It’s that time of year where I write a special birthday letter within six months of your actual birthday. Look at me… it’s only been two! I’m such an over-achiever. Let’s get down to it. All the things that make eleven-year-old Nate tick. My dear, dear Nate, I’m not sure…
Way back when, James coined the phrase “Habitat for Jaimie” and boy did Grandma get a kick outta that. It’s true. I like me some beautiful house Pinterest porn. There are much deeper and more meaningful origins to my relationship with home but this is all just a build-up to…
Last weekend Nate and I soldiered 10-ish hours in the car, there and back, to a Mustangs tournament in Davis. It was a lot of I-5. But it was also probably the best our Mustangs team has played since we joined just over a year ago. On Saturday we won…
Personal hygiene has been a running theme for many years at this point, though we’ve long since stopped with the second parental tooth brushing and I do not fall for the “smell my armpits” schtick. Armpits have been a “development” opportunity for several years now. The turning point was definitely…
Today was a foggy, rainy day which continue to be few and far between. I haven’t worked on boys’ “clothes management” in awhile. It’s hard to believe this used to be my second job not so long ago and it reminded me of a conversation from a few months back. “Hey Nate,…
On my last milestone birthday we took a trip to Ashland, Oregon– Home of the Ren Faire. No, that’s a joke! It’s not Home of the Ren Faire Jillana. It’s the home of an amazing little theatre community and famous for their Shakespeare. Not the same thing but I digress……
When Nate was a little blond cherub we would rub noses and he would say, “You so cute and I so cute.” It was darling. And I’m sure he’s gotten quite comfortable being the smallest, cutest member of our family. Then there were these times during the pandemic where the…
Seventh grade. Pretty much suits no one. All the awkwardness and puberty, plus the post-pandemic crazy. And yet it suits Jake. He likes seventh grade. He likes his middle school. And he’s becoming the best version of himself as most people detour into unrecognizable. Last week Ms. Mooney calls me. …
Now that our eight weekends of soccer tournaments are nearing an end, the boys are dreaming of Disneyland. We’re driving home last weekend and they’re telling me everything they want to do. I’m not quite as enthusiastic and so the hard sell begins… James says, “You can go get a massage while we…
We get home from our epic Christmas in Banff and I kid you not, sleep in our beds for three nights before heading back to the gopher great beyond, otherwise known as Lompoc. It’s our first All Stars tournament, just down the road from where Elon shoots his rockets into…