Amy SnowBoarding

Amy went snowboarding at Loveland Ski area yesterday. She hasn't been snowboarding a lot, so it was a day of practice and trying not to fall.

At least when she does fall, she looks cute doing it.

Ward Service Day

Kristen participated in a service day yesterday where the youth and leaders helped with yard work, aerating lawns, weeding, moving rock, etc. Anything that ward members wanted help with. They started bright and early at 8:30 with breakfast and then were off working all day long.

Kristen got home at 3:30, but there were boys still aerating our neighbor's lawn at 5 pm. Long day for kids and parents.

Asparagus

I am planting asparagus again. That's because I didn't really know how to care for it the first time around and pretty much killed it off. 

This time, I have a row that I planted with my strawberries and then I dug a row outside of the garden area. I had to enclose it in wire mesh. Let's hope it keeps the stupid bunnies out.

So far, my onions, carrots, potatoes and peas are planted for the year. The strawberries just keep coming back.

That's the beginning of a potato plant.

Onions

Kristen Vaccine

Kristen got her first dose of the Pfizer vaccine today. The place we went had these rolling trays so that the staff could move to where people were sitting and still allow everyone to stay socially distant.

And, the nurse was busy talking to her when another nurse gave the shot so she was surprised when it was all done.

She's a Smart One

Kristen received her acceptance to the National Honor Society. 

She was also invited to participate in the 4.0 luncheon at school. Can't be Chick-fil-A. Unless, of course, the principal decides to talk to much delaying the eating of Chick-fil-A.

Making a Mess at Work

Misha texted us one evening while at work. She was not pleased:

"So there’s this robotics thing happening here tomorrow so some of the robotics teachers are staying late to help set it up. And this one teacher was messing around with the printer cause it wasn’t working and he took the black ink out of the printer and tries to fix it but it ends up going everywhere. Powdered printer ink explodes on the wall, the floor, the trash can, the printer. It’s a huge mess and I get to clean it up and now it’s stained the wall so I’m grumpy."

The principal was standing right there when it happened and both he and the teacher laughed. Misha was probably shooting daggers with her eyes!

Happy 16th Birthday

Probably not so much fun to have your 16th birthday on a Monday! I even offered to let her do home from school that day, but she didn't want to have to do makeup work for her PE class. 

I made a cinnamon streusel cake for Kristen on Sunday morning since that is another birthday tradition (and I knew I wouldn't have time on Monday morning).

Kristen's young women leaders dropped off a little treat and posted a birthday sign in our front yard.

Misha was so awesome to decorate the house on Sunday evening for Kristen.

On Monday evening, I made the requested birthday dinner of crepes. 

I tried to stall after dinner as Kristen also had a birthday cake. I had invited a couple of her friends to come over and surprise her and join her for cake (we hope to do a birthday party soon).

We opened presents before the birthday cake. Kristen was happy with a new winter jacket that has a zip out lining, a massage, Ulta gift cards, cash, new clothes, a game, and makeup.

Around 7:15 pm, Kristen's friends, Sophie, Bella, Lydia, and Kate rang the door bell and yelled "surprise" as she opened it.

She had been thinking this would be a pretty lame birthday, especially since it started snowing in the late afternoon.

Turns out, she had an awesome day.

And I did let her do school from home on Tuesday.

Fixing the Tail Light in Misha's Car

One of the tail lights in Misha's Subaru was out. We mentioned it to her as we noticed it driving into Longmont one evening. She was quick to head to the auto parts store to pick up a new bulb.

On Saturday afternoon she and Amy worked to replace the bulb. Amy was quick to add that she did most of the work.

Misha was quick to add that the light was fixed.

Early Birthday Celebration

Saturday evening is one of the few nights during the week when all of our family is together. In order to follow the tradition of going out to dinner as a family to celebrate a birthday, I told the girls to reserve Saturday evening to celebrate Kristen.

Kristen had originally wanted to go to a steakhouse, but the ones she chose were either too far away, closed, or had a two-hour wait time.

We ended up at Tokyo Joes where Kristen could still order steak in her noodle bowl.

Happy early birthday to this sweet 16er!

Just noticing in the picture that she looks as though she has a halo above her head!

Amy Got A Promotion

In March, Amy applied for a new position at the Lexus dealership where she works. The position would be as a billing clerk in the office. She never heard anything after submitting her application and found out later that someone else had been hired for the position.

Fast forward a couple of weeks when a lady from the Accounts Payable and Receivable office came down to see Amy and asked if she would be interested in a position in that office. Apparently, the General Manager had suggested that they come and ask Amy before advertising the position.

It would mean a raise.

She said "yes" and finished off working the valet position with a 9-hour drive to Gillette, WY to exchange a car. Whew, long day.

To say that she was nervous was an understatement. She didn't sleep well the few days before she was to start.

Turns out, she enjoys most days and loves learning a new skill.

She even got to go out for lunch with all of the other office staff on Administrative Support day. 

She definitely misses the friends she made as she worked as a valet, but at least she still gets to see them and they tell her how much she is missed.

And the girl who was hired for the Billing position? Fired.

She didn't bother to come to work or tell anyone that she was not feeling good.

Arizona Day 3 A Scavenger Hunt

We planned to go on a scavenger hunt in downtown Phoenix on our last day in Arizona. Christine wasn’t feeling great so we met up with Grandpa and his dog, Stella, by Herberger Theater Center. 

The scavenger hunt took us to St. Mary’s cathedral, Heritage Square, through the downtown area, and past the Orpheum Theater. It was getting pretty hot by the time we finished and returned to our cars. 

The four of us enjoyed lunch on the outdoor patio of Pizzeria Bianco in Heritage Square. It had a quaint European feel to it. 

Chris, Kristen, and I stopped to look at a few more model homes built by Blandford Homes, about a mile from Grandpa’s house. None were nearly so impressive as the first home we saw. We chatted with Christine and Grandpa until it was time to leave for the airport.

Misha's Hair

 Misha did a thing.

She said, "It's a little sticky uppy here."

That's pretty much what she looks like in the morning when she wakes up now. She does slick it down a bit.

Still beautiful.

Arizona Day 2 Flying with Grandpa

We woke up a little earlier today so that we could meet Grandpa at Falcon Field to fly with him in his “Mooney”. 

We helped with the pre-flight check and assisted in rolling the plane out of his hangar. While Grandpa continued with his check, I walked to another hangar to take a picture of some older cars. 

This grumpy old redneck dude across the way started yelling at me, “Take a picture it will last longer.” I heard this a couple of times before I turned to look at him, realizing that he was yelling at me. As he yelled, “Take a picture it will last longer.” I turned and held up my camera, like “Duh!” Then he changed his tune thinking that I was some kind of security taking pictures of parked cars on the lot and yelled at me some more. He was a real jerk. 

When I walked back to Grandpa’s hangar, he shut up. Chris and Grandpa flew first. The weight limit of the plane wouldn’t allow all four of us to go at the same time. Kristen drove the rental car into the hangar and the guys were off taxiing to the runway. 

Kristen and I waited for a half an hour as they flew and then went out to meet Grandpa and change places with Chris. 

I sat in the back seat while Kristen got to sit up front and try her hand at flying. 

We took off toward the Superstition Mountains and flew for about 35 minutes before making a smooth landing. 

Grandpa had some work to do in the afternoon, so we split up. 

We drove past the Mesa temple and then the Gilbert temple. The Gilbert temple looked as though it had been vandalized with one of the front doors covered in plywood as well as a sidelight. 

If you look closely, you can see a worker rappelling down the side of the temple.

On a whim, we decided to drive around a neighborhood close to the temple. When Kristen found out that we were going to stop and look at a model home, she was quite excited. We walked into the model built by Blandford Homes and were impressed. The ceilings were probably 12 feet tall with archways with a stunning kitchen and open floor plan in a French country style. It was beautiful. It was also $1.7 million on a tiny lot. And no, we do not wish to move to Arizona.

Since we didn’t really have any other plans, we stopped for a quick lunch and then found a few more model homes to see. None were quite as impressive as the first model. We drove back to Ahwatukee for dinner—fajitas a la Grandpa Kline and Christine.

Arizona Day 1 Air Museum

Chris, Kristen, and I made a quick trip to Arizona to visit Grandpa Kline and Christine. 

The first day of our visit included a trip to Tucson to see the Pima Air and Space Museum. Chris and his dad loved the planes and exhibits and took turns pointing out the different planes on the lot or the “airplane graveyard”. 

Kristen leaned over to me at one point and whispered, "They could just put a bunch of numbers and letters together, and we would never know the difference."  We spent time in three different hangars as well as walking in the graveyard and still probably saw only half of what was there. 

We lucked out and enjoyed 90+ weather for the three days of our visit. 

The normal temperatures are usually in the 80s for this time of the year. 

We made a stop at Sonic for some cool treats and then started the drive back to Phoenix. 

I remember the last time we made the trip, Misha was just a baby and she cried for the entire drive from Tucson to Phoenix. 

Kristen was a little better behaved for us. 

Grandpa and Christine stopped to pick up some Mediterranean food for dinner and we enjoyed the beautiful evening sunset on the patio as we ate. 

After dinner, when the sun had set and the weather was cooler, we walked with Grandpa and his dogs, Abby and Stella, on the golf course. Stella is a super golf ball finder. 

Grandpa saves the balls and gives them to his friends who golf.

Cleaning The Dryer

Chris bought a tool to clean the hose running from our dryer to the vent on the exterior of the house. 

It was a telescoping wand with a brush attachment that cleaned the hose as the wand was extended through it. 

The good news? There really wasn’t a lot of build up in the hose. 

More good news? Chris climbed behind the washer and dryer and cleaned it out. 

The bad news? He had a bit of challenge trying to get out. I wish that I had taken a picture of his predicament. Good thing he has such long legs to leverage himself out of tight spots.

Covid Vaccinations

I received the Moderna vaccine on April 5. 

Chris received his on the 6th, and Amy received hers on the 7th. 

Kristen will have to wait until after her 16th birthday before she can receive hers. Misha was vaccinated a couple of weeks ago.

Our reactions were pretty mild with sore arms. Amy got hit with some allergies. Not sure if they were made more intense because of the vaccine, but she felt yucky for a day or so. 

Our 2nd doses are scheduled for four weeks out. There is a great sense of relief and hopefulness that life will begin to return to normal.

HS Tennis

Tennis has started back up for the semester. 

Outdoor mask mandates are being lifted, so that will make practicing and playing matches so much easier. 

Pre-season conditioning has started. I think it is a shock to the a few of the girls to have so much intense physical conditioning. 

On the second day of practice, Kristen didn’t have very substantial meals throughout the day. She may or may not have thrown up. 

She tends to do that when she overheats. Lack of good nutrition added to the nausea she was feeling.

4th Annual Amazing Race Easter Egg Hunt

Our girls still love to celebrate. Chris opted out of the Easter Egg hunt this year.

This is the before when everyone isn't red in the face from the exertion of the hunt.

We had our Annual Easter Egg Hunt where I hid 3 colors of eggs, 20 of each color, all numbered 1 through 20. 

I hide the eggs around the outside of the house and the girls have to find all of them in order. 

You can be sure that if they don’t exercise regularly, this is one day where they will get a lot of exercise. 

Misha came in first, Amy second, and Kristen third. 

I think next year is the year for Kristen to take the top prize.

Easter Cookies

Kristen made sugar cookies for Easter and then decorated them all. Her family was happy to help her eat them. 

Some traditions are hard to let go.

Planting the Garden

I love the transformation that takes place as I begin to work the soil, add new amendments, and begin planting in my garden. 

After planting for four years now, I have a pretty good rotating plan. 

The strawberries pretty much have taken over their 4x8 garden box. I do still add one tomato plant and a marigold plant that helps to keep bugs away. I plant about five more tomato plants in garden pots. 

I also plant zucchini, peas, carrots, parsley, basil, beans, and potatoes. I was smart and kept some seed potatoes from garden last year to use in planting this year. I think they have eyes. What do you think?

Outside the fence of my garden I have started planting pumpkins and watermelon. Each year my garden attempts become a little more successful. My asparagus didn’t last after two years in the box with the strawberries, so I think I am going to plant a larger permanent section of asparagus outside the garden fenced area. 

I might have to encircle it with chicken wire to keep the rabbits out of it though. 

My dad will probably gasp, but I decided to pull out my raspberry bushes. They were planted in a small 1x4 planter and were already getting out of control. I planted onions in that planter instead.