Moments 09 20 :: Week 04

Brian was on a motorcycle trip last weekend, so I made C and I some pancake cereal. So cute and tasted great too.

Taking over my workout mat as soon as I get up, per usual. 

Best purchase ever was the disco ball that lies in the corner of the living room. A few magical moments every single sunny day.

New painting by Jean Smith. I thought the scuba lady was perfect during COVID times. 

C had off of school today, so I bribed him into doing stuff with me by telling him he could drive everywhere. We didn't get on the highway, although it would have been much faster, but he did great. Racking those hours in finally. 

I even got him to go apple picking with me. 

Seriously, it was such a perfect day.

I feel like it's been a few years since we've gone. Maybe we only missed one, I don't know. Time has been weird the last few months. It's always been one of my favorite traditions since moving to Wisconsin.

C wouldn't pose by this, so I did. Inspired by a group of elderly women who said they should be measuring width instead of height. Ha!

Moments 09 20 :: Week 03

C's in Team Activities for PE. Kind of hard when you are 100% remote learning. He had to go for a 40 minute walk so Gretel and I went with him. This kid....

Gretel was so mopey last week without her buddy. Look how sad she is! Fortunately, she (and I) are doing much better this week.

A bunch of turkeys and babies on the railroad tracks. Turkeys are everywhere right now!

The gym met up at Oktoberfest this weekend. Was so great seeing everyone. 

First Nicolet Varsity game of the season. The team won 8-0 (they also won Thursday, 5-0). He was so excited to play. Super proud of this guy. 

Moments 09 20 :: Week 02

Mood this week. Seriously, the weather was cold and rainy, and my gosh was I sad. Looking forward to a new week come Monday. I can already tell it's going to be much better. 

Beautiful flowers from my friend, Kim.

On a happy note, Brian and I celebrated our 21st wedding anniversary on Thursday. Seems like ages ago, but also like yesterday. (Photo circa 1995)

We did sneak out for a really nice lunch to celebrate. Felt great after a crazy couple of weeks. 

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Other good news of the week is that H seems to be acclimating well to college. Currently the entire football team is quarantined, many of whom live on their floor, so that's interesting. Always something going on. And C had soccer tryouts and made Varsity. So excited for him. Also found out he made the ODP practice team again too. Yay.

Klassy Kamping 2020 :: The Krew

Considering I had been crying all morning by this point, and no one had the chance to get ready since we were hightailing it out, these didn't turn out so bad! So glad to get our annual Klassy Kamping Krew photos. Especially with another one leaving next year! It's Sophie's turn to head off to college. The best were the phone photos: Dejan & El holding a photo of Zane, who was sleeping still in the site directly next to us, C and S with images of their siblings who are at college, and the kids with all the former Kid Krew (and Zane). We almost got a couple back this year! Maybe next. This has been such a great tradition. I love it so much. 

(Past Years: 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2010)

Klassy Kamping 2020 :: Days 3 & 4

My 51st birthday fell on our camping weekend this year. I can't think of a better way to celebrate it, to be honest. It rained that night, so we planned on breakfast on our own. I made buttermilk buckwheat pancakes with maple bourbon butter. Dejan brought his guitar over and sang HBD, the Frigs picked some wildflowers, and we all gathered before some of us headed off for another hike. Can't get enough. That afternoon, some of us went swimming. It was supposed to be warmer out, but we still jumped in. We didn't even get to blow up the paddle boards this year. Dinner was hot dogs and beans, then we went to our site for dessert, sparklers, a decorated camper, and Cards Against Humanity. You know, just some family fun lol. These people sure know how to make a person feel special. 

The next day we got the phone call about Storm, so had to pack up quickly and leave. Ugh. I'm still just so crushed by his passing. He was such a huge part of the family during the boys growing up years. I've been looking at photos and he was always there. There's definitely a huge void right now, and it hurts so much. 

Klassy Kamping 2020 :: Day 1 & 2

Before the horrible news about Storm, we need to back track a couple days. Labor Day weekend is our annual Klassy Kamping trip with the Oak Park crew. We were thrilled and surprised that with everything going on this year, it actually worked out. And let me tell you, we really needed something like this to look forward to. A few years ago, Brian bid on a RV at a fundraiser. We haven't been able to use it yet, but figured this would be the perfect year for it. Brian picked up the trailer, we quickly loaded it up, took the dogs to the kennel and off we went. We were the last ones to arrive. We had kept our RV a secret, so it was pretty funny to pull up in it. That evening was spent catching up and relaxing. 

The next morning we had breakfast burritos, then some of the crew headed off to New Glarus, some hiked, and Brian, C and I decided to venture to a new hike, the Pine Cliff Trail. So beautiful. That evening we met up again for Frito pies, and a wicked game of Telestrations. Such a great day. 

rip Storm

November 15, 2006 - September 7, 2020

Our hearts are absolutely aching. We were out of town this weekend for our annual camping trip when we received a phone call first thing this morning that our Storm didn't make it through the night. The kennel said he had been fine all weekend, but stopped eating yesterday afternoon. When they checked on him this morning, he had already passed. I'm devastated beyond belief and totally crushed we were not with him during his final days. But I also believe things happen for a reason. 

Storm has been slowing down for awhile, but this past month started getting fussy eating. Other than that, he's been himself. Snacking on toilet paper and garbage, barging through the front door to bark at people walking by, eating cucumbers, following us around like a shadow and loving us every day. Once he wasn't eating as good and normal, we knew we would need to make some tough choices in the near future. Maybe he knew this. It just didn't seem like he was quite ready. It could have been days or weeks. I had been having plenty of conversations begging him to let me know when he was ready, and in the end, he didn't make us have to decide this for him. The timing of it is uncanny. It happened to be a few hours before we would were supposed to get him, the day after my birthday. 

We were able to stop by the vet on the way in to say our good-byes. Our handsome boy.... It is just so sad. There's a huge void in our house and hearts right now. Storm was so amazing. Just ask almost everyone who met him. He such a good guy! He grew up with the boys who were 2 and 5 years old when we got him. Imagine that! I've been in tears pretty much all day, but know every day with him has been a gift. Thank you for all the wonderful years Storm. Rest in peace you beautiful, gentle soul. You will be in our hearts forever. 

Moments 09 20 :: Week 01

S I X T E E N ! 

C didn't want to do much on his birthday. It was the day after we got back from dropping H off. We had lobster rolls for lunch. Sushi for dinner. And his annual request of an ice cream cake. 

The next day he rode his bike with friends all day, then had a few over to grill out. He had an absolute blast. 

Gretel is not happy her snuggle buddy is gone. 

First day of 10th grade!

Showered, breakfasted, then went upstairs for a day filled with remote learning. We've only seen him emerge for little breaks here and there. Otherwise, he's on the computer from 8am until 3pm. Crossing my fingers it goes okay.