Just Jordan

5.5 pound pickerel Our biggest boy keeps getting bigger! We have particularly noticed it this summer at the lake. Calder has been playing a lot with a buddy, Ben. They ride bikes, swim, build forts and skip around from our cabin, Ben’s campsite, Calder’s grandparents and Ben’s aunt and Uncle’s (Grandparents and Aunt/Uncle live 4 cabins apart!). The pair have been nearly inseparable.   Calder has been more into swimming on the boat than we’ve seen. He loves to try and splash people as he jumps in and has really gotten into diving in off the boat as well. Lawson has been a water bug from the get-go, but Calder really is giving her a run for her money this year for time spent in the water. Calder also enjoys tubing, particularly behind Ben’s boat as it can make the big waves! We recently convinced him to give the knee-board a go and now we can’t get him off the water! Above all else on the water, Calder LOVES fishing. To date he has caught 36 fish. Near the end of Ju...

Boone has become overly affectionate the last week. He is giving everyone around him random smooches. And they’re wet. Be aware if you see him in the next little bit and you are one of his people. Calder and Boone have created a special handshake. It includes a kiss on the lips (and if you know Calder, this would be outside his comfort zone!), and more fittingly for both boys ends in them faking a fart and declaring, “Oooooo, that smells good!” Of all of our kids, Boone cries the easiest. And when I say he cries, it is actually more like wails. This summer we have noticed a huge change in this regard. In fact, there have been multiple times when he has been legitimately injured and he hasn’t dropped a tear. Although Hugh and I are both excited about this, Hugh is the most. The octave of Boone’s wail was at a frequency that especially grated on Hugh! Boone is our bug/gross stuff boy. Last week Calder saw a spider in the cabin and he called in Boone to take care of it. Boone is ...

So I didn’t totally want to read this book. I felt judged by the title. So at the risk of being embarrassed, here it is. I am terrible at washing my face before bed. Like REALLY terrible. I know I should and it feels good when I do it, but I barely ever do it. So that title made me feel yelled at. It pointed out something I knew I should be doing, but didn’t bother to take the time to do. Judged. But on the recommend of A LOT of people, I cracked the spine and read it. I am glad I did. Here are my big 3 takes: I live in chaos. 3 kids. A billet turned kid. A husband. 2 full-time working parents. 1 hour commute each day. Hockey. Homework. Piano. Gymnastics. Baseball. It adds up to crazy. But a good crazy. Like I wouldn’t want to do without a single one of those things. And within all that chaos, I meal plan like nobody’s business. I make cake pops for birthday parties. I pack snacks for the rink. I bake muffins.   I take pictures and make photo albums. I turn video footag...

I called my Grandma E last week and Danielle this week. I started my hockey Canada stuff. I may have put that on hold until I’m at home. I am using way too much data watching those videos. I put a hold on my running. This one is making me really sad, but my body is totally not cooperating. I had a groin/hamstring/glute thing going on since February. That has almost healed, but I tweeked my knee at ball a couple of weeks ago and it won’t stop hurting. The summer is the best time to run. I have so much time and the weather is beautiful. I actually feel like crying as I type this. I want to be healthy and for me being active is so much a part of it. I guess I have to redefine active to not be running. Sigh. I need a new phone. This seems like a strange thing to put on My Happiness Project’s list, but taking pictures and videos makes me happy. Long gone are the days that I lug my camera and video camera around (in fact I even forgot to bring them to the lake). Unfortunately, ...

“They are getting worser and worser!”   Lawson may somehow be related to my sister’s husband Nate. Mosquitos LOVE her. Since we have been at the lake she has woke up multiple times tossing and scratching. She is a trooper though. We put After Bite on them and it often stings as the bites are broke open. Lawson takes it like a champ. Don’t get me wrong. She screams like bloody murder, but she willingly lets you put it on. Champ. There is nothing Lawson likes more than swimming. At 1.5 years old she would jump in the lake off our boat and spent hours jumping off my parents dock with my mom (water isn’t my thing). This year is not any different. Often the boys will be puttering around at the shore line catching minnows or digging for rocks and Lawson will be in the background, life jacket in tow, doing laps. This past weekend things got even more interesting for her in the water as she decided Jose, my mom and dad’s dog, is her new swimming partner. Every time Lawson saw Jose ...

I have my Kinesiology degree and in order for me to receive this degree I had to do a certain number of credits in activity classes. I took wrestling, softball, and badminton to name a few. Any of the classes that were 2 credits (some were just 1 credit) gave you a level 1 coach's certification in that sport. Through this I got my level 1 in basketball, volleyball, gymnastics, and track and field. I also took 2 credit hockey, but didn't end up with my certification. This spring with some help from Hugh, I was able to get the certification from the university and SHA. To my surprise I was given a Coach 2. Coach 2 qualifies me to head coach a Pee Wee AA team. I was immediately excited thinking I wouldn't have to do any other certification to coach Boone's Initiation team. Dead. Wrong. I was awarded Coach 2, but not Coach 1. I need Coach 1 to coach Initiation. Sigh. I can coach Pee Wee AA, but not 1st year players. Hilarious, really.  Today, I started the online portion...

We always have a busy start to our summer vacation, but it involves most of our very favorite people, so we definitely don't complain. My sister, brother and their families come to the lake along with Hugh's brother's family. It is so awesome for Hugh and I how this comes together! I know pictures make posts better, but I am at the lake and it takes some serious effort to get them downloaded, so you will just have to use your imagination! Some highlights: Pizza, deep-fried fish and McDonald's fries, Jes's homemade burgers Lawson, Cruz and Nash fishing in front of Mom and Dad's cabin Cuddles with our newest member, Sloan Leeta washing everyone's shoes on the deck. . . .Including Boone's runners Calder and Pace taking off with the Dusts for almost the entire day and then out fishing Hugh and Grandpa in the evening (in Hugh and Dad's defense, they were pretty busy with 3 boys in the boat!) Harper, Boone, and Brynn tubing followed by Brynn an...

What was I thinking?  I brought Calder and Boone to work today so we could make a fast exit to the lake after school. It is a pretty low key day at school, but they still managed to act like morons during the few moments I needed them to act semi-normal. And Boone broke my wax warmer while he was cleaning my desk. I so wanted to lose it, but he was trying to be helpful and it was an accident. I may have cried a couple of silent tears. 2 more hours. I've got this. . . And if not, my mom and dad's fridge at the lake is stocked to the rim. Unpacking may be put on hold until the morning!

Calder played his last year of Senior Rally Cap baseball this year. I helped coach this year and had a number of frustrating moments and a number of proud ones. Calder isn't as serious about ball as he is about hockey and at times this made me want to scream. Fooling around was the name of the game at the start of the year and just when we got that straightened out he learned how to floss . And he does that everywhere, not just in the field. In terms of his skills, Calder started the year with an incredible upper cut and we spent plenty of time in the front yard with badminton birdies working that out. He made some tremendous progress and I feel confident with some informal baseball fun at the lake, we will have all but left that ugly swing in the past. His throwing went from mediocre last year to pretty darn good this year. We can actually play catch now! It is pretty awesome. And since I love playing catch and Hugh blew up his shoulder demoing a drill at a novice practice in th...

I can't remember what chapter in The Happiness Project that Rubin talks about relationships, but today I was reminded of how much they make me happy. I had my bi-annual final exams lunch date with Deena . She is definitely one of the people in my life who are kindred spirits and no matter the time between visits we have a great time catching up, but also ALWAYS have meaningful conversations where we talk about more than just our day-to-day stuff. She touches my soul. On my way back to the school today I realized that not only do I need more of Deena in my life, but I need more of all my people. In working out how to make the time for this, I realized that coffee and lunch dates are just much too hard to organize. We are too busy. I hate that phrase, but, well, it is what it is. Way too many commas there, but I can do whatever I want on my blog. Anyway,  I then remembered that with our billet/son, Brad, Hugh and I have a phone date every week or two. These are always great visits...

So many people have been posting about the book Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis that I desperately want to read it. I had meant to go to Indigo weeks ago to pick it up. Apparently, it is the kind of book that you make notes in and reference later, so your own copy is key. Needless to say, I didn't get to Indigo. I should have known myself and immediately ordered it online, but alas, I sometimes forget who I am. The desperation to get this book has been born from this sense lately, that I just want to be better. I don't really know what that means but somehow Rachel Hollis's book was going to help me be better. When I didn't have it this past Friday when Hugh and the little two were at the lake I got to thinking about My Happiness Project. Shortly after Tripp died, I bought the book The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin and started implementing many of her ideas into my life to help combat the grief. (I hilariously thought that was a thing!) Like most of the ...

Today, I am feeling glum. It started yesterday and led me to spending the better part of the afternoon in my room thinking, reading, and crying. Not sure how I am getting out of this one. I feel like shopping. Clothes don't totally fill the void, but it is strange how spending money and having new things do actually give you a (false) sense of happiness. Yesterday was the anniversary of Tripp getting his wings. I woke up like it was a regular day. I truly believe one day doesn't need to be any more sad than any other day, but somewhere my subconscious had other plans. It started when I saw flowers at the grocery store after lunch. It made me think about how before Tripp died I thought giving flowers to family after someone dies was a waste of money. I felt like it would be better spent making a donation to a charity or something, but when Tripp died we got quite a few flowers. They filled our living room. They were so pretty and they smelled so beautiful. And just like a ne...