Back to Friday

Well. Here we are on Friday. 

This week was busy. 

There was high school Adoration Night, which was just exactly what I needed. 

A busy and full week with fun à la Dancing with the Stars and work, with the big kickoff of our Family Formation program. 

A little more return to normalcy, in that C started voice lessons back up yesterday. He jumped right in and is working on "I'm Not That Smart" from the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. 

This morning, as I was packing my water and granola bar for lunch, I noted that M has plans for Family Movie Night tonight. 

She didn't just put a Fanta in the fridge. She also added a sign. And put it on a dino cellphone holder. Because why not?

We are still in a rough patch in our house. 

The kids are just really sad. 

The adults are trying to make sense of it all and figure out the next steps. We don't know where the Lord is bringing us. We are open to whatever that plan is. 

There have been glimmers of hope and then more "nos." 

We cling to the idea that "You can be disappointed without becoming discouraged."

So we wait. We pray. We move forward, asking God to "Give us our daily bread." And today, we have enough. 

This weekend's Gospel is about the landowner who pays his laborer the regular daily wage whether they came to work at dawn or 5:00 pm. It's so easy to look at it with our very human and mortal lives and see all the injustice there. 

And I think that's really the point of that parable. Life isn't fair. Turns out entrance into Heaven probably isn't either. But it won't really matter at that point because we will be in Heaven. 

So it's not fair at all. But we keep moving forward and trust that He has something great in store. And we ask for your prayers, please. We need them. 

Dancing Hanson

Last night was the premiere of Dancing with the Stars. I have never fully gotten into the show because they stretch something that could be short into a long long experience. And so many commercials! 

But Taylor Hanson is on DWTS this season, so I am obviously watching (and voting) like the fan that I am. 

It's possible you've seen videos. For the record, I am a bit of a Hanson snob; however, welcome back to all the returning members of the Fansons. Please don't make the cost of tickets go up. Haven't listened to them in a while? (Maybe 1998 when the "MMMBop" craze died down?) Check out these 5 songs to take you further on your Hanson journey. 

1. "Crazy Beautiful" Underneath
2. "Joyful Noise" String Theory
3. "I Was Born"  Middle of Everywhere
4. "Against the World" Against the World
5. "Georgia" The Walk

And here's the thing... he was actually really good. Because the man can count music. And he KNOWS music. And even without a dance background, that goes a long way. 

And come on. The man can jump up and down while playing a harmonica. There is no way he doesn't have the energy for DWTS. Plus he's always been a bit of a perfectionist IMO so... he's hard on himself and was going to bring it all. 

I was not about to let him go home on the first night. Did I make my brother, parents, and friends vote as well? I did. By my estimate, I had 12 people who voted for him last night. I am not sure if you yourself watch Dancing with the Stars, but about 20 minutes in, the website crashed. 

I 100% believe it was the Fansons coming out to support. 

And then they announced later that they had double the votes they had from last year's premiere, with only half of the contestants even dancing last night. 

I am not surprised in the slightest. I bet you a lot of money that the women dance tonight and don't get as many votes. 

I also have to tell you how happy I am that Conner Leavitt went home. He really wasn't good and I find his family so annoying. I mean, I love a supportive spouse, but Whitney and her "Chips and Conner's salsa shirt" were ridiculous. Plus, she was just on last season. A little gap year would have been okay. 

Musings on a Heavenly Birthday

Today would have been my Mother-In-Law Sandy's birthday. She would be 67. 

As it happens, she died in January 2010, 8 months before Husband and I were married. 

As such, I have never had a real Mother-In-Law relationship. Good, bad, or otherwise. 

And on one hand, while those with a poor relationship with their in-laws might say I am lucky; I mourn the fact that there's that piece of Husband's history that is lost. His dad doesn't remember the tiny details of his growing-up story the way his mother would.

I don't have the ability to call to ask her advice, or back in the day to watch the kids or come down for a visit. Would we always have gotten along? Doubtful. Two first-born daughters likely weren't always going to agree. But there would have been mutual respect for sure. 

I will really never know if she approves of the way I do "xyz" or if she thinks I am not strict enough with the kids. Though we shared similar opinions on screen time and bedtime, so I know that would have been met with approval. 

It makes me so sad sometimes that I will never even know if she would like my kids. (I am sure that, as a grandmother, she would appreciate them, but love and like are different, and you know it.) 

I do know she would be thrilled that C was left-handed. She was also left-handed, and she appreciated that I was as well. 

There really aren't too many pictures of us at all. But here is a picture of a picture. At Husband's cousin's wedding in 2007. Babies. All of us. That actual baby is a college sophomore. 

Happy birthday, Sandy. You are missed. 

Thank you for raising your son with the ability to cook and do the dishes. (I hate doing dishes.) He is so self-sufficient, and I am grateful. 

Scenes from the Week

Hello all. 

Here is a very normal, non-vacation update for you. 

Unfortunately, our lives are in a bit of an upheaval. I am not really ready to write about the whole thing just yet, but please pray for us! 

We went old school and hooked up our Super Nintendo. It has been fun. 

We have also started a few nightly rounds of Bananagrams. It's been really nice and cozy. We listen to music and chat and complain when we get too many "f" tiles or a "j" or the dreaded "x". 

In big, big news, this girl tested at a 6th-grade level for math to kick off the year! 

I know that doesn't sound like a lot. But she has always struggled in math. Not enough to actually get academic support, but enough to have to work really hard. 

I don't think she has ever started the year off at grade level before. So this is really exciting and big news. 

It has been so hot here that the kids haven't been in real uniform for over a week. It's been gym uniforms, and last week even some early outs. (No air conditioning in the school.) 

Yesterday they had a true day out of uniform they earned, and the kids finally wore their new Disney shirts I brought them. 

And today is another out of uniform for the Iowa/Iowa State game. Which I have zero interest in. M has outgrown her Caitlin Clark shirt so we had to figure something out. 

We made another neutral shirt. It's a little cheeky. 

And they were excited to go today. But we will not be watching the game tomorrow anyway! 

C recorded his OPUS music this week, and M will do hers this afternoon. Here is hoping their efforts pay off and they will get that opportunity to sing with the statewide honor choir. It would be great for them! 

This is 40!

I turned 40 last week. 

And I celebrated in a big fun way! (I mean even after that Alaskan Cruise with my family!) 

Husband sent me on a whirlwind trip to WDW to see Hanson at EPCOT on my actual birthday! 

It's well documented I love Hanson. 

My friend J and I left for Chicago after Mass on Saturday night. 

Got to the hotel and took a short little nap/sleep because we were up at 2:15 to get to the airport. 

Took the first flight out and landed in Orlando at 8:30ish. 

We spent the day resort hopping. Then we had dinner at Ohana. My favorite dinner of all time. 

And we went to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party! I loved the parade so much we saw it twice!

We got back to our room really late. (It was, in fact, already my birthday.) And again took a little nap/sleep so we could get to EPCOT about 8:30 for park opening. 

EPCOT is my favorite park. I love it so much! 

We started at Spaceship Earth to Thank the Phoenicians, as is right and just. I love that ride so much. So, so much. (Truly, I think I could do multiple days at EPCOT and never tire of it. Maybe you don't remember but last summer I rode it 3 times in a row!) 

And followed it up with Soarin' and Living with the Land. I tell you, those pan flutes heal something in me. 

After that, we were going to Figment. But it was down. I walked up to the two cast members telling people it was closed and said: "I know you don't really know, and I know you can't tell me, but do you expect it to open sometime soon?" And they said, "That is the hope." So I stopped to put on sunscreen on the bench that is directly next to the entrance, and by the time I was done... it opened. We were the actual first guests to ride it on my birthday! Did I manifest this? I did. 

And there you go. Figment. 

Then we went to see Canada Far and Wide. (I LOVE that show and singing along! Yes, there is a theme of things I love at EPCOT. It's my favorite. I will not be taking questions on this because it's obviously truth.) Then off to Mexico for Gran Fiesta Tour. Stopping to meet Donald afterward. Then we went to Germany to make some fused glass. 

Then to America for a meal at Regal Eagle, which came with a reserved seat for Hanson's second set. 

We boogied off to ride Guardians of the Galaxy where we got "One Way or Another" and then we got in line for Hanson. We saw set 1 and then got in line for our reserved seating. We saw set 2 and then got back in line for the 3rd set. 

It was everything. My favorite band. At my favorite place. On my actual birthday? What a gift! 

After the last set, we went to ride Frozen (shockingly, I love that too.) and then back to the hotel for a sleep. 

The next morning we dropped our luggage at Bell Services before heading to MK for a while. We accomplished so much! 

Carousel, Ariel, Dumbo, its a small world, Mickey's Philharmagic, Aladdin, Pirates, Tiki Room, Haunted Mansion, People Mover, Space Mountain, People Mover TWICE in a row! And then Laugh Floor. 

My joke made it onto Laugh Floor!! AND I made it on the screen! Crazy! As we got out of Laugh Floor it was pouring, and we hustled to the bus to get back, change, and get to the airport. 

Then a drive back from Chicago, and I rolled into my driveway about 12:35 on what was now Wednesday morning. 

A birthday full of Disney Magic. 

I have to say, if I could do it all over again, I would have gotten to the resort and taken a nap for about 3 hours before going resort hopping, dinner, and the Halloween party. I forgot that I was about to be 40. Disney adrenaline is real, friends. But I was certainly feeling it. 

So this is 40. 

Alaska: Chapter 7

Our last full day was a sea day. We had churro waffles again, but I didn't take pictures. I will say it felt like the majority of the ship slept in, and things were very calm and quiet until about 10:00 AM. 

But we had a Disney Jr. Music Trivia to play. I have to admit that there weren't very many people there playing this trivia... but it didn't matter. It was our time to shine! 

We handily won. And then we were rocking our Mickey Mouse Medallions. That day, my brother won Star Wars Trivia and M and I also won The Family Game Show. It was a fun day! 

Much like the Match Your Mate, we had to match each other's answers. M was the first answerer.

1. If you won a million dollars what's the first thing you would buy? A Purple Jeep. We got this one.
2. What food do you wish your mom made you more? Baked Potatoes. (I said Pancakes.)
3. What activity will you find yourself doing on a day off?
1. Play outside  ***We got this one***
2. Play video games
3. Read a book

Then my 3 questions.

1. If you could plan a vacation, where would you plan it? Disney We got this one.
2. Who is the boss of your house? Mom. We also got this one. 
3. What's driving style do you have?
1. Slow, like Flash (Which is an oxymoron because in the movie he drives fast.) **We still got it.**
2. Fast like Lightning McQueen
3. All over the road like Goofy.

And we had to go to a tie-breaker round about how many episodes of That's So Raven there are. We guessed 86. (Simple math, really, 4 seasons, and I guessed 21/22 episodes per season.) There are 100. One season had 35 episodes. The other team said something like 150. 

So we won prizes and medals.

Before we went to dinner, we had a family toast of Cloudem Blue. Please ignore the mess in the background. We were trying to pack our fish extenders and pixie dust. 

We had dinner at Animator's Palate and C was SO excited to see his drawing come to life. 

We took some big group pictures that night. 

The next morning was disembarkation day. Boo. We had our farewell breakfast and said goodbye to Joel and Noel. They were by far the best serving team we've had. 10/10. 

Then we spent a bunch of time in the airport. I will say that, beyond security, the food options at the YVR airport are not great. 

Then we were off on our journey home. 

We landed in Chicago and did the whole thing backward. Baggage claim. Train to the cheap lot. Bus to the cheaper lot. Long drive home. 

And we pulled into our house about 11:45 PM and mostly just got everything inside and people to bed. 

It was a very good trip. 

Here's the thing that I really enjoyed: a cruise with so many different options was the perfect way to travel with my whole family. We could all kind of do our own things and then meet up for dinner every night, including the kids who were old enough to go to the tween club and check themselves in and out. 

I am pretty sure C had 17 ice cream cones that week. And you know what? Fine. He also tried a lot of fancier food that he had never had the chance to try at home. I admit by the last night, all I wanted was something homey. I was sick of fancy. 

7 nights was perhaps the perfect amount of cruising for us. I wasn't ready for vacation mode to be over, but I was ready to be home. But it also felt relaxed and special. I am so glad. 

Alaska is lovely, and I am so glad I have been there. And I truly have no need to return. It's a one-and-done for me. More outdoorsy people may enjoy going back annually. I am good. There are many other cruise destinations I would like to try. 

So Alaska, with a lot of Disney Magic was the way for me to do it. Everyone liked that it wasn't a hot vacation. It was still warm enough for the kids to swim a few times, and I never needed more than a sweatshirt or light fleece jacket so I appreciated that it wasn't cold. 

Alaska: Chapter 6

Ketichikan! 

What a fun day! It was a busy one with lots going on. 

So my dad, one brother, and Husband went out fishing for Salmon. I didn't go with so I only have this picture. 

They had a good time and caught a lot of Salmon. They shipped it home to my parents' house, so next time we are in MN, we will take some home with us. 

My mom, M and I went on an Alaskan Family Fun Excursion.

First, we went to the Saxman Native Village, which I was genuinely so excited for, and we had possibly the worst tour guide who has ever been a tour guide, and it was a huge letdown. 

We first went into the largest clan house still standing in Alaska. The history of the building was so interesting to me. The houses had 8-10 families all residing together. 

Then we saw Native dancing, and they asked for volunteers to go participate. M went and she got a prize for dancing along with them. 

Then we went outside to see the totem poles. I wish we had just gotten time to wander and look at the poles. Instead, our terrible tour guide stood there and talked about them for 25 minutes. Since each pole had a plaque, I think that would have been plenty. 

I enjoyed that each stop sign had the Tlingit language and English. What a cool way to preserve their culture. 

We got to see how the totems are carved and this room smelled amazing. Fresh cedar! 

Then we went to the Ketchikan Discovery Center. I again really enjoyed this museum, but wish we could have just been free to explore. Our guide was MARKEDLY better than the one at Saxman, but I didn't love staying as a big group. 

This was a community art project where they paired up with a local school to create these fish to hang, and it was so neat.

We went to one of their education rooms and made clan bracelets. I swapped out the feather charm my mom was randomly assigned for a bear print charm, and all of our bracelets matched. 

Then we went to the lumberjack show. 

I knew it was going to be fun. I knew it was going to be gimmicky. I loved it so much. 

I had no idea there were collegiate lumber sports teams and it might be my new hobby to watch. 

First, Goofy came out and did the "Chicken Fat" exercise dance with the kids. 

A fun fact is that my mom loves to sing the "Chicken Fat" song. Also, it was written by Meredith Willson, and we went to that museum just earlier in the month, so... it felt very on-brand for our family. 

Then the show started and it was awesome. 

M won a signed postcard from the Lumberjacks. 

Then we headed back to the ship for dinner. 

You might be wondering what C did during this day. Well, C stayed with my brother, who is also his Godfather. They are so, so very alike in many ways. 

C went to an activity at the tween club to draw an animation cell. It turned out very cool. They ordered room service to my brother's room and watched a movie. They did wander around Ketchikan for a bit as well. But mostly they had an introvert day, which suited them both just fine. 

We all really enjoyed our time in Ketchikan. But again, note: I didn't go hiking or anything particularly outdoorsy. THAT IS OKAY! There were people who went and did some crazy outdoor activities. I was glad I wasn't with them. And we all were happy with our choices.