Spring Break 2025 the family headed down to Arizona for a week in the sun. My parents have a house in Gilbert so we flew done to stay with them. We spent the first day of our trip just relaxing putting on their backyard green, sipping coffee, hitting the gym, and enjoying a dinner with […]
As I suspected I would happen, I wasn’t entirely truthful in my last post. I wasn’t back to talk about our travels. I rarely posted anything about our lives. I knew days and weeks and activities would sweep us into a frenzy of crazed schedules, bag drops in the living room, only to pick up […]
The last week of February connected with the first week of March which was a week of all the music (and additional activities…) Monday night we were able to attend an Honor Choir concert in Pella. Several Iowa schools chose students outstanding in their choirs to perform together on this evening. They practiced separately for […]
The last weekend in February was a pretty exciting one. It started with Ben’s last basketball game of the season. It was a little bittersweet. This season of basketball has been a bit grueling with practice every single night and Ben felt like he was missing out on some of the activities he really enjoyed […]
Thursday, February 16th we had a snow day. I’m not sure the schools didn’t build in too many and figured they better use them now or they’d miss their chance. There wasn’t all that much snow to speak of. It was cold and windy but it’s been worse. We took the day to relax after […]
Sometimes adventures look like 8 states in a day or climbing a waterfall. Sometimes they look like a weekend of every school activity all at once. This last weekend, our adventure was a whirlwind of the latter and a series of lasts. I am so often confused in a school district that so thoughtfully makes […]
Monday morning brought us hoarfrost and I stayed in. Tuesday the weather brought in a heavy fog. Foggy weather is some of my favorite weather. Everything is quieter and softer on the edges. It is like the world has become a white canvas and each thing painted on it is starker, more saturated with color […]
January in Iowa is a bit dismal. We learn to push on with exercise, take our Vitamin D, and find the sun when we can get it. This year I was even gifted a “Happy Light” for Christmas to get simulated rays when the sun disappears for days at a time. Our family has been […]
Our oldest son, Ben who has quickly become everything that is “teenager” is taking advantage of his eighth-grade year to try out all of the things. This is encouraged by the school and community prior to entering high school. We think it’s a pretty good idea as well. In practice, however, it is pretty hectic […]
In my earlier go-rounds of college, throughout my art classes, I took photography courses. These were in film photography and while at times I loathed the long hours processing chemicals in the dark room, I did really enjoy shooting and developing. I gained knowledge and understanding to manually shoot and not rely on any auto […]