A Week at a Glance...

Already into the "next week" but thought I'd catch up with last week's happenings.

Erin, Chris and Baby C went north to spend the holiday with friends in Moscow. Saturday was our DIL Karissa's birthday and her confirmation into the Catholic church.  The weather was a picture perfect Spring day.

Baby C liked the Easter Bunny better than Santa

Easter was a quiet day.  We attended mass and shared breakfast with Matt, Brit and Mr. T.  I'm not embarrassed to say we spent the rest of the day in comfy clothes, watching movies and napping. Yes, we caved...

Just relaxing.

My favorite part of Mass today was after communion.  The music started playing "How Great Thou Art" and I felt a rush of tears.  I cannot explain why but this was one of my Gram's favorite hymns and I felt her unconditional love hold me close.

We finally have the office done - check that box.  We found a nice rug for the boys to play on and Papa very smartly thought ahead - low pile rug making it easier to locate the Lego's played with in the office.  He's a genius I tell you!

We've gone through files and documents, shredding like a shady government official.  It feels so good to have things in order and clutter cleared.

The living room and dining room walls are now painted the two tones of gray.  The white trim just seems to 'pop' off the wall.  I'll be looking around for some white curtains to complete the look.  Everything looks so clean and fresh.

I started painting into the kitchen but didn't get far.  Sometimes my achy bones just need a break from the stretching and bending. I honestly believe I look forward to going to work to get away from all of the physical projects we have going at home.

Mike and I have an ongoing project outside.  He started moving the pavers surrounding the new fire pit.  It's like having a 500 piece puzzle sitting on the table.  You walk by and see a piece you've been staring at forever and it fits perfect.  Mike made major headway earlier last week but ended up with blisters on his knees from his knee pads and had to let them heal.  Gradually the patio is being put into place.  Soon we will have to go get another load or two to complete the patio area.

New Fire pit buried in ground and early stages of moving pavers

When I returned to work I was greeted with a beautiful bouquet of flowers from our boss for Admin Assistant's Day.  It's so nice to be appreciated for the contributions you make every day.  My coworkers are so much fun to be around.  I was referred to as "secretary to the people" because I don't limit the things I do to management but enjoy helping my coworkers as well.  I'm so thankful to have a job I enjoy while feeling like I'm making a difference.

Our dear friend Randy celebrated her birthday this past week as well.  Happy Birthday!  Tomorrow we are driving to McCall for lunch.  She's never been up to Valley County.  The weather looks like it will cooperate and we plan to stop whenever we want to take pictures.

33 years of friendship - 1981-2014

Our weather lately has been alternating between sunny spring-like days and April showers.  We've seen it all.  I went out on a limb and planted tomatoes already - but do not hesitate to cover them on some of these cooler nights.

I'm motivated to walk regularly and am excited to do T-25 every day.  I seriously watch the 25:00 minute clock count down and am often amazed to see how fast it goes.  Between T-25 and my 2 mile route with Ruger, I am easily meeting my 10,000 step goal nearly every day.   Even at work - it's incredible how much walking I do in a day!   I hope the regular activity will help build my energy.  I have to keep on schedule.  Erin and I have multiple bookings for Natural Touch Photography in July, July and August.  How exciting!

Tonight my mind is with family and friends back in the Midwest and South.  The spring storms are frightening and leaving so much devastation in its path.  You are all in my prayers.  Be safe.

Productivity at its Finest

This weekend we found ourselves feeling VERY productive.  It was a continuation of our productive week.  Saturday we were up early - that's what happens when you are exhausted on Friday night and sleep a solid 8 hours because you go to bed early.

Our roommates moved into their own cozy apartment last weekend (I miss them already).  We spent the weekend looking after our youngest grand.  Sunday night as they drove away with the last of their belongings, i.e. the cats; I resisted the urge to dive into a whole house deep clean (not because I was celebrating but because that's just the way I function) as I was working on Monday.  However, Mr. T was sleeping over since school was off for Presidents Day.  I rearranged the 'boy's bedroom' enough for a good night's sleep. 

After work Monday I started washing bedding and reloading empty closets.  We met up with Matt and Brit to turn over Mr. T to his folks once more.  Mr. T and Papa had a busy day of errands and some how managed to stay out of trouble. 

Tuesday and Wednesday were spent washing walls, shampooing carpet and large area rugs.  I remade the beds and continued my mad organizing of closets.  The first load was delivered to Idaho Youth Ranch and arrangements were made for an 'in-house' pick up of some larger items. 

Thursday and Friday I took a reprieve and went to work to rest my tired, aching muscles.  We made a couple of mental lists - some long range planning if you will - giving ourselves a time line for projects around the house.  There are plenty to keep us out of trouble, but we have a goal to reach.

Saturday we hit the ground running...  I walked Ruger around the park trails in our neighborhood taking advantaged of the sunshine.  We braved the crowds at Costco and the grocery store but successfully restocked our very empty pantry.  In celebration we toasted National Margarita Day with a shared plate of nachos and a couple of adult beverages. 

After Mass Sunday we soaked up some vitamin D and emptied the shed of it's overflowing contents, scrubbed the floor and the mini-frig before reloading the loft and shelves with only items that had been sorted and organized (though I bet he snuck in a few things too...).  Mike filled up both the trash and recycling bin.

Since the shed was his project and I was desperate to stay outdoors, I found a task of my own.  The wood pile (yes the wood pile) has been an eye sore for over a year.  Trimmed branches cut and piled haphazardly and leaves from two Falls caused me to avert my eyes whenever I headed that direction.  So yes, I confess, I organized/cleaned our wood pile.  I used my favorite tool in the world - the sawzall - to trim branches down to burning lengths, raked out leaves, pulled small kindling pieces (avoiding nasty hiding critters) and re stacked the logs.  The whole time burning any extra pieces of timber so that we might have a cozy, relaxing fire to enjoy while we took periodic breaks. 

When the embers burned down we wrapped up our time outdoors, with our chilled beers empty, we were ready to call it a day.  Chicken wings were thawing, showers happened and we answered the door bell to discover Mr. T and his folks out for a drive.  Soon after our daughter and Baby C showed up to use the laundry.  Additional wings were thawed, more veggies added to the pot and a controlled chaos ensued as the spontaneous visit evolved.

So as we start the new week we have cleared closets, organized storage, donated items, shampooed floors and washed walls - putting our empty nest back in order.   Temperatures are promising to be a huge Spring tease this week and we will take full advantage despite the little voice in the back of my head reminding me it's still February.

4P's for Lent and Celebrating Easter

With the season of Lent winding down, we celebrate the rebirth of Jesus.  Lent is always such a cleansing period, and Easter is a re-awakening.  Fortunately this year the weather also added an additional pop to the big day. 

We gathered with our sons, daughter-in-laws and favorite five year old for Mass Easter morning.  As Father shared the Homily I enjoyed hearing him share his personal moments of sacrifice and change during Lent. 

After church we met up at our home for a family meal.  Krieg invited an unexpected guest who was traveling from Portland, OR, relocating to Syracuse, NY.  We'd met RP two summers ago when he hosted a Rhino Lacrosse Camp in Boise.   Krieg was working at the camp after meeting RP and team over in Oregon.  Naturally we had to extend some Shaw Hospitality when they came to town. 

Holiday or not, the Shaw family table has no boundaries and all are welcome.  I think both Mike and I enjoyed how Krieg knew RP would be welcome without asking first.

Missing from our family gathering was our new parents and newest grandson.  With their work schedules and hockey season sneaking out of town with a nearly 2 month old baby wasn't on the agenda.  Besides they were anxiously awaiting the arrival of Chris' dad and Kathy, who were driving to Idaho from Michigan soon.

Cute Easter Bunny 

She loves being a Momma

After a meal with several new dishes, we took in some vitamin D and added some photographs to go with our Easter memories.  

Our Easter Family

With Brit

Tater got a fun Creationary Lego game.  Much like Pictionary but you have to build something out of Legos and have others guess...  My coordination with Legos is nil (ask my sons) and my recent attempt at building with my favorite five year old was an epic fail - and that was WITH the "map" so I abstained from the game.



Overlook the shaggy beard.  My hubby has accepted our son's Duck Dynasty beard challenge...  winner to be determined the last week of July at Kalaloch.  (Oh goodie...  April...  May...  June...  July...)

Krieg and RP