Too Cool for School

J: *Gasp* Look at that pretty sunset!
Me: That is pretty! You should have seen it this morning when it was all pink.
J: Well, of course I don't like that color.

D: Look at those old people.

Me: That's not very nice. 

D: What I meant is look at the TALL, old people. 

Me: It's the old part that's not very nice. 

D: They're probably 100 years old! 

Me: Nah. You get gray hair when you're older. 

D: And also those lines. 

Me: Yeah, those are called wrinkles. 

Batting 1,000 that one...

J puts his hand under my chin, and looks into my eyes ~

J: Mom, you're a dork.

(9/7) Finally Friday!  Sarah and I went for a walk before work today, and Dad got the kiddos up and off to school.  We had a quiet night in.  Wild and crazy we are not. 

(9/8)  Omg, my children were whiny butts today. Taking C to his friend's house took sooooo long, and the twins didn't want to go see sunflowers, because that was too long away from screens, and J nearly died from dehydration while we were out in the fields. Next time I'm going to the Sunflower Festival by myself. *I* had a good time out at Bob's Corn Maze. Despite what the twins say, I think they had a good time too.

(9/9) Sarah messaged to see what we were up to today, and it wasn't much.  We eventually got ourselves together enough to go to the park. Her kiddo forgot his listening ears however, and D went on and on about how he should do things the first time he was asked, and how he should have listened, etc. when they ended up leaving early.  Uh-huh. Yes, D. Thanks, D.  We stayed at the park for a bit longer, then decided to go hunt for painted rocks at Narbeck.


(9/10) Work from home day for me, and school for the boys. I ran to Seattle to pick up our Day of Caring shirts for our event on Friday, and Dad took C to get a new board so he's ready to hit the slopes this winter!


(9/11) I worked in the office today, and the boys had school.  Nanan picked them up, and then came home and tried to play video games with the twins. J kept shooting her with arrows, because he's helpful.


(9/12) C & D both had appointments after school today.  We booked it to C's at 3p, and Dad picked up the twins from school, and took D to his at 4p.  I switched places with Dad, and he took C & J out to dinner.  When D got done, I asked him where he wanted to go, and he wanted "beans and chips," so off to Mexican we went, just the two of us.


(9/13) Work day for me, and the boys had school. Dad's schedule has been hell this week, so he went up to sleep after I got home.  The boys and I hung out and watched MasterChef.  They love Gordon Ramsey!

(9/14) Today, my office was at Juanita Beach for United Way's Day of Caring.  We cleared an area of invasive weeds, filling an entire dumpster.  It poured on the way there, and I thought for sure we would be drowned rats when we were done, but most of the rain held off, and we got a lot done.  Most of us went out to lunch together, and I made it back home shortly after the boys did.

(9/15) Sarah and I walked the gym and went to Zumba.  After getting my steps in for the day, I felt just fine about holding down the couch and reading my book this afternoon. Marc came over for gaming tonight.  We played the twins' favorite, Dungeon.


(9/16) Lazy Sunday for us.  Since C was having a friend over this afternoon to game, I decided we all needed to go outside after lunch and interact with the real world for a little bit. By the time I got lunch served, the boys dressed, and dragged us all outside, it started pouring.  The twins, who made a huge stink about going out in the first place, wanted to stay at the park and have Sarah and her boys join us.  So I ran home, grabbed an umbrella, and came back down to play in the rain.  Goofy kiddos.

(9/17) Work from home day for me. C and I both had eye exams today. Yep, we're both still blind. Sorry, boys.  You can blame your poor eye sight on yours truly.


(9/18) Busy day at the office.  A party we had scheduled last week had been cancelled, so we scrambled a bit and made it happen today.  It was book-ended by meetings, as is the usual for a Tuesday, and today flew right by.


(9/19) I have a new niece!  She was born on the 16th, but I did a drive-by lasagna-ing in between school and multiple appointments today.  I made a double batch this morning so our fam could have some too. Om nom nom.  Dad took the car in and got new winter tires this afternoon. Can't wait for it to snow now!


(9/20) Work day for me, and school for the boys. C's curriculum night was tonight, and Dad and I both got to go.  I came home halfway through to put the twins to bed, and Dad stayed to finish the class rotation.  C is having a good start to the year ~ I'm really pleased!

(9/21) Work day for me, and school for the boys today. It was raining when I got home, but J insisted that we go to the park, because that's what we do when I get home. I sent him on ahead of me, and he returned before I had even finished eating dinner.  So much for that.


(9/22) Sarah and I walked to the gym for Zumba, but our favorite instructor wasn't teaching, so we opted for getting coffee and walking around the lake instead.  Oma and Opa stopped by this afternoon, and we fed Oma lunch, and made cookies with her, while Opa went to a class reunion.  It was lovely to see them.  We went to the Tips home opener this evening.  The refs did a terrible job, even with Dad coaching them from the stands.  He's gonna be hoarse tomorrow.  LOL!


(9/23) I worked up at Nanan's house today, while the boys had a lazy day at home.  She's having baseboard installed, so we played furniture Tetris in prep for that.  We went to the Silvertips game this evening after I got home.  The officiating was a bit better, and the Tips pulled out a win tonight!  Yeah!  It was still early enough when we got back for a trip to the park. The trees are so pretty now. This is my favorite time of the year.


(9/24) Happy Monday!  The boys are at school today, and I work from home.  Curriculum night for the twins is this evening, and I'm looking forward to seeing the boys' classrooms, and getting ready to volunteer.

Beep Beep I'm a Sheep

After spending allllll day hanging out in his underwear, he asked me this when I walked in the door this evening ~
J: I have a question. Do you maybe, uhm, want to come down to the little park after dinner when I get dressed?

Me: Would you like me to start setting your alarm clock on school days?
D: No, it's way more annoying. First I have my light, and two I have you yelling at me to get up. And my alarm goes off FOUR times!

I showed C the meme that has the middle school sign saying "Fortnite detox begins at 8:00 AM Monday" ~
C: I don't really play that much Fortnite anymore.



Me: I was bummed that I missed you going to class. I wanted to give you a high-five.
J: Yeah. Well, it's just too late.
Me: Thanks for making me feel better.

D's appointment was cancelled, but we weren't notified ~
D: I was thinking we can go to McDonald's because that's what happens when you make a mistake!
Hahaha! I took him there one time when we arrived an hour early to his appointment.



C: I bet it's your dream to come here and compete in that arena on horseback.
Me: I have competed here. When I did 4-H, I practically lived here in the summer!

Looking a beautifully restored Chevy ~
D: Dad would really like that car!  He likes old cars to go gambling! 
(FTR, gambling here = the Gambler, where you take a $500 car and drive it 500 mi)


(8/24) My company did a school supply drive benefiting Hand in Hand, a local organization that services foster kiddos entering the system. I dropped off our donations before coming into work today.  Ever the procrastinator, I may have done my own shopping on the way.  I worked the rest of the day in the office, and Dad made us a fancy dinner of smokey chicken, potato salad, and coleslaw. Lovely to come home to such a feast!

(8/25) I went to Zumba this morning while the boys video-gamed.  This afternoon, Nanan and I went to a the memorial service of a family friend. Such sweet memories and funny stories were shared.  Once I got back, the fam decided to go to King Noodle for dinner.


(8/26) Lazy Sunday for the boys and me today. We didn't do a whole lot beyond reading and playing video games.


(8/27) Work day from home for me.  The boys had to play video games all day.  I really had to do a lot of arm twisting to get them to do that. I did manage to pry them away from their machines this evening and we all went down to the park after dinner.


(8/28) Work day for me today, and the twins were with Amanda.  They got to go to the zoo ~ lucky ducks! At work there was a blood drive and a farewell party for a long-time coworker sandwiched in with a bunch of other meetings.  Weeee!


(8/29) C & D had appointments today.  We picked up subs and went for a picnic in the middle.  I am bummed that I forgot to bring my good camera out to the community garden, but my cell phone snaps weren't too bad.


(8/30) Work day for me, and the boys hung out at home. We went to the fair for dinner, and to did all the fair things like rides, and seeing the animals.


(8/31) I worked from home today so that I could attend a school meeting this morning. I'm feeling pretty optimistic about this year.  Work loosed us early for the holiday, and I made the grueling commute downstairs. Shew. Dad went up and grabbed the teenager, and we took her out for sushi for her birthday. 17 now!

(9/1) I took the teenager shopping this morning at Hot Topic.  We scored a few things and had a nice time. I had to run her home afterward, but am thankful we got to spend a little time together before schedules get really hectic with school starting.


(9/2)  I packed a lunch and took all my boys, plus Sarah's youngest to Brackett's Landing near the Edmonds Ferry.  The grands came across, and we spent a lovely afternoon soaking up the sun and catching up. We decided to go to the Beach Cafe for dinner again, since the sandboxes were such a big hit last time. Dinner was awesome, and we got home in time to see Dad for a bit before he headed off to work.


(9/3) Happy Labor Day!  The boys and I were off today, and we were lazy bums.  I walked with Sarah this morning, but then held down the love seat and read my book. Dad & C made an amazing dinner of four cheese mac and fennel-corn chowder.  So good!


(9/4) Work day for me, and the twins went to Amanda's. They got to go to the Pacific Science Center.  D has been talking non-stop about seeing his favorite dinosaur, the Triceratops.  The twins met their teachers this afternoon.  D will have the same teacher C had for first grade. I feel like that will be a great fit for him!  J went in, put his supplies away independently, and seems ready too.  Woop-woop!


(9/5) Dad made the boys Dutch babies for their first day back to school!  The twins are in first grade, and C is in sixth at the middle school. Nanan and I took advantage of some rare free time and went out to lunch, and then walked to pick up the twins. All the boys had a really good day and we went out to Baskin & Robbins to celebrate.

(9/6) Work day for me, and day two of school for the boys. I know every day won't be as great as yesterday, but I'm sure hoping for a smooth transition back into school for them!