Posts

Calder

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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 July w

Boone

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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

Girl, Wash Your Face

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 footage in

My Happiness Project

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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,

Lawson

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“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 in t

Initiation Hockey Coach . . . Here I come!

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

Weekend 1

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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