Doctors, Tea and Hal

I had to burn yet another furlough day and wasted it cleaning and grocery shopping. Toss in two doctor's appointments and I decided to indulge in an overpriced tea, my first of a few this season. But the little monkey sticker made me smile and Diesel loved the brief outing. I guess the day wasn't wasted after all. 

Erin needed a quick headshot update and it was my pleasure to spend an afternoon snapping some photos and having lunch with her. Isn't she lovely?

I pulled her away from homework when the house revealed the sky was a perfect golden light. She humors me, redneck tee shirt and all. 

Kate: "Hal loved my dad jokes. They killed him." Hal is going home this week but we have had a delightful time with him. 

Diesel, dog model.

We enjoyed a brief reprieve from the summer heat and humidity this week. Dinners on the deck and open windows were welcomed fully. Fall has begun to appear and so the house has been adorned in recognition.

Ty and I occasionally have breakfast together in my classroom. I've found he is capable of conversation an hour after waking if the content is of his choosing. I take what I can get.

Our momma bird returned to her nest again. We kept seeing the couple with two of the little ones in the yard but I was pretty startled to find eggs again. We now have babies. This is the fourth set since first discovering the nest in the spring. 

Thursday I met a podiatrist who put a very long needle into the top of my foot. Despite this, I liked him. Here's to hoping the steroid does the trick because I am ready to resume evening walks. 

Thank God it's Friday. I looked like this after work. It is what it is.

Rumor has it a local principal shared a video of the teacher's lounge she created for her staff. It has a massage chair, bubbling fountain and dim lighting. She calls it the Zen Den. Someone decided our less than ideal lounge needed a name too. 

Our sweet grandson met a friend today at the cardiologist while getting his final checkup for orders to Hawaii. An all clear on his heart should hopefully produce the official paperwork soon. His daddy allegedly reports for duty in less than two months. Oh the efficiency of our government...

Celebrating Dad's 70th

Hal was a perfect model in Dad's observatory. If inclined, check out his new blog header. It reflects his humor. 
Rick's Blog

We all gathered for a few hours in London to celebrate my dad's 70th birthday. I borrowed Hal, the legendary skeleton from a friend to update Dad's blog header. It was a fun little project and Dad thought that was the extent of his celebration. He was genuinely surprised and the chaos that followed was as it should be when all the kids are together. Every grandkid was there and we know fully that those opportunities are limited. 

Aunt Theresa served the cake. Austin literally bounced off the walls. 

All the grandkids in one shot with mom and dad. This is extremely rare and going to be moreso once Lauren and Taylor move to Hawaii.

The whole gang. My parents with my entire family and Theresa's. 

My dad's brother, Roger and his wife drove down from Columbus, Ohio to join the celebration. It's been more than a decade since Theresa and I last saw them. 

The Dog House Weekend

 

Our Friday night Home Depot date was a little more lively than usual. And expensive.

Snacks for the troops. A steak dinner followed. We feed our volunteers well. It's the least we could do. 

There is some confusion here. Diesel is fairly certain it's exactly as it should be.

Our friend, Ren spent the day helping.

Supervising is exhausting.

 

This is taking too much of his playtime. 

Life as we know it

The boy bragged he submitted a homework assignment at 11:58 pm because it was due at 11:59. He thought it was funny. Meanwhile, I'm risking my Christianity every morning getting his butt out of bed because he doesn't want to get up. Is ear boxing still a thing? It should be. 

Oh GPS, don't taunt me. 
Some decisions are harder than they should be. I went to work despite Ty agreeing to Tj Maxx, "even though I hate shopping there. It's better than school."

First grader: you have grey hair.

Me: yes and I earned every one of them hanging out with kids.

First grader: that makes sense.

Greg and I video called Austin Wednesday night because it had been a few days since we last chatted. Lauren answered, signaling to remain quiet as she turned the camera so we could watch him do yoga dressed as a dinosaur. It was absolutely the highlight of our week.

Kate was hit with a sudden and aggressive asthma attack Thursday that ended with a steroid shot, breathing treatments every four hours around the clock, and much to her dismay, orders to spend several days at home. I took some time off work to observe her. Generally we roll with the punches during these episodes, but this one hit differently. We were not impressed. 

Drywall dust may be a permanent addition to the decor around here but we hope to complete the dog house under the stairs this weekend.

We started a small project under our stairs for the rowdiest among us. It has become clear Diesel will require crating for the foreseeable future, so he is getting a larger space. Erin, a bit jealous, told him she had to buy a house before she got her own room and accused him of being spoiled. 

I took Kate for a sushi date and as she shoved a giant roll into her mouth, she cracked up. A man across the restaurant was watching. She giggled as she shoved yet another large bite into her mouth, "I think I know why I don't have a boyfriend."