So, the start of the year has started off with a bang and I guess it should be no surprise to me that I haven’t posted since our return from our winter travels and the start of the New Year. There has just been so much going on. It’s not that we have had any big events or grand plans but we are at the beginning of just regular weekly programming that is sending me in a tailspin. We hopped back into school, work and all the activities at the same time. Let’s look:
Monday: Nothing other than Georgie and Reese swap houses and bus stops home each week to play together. Works well…most of the time.
Tuesday: Nothing usually except for Girl Scouts one Tuesday every month.
Wednesday: Reese and Brooke both have gymnastics at 3:45 but it is also early release day for Reese so this means I need to essentially pause work at 1:30 to collect the girls and get down to Columbia City. We usually ride the bus, stop at the library for our weekly collection of 10 books, stop at PCC for a treat, and then walk to gymnastics. We don’t get back home until 5:30 so it’s a long afternoon.
Thursday: Reese has swim class at Garfield High School at 5:30. Brooke likes to come along and be my towel girl for Reese and help her in the changing room. It’s funny.
Friday: Reese is back at gymnastics. Depending on the day, Brooke may need to come with us. I usually need to leave a little after 2 on these days. Still back home around 5:30 unless we all get dinner out in Columbia City afterwards.
Saturday: Brooke has started Creative Dance with her two buddies which unfortunately starts at 9 am a short walk away from our house.
Our weekends have been free which is lovely and needed after all the week’s activities. We’ve had a few playdates on the weekend which is great for Reese, and Brooke who usually can tag along quite well and be kept entertained. I organized Reese’s Girl Scout troop in a park clean up on MLK Day which was a success and then had a total of 4 girls over (including my 2) for the rest of the afternoon. Reese had a sleepover with Georgie and Mira last Friday night which enjoyed by all girls. Reese went to a Think Like an Engineer event for Girl Scouts with her friends early on Saturday morning. Reese and Lottie went to a pop-up event at the pool at Garfield for an obstacle course inflatable race in the pool. I had a girl’s night out for dinner and drinks in Capitol Hill one night and Bryan played pickleball and went to dinner with his guy friends another night. We both have volunteered at one Guest Chef Night at FareStart this month.
Of course, we pulled for Texas through their strong end of season run. Bryan closed out the season with a night at the bar with Phillip to cheer them on but Ohio State unfortunately got ahead of them and they couldn’t rebound. Bryan took the girls for an adventure in Discovery Park one Sunday and another we did a family adventure challenge that involved a yarn obstacle course and squirt guns in the kids room.
And I’ve had a good time playing some winter soccer games and have been fortunate that every game has been sunny and in the 40s which isn’t that bad. However, in the game this past week I fell hard and caught myself with my wrist and sprained it which hurts a ton and makes simple actions difficult. It is getting better though. It didn’t stop me from going skiing with Bryan midweek at Steven’s Pass. We bought a 3-day midweek pass this year to get some good skiing in without the kids or crowds. It had been 6 years since I had been skiing and a good 8 since I had really been skiing well. We had a great day on the slopes. There certainly was no new snow but the sun made the groomed runs soft and we got in a ton of runs from 10 am until 3 pm when we headed back home to pick up the girls. I paid special attention to not use my poles and I was terrified of falling on my bad wrist but managed to ski without too much pain or difficulty.
Following an exceptional day just the two of us skiing in the sunshine, we woke up to Reese getting sick in the middle of the night Monday night and I started having really bad GI issues as well. Both Reese and I were stuck on the couch all of Tuesday without any food or drink and Bryan miraculously worked a full day, picked up Brooke, got us groceries and some dinner before falling to some stomach discomfort himself. Brookes seems to be fine so far so hopefully the worst is past us. Reese has spent the past two days at home but tomorrow she should be back at school.
Let’s hope we continue to stay healthy and having fun through all of the things we’ve got going on. The first month of the year is almost coming to a close and what a crazy one it’s been so far.
—
Chelsea
