face mask during those five days is the best advice if we do have to be around people.

A Cake from Chick-fil-A

Chick-fil-A celebrated Kristen's birthday with a cake from Nothing Bundt Cake. 

Chick-fil-A has been a great first job for Kristen and have treated her well.

Job Interview for Amy

Amy has had a first and second interview for a position as the manager at the VASA Fitness Club in Orem across from University Mall. She is really hoping that she gets and is able to earn enough money for Fall semester class. 

Prayers appreciated.

An Early Birthday Dinner

To celebrate Kristen's birthday, the Klines currently living in Colorado went out for dinner.

Misha drove down from Denver to join us, and we enjoyed a dinner at Caprese Trattoria in Longmont complete with birthday ice cream which Misha and Kristen shared.

I forgot to take a picture!

"Squirrel!"

I happened to spy this squirrel just sunning himself on one of the pillars on the deck. I tried to stay out of his line of sight while I grabbed my phone so that I could take a picture without scaring him off.

I walked to the kitchen window and zoomed in. He wasn't completely relaxing. You can tell that he was ready to scamper away at any time.

I came back a couple of minutes later to find two doves sitting in the same spot. They moved before I got a chance to snap a pic of both of them, but I got one!

Last Day of Classes for Amy

To say that she is relieved to have classes over for the semester is a HUGE understatement. Amy still has finals next week, but then she is done.

Broken "Love"

I am totally surprised I didn't hear the crash of a canvas picture and some decor in the middle of the night. I woke to find one of my canvas prints that had this "Love" word sitting on top of it on the floor. 

The print was fine but "Love" was broken to pieces.

Asparagus

My asparagus is already being bounteous in my garden. I planted a bunch last year and had to redo some that didn't come up at all last year. But the plants from last year that successfully grew are now producing nicely already.

It was enough for me, and since Chris wasn't home and Kristen wouldn't eat the stuff, I enjoyed it all by myself.

Prom-posal

Kristen got asked to her friend's prom. Kyle brought a beautiful bunch of flowers. Kyle's prom is April 23rd. 

And just so you know, she asked me to be ready to take pics for her.

Kristen plans to ask Kyle to her prom which is on May 7th. Let's see what kind of creativity she comes up with.

Roses

I like to treat myself to flowers every once in awhile, especially when I find a nice bunch in the clearance area at the grocery store.

These roses lasted for two weeks on my counter.

Treasure Hunting

I am looking for some antique type wrought iron that I can use with my dwarf Meyer lemon tree to hold up the branches when they become heavy with fruit

Crossing my fingers that it will actually blossom for me this year!

I perused the aisles at an antique store without finding much for lemon tree, but I did snap this cool pic out front of a rusty, old bike.

Making Her Own Freckles

I gave Kristen some henna for Christmas. She started practicing with it. I was a little surprised when she came into my office on a Sunday morning with her face looking like this. She likes freckles.

She said not to worry, it wouldn't be that dark when she washed it off.

I was skeptical.

But look how cute and subtle her freckles are!

She would probably even like it if they were a little bit darker.

Dress Shopping

Chris and I took Kristen prom dress shopping. It can be a long process.

While I helped Kristen and ran to get new sizes or search for more options, Chris got a little bored.

Good thing we have electronics to keep us occupied in such moments. 

Macy's used to have cushy seats for people to wait in, but no such luck here.

Sharpen Shears

I have taken my garden hedge shears to Ace in previous years to have them sharpened. When I called this year, the person I talked to suggested that I could probably do it myself with the right tools.

A couple of years ago the girls gave me a knife sharpener and that is exactly what I used for the hedging tool. I had to taken the blades apart (and I should have taken pictures as Chris suggested), but I was able to try sharpening and it worked. 

I did have to find a photo online to make sure I got the blades back together in the right way.

I think I will probably do it again and run the blade through the sharpener more times, but that certainly cuts down on the cost of paying someone else to sharpen them for me. I also sharpened and cleaned all of my hand snips as well. 

If you have never watched Garden Answer on Youtube, (click the link to see her full line of videos) you should give this couple a try. Their videos answer so many of my questions and are pretty interesting to watch.

Misha Came to Help

Misha came to help with yard work today and it was such a blessing to have the extra help.

She helped us with trimming back bushes and branches, turning the compost in the bin and then adding new stuff to my garden beds. This is the first year that we have had great mulch to add!

She also power washed both decks. We have a new home subdivision being built to the west of us and our house is so dirty from the wind blowing dirt our way.

Thanks Misha!