Busy, Snowy Week

Last week we went east over the mountains to see Alyssa and spend some time with Forrest's mom. We left the house Saturday morning, got to campus at 12:30, shopped at the bookstore, and then took the kids out to lunch at the Rusty Moose.

The kids needed new cell phones so we took care of that too. Alyssa's had died and she was using a borrowed phone. Now both kids have better phones than mine. Oh well, they use their more than I do mine. After that we went back to campus for a basketball game. Sadly Eastern lost to Cal State Northridge. It was an ugly game. Eastern has a very young team, and their inexperience was evidenced by the large number of turnovers.

We spent Saturday and Sunday night at Mary Lou's place on Loon Lake. It was clear and very cold. The kids and I took a quick walk on the frozen lake leaving very clear footprints behind. I took the opportunity to compare my size 10 women's feet with Noah's size 15 men's. I wear an 8 1/2 in men's so Noah has me beat by 6 and a half sizes.

We had Sunday dinner with Forrest's mom, aunt, and one niece and her two boys. On Monday we took Alyssa and her clean laundry back to campus and headed home to Stanwood.

On Tuesday we had just enough snow for a late start. Tuesday night the snow came fast and furious so Wednesday and Thursday there was no school at all, and today was another late start. Now we have four days to make up in June. Noah enjoyed the time off. He had a friend over and they were playing Xbox most of the afternoon.

January Birthdays

January is a very busy birthday month in our family. Alyssa, Enid, Mom and Dad, and my mother-in-law all have January birthdays. We bought Alyssa a plane ticket to fly home for her birthday. Mom and Dad picked her up at the airport on their way north. We all met up at Noah's final home basketball game in Arlington. Noah's team is two games away from an undefeated season. They beat Lake Stevens last night by nearly 30 points. Noah hit a buzzer beating shot from half court to end the first half. I think it's the first 3-pointer he's made all season. Usually he's down low battling with the big boys. Too bad I wasn't filming at that point in the game.

He had a chance to make a half-court shot during halftime of the last varsity game for $100 bucks and missed it. And then he made this one when no money was on the line.

We picked up birthday cupcakes at the new cupcake store in Stanwood and are anxious to try them tomorrow on Alyssa's real birthday. We have red velvet, lemon angelfood cake, chocolate with peanut butter mousse, chocolate angelfood, dark chocolate, and chocolate with raspberry filling. We are off to Claimjumpers for dinner soon. Alyssa is anxious to try their huge chocolate layer cake for dessert. We had to take a 4:00 PM reservation so we'll be eating with all the old people who go out to dinner early. But it was a choice between 4 and 8 and no one wants to eat that late. By eating early Alyssa will have more time to shop at Alderwood Mall and spend her birthday money.

Resting is Hard

Having a week off from work to recuperate after a minor surgical procedure is proving difficult. I am bored. Once the pain was gone and I wasn't taking narcotic pain killers I expected my energy level to come back immediately. Wrong! If I try to do too much I end up feeling like my legs are rubber bands. I went to Noah's game last night thinking that sitting and watching basketball wouldn't wear me out but it did. I think I am just a bad patient. There's only so much reading to do and so much TV to watch. Although I have become quite a fan of the Travel Channel, "Bizarre Foods", "No Reservations", and "Man vs. Food" are my favorites. My other problem is that as soon as I lie down to take a nap the phone rings. Yesterday it was my doctor's nurse calling to check on me. I guess I'll just have to turn the phone off.

Holiday Wedding

I love weddings, and it's been quite some time since I got to attend one. My cousin Margaret's son, Ryan Presho, got married to his high school sweetheart in Spokane on December 19th. The wedding took place at the historic Davenport Hotel in downtown Spokane. The Christmas decorations were gorgeous. Holly Howard is now Holly Presho and part of the family. This trip allowed us to also spend some time with Forrest's relatives. Alyssa helped out by babysitting some of the younger members of the wedding party before the ceremony. She got to spend a little bit of time with her favorite girl cousins, Ryan's sisters, Nicole and Mikala. Noah had to dress up in something other than basketball shorts and a t-shirt. I think he cleans up pretty nicely.

Christmas Prep

Christmas countdown has begun. I think we're in good shape to have everything ready. The kids finally decorated the tree. Forrest put the lights on the house. Shopping is done and most of the presents are wrapped. Alyssa and I need to find some time to do some baking and make some fudge.

Now if only I can survive the frenetic energy of the children in my class for two more days. There's a continual hum in the room. Alyssa has been coming to work with me. She's been working with the kindergarten and first grade students. She's been helping them complete some Christmas projects, and today she helped complete some math assessments with the first graders.

Noah is in the middle of spirit week at the high school. He has worn cheetah pajamas to school and a furry sweater that made him look like the Cookie Monster from Sesame Street for ugly sweater day. His freshman basketball team continues to be successful. They've won all five of their games by 15 to 25 points.

Christmas break will be a busy time. We have a family wedding in Spokane, a quick trip to Portland, and Noah will continue to have basketball. He has one game during break and practice on most weekdays. I'm hoping to get some good books read by my fire with a cup of tea and some Christmas cookies.

Ah, a Snow Day in November

This is the coldest Thanksgiving week here in Western Washington in 25 years. And also the snowiest. I remember Thanksgiving 1985. I was home for college when the storm hit.

I had to chain up my mint green Pontiac Sunbird and drive it back to school. If I remember correctly my dad followed me back because I didn't have much experience driving on ice and snow.

Yesterday started out with the forecast saying that most of the snow would be from Everett south so I thought we wouldn't get much snow at all. However, by 8:45 AM as the students were getting off the bus it started snowing in Arlington. It snowed hard, but the flakes were the dry tiny ones that don't amount to much. By lunch it had warmed up a bit and that first round of snow melted. Then the temperature dropped suddenly, and it started to snow again, this time with larger flakes that piled up more quickly. The big problem is that the snow that melted formed a layer of ice under the new snow.

Basketball practice was canceled so I had to go get Noah from school during the last recess for my students. Lots of parents came to pick up their kids early. The buses were late and since the principal lives within walking distance of the school she took the remaining kids to the gym with a few other teachers and told those of us who live farther away to get going. The last group of kids were picked up at 6:00 PM, almost two and a half hours after school got out. It took Noah and I more than twice as long as usual to get home. Many people I know were on the road for 3-5 hours to get home last night.

Noah and I had a quiet day at home. He had a friend come over. They sledded a bit on our road, and they played a lot of Call of Duty, Black Ops. I made cranberry sauce, pumpkin bread with craisins, and pumpkin muffins with chocolate chips. We're waiting for Forrest to get home with Alyssa for Thanksgiving. School is also canceled for tomorrow. I'll have to get the turkeys in the brine for Thanksgiving and bake a pecan pie. We're having dinner with friends in Arlington starting with a yummy brunch and then eating all day.

Homecoming 2010

Noah and I went out to the Bryson's so Noah and Kaleb could get ready for the Homecoming dance together, and so that Kaleb's mom, Tracy, and I could put together some gift bags for the kids. We included mints, gum, cookies, water bottles, and other fun surprises like glow sticks.

Kaleb and Noah grudgingly agreed to pose for us.

Noah and his girlfriend, Kaitlin, make an adorable couple. The 12 friends going to the dance together met at Kaitlin's house for pictures before dinner and the dance.

Tracy and I had dinner at Applebees while the kids had Italian food at Johnny Carino's. Then the kids strolled the Cascade Mall to kill time before the dance. They were a sharp looking group in a mall filled with people in jeans and sweatshirts.