Our Sweet Porch and Our Sweet Tooth.

I love our front porch.  It has always been a place to sit and chat or read a book.  This spring, Sidney and I spied this adorable love seat rocker.  We frivolously purchased it and rearranged the furniture a bit.  My mom recovered some of our pillows.  

I remember when Kevin first got sick, and I needed to take over yard duty.  I found it both intimidating and burdensome.  I now find it very relaxing and therapeutic.  I also just love to sit and enjoy the fruits of our labor.  I say 'our' labor, because a lot of our projects were inspired by Kevin's love of Pinterest.  I also say 'our', because the girls have become a HUGE help with the yard.  They are both trained lawn mower operators and weed whackers.  Kendall learned to mow the lawn last year.  I figured Sidney had one more year and a few more inches to go, but her determination and persuasiveness convinced me to give her a try.  One lap around the yard, and she was off and running.  

I had nowhere to park this picture, so here it is.  My parents got the girls a cake pop maker as a thank you after their stay here.  I am pretty sure that I am totally in love with using it.  I made these cute little bite sized pieces the other night.  Not too shabby for my first try!

Back in the Saddle.

Sidney has been anxiously waiting for her horse lessons to resume.  In the meantime, she has been enjoying visits with the neighbor horses.  

Last week, she was able to start horse lessons.  There were a few caveats.  The girls had to be able to fully tack up themselves.  Sidney is able to do this, but decided that she would ride bareback the first time back. 

She was overjoyed to be back on the horse.  She was also incredibly sore after squeezing to stay on for two hours. 

The following week, she decided to saddle up.  She has been lucky enough to ride Star the past few weeks.  She loves this horse!

Saying Goodbye to 'My' Old Faithful.

For those of you that know me, I love to walk (and run).  When Kevin and I were in college, I was running a lot of long distance races.  I did a lot of my training in the dark early hours of the morning or late at night.  It made Kevin crazy nervous to have me out running in the dark by myself.  I was not at all concerned, until my friend shared a couple horror stories.  So at the first chance, Kevin drove to Sears (yes, Sears!), and bought me a Nordictrack treadmill.  We set this treadmill up in the detached garage of our college apartment.  I ran MANY miles on this treadmill.  I would get up and run on it until it got light out, then I would finish my run outside.

I was a bit of a nut back then.  I remember one long run where I 'thought' I had broken in my new shoes, only to be running on blisters about 8 miles into the run.  This was before cell phones.  I ran into a restaurant and asked the hostess to borrow the phone.  I called Kevin, not to pick me up, but rather to bring me my old shoes.  He obliged.  I switched shoes and kept on running.

Well after 20 long and fruitful years, my faithful Nordictrack decided to give out on me.  Of course, it happened in the middle of quarantine, when everyone in the world was ordering home fitness equipment.  I got in line and had to wait several weeks for my new treadmill to ship.  If I was a really patient person, which I am not, I could have waited several months and picked up a nearly new one on Craigslist.

I hope my new treadmill brings me as many joyous years and as many stress relieving miles as my old one.  If you are wondering why I have a mirror in front of my treadmill, it is not to admire myself.  Although it has certainly made me think twice about brushing my hair before running.  The treadmill used to be 90 degrees turned from where it is now.  I could look out the window while I ran.  I could also see anyone entering the room.

However, it was very dangerous.  I did not fully appreciate the dangers of the back of the treadmill against the wall until I proceeded to fall while running one morning.  Yes, my mind was not on task.  Yes, I was not wearing the safety clip.  Yes, I was way too coordinated to fall off the treadmill, after all there is nothing to trip over.  I have zero explanation, but yes, I fell.  It hurt like no other.  The thing about a treadmill is that it does not stop (well, at least if you are not wearing the safety clip).  I was tossed about, repeatedly hitting the back wall, while the belt burnt my exposed skin.  I should mention that it was 5am in the morning.  I should mention that I was cursing like a sailor.  I should also mention that Sidney's bedroom is on the other side of the wall.  Needless to say, when she woke up that morning she wanted to know what had prompted such colorful language.  How embarrassing!  

Back to the mirror, so when I turned the treadmill I could no longer see who was entering the room.  I did not want anyone sneaking up behind me and giving me a heart attack.  After a few surprise visits and near fatal wounds for all parties involved, I invested in this beautiful 'rear view' mirror.  I can only hope that I am fortunate enough to get another 20 years out of this new treadmill!

A Special Mother's Day.

The girls were super sweet and went the extra mile to honor all of the mother's in their lives (myself, Grandma Terrell and Grandma Karen).  Though I had to drive them to the store, they did all of their shopping on their own.  Yes, they wore masks and practiced social distancing.  I believe that is the new norm! 

They showered me with gifts, a mix of homemade gifts and store bought gifts.  They bought me this shirt, which they thought was absolutely hilarious!  I was not so sure about it, but they were adamant it was perfect.  Should I be worried?

Sidney made me an amazing homemade vanilla sugar body scrub. 

Kendall bought this very special necklace with each of our initials and birthstones. 

We had an awesome barbecue at my parents to celebrate.  I am so thankful for these two beautiful ladies in my life.  They both have taught me so much in life.  Their love, loyalty and support are an incredible example to the girls and I.  This was certainly a mother's day to remember.  Note:  I am proudly wearing my new t-shirt.

A Strange Ending to the School Year.

It has been a strange and wild ride this spring.  There have been so many once in a lifetime moments that have been celebrated so differently this year.  When the kids came home from school on a Friday afternoon eight weeks ago, they had no idea that they would not be going back to the school for classes this school year.  Kendall's school finally  made the decision to formally cancel in person classes for the remainder of the school year.  Kendall and I took a trip to the school to clean out her locker and turn in her pile of library books.

It was strangely emotional.  Kendall has made the decision to move to the school district we are zoned for next year, to take advantage of the awesome music programs and meet the people she will be going to high school with, so the locker clean out was particularly interesting. 

I love this girl.  She will be starting a new chapter next fall.  It is scary and exciting at the same time.  Who knows what school will even look like in the fall.  There has been a lot of talk about it being 'different', but it remains to be seen what 'different' looks like.

Bailey Turns 3.

Bailey the doggo turned 3 years old this month.  I am happy to report that he has started to settle down a bit.  Phew!  The girls had a party for him, complete with vanilla ice cream topped with peanut butter and a biscuit.

Boston came to enjoy the festivities.

Sammie was here to celebrate as well.

Snoopy also enjoyed the party.  Grandma Terrell even made a treat bag for each of the dogs, filled with homemade dog biscuits!

The dogs had a great time and played well together.  Happy Birthday Bailey Boy!

Dancing in the Rain.

We have been having some pretty crazy weather this spring; earthquakes, thunderstorms, funnel clouds - yikes!  We had a pretty good downpour one afternoon.  I was working in my office and looked out the window to see the girls having a dance party in the driveway.  It looks like they even went in for an outfit change at one point.  Good thing I was on a long conference call or I just may have joined them!

My Parent's Yard Makeover.

It has been a lot of fun helping my parents transform their yard from dirt to a relaxing place to be.  It reminds me of Kevin and I fixing up our yard or helping Terrell with her yard when she first moved in.  The sod was laid a few weeks ago.  My parents put in a nice planting feature in the center of the yard.

My mom is really excited about the longer growing season in Boise.  She is starting with one very long planter box this year, but has big ambitions for a few more.

Sidney and I helped my Dad build a cover for their patio.  I am super proud of Sidney and her hard work.  She was a legitimate contributor.  The three of us managed to get the roofing on in one afternoon.  I could not believe how heavy the bags of shingles were!

While my parents were over for dinner a few nights ago, their neighbor sent a picture of a snake in their yard.  Holy smokes.  Look closely, the slippery little sucker is against the fence, blending in with the rocks.  My Dad did a thorough yard inspection and did not see the slithering creature in their yard.