This is the best telephone feature ever. In the past week it’s allowed me to laugh to the point of crying while talking with both of my sisters, and to get a pep-talk from April in Cook and Amy in Iowa – two of the world’s greatest cheer leaders.
The world needs more three-way calling.
I started my morning at Barnes & Noble knowing I could spend hours in that store and never get bored. I grabbed this new book – definitely chick-lit – before heading to the cafe part of the store. I was a bit disappointed to find that it’s past the pumpkin spice latte season, but I decided to be adventurous and try the new toasted marshmallow mocha. It was fine, not quite what I’d hoped for, but warm and fragrant. After deciding my beverage was drinkable, I opened up my new book and began to read.
This is when I had the realization that I missed this very act. It took a long time to get comfortable going out to dinner by myself, going to the theater by myself, and just BEING by myself while I consulted for SFA. But somewhere along the way I got used to it, and today I realized that I actually ENJOYED it.
Don’t get me wrong… that job was not right for me at this part of my life. Maybe again some day, but certainly not now. I have no regrets about returning to the classroom. I also couldn’t be happier to have more time with Bill, my sisters, parents and grandparents; I miss them all terribly when we’re apart. I guess it just came as a surprise to realize how comfortable I became on my own.
Living in Minnesota again means many more chances to reconnect with friends in the area. Today I was lucky enough to have a lunch date with my friend Melissa and her little boy Evan. It’s so amazing to me how quickly babies grow… Evan has changed so much since I first met him this summer! And Melissa continues to be a natural mother. I had to ask how it is she got so much “mommy knowledge”, and she insists you just sort of figure it out. Heaven knows that’d better be the case if Bill and I ever have kids! 😉
Here are pictures of these cute folks. I had to steal one of Evan off of the Wallestad’s website, because the one I took today is apparently lost forever… still working out the details on this camera phone!
It was just so nice to have a few hours to catch up and know that it doesn’t have to be 1/2 a year before we do it again. Thanks for making the drive Melissa!
Wednesday night my father-in-law, Bill, arrived with these beautiful flowers. I absolutely LOVE having fresh flowers around our house, and of course it’s more special when someone thoughtful brings them to you!
We didn’t get to visit long, as it was getting late and I was turning into a pumpkin. Thursday before the guys took off for to get ready for the hunt on Bryson’s Debs property (somewhere near Bemidji and Clearbrook), they stopped by my classroom. We had an early-release day which my team uses as an art day. Art days = loose schedule. Loose schedule for my group = chaos. Still, I was still happy to get to show my kids off! 🙂 I was also happy to be able to show my Bills off to my co-workers for a brief moment.
I haven’t heard how the first day of hunting went, but I do know the guys enjoyed a BSU hockey game last night. I’m looking forward to their return early in the week – hopefully with plenty of venison for our freezer. I’m also looking forward to some more time to catch up with Bill II!
Life’s been moving quickly! After returning from MEA break I made it through two nights of conferences, and three morning meetings. It was quite a week! Work life has been flowing smoothly. I can hardly believe the end of the first quarter is just two days away!
Last weekend Bill and I headed up to Cook. We spent Friday night by our selves at the lake. Dad was on a road trip, April in the cities. It’s always kind of strange to have a quiet night at Dad’s. Usually there’s someone there. And I miss the days of hearing Grandpa march up the steps with the day’s mail or his, “What’s goin’ on here?”
That said, I did get to go and visit Gram and Gramp at the nursing home. I suppose it’s never easy for anyone to make that transition, but I must say I’m happy to know they’ve got the level of care they need there. They were both in good spirits the few times we stopped in.
Lo came up, and we met with Mom for breakfast at the Montana. There’s always plenty to catch up on. Breakfast was good, too.
Of course all the buzz is speculation of the details of the upcoming wedding. Yes, April and Jesse are getting married! We’re all quite happy for them both.
Today’s Halloween. I’m ready for tomorrow. 😉
We headed off to Abbie’s soccer game early Saturday morning… of course not before grabbing a Starbucks. 😉 It was rainy and cool, but the girls just kept on playing! Here’s a picture of Abbie on the field… she’s the one in the red socks.
And here’s her family.
Abbie and I played with ringtones (big surprise) in the back of our 6 passenger rental car… very interesting design, but just the right amount of room for our crew!
Bill had a chance to share some computer knowledge with Stacie’s mom, Debbie. It was fun to see the house Stacie grew up in and meet her mom… Josh’s too!
We stayed as long as we felt we could with a 3 hour drive ahead of us, and luckily we got a chance to meet Stephanie, Stacie’s sister. It’s funny, because I felt like I’d known these people already just from all the stories we’d heard and pictures we’d seen up north.
Of course, we had to leave at some point. I couldn’t help but wish we’d had a few more days to spend out west, but I’m certainly thankful for the couple of days we had. And now, well, we’ll just continue to look forward to our next visit!
Friday morning I got to wake up with a tasty coffee and egg nog… another favorite! We lounged around through the morning and then we took a little drive around Vancouver. We got to see where Josh and Stacie work and where Abbie and James go to school. We also got to have a yummy lunch at a place I’d heard lots about from Abbie – Sweet Tomatoes.
We also ran to Petco and Abbie, James, and Bill worked to transfer the fish into their new home later that afternoon.
For dinner we headed to this wonderful restaraunt on the Columbia River. We had a beautiful view, good food, fun drinks, tasty dessert, and of course great conversation compliments of the Johnson’s. (Thanks so much you guys!) This was a kid-friendly restaraunt too… as they take the kids over to a treasure box to grab a treasure and then back to make their own sundaes at the end of the meal. Very fun.
(thanks go to Abbie for being our photographer this weekend!)
It was hard to believe that half a year had gone by since we said good-bye to the Johnson’s. So much is new in all of our lives, yet when we made it to their place Thursday night it was as though not a single thing had changed… in a good way. 🙂
Bill and I navigated our way into the beautiful spot where our friends (formerly of Unalakleet) now reside. I’d never spent any amount of time in Washinton, so the drive alone was incredible! We made it to their home before they got home from work, so we sat out on the porch and watched the infamous Riley. I’m happy to finally meet this goat!
Josh arrived shortly after and gave us a tour of the house. It’s precisely what I would expect of this family… everything is so stylish and homey. Soon Stacie and the kids got home too. James “roared” at me – a sound I’ve missed over these months! Stacie and I got right to work making our favorite snacks – she dove into anniversary chicken and layered taco dip, I got going on some bread pretzels and truffles. It was so fun to be working around the kitchen, laughing with the guys, and getting to know Larry, Josh’s step-dad.
Stacie and Abbie rescued some gold fish from a not-so-nice science experiment, so Josh and James got them some water and food.
After all the tasty snacks, we settled in to watch The Office as the four of us had done frequently up North. It wasn’t long after and we were all heading to bed.
Bill and I dashed off to the Minneapolis Airport quickly after school on Wednesday. I used my flight time to catch up on a little shut-eye, as I knew even a two hour time change was going to mess with me. After arriving safely and picking up our rental car, we made it to our hotel and slept quickly. I was up bright and early, but I know how important Bill’s morning beauty rest is, so I decided to take a tub and do a little reading before I really got going for the day.
Soon we were heading to PLU to see Katie. She gave us a great tour of the campus and we got to see the apartment she shares with three other gals. The Jessica and Adriana Holden along with Katie’s friend Carl joined us for breakfast at the Wagon Wheel. Bill told lots of stories, we got caught up with the college bunch, and all-too-soon Katie had to get going to class. It was so nice to finally see where Kate’s spent these past 4 years! (Sadly – and surprisingly – we didn’t get any pictures that morning! 🙁 )We’re looking forward to showing her our new spot in the world over Christmas break!
There’s nothing like a 3-day school week with a half-day grade-level meeting in the middle of it. Instructionally, short weeks can seem like a bust. I think we’ve done okay so far, but I know the kids feel the long weekend in the air!
April and I have found a new hobby to share while talking on the phone… creating new ringtones for our phones. It’s silly, but fun. I’m still searching for the perfect tone to match to her name!
Tomorrow is our first 6th grade pot-luck – sponsored by my team. Robin and Alison are making chili, Joan – cornbread, Sara – “fixings”, Mike – bowls, spoons, etc, and I get to bring dessert. So tonight I kept busy making brownies, rice krispy bars, lemon squares, and nut goody bars. MMMM… I wanted to have some variety – and I think Bill and I will be set until Christmas with the extras. 🙂
We’re driving down to MSP to hop on a flight to Washington tomorrow night. Thursday we’ll get to see Katie, and then we’ll head down to spend the weekend with Stacie, Josh, Abbie, and James! It is so exciting to know we’ll be swaping new stories, reminiscing about the past two years, and making some more memories with the Johnsons this weekend!
I hope all of you teachers out there enjoy your MEA weekend!
