Week 17-- Big Week for Tall Brother

Monday, Apr. 19th

Juliet was house-sitting for the Cours, so she brought Ginger over for a playdate. Coming in May: a painted deck, an open pool, and live plants to replace dead mums.

Just a party on my bed.

Tuesday, Apr. 20th

I keep getting old Easter family pix in my feed.  Because Easter falls over a span of weeks from year to year, I completely enjoy a month of this:

Renna rearranged her corner and decorated with some of her favorite things including countdown to Cali.

Wednesday, Apr. 21st

Best part of my day was seeing a few pictures of Maddy looking very comfortable and happy in Uganda!

I miss chubby hands.

Kelly and I went to C4's game.

Thursday, May 22nd

Rocco and Renna spent two nights in their fort under the DR table.  

New team swag!  Side note: he also PR'd this week shooting a 41 and then did it again the next day.

Friday, Apr. 23rd

Tree Day!!!  After downing 12 trees, pulling 11 stumps, grinding 1 stump, 5 loads of top soil, and grading, it was finally time for the new trees to be planted.  It took 2 guys 1 hour to plant 33 trees.  I joked with friends that had we done it ourselves, it would've taken 4 weekends and a divorce!

They are Thuja Green Giants.  They are fast-growing to provide the privacy screen we need (3-5 feet per year) and won't be any taller than the house at maturity.  They are also deer resistant and won't shed and make the crazy needle mess we've dealt with, with the white pines.  Fingers crossed.  

This guy.... very proud of him and glad all of his hard work in the last 4 years is getting some recognition.

Saturday, May 24th

Renna's two teams were both in the same weekend tournament  She was double rostered and played 6 full games in two days.  Saturday was 68 and sunny and so delightful to be sitting outside.  Sunday, it poured.  But we had so much fun bouncing between games and fields and watching.  Renna is a force!  And such a bonus to have Sienna on the same team!  The girls all seem to improve and develop even from weekend to weekend.

In between games, I changed and Nathanael and I went to Anna and Justin's "drive through"-esk Jack and Jill.  Short and sweet.  Nathanael's in the wedding in May.

Then, back to the fields.  

Sienna completely dominates on the field; it is SO MUCH FUN to watch her in action.

Centerpieces for the hockey banquet.  I told Colombo I needed an hour...took me 2.5.  I was off my game, didn't find exactly what I was hoping for at the store, and didn't love the end result.  Sigh.

Sunday, Apr. 25th

At the field in the rain for 8:30a.  Love when dads come through on things like tents for the girls to huddle under and contractor garbage bags to hold all the bags to keep them dry!

They were soaked and chilled by the end.

I missed her last two games, because we had Nathanael's end-of-season hockey banquet.  It felt soooo normal to be in a (freshly renovated) banquet hall with 80 people!  And of all things...a buffet!  Like, those have never been safe!  Ha!

The coach had kind things to say about this very special group of boys.  Multiple times he became very emotional.  This group rebuilt the team, taking them from 0-19-1 four years ago to what they accomplished this year!

Leader in points, leading scorer, All-Conference, and winner of the Hobie Baker Leadership Award.

If you're bored, here is the slideshow I made for the banquet.  Click here.

Manchester won all 4 of their games and CFC won the two Renna (and Sienna) played in.  Manchester actually beat CFC (whoo-hoo!!) in the last game on Sunday.  I missed it, but by all accounts, sounded like she was a bit of hero playing goalie, making some great saves, and keeping their team in it!  So Renna had a 6-0 weekend.  Love watching this crew play!

Here's a clip of a huge play (Renna in goal) towards the end of game, coming up BIG!  It's terrible quality, but I was so grateful another mom sent it.

We wrapped up a great week and a great day with a lovely dinner out with our dear friends, Larry and Lil. Ever grateful for their friendship, wisdom, and encouragement.

Week 16-- Employee of the Week

Monday, Apr. 12th

Nathanael and Trevor were off all week for April vacation.  Nathanael just landed a new job working with Shaun and Lisa, partly for H&R Block and partly to shadow Shaun in the financial planning side of things.  We're hopeful he'll learn a lot and get some good exposure to this industry, as well as make some money throughout college.  We'll see...but he sure looked handsome (and irritated about taking a picture) as he left for his first day!

Tuesday, Apr. 13th

Concrete cured...time to raise the hoop!

Post Taco Tuesday hangs with the girls.

And another old photo sent from Dad.  I think I was pregnant with C here, (I think) so this would've been Christmas of 1998.

Wednesday, Apr. 14th

I took the Littles out to Pop's for some fire and fun on the toys.

Juliet texted us about her big news!!!  She had been crossing her fingers for it since she started, but time was running out, as this was her last week at H&R.  The big joke was, "Watch you not get it, but Nathanael steals it from you after having been there two days!!!"  Hahaha.  Anyway....we were so excited for her.  

She deserves it!  She has learned new skills, been incredibly flexible getting bounced around offices, and her best trait...she shows up.  Miss Reliable.  Way to go, Juliet!!!

Thursday, Apr. 15th

Maddy left with a team of 10-12 people from her church to go on a 10 day missions trip to Gulu, Uganda.

Friday, Apr. 16th

Maddy had an overnight layover in Istanbul, Turkey.  The women cover their heads out of respect for that culture.

Saturday, Apr. 17th

No picture.  I know Renna had a soccer game.  I know we met Dad and Christina at church and then we took Colombo and Karen out to *lovely* dinner to thank them for their tireless help and support at Bunce.  I regret that we did not take a picture.

Sunday, Apr. 18th

YiaYia, Jules' mom, fell Saturday morning and broke her hip- surgery Sunday.  The hospital rules were very strict and non-sensical, but I joined her for a day trip to Cape Cod so she could get 45 minutes with her mom pre-surgery.  We also had a lovely (and short!) visit with Dan and Arlene and a nice lunch with Jules' friend Nancy.  It was a beautiful day for a road trip and good time spent with my friend.

The hoop is getting much use!

Week 15-- Birthdays, Guns, and All the Sports!

Monday, Apr. 5th

These boys had Easter Monday off, and as luck would have it, Pop and Kiki came up to bring me some raspberry shoots to transplant from my Aunt Janice who mailed them all the way from Idaho!!!  So, the opportunity couldn't pass for retired grandparents to take three growing, hungry boys (and Renna!) to brunch.

Monday night dinner...my kids have no idea how good they have it!  Ha!

Girls' ride down to C4's first men's league game.  His UConn Club team could not play this year due to...you know the thing...so a small number of them joined a men's league in lieu of.  I'm not sure there's ANY comparison to his championship-winning collegiate club team, but they're happy to be on the ice and making the most of it.

Still love watching him play!

Tuesday, Apr. 6th

//TWENTY// 2 decades with this beauty; a gift beyond what I can comprehend or deserve. She is wise, compassionate, fun, nurturing, helpful, resourceful, generous, humble, brave, and incredibly gifted. She loves Jesus and desires to share His love with everyone she meets. She has spent the last 3 years traveling, training, dreaming, working hard, and seeking God’s will for her life! Whatever He has for her, her life is a beautiful masterpiece and I’m exceptionally grateful to be her mom.

Brent posted a sweet tribute to her including this from about 13 years ago!

The remote-learning life.

So much goodness in one note. :)

Wednesday, Apr. 7th

Back to outdoor soccer for the spring!

Trevor has incredible leaders at TBQ and they constantly keep the kids inspired and challenged.  The bribes payoffs usually include sugar.  This time, the team met up at DQ for ice cream.

For some inexplicable reason, my bed has become the hangout spot 2-3 nights a week. Sometimes a couple kids, sometimes all the kids. I love the snuggles, the giggles, the conversations, the secrets, the 'life' that is done here. There's a sweet rhythm to the way a night will unfold. One little will come in to say goodnight or ask a questions and then they all start trickling in. It usually wraps up with Bigs lingering after the Littles are in bed and we either talk about weddings, friends, challenges mixed with poking fun and banter. Full bed, full heart. And so.much.responsibility!

Thursday, Apr. 8th

Colombo and I have been working with a couple over the last 6 months for some counseling. We LOVE them! They've been hugely instrumental in helping us see blind spots in ourselves and in our marriage. They are just wonderful and it's amazing to work with a couple. The only drawback is they live in Greenwich, a solid hour and a half drive, so we go down there for in-person when we can and do Zoom when we can't. This gorgeous day was perfect to stop at the food trucks for lunch in New Haven on our ride home.

Renna decided to "renovate" her clubhouse, so we started with sanding and painting.

Friday, Apr. 9th

These three sweet boys, who have been friends since nursery at church, set out on a fun adventure for Spring Break.  It sure is nice to wave goodbye and have zero reservations or concerns, as I'd be hard-pressed to find 3 better, more-responsible guys.  Road trip to Myrtle Beach!

Saturday, Apr. 10th

I finally took the gun safety course so I can apply for my permit for concealed carry.  Karen was getting hers as well, so she invited me.  It was a very relaxed environment in someone's home.  We were fed throughout the day, given so much information around safety and laws, and the instructor instilled so much confidence in us through his training.

Shooting was incredibly fun.  

A loooonng day (12 hours!!!) but I passed!

While I was off doing that, Colombo and the kids started the new basketball hoop project.  Everyone is all about playing it these days, so they got to work clearing tree branches, digging out the old hoop, and pouring the concrete for the new one.

How about this ridiculous sweetness from 12 years ago!!?!?!  My dad was going through some old photos and texted me this one:

Sunday, Apr. 11th

The boys are starting to find a groove with flag football.

Colombo and I went over and I supervised him install the new mailbox.

Then I met Lisa over at their new office property with a sampling of kids and dogs to burns some stuff!