Weekly Wrap Up - Senior Portraits

Last week my BFF came out in the middle of the week to do Lindsey's senior portraits.  Olivia was off work, so the four of us got to goof off together.  Here are a few of my favorites.   The lamb she's holding is one that she had to pull and tend to on her own.  It was the third in a set of triplets, but was 5 hours behind the other two in birth.   

It was very breezy and cool on photo day.  Here are a few bloopers for your entertainment.

Lindsey has been away, house/dog sitting, since last week.  It's her first time being away from home alone for more than a night.  It's been a good experience for her.  She's had to work out her schedule to have time in the morning to care for the dog and still get to work on time.  Work is close by, so lunch breaks are spent tending the dog.  She figured out it was best to put lunch in the microwave, walk the dog and then eat before going back to work.  This is her last full week of PT, so she's had to keep up with those appointments on her own as well.  I assume her school work has been completed, I'll be checking that this weekend.  She's come home for dinner several evenings as well.

Graduation announcements went out in the mail this week.  June 3 is the "official" date.  I've ordered the cake and am planning the menu. 

In other news, Olivia picked up her foreign currency at the bank.  She leaves for England a week from Mother's Day!

Weekly Wrap Up - Goodbye April

The last two weeks of April have been busy and seemed to have flown by.   Tom and I celebrated our 22nd wedding anniversary on April 21, and Olivia turned 20 on April 25.  Olivia no longer being a teenager seems very odd.

Our anniversary fell on a Friday, and Tom had to work.  We did go out to lunch at a Japanese restaurant before he left for work.   The food was really good (but far more expensive than it was the last time we went), and the sodium had me poofy for a couple of days, but well worth it.

We had Olivia's birthday party on April 23.  We had family and friends over for dinner to celebrate.  She was house sitting out of town, and working her regular job all week, but Tom and I were able to meet her for lunch on her actual birthday, and I sent cupcakes to jiu-jitsu as well.  

Lindsey has been working at the museum and as a mother's helper on Wednesdays (her day off at the museum).  She's picked up another house/pet sitting job for 10 days in May.  She's on her last stretch of homeschooling.  All she has left is to finish reading The Count of Monte Cristo and write a 10 page analysis and then it's a wrap.

Senior portraits are scheduled for May 3!  I can't wait to get that done and share those with you.

Have a great weekend!

Weekly Wrap Up- Easter, PT and Travel

We celebrated Easter/Resurrection this past weekend.  Olivia was house sitting elsewhere, and working at the farm, but was at home for dinner and egg coloring in the evening. However, there is no photo of her with her Easter basket.

Lindsey injured her knee back in October playing volleyball.  It gets better, then every now and then it will flare up.  We went to an orthopedic back in March and while they are "pretty sure" she's torn her meniscus, she has to do 6 weeks of physical therapy before insurance will authorize imaging.  We were finally able to get her in for a PT evaluation on April 5, and she started therapy this week.  The good news is that it's close to her job, so she can go directly there after work on Tuesday and Thursday, and I don't have to go. 

Lindsey is also doing some cross training at the museum.  She's learned to shear sheep, and is training on several other farms/time periods.  She's supposed to also learn tinsmithing and blacksmithing.

Olivia's been working and teaching jiu-jitsu, and is also planning a trip to Europe in May.  We've got her flights and hotel booked, as well as travel insurance.  The last thing we need to do is go to the bank and order English currency and then she's ready to roll.  I can't wait to hear all about her trip when she gets home.

Have a great weekend!

Weekly Wrap Up - The One With a Surprise!!

 
This past weekend, was my 55th birthday.  I always make over other people's birthdays but don't really think much about my own...as the numbers slowly creep up.  Saturday, my husband took me out for breakfast and then we did some antique mall shopping.  We were gone for about 3 hours.  The church directly beside our house was having a big Easter Egg Hunt, and as we pulled in, I commented to Tom that based on all the cars, they had a really good turnout, despite the horrible weather.

Then I saw a receipt blowing through the yard and grabbed it up. Briefly looked at it and said something like "wow, somebody ordered a lot of pizza".  Then I walk into my sunporch and there stood about 30 of my closest friends and family yelling "Surprise!"

Ya'll, Lindsey spent the last 3 months planning a surprise birthday party for me, because I've never had a party, EVER.  It was literally the best birthday ever!  Friends from 2.5 hours (and 30 years of friendship) were here, family, in-laws and a few newer friends.  I didn't take any photos, but did have a couple people send me a few snapshots.

The amount of coordination, sneaking and preparation that went into the whole thing was pretty amazing.  All of my inner circle were so worried that they would end up being the one to let the cat out of the bag, but I was totally surprised.

The rest of the week has been a flurry of activities.  

Weekly Wrap Up - Hello Spring

Spring arrived on Monday, and it was a frigid 17 degrees here.  I'm not amused. I'm ready to be working out in the flower beds and garden.  I will have to plant my lettuce and beets this week and hope for the best.  If I wait too long, they'll be taking up needed space when warm weather planting time comes.

The girls have been busy little bees.  Lindsey had her first overnight house/pet sitting job over the weekend.  She enjoyed it, but was glad to be back home in her own bed when the weekend ended.  She's been working 5 days a week at the museum trying to prepare the team for Military Through the Ages event at Jamestown Settlement & American Revolution Museum at Yorktown.  Here is a photo of the team that went, in full costume.  Each uniform, including the leatherwork was hand stitched, all within a four week window.

In addition to being an interpreter on the 1850's site, Lindsey is training to work the German site and the 1760's Settlement.  Here she is in her settlement costume.  She is so stinking adorable.

This week, I ordered her high school diploma and graduation announcements.  We're wrapping up our homeschooling journey really quickly!

Olivia is busy with work and jiu-jitsu.  She's been going to various seminars and is now officially an instructor.  I edited her bio to take our where we live.  I'm sure it's not hard to figure out if anyone really thinks about it, but no point in making it easier than necessary.

I share what the girls are doing outside of their education for several reasons.  First, I'm a proud mom and I like to brag on my children, no apologies either.  Second, for those who question "success" for homeschooled students "in the real world", I like to show that homeschooled students/graduates can be just as successful, if not more so than their peers.  Being allowed to follow your passions, and not just be forced to fit into a cookie cutter mold is a wonderful gift.