My Nephew the Superstar

A couple weeks ago my parents and I went up to Calgary to watch my nephew, Hunter, play soccer and celebrate his 9th birthday. He mainly plays goalie and, from what I can tell, is really good at it! It was fun to watch the little boys play. It actually reminded me a lot of teaching first grade. Every few minutes (that may be an exaggeration), a boy would get hurt, fall down, and cry. Then the whole team had to sit and wait. They always clapped for the little boys when they stood back up. I’m not going to lie, it was really funny. Luckily, Hunter was one of the tougher ones. He fell, scraped his knee, and got back up with no tears.

After the game we went back to my brother’s house to do the birthday celebration! I don’t remember the last birthday of his I was able to go to, so I was happy to be there. Hunter is really into sports – street hockey especially. So all of his gifts were related to that. He got a sports bag to carry his equipment, a really legit hockey net, and some goal pads for his legs (I’m not sure what the official name is). Although, it looks like he will be able to fit them for a long time. They are so big!

Apparently it takes three people to put on goal pads!

Nicole (my sister-in-law) asked Hunter what kind of cake he wanted. He told her he would like a white cake with chocolate frosting and strawberries, but if she can only do a chocolate cake, that would be okay. He is such a sweet boy! Luckily Nicole could manage a white cake, and it was delicious!

Long Overdue...

Whenever I think of my dear old dad,
There are many things that make me glad.

He is always the one I know when I ask,
Will grant me permission for any task.

My dad is the smartest person I know,
To find any answer, he’s where I go.

He endlessly tries to teach me what’s right,
In finances, dieting, or winning a fight.

I can go to him for advice on many a matter.
And he still loves me - even though his nerves do I shatter!

I can honestly say that there never could be,
Anyone who loves their dad more than me!

(Even though I put off writing this poem…)

Speechless

Camping

Family camping trip number one,
Turned out to be slightly fun.
We lucked out with one dry day,
Some sun, but mostly clouds of gray.
Children rode bikes, drove quads, and played.
While plenty of food and hot chocolate was made!
When I listened to the sound of pouring rain,
I thought to myself, “These people are insane!”

Goals

This summer I have two simple goals:

1. Graduate School
-I need to complete my online course with an A, naturally.
-I would like to get my 50 hours of practicum completed, and write the required one page paper. -I hope to write at least 10 pages of research for my master’s paper.

2. Mental/Physical Health
-I need to take this summer break to work on myself. I need to go through the emotional processes necessary, in order to be a sane person when I get back to Idaho.
-I hope to lose my “marriage weight” by doing the Wellness Pro diet. My dad has been on it for a while, and has lost about 25 pounds. I am hoping by following the strict diet and exercising daily, I can lose my first goal of 35 pounds by the time I go back to school at the end of August. After that I can continue losing the weight I need to in order to feel comfortable putting myself back on the market.

Wish me luck!

(I put a weight loss tracker on the side bar, so the whole world can see my progress. After week one I have already lost 5 pounds!)

Summer

No creativity or inspiration on this one…just a quick update.

May was a crazy month with school ending, emptying out a storage unit (Thanks again Georgia! And I have a few choice words for the two men who watched us haul 20+ boxes up to my 3rd floor apartment in the 85 degree weather…), and driving up to Canada. I am so glad it’s over, and extremely grateful I didn’t have to move schools, classrooms, or apartments! Now I can enjoy a somewhat stress free summer.

Or so I thought…

This summer is shaping up to be almost as busy!

-Yesterday was my Grandma’s birthday and we took her to her favorite restaurant…A&W. I forgot how delightfully delicious those burgers are!

-Saturday is my dad’s birthday, and we are going camping to celebrate. (Not the way I would choose to celebrate my birthday, but whatever.) Although, my parents did buy a super nice trailer with beds, a kitchen, a toilet, and a shower...everything I need to feel good about camping.

-My nephew, Hunter’s birthday is on the 19th, and we’ll be driving up to Calgary to celebrate with him.

-In July I am going up to Red Deer to help my brother watch these sweet little girls, while my sister-in-law goes to girls camp.

-In August we will have one more camping trip before I go back home.

-And in between all of these fun and exciting events, I have an online class to work on, 50 practicum hours to do, and a Master’s paper to start writing.

Here’s to a summer of work, relaxing, parties, camping…repeated as needed.