I hiked up Table Rock this morning ... all by myself. It kind of freaked me out, but I ended up really enjoying it because I could just put my ear buds in, turn on the music and just go. I didn't have to worry about keeping people entertained and I could go at my own pace. I was also able to jog down, which was good because I've been wanting to try trail running but have been nervous about it thinking I'd end up falling on my face. I was surprised by how stable I felt with my footing and made it down the hill in about 20 minutes or so. Not bad.

 

About half way up Table Rock looking up at the cross.

 

Looking down from the same spot at above.

 

From the top!! This is why Boise is the City of Trees!!

So, I became "that" parent today at school ... and I don't even feel bad about it. I walked out on C's IEP meeting this afternoon. Yep, you heard me right. I just told them that it wasn't going to happen today and up and walked out. I figure I have that right when our meeting is set for 2:15 pm and they aren't ready and the middle school resource teacher doesn't even show up til after 2:35, which leaves us less than 25 minutes to discuss all his test results, discuss what he qualifies for next year, figure out what classes he's going to be taking and his schedule and if he's going to be going to general ed classrooms or with a small group or an aide. All this after this same lady cancelled the meeting we were supposed to have at the middle school last week to figure out most of this stuff out. Yep, 25 minutes isn't going to cut it for me when I'm sending my kid off to middle school with no idea of what to expect. So yep, I am that parent ... and I don't even feel bad about it.

So, what did I do. I walked out of the school and got in my car and proceeded to bawl my eyes out for the next 20 minutes. Drove around to where I pick up C and bawled some more and then came home and locked my door and crawled on my bed and pulled a blanked up over my head for another hour and a half. Sometimes it sucks to be a parent, especially a parent of a kid with learning issues and a parent whose spouse travels all the time and can't attend these crappy meetings with you. And then you look at your phone and realize that there is absolutely no one in your contact list you can call because no one on your contact list has ever had to deal with anything like this and won't get why it's so freaking hard. OK, done with my feel bad for me rant.

And now I'm back to trying to decide whether to send him to middle school, homeschool him through the state's virtual academy or do a combo of the two and just send him to the middle school or PE and other electives and do the heavy stuff at home. Guess I'll be doing a bunch of research in the next little bit. I guess this is why I went to college and graduated with the certification to teach grades 6-12. Little did I know I'd never use the knowledge in a school setting, but rather in my own home. And I guess the part of my patriarchal blessing about teaching may just be coming to fruition. Hopefully my sanity will survive whatever may come.

On to some fun stuff ... I promise my life doesn't completely suck all the time.

The Girl's JV lacrosse team took second place for the season ... I am so proud of her. She picked up the sport pretty quickly and had a great time. We've got her signed up to play club this summer, when we are around and fall.

 

She's the cutie to the right of the coach. He was pretty great. Most of these girls had never played before. The sport isn't sanctioned so we have a board that manages everything ... guess who they've talked to about being on the board next year ... that's right. Supposedly it's not supposed to take up tons of time. It should be fun though. She also got to dress with the varsity last week for one of their tournament games. Too bad I missed it, but it was for a good cause.

 

The Kid and I went for a road trip last week ... I picked him up from school after lunch on Thursday and we took off for McCall. So glad that the in-laws have a place we can crash at for the night on these road trips. We stopped at a place on the lake for dinner. He's such a crack-up when I go to take pictures of him

 

 

And then in the morning we headed for this place ...

 

 

Yep, we picked up the Boy from his first year at the U of I and moved him home for the summer. My house is now a disaster area, but it's nice to have him home ... for now. I think that he had a good year, finished this last semester with four A's and two B's. Pretty good. And this is how I'm sure I'll be seeing him for the next two months (okay, he did mow the lawn today).

 

 

  

I can't end this til I do a fitness update. I had my two year appointment at my dr.'s office today. I'm officially down 165 pounds. They are impressed and I am down more than they thought I would be at this point. I figure if I could get rid of the weight from the excess skin I'd be down lower than I was in high school. So, it was basically a good job and keep up the good work and we'll see you next year.

 

I picked up some new running shoes a few weeks ago. I'm probably about 30 miles or so into them and so far so good. No blisters so far. Yay!!

 

 

 

And I just have to document the mileage on my Nike Run app.

 

 

Got my hind end kicked in the "First Fatty to Fifty" running challenge I was doing with some friends. You shouldn't invite friends to participate that routinely run about 15 miles a day. One lady kicked everybody's trash and finished in less than a week. I'm at about 44 miles, so I should finish on Monday. I figure I'll finish faster than most of the people in the challenge, so I'm not feeling too bad. I've been trying to get some strength training in every day, so I've toned down my mileage to about a 5K a day, that's about 3.10 miles. Then I either do abs and arms, abs and legs or arms and legs after each run. I'm so sore. I figure both of these things will help me to lower my time for my 5K. I'm not a fast runner at all, so any improvement would be great.

The girl is still going full steam with the lacrosse season. They had a rough game on Tuesday. Their goalie couldn't save a darn thing in the first half. I think they were down about 3-8 or something at half and came back and only lost 10-11. They had like three shots at goal in the last 10 seconds or so. Imagine if their goalie had had a good first half. I think we've got three games left and tournament. I haven't taken any pics of the games, but my father-in-law took a couple the other night. Doesn't she look pretty hot with her goggles and mouth guard hanging out??

 

On a side note, she mentioned wanting a better stick at Eater dinner on Sunday. I have to say that we didn't buy her a top of the line stick when she started playing because we weren't sure if it was something she'd love or not. So, we bought her a $50 stick and then ended up getting it restrung for another $40. So we are $90 into this cute purple and green stick. So she mentions at dinner that she had found a stick that she wanted and my father-in-law basically says, when can I meet you at the store to look at them. So she comes home yesterday with a new stick. Sometimes I really love that man. He's a pretty great guy and really didn't need to do that for her, but he loves her. And on the up side, we now have a couple sticks and now we can go out and really pass with her.

 

She also had Prom a few weeks ago. A cute boy from her seminary class had asked her by putting up those stars that glow in the dark up on her ceiling and a poster. It was pretty cute. We went to a park by The Village in Meridian and took pictures and then they went to dinner a Texas Roadhouse.

 

 

The girls and the kid ... isn't she a hottie.

 

Kennedy and Tanner ... it was a bit windy!!

 

With her friend Cassi ... love those girls.

 

We've been having meetings about the kid ... getting ready to send him off to middle school in the fall. I think I'm more stressed out about the whole ordeal than he is. I get a pit in my stomach every time I think about him. Socially and academically I just don't know if he's going to be able to survive. We did find out that he's pretty much going to be based out of extended resource and most likely won't be on his own in any class. He can have a locker, but the lockers that they give these kids have a key lock instead of a combination or they can have a crate in the room. He's excited about a locker right now, but we'll see how that goes when the time comes. They also have a changing room in the classroom so that he doesn't have to go down and change in the locker room for P.E., which will be a good thing cause there is no way he is getting changed and getting his shoes on and tied and to class on time by himself. It would take him a good 10 minutes just to tie his shoes and that's if he would change his clothes in front of the other boys, which I'm sure would give the kid nightmares. Boys that age are just not very nice. We are meeting again in a few weeks to actually get a schedule down and see exactly what classes he's taking and how that will all work.

 

The boy has about three weeks left up at school. He passed his Business Law midterm with an A ... one more test to go there. He's feeling good about that class. Didn't do so hot on his physics test, but if he does well on his final, should pass with a B or higher. I think he's ready to be done with his first year of school. Hopefully he's a little excited to come home for the summer, although he's not real happy that I told him he has to go to church with me every Sunday. I needs to spend that time with his mommy. He's not going to be able to find a job this summer because of our crazy travel schedule, so we are going to have to supplement his savings account and in return he gets to dig some post holes for the fence we are going to be replacing behind the house and mow our lawn as well. I'm sure he's super, duper excited about that. Hopefully his grandpa will let him mow his lawn to earn a little more money. He also found out that he will be living on the 8th floor of The Towers next year as an RA. He's excited about that. He'll have an okay size room to himself, but has to be back in Moscow the first week in August. He's only taking 13 credits so he shouldn't have too crazy of a fall semester and hopefully he'll still get to keep his job at the radio station.

 

Just want to share a few pics I found on my phone today ...

 

 

Love my niece Addy, she is such a character!!

 

Breakfast with the boy!! I'm going to miss his breaks in November and March when we get to spend a bunch of time together one on one.

 

The fam doing the MS walk last Saturday!! Had fun supporting a great cause ... all the money going to support research to try and find a cure. It's personal because my brother's wife, Kimberlee was diagnosed a couple of years ago. Love her and want to see her stay healthy!!

 

On a side note, hubby heads out again on Monday ... to California and then home for a couple of days and then off to New York for a couple days and then goes down to Sao Paulo, Brazil. There are a few travel advisories for Americans traveling to Brazil right now, so here's hoping he keeps his nose clean, stays with the group he's working with and comes home safe and sound.

 

I'm doing a running challenge with a bunch of other people. The creator called it First Fatty to Fifty ... nice huh. It started last Monday and it's been kicking my behind. I hadn't run for 3 weeks before it started. I tend to not run at all while Carter is off for his three week breaks in November and March and then start again. You wouldn't think that I'd lose that much stamina and speed in three weeks, but it's been killing me.

So, that's where I am now. I've been trying to go between 3 and 5 miles a day. I've been crazy sore though, so I've been trying to stretch out really well after I run and use a foam roller on my legs and hips. Just disappointed that it's going to take me awhile to get back in my stride.

 

The kids ended up doing great on his scout campout. It ended up getting down to about 20 degrees, so they all froze. He was the first kid up and cooked some eggs and was like, "let's go home now." He was the first one packed up and ready to go. He's not one for enjoying the outdoors when he's camping. He wants to go, but then he wants to take the iPad and hang out in the tent and watch movies most of the night and morning and come out when it warms up to hang out by the fire.

 

He also has been doing great with his contacts when I can get him to wear them. He was so excited about them, but now that he knows that it takes a little bit of work to put them in he'd rather wear his glasses. He can be such a stink, but we love him tons. We've also decided to cut out all the soda and candy that he's been consuming lately. He could really stand to get in a little better shape. So, we aren't buying anymore crap for the house and we are doing an "After School Fun Walk" every day after school. About a mile or so. I figure it's good for all of us.

 

The boy made it back to the U of I and is back in the swing of things. I think he's got about 6 more weeks of school left. He's got his Business Law midterm this week. I hope he's been studying because it's one of three grades for the semester. he got an A on the first one, hopefully he'll do as well on this next one. I still don't think he's enjoying school as much as he could. I wish he'd get out more and meet some more kids and do a bit more outside, but when you sit in your dorm room on your computer that's not going to happen. Hopefully he'll figure it out sooner or later.

 

The girl has got lacrosse going full steam now. They had a game on Friday and beat Bishop Kelly 12-3. She did really well. They are really playing defense well and are getting better all the time. She's got three games this week. At Eagle tonight, tomorrow at home and Wednesday at Centennial. Let's go Mavericks!! She's also got Prom this weekend. I'm excited for her to go. I got the flowers ordered today and got her an appointment to a spray tan on Thursday with a lady in our ward. So glad she could do it on short notice for us. The boy she's going with is a nice guy from her seminary class. He's come over a few times and I think that they will have a good time with the group that they are going with.

 

My parents came for the weekend. They got to watch Kennedy's lax game on Friday and on Saturday we watched General Conference and went on a tour of the Old Idaho Penitentiary. We met my sister-in-law Rachel there with her kids Mason and Addy and her parents and a brother and his family. It was actually pretty cool. I've been here over twenty years and had never gone. My parents were telling us that when they were seniors they came from eastern Idaho and went on a tour, so it would have been 1968 or 69 and that there were still prisoners there. They actually walked them through one of the cell blocks that had prisoners in it. I think it scared them pretty good. My phone was about dead so I didn't take any pictures. We'll have to go back and take some.

The girl has had two lacrosse games this week. They lost the first 7-9, but she scored her teams first goal. Knocked the ball out of the other girls stick and then picked it up, ran it in and scored. Pretty spectacular. They won 10-9 last night. Their team was down by two and ended up scoring three goals in the last couple minutes. Some girl from the other team was chasing down one of our players and ran smack into Ken and then started stomping after her telling her she better watch out. It was kind of hilarious because of how she looked when she was doing it. Probably wouldn't have been too funny if she'd gone after her with her stick. The girls don't wear helmets because it's supposed to be a no-contact sport. I guess the guys get pretty rough because they play full contact. I might have to check out a game. Could be entertaining.

The kid goes on his campout tonight. I'm heading out to Cabela's or Sportsman's in the next little bit to get him a new sleeping bag. The ones that we have are a little temperamental and all we need is for a zipper or something to malfunction while he's there and he freezes or something traumatic. And I might as well make the whole "first scout campout" a big deal. Maybe get him a new flashlight or something. Anything to hopefully make this a good experience for him since he's so excited about it.

We went to the eye doctor on Monday ... guess who got to try out contacts when they came in on Wednesday??? That's right, the kid did. He did pretty good. Can't get them in by himself, does pretty good getting them out. We just want him to be able to wear them when we are in Hawaii this summer for snorkeling and all the other stuff we've got planned. Because his prescription is so bad the contacts he has to wear are thicker and heavier so they slide off his finger pretty easily when he tries to put them in, hopefully with practice he'll get it pretty quick.

Spring break is flying by for the boy. He heads back to Moscow on Sunday. He's covering the Treefort Music Festival for the campus radio station he works for. I think he had fun last night. He sounded pretty excited when he called me at 11:30 last night when he was walking to the car to come home. He's got to hang out with his friends a bit and had a little excitement pulling out of the driveway with his dad's car. That passenger side view mirror comes in handy when your backing out, until you take out the recycle container with it ... and then your mom makes you help her friend's son replace it before your dad can get back from his business trip to Philadelphia. It's been fun having him home. He's got less than two months til he's home for the summer. Crazy, this years been flying by.

The hubby's been in Philly since Sunday. We pick him up late tonight. Hopefully he makes all his connections. It didn't happen last time. Then it's laundry dash to get everything done by Sunday so that he can take off again on Monday. Hopefully it's a quiet weekend. Too bad he gone for the younger kids spring break. I guess I'll have to try and find stuff for us to do.

Just wanted to give a big shout out to the Sister from church who Facebook messaged me today on behalf of her husband. Up until you asked so nicely in your message, I had absolutely no idea that my child had any sort of social issues or learning delays. Thank you so much for pointing out something that no doctor, counselor, psychologist, preschool teacher, classroom teacher, resource teacher or speech and language pathologist has ever pointed out before. I can't believe we've missed something this glaringly obvious for the last 11 years. Thank you so much for asking what type of punishment or discipline would be appropriate for him in a primary class when he doesn't act like a "normal" child would. Because seriously, punishment will solve all of our problems. It's done wonders for the last 11 years. Lets not just try to correct the behavior and keep reminding him of how he should behave while showing him that he's loved and valued in a primary setting. Let's belittle him and get angry and punish him for not behaving normal. And while we do all that, let's ignore the new kid that just moved in and has decided that tormenting my child for not acting like all the other kids is fun and isn't adding to the problem. Now that I know that my child has developmental delays and social issues and you've told me how to fix them ... I figure I'll try to tackle world peace and childhood hunger.

Now to convince myself that the kid will survive his first scout campout this weekend ... while the hubby is in Philadelphia. Luckily they are just camping out near Kuna, so not too far away. Considering he hasn't spent the night anywhere but at his grandparents house, hopefully he and his leaders and the other boys won't come home scarred for life. Thank heavens the new kid from the previous paragraph is already 12 so I won't have to deal with the fallout from that on Saturday.

The boy is home for spring break this week. He came home yesterday and it's been good to see him. His first year of college is going to pretty well I think. Grades seem to be okay. He got accented to be an residence advisor next year which is great. We won't have to pay for housing or food. That saves us a small fortune ... close to four grand a semester. I won't say he's excited about it, but he's finally getting an idea of how much everything costs so we wants his money to last. Better late than never to finally get that idea.

The girl has her first lacrosse game tomorrow ... it also conflicts with her choir concert, which is a grade. Hopefully the coach gets that school functions that you get graded on are first ... no matter what. So, she's going to her game for a half, then rushing to get to the school in time for her group to perform. She's pretty nervous. Hopefully she plays well, she's been working hard at home as well as at practice. We also had a boy show up Thursday night to decorate her room and ask her to prom ... pretty exciting. Now we've got to find a dress. Hopefully it won't be too hard ... or too expensive. We've also signed her up for AFY (Adventure for Youth) with her friend Megan. It's in July and at Badger Creek in Teton Valley where I grew up. Not cheap, but I think that it will be good for her, probably better that EFY or BYS. They are super excited. They get to go white water rafting, horseback riding, rock climbing, do archery and tons of other outdoorsy survival type stuff while focusing on church stuff as well. I think they get to dance and have a talent show at well. I love that we are able to provide that kind of stuff for her.

Biggest complaint so far today .... my stupid Nike running app not giving me the correct mileage from my run on the treadmill this morning and then not letting me sync it up to put in the correct mileage. So, my 5K run was recorded as about 2.75 miles instead of 3.12.  I hate it when that happens. But, in reality, it's my fault because I'm supposed to have it in an armband, but really dislike wearing it, so I shove my phone in a pocket on my hip, so if I don't move my hips enough when I run it throws the whole thing off.

 

It was a quick run this morning. I should have gone longer, but had a hard time getting Carter out of the house for school this morning on time. Crazy things happening around here right now. I had to get to the grocery store and home by 11 so that my visiting teachers could come. Someday I'll get my act together and actually get Carter out of the door at the right time to get my stuff done. I did get a really cute skirt and shirt at Fred Meyer while I was grocery shopping to wear to my friend's daughter's wedding that's coming up soon. So excited to finally get something new to wear. It's been awhile since I've actually gone shopping for something other than running gear.

 

Yesterday was Fast Sunday. After my Sunday School class I just couldn't make myself go to Relief Society. So what did I do??? I ran home and found chocolate. Hershey's Nuggets. It's been that kind of week. Well actually that kind of year so far. I tell me 16-17 year olds that I teach in Sunday School that sometimes that hard decisions aren't the big ones. I don't have a problem following the word of wisdom. I don't have a problem with morality or fidelity or killing people or stealing. It's the small stuff I struggle with. Like keeping my fast going ... or like I tell the kids ... sometimes the hard choice is getting to church. Especially when I'm alone with the kids all the time because of business trips or drill weekends or whatever else comes ups. I can't remember the last time we actually sat together as a family. If my husband's not on a business trip, I'm gone. Up to Moscow to see Ryan three weekends ago. Heading to Utah this weekend. By myself. Again. Sometimes I wonder if we are going to survive this 20th year of marriage. It's been the toughest one yet. You'd think we would have gotten the whole thing figured out by now. It so has not happened yet.

 

A few months ago we had a joint 5th Sunday third hour meeting for the Relief Society and Elder's Quorum. The bishopric member that spoke talked about taking care of the part member and non-active families in the ward and making sure that they know that they are loved and wanted at church. All I could think about was what about the members that show up every week and do everything they are supposed to. Take care of everybody else. What if they are struggling??? That's me right now. Take care of everyone else. Take meals here, with a good attitude. Do my visiting teaching. All inactive or part-member families, with a good attitude. Go to church every week. With an okay attitude. Feed the missionaries once a month, trying to think of anyone, besides my neighbors they could try to teach (if they go to my neighbors and give them a Book of Mormon, the neighbors put it in my mailbox. No, I'm not kidding, it's happened). I'm struggling ... I've got a kid at college choosing not to go to church, not to go to institute, having issues that doing these things would help with. Not one visit from the Bishop up there since he moved in to the dorms. Not one visit from a home teacher. I'm trying not to have a bad attitude about all that we do for everyone else and people look at us and think, they're here every week, they're doing just fine. Doing their callings. Going the extra mile for everybody. I know ... I just need to say my prayers and read my scriptures more and everything will work itself out (big old snarky emoticon here)!!! Okay, better attitude coming up right now.

 

I need to come up with some ideas for the rest of March. Carter is getting out of school at the end of the week and won't be back in school until April. What to do, what to do?? Got to come up with some stuff to entertain that kid!! He's a crazy one. And no, he doesn't like to go running with me. I think he's allergic or something. At least he thinks he is.

 

My friends son is coming home on Wednesday from his mission. Just in time for his sister's wedding. I can't believe he's been gone for two years. I guess I'll have to bake him some cookies or something to take to the airport. He's flying in from Australia. Crazy long flight. Like 26 hours to make it from Adelaide to Boise, ID. I get to go to the airport and take some pictures for them. So excited for all of them. He wants steak for dinner. My friend says she doesn't know how to cook a good steak so she's making hamburgers. I told her that I was coming over with my grill pan and some steak and I would cook it for him. He's been gone for two years and wants a steak. He's going to get a steak. Love that family. Love my friend. She snuck off with me for the chocolate  yesterday. Shhhh, don't tell our families or anyone in the Relief Society!!

 

 

Isn't it funny how when anyone else in the family is sick, moms tend to do anything to make them feel better. But, when we get sick, it's like we have the plague. No one wants to get near us, let alone take care of us. And we keep on going, because that's what moms do. Then when everybody else is finally in bed for the night, we dose up on Nyquil to finally get some sleep. Then, still set an alarm for when your daughter is supposed to be home from her Sweetheart's Dance. At 2 a.m. Because the group that she went with is watching a movie after the dance and it's a good group of kids. And your husband has to get up early to go to drill for the National Guard in the morning. It's hilarious. JK, I love my family. And seriously who wouldn't do something like that for this cute girl ....

 

 

No running update today ... I did about 10 miles last week before the crud set in ... after that I felt like I was coughing up a lung whenever I tried to do anything. Maybe I'll go back tomorrow and try it again. I decided to reward myself with a pedicure whenever I run a certain amount of miles. Now just to figure out what is fair. I'm thinking about 30 to 40. That might get me one every month or so. Sounds good, right?? I think so.

 

I've got a knitting project to share. I just need to find something to wear it with and then I'll post a photo. It's a wider scarf that almost has a shawl look to it. It's in a brown color with brighter colors throughout. I don't wear a lot of brown, so I'm not sure what to wear it with. We'll see.

 

I need to weather to warm up just a bit to dry out the foothills in Boise. I am really craving a good hike right now. And a jaunt on the greenbelt just might not do it. Although I may need to get some pepper spray and bear spray to take with me. A lot of mountain lions have been coming down in to town from the foothills. I guess I should be a little more proactive. But, I figure as much noise as the ladies and I make when we go hiking, we won't be surprising anything.