I am writing this post from an app on my phone because I've been having some issues with my computer. So we'll see how this goes, and here's to a new year of blogging!
We spent New Years Day driving home from our trip to Mammoth Caves in Kentucky. We got a later start than planned and also hit traffic, so the drive was a little less bearable than on the way there. Still, having the rear DVD system and two iPads for the boys makes even the worst road trips pretty easy.
We had to stop for lunch and I honestly just couldn't stomach the idea of fast food, so Charlie and I decided on a Japanase steak house in Smyrna, TN. Luke ate only edemame, Isaac had a bowl of steamed rice and a CA roll, and Charlie and I shared a few other sushi rolls. Isaac snapped this selfie of the two of us.
Charlie and the boys all had Monday off. We spent the morning taking down and packing up all of the Christmas decorations. Then I had to go to the school for Isaac's annual IEP meeting in the afternoon. He has come SO far since his first IEP when he entered the school system six years ago. I remember the anxiety and preparation that used to go into those meetings. This one was such a breeze in comparison.
Tuesday it was back to school and back to work. It was a nice long break and we had some wonderful family time, a nice Christmas, and a fun trip. By the end of it all I think every one of us was ready to get back to our routine. I got the house cleaned up and hosted a YW Presidency meeting that lasted all morning. I think we were all enjoying the adult/girl time and just got carried away chatting!
On Wednesday after the gym I drove to Sprouts, which is a 30 minute drive. I miss Sprouts in the worst way. It is my absolute favorite place to shop for food and I have been so disappointed since moving here because there is not one close by. I only end up going about once a month or less, but this was a particularly good trip. I hadn't been in a long time and I felt like there were so many good deals & so much yummy fresh food. I was seriously so giddy! I know I'm a nerd. I snapped this photo to send to Charlie of all the things I bought.
4 grapefruits, 12 avocados, baby carrots, 8 apples, 6 onions, cilantro, jalepeno, 4 sweet potatoes, butternut squash, 2 lbs cuties, celery, 4 russet potatoes, 5 tomatoes, red grapes, 7 limes, 2 lbs strawberries, 2 boxes blackberries, 3 boxes blueberry granola bars, 2 boxes chicken broth, pistachios, Justin's almond butter,
garlic, fudge, 5 bottles of green juice, our favorite tortilla chips from CA!!! (that we have not found until now), 3 blocks of cheese, cheese curds, 1.5 lbs wild Atlantic salmon, 1 lb Italian sausage, 1.5 lbs carne asada, sour cream, 4 fage yogurts, and 12 siggis yogurts
As I was putting everything up at the check out I was thinking I probably spent $200. Nope. Only $133. I love Sprouts! Love it.
On Thursday I was signed up to volunteer for Isaac's teacher. I wish there were more opportunities to actually be in the classroom, but even being "copy helper" gives me a chance to work with his teacher a bit and keep up to speed on what's happening in the classroom. I did run into Isaac in the hallway while he was coming back from his social skills lunch group. He wanted me to see his artwork that was chosen to go in the main hall outside the front office. What a cute owl!
After I picked up Luke from preschool we had to stop by Publix so I could pick up some treats for that night's YW activity. We decided on donuts from the bakery. Well there is no way Luke was going to miss out on donuts so he convinced me to buy him a chocolate frosted one to eat at home. After seeing the mess on his face he wanted to send a selfie to Charlie at work.
On Friday afternoon Isaac brought home his second report card of the year with another round of straight A's! We are SO proud of him. He is a super smart kid, but really struggles with his study skills. Keeping on task and getting his work done is sometimes a challenge, but his teacher this year has really worked with him and his IEP team has all helped too. Keep up the good work Isaac!
I forgot to take a picture of Isaac with the report card so we snapped one this morning. Luke wanted in on it too. And Cracker.
Friday night it snowed! It doesn't snow too often here, so with a couple of inches in the forecast there was lots of talk and anticipation leading up to the storm. It started out as freezing rain and eventually turned to snow. We woke up to about 2 1/2 beautiful inches the next morning.
The boys were so excited to go out and play! Unfortunately we don't have the right clothes for playing in the snow but we made do with what we have. We played in the neighbor's yard for a few minutes before heading to the golf course for sledding!
Luke only got a handful of runs in before he started melting down. He only had a pair of knit gloves on and his earlier attempts at making snowballs had soaked them through. After about 15 minutes of sledding he was crying because of his freezing hands, so I took him to the car to warm up. I got one good run down from the top of this hill, which wasn't super steep but if you got on the right angles you could go pretty far.
Back at the car Luke declared he would never leave the house again until the snow was gone! Poor kid.
I ended up taking him home while Charlie & Isaac stayed behind with the neighbors. This was the road going back to our house. It wasn't a ton of snow, but because of the freezing rain that preceded it the roads were really icy. I was thankful for Charlie's Subaru and the 4-wheel drive.
After lunch we managed to convince Luke to go for round two. The neighbor lent him some warmer clothes and we reminded him not to pick up snow. Round two went much, much better. Both boys had a blast! There were several friends from the neighborhood there and we tried out a different hill with a little bump in it that was really fun. Isaac surprised me with his gumption. He would get a running start, land on his knees, and take off for some remarkably fast runs. Charlie had fun going down with both boys while I mostly took pictures or helped with launches at the top.
We had fun! But we all froze. The wind chill brought the temperatures down to around 10 degrees, which is way colder than I like. Cracker doesn't like it either. I took him out front for a potty break and he wouldn't walk even one step. (He prefers the covered deck out back that has dry ground.)
That night we went out for dinner to celebrate Isaac's report card. We let him pick the restaurant so we ended up at Chili's. His first choice is always Del Taco, but we managed to talk him out of it this time. We were surprised at how much ice was still on the roads. They were quite bad in some spots and retrospectively we decided we probably should have stayed home. But we did make it home safely and then we stayed put!
All church meetings were cancelled today due to the icy roads, and school is already cancelled for tomorrow.
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