Designer Cheese and Other Ramblings: TRYING TO KEEP UP...

..with everything going on around here! It has been a crazy, busy week with Valentine's Day coming up this weekend! I can honestly say, as a first year teacher in an elementary school....I had no idea that Valentine's Day was that big of a deal! I had activities and crafts planned for my group of 18 kiddos, and they were so preoccupied with just opening and reading their cards from everyone, I didn't have to lift a finger! They were so excited! It was fun to see.

So let's see.....

ZOE's SOCIAL LIFE
is keeping us busy as well as making us feel older as we face such mature, yet normal phases in her adolescence. She is so into spending time with her friends, staying connected with them, sharing every thought and dream with her girlfriends, and hanging out at school events. Everything is so "EPIC" and OMG is a totally serious comment! We are lucky in the fact that Zoe tends to bring friends over to hang out at our house. We often have an extra mouth or two to feed, or study sessions at our dining room table. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Here is Zoe and her group....so excited to perform at last week's big "Monster Band" concert which consists of band members from every school in the county. The students meet for an entire day to practice their pieces before performing at the Performing Arts Center that evening. Not the best photo...it was dark and I only had my cell phone camera.

...and Zoe and her boyfriend Mike. He also plays the trombone. I'd love to get a picture of the two of them with their trombones someday. He hung out one evening and played the Wii with Max and Zoe.

LAST WEEKEND...
was Jeff's ski patrol weekend (Saturday and Sunday every other weekend), and the kiddos were off doing what they do (scouting events for both of them), so I decided to clean the house, clean the car, and go for a solo jog which was surprisingly satisfying. I've never been much of a jogger...in fact I've never been able to jog more than a block or two without giving up and walking. Something has changed however. I think I've finally found that once you get into that "groove" and past the hard part, it becomes easier. This day I ran 4.5 miles, only slowing down to a walk a couple times while climbing the hill to the cemetery. I had an awesome playlist on the MP3 player and just kept on going. It felt great! I'm planning on doing it again tomorrow (as long as the rain stays away)!

Entering the cemetery at the top of the hill...and a nice, clean (just like new...LOL) car!

Sunday I finished up the household chores and then joined my friend Julia for a birdwatching hike near Cameron Lake Road. Our birdwatching was not as successful as we would have liked. We were hoping to find some woodpeckers in the burned out fire area we were climbing through, but I think it is still too early. We did see some mountain chickadees, a pygmy nuthatch, and some horned larks, which was cool. We also picked up a stray dog (not too stray...he had a collar) that followed us all over the place. We felt like he was our own by the end of the afternoon. Julia had a hard time leaving the pooch behind. It was a gorgeous day to be outside!