Day 2,072

Wowza it’s been a busy one!

This morning started with a new experience, helping to walk along with Dominic’s marching band and squirting water in their mouths while we all walked. Not gonna lie, I was horrible at it and got about 60% of the water into their mouths with the remainder ending up on their faces and uniforms. That said, they seemed to have fun while marching. It was a pretty wild experience!

I just wrapped up some of the last details for our Iceland trip, it is sneaking up on us way more quickly than it should be. What I’m enjoying about it is the anticipation of the trip which is building and building. Nothing like a little vacation planning to get me smiling and happy!

We also got some excellent boat time today, always the right way to spend an afternoon when the sun is out and the temperature is getting up there. We were all quite a bit more subdued than usual as everyone in the house was showing the impact of a busy weekend. There was a ton of reading, a little napping, and the only one playing in the water was LuLu. It was a perfect chill time on the water to relax and unwind prior to the work work kicking back up tomorrow.

Thanks!!!

Day 2,071

This morning I took advantage of a unique opportunity. My mother in law has a small herd of hummingbirds living in the cedar trees by her house. She’s got several feeders out to keep those buzzing birds well fed.

I figured why not take a moment to see how close to the feeders I could get in order to take a picture or two, maybe even a video. Gavin and I slowly got closer and closer while pausing to let the hummingbirds get acclimated to us. In almost no time we were within a couple of feet of the feeder.

What we encountered was AWESOME!!!

And then, as if it couldn’t get any better, we saw this…

What an amazing experience! One thing I didn’t get filmed was when two fighting hummingbirds got so close to my legs while they were sparring that I could feel the wind from their wings on my leg hair.

Talk about a moment in which I was 100% present and focused on a miracle of nature. The experience was incredible. Sharing the moment with Gavin made it even more priceless.

Thanks!!!

Day 2,070

This morning Becky and I took off for a hike to start our busy day. What a wonderful way to kick off the day, hanging out in the woods and enjoying some quiet in nature. Throughout the hike my attention kept getting pulled towards the trees themselves and the vines which were wrapping around many of them. So much diversity to soak in as we walked.

At the end of the night I was reading a book Becky had recommended which was focused on visiting all the National Parks. Then the TV was turned on to Life Above Zero, an awesome show about people subsistence living near it in the Arctic Circle in Alaska. Bonus outside related focus at the end of the day!

The more and more I spend time outdoors and the more time I spend focused on the outdoors the more joyful my life is. To have my day bookended with nature focus like this is pretty awesome.

Thanks!!!

Day 2,069

After an awesome Last Hug Day spent with Mom we headed up to Rice Lake for Dominic’s Sectional Track meet. His 4x800m relay team qualified for Sectionals after a Top 4 finish at Regionals on Monday.

Each and every single teammate in his crew ran their butts off in an insanely intense effort. They CRUSHED it and won the race. Thanks to their fantastic running they earned a spot in the State Track Meet next weekend, extending their season by one last week.

Just to be safe they also qualified for State by taking 4th in the 4x400m relay in the last race of the night 😉

So happy and grateful for the opportunity to watch their season get extended by another meet!

Thanks!!!

Day 2,068

The picture says it all, an awesome day spent with Mom.

Thanks!!!

Day 2,067

There are some occasions in which words just aren’t sufficient. This morning I was greeted in my office with this gift and a deeply meaningful card:

Almost needless to say, I was overcome by emotion. My heart is still bursting with joy and love from this gift. Over the next few days I’ll likely dive into more detail if it’s importance, tonight I am still soaking it all in.

Thank you to my work family for a gift which has truly touched my heart and will be forever remembered.

Thanks!!!

Day 2,066

I’m currently reading book #43 in my quest to read 100 books in 2022. While I’ve added in plenty of first time reads there are a stack of old favorites I’m going back to. Case in point is the main character in my blog tonight, Atomic Habits by James Clear.

This is at least the fourth time I’ve read this book and I’m still picking up new thoughts and concepts. Some needed additional context I’ve since lived through while others were the results of building upon past lessons from the book. My mind has been thoroughly blown while simultaneously remembering both how much progress I’ve already made and seeing how much further I have to go. As an example was the little nugget above in the picture.

Nothing like re-re-re-reading the classics! Some books seem to improve with a combination of age and repetition.

Thanks!!!

Day 2,065

As my Grandma Joyce used to joke, she was pretty sure she was so busy running around from place to place that she was afraid she’d run into herself at some point. The month of May has already provided that same feeling and the month isn’t over yet!

Thank goodness Becky and I have the ability to divide and conquer. She’s currently recording Gavin’s 1600m run as I type this. While she was waiting for Gavin’s race I was recording Dominic’s 4x800m relay team. Then I’ll catch Dominic’s 400m while she waits for Gavin’s 800m. After that I’ll be on the road and possibly back in La Crosse in time for Gavin’s 4x400m relay. Nothing but track craziness tonight!

This is the last time we’ve got both boys competing at different locations at the same time during their high school and middle school careers, next year they should be on the exact same schedule. Can’t wait to be able to watch both boys at the same time next year!

That said, I’m grateful for our ability to divide and conquer during this last night of double track meets. We may not each see the events on person but we will be able to at least watch the video!

Thanks!!!

Day 2,064

Today was our last trip to Madison for Gavin’s soccer club. Over the past several years we’ve made the trip to Madison and beyond for both Dominic and Gavin. The soccer club they both have been a part of want a specific level of competition and have made Madison one of the locations we travel to often. Gavin’s team was technically in the Madison Youth Soccer League and has played zero games at home so far (we have one game remaining in the season and it will be played in La Crosse). This club has been quite the commitment, but we wanted to allow the boys the opportunity to play the sport they love. This will be Gavin’s last season as next year he’ll be participating in high school track instead.

Knowing that today was our last trip to Madison was very surreal. Next fall we’ll only have high school soccer games to attend, the overwhelming majority on weeknights and approximately half (or more) played on our home field. Next winter the boys will only have high school snowboarding, there will not be any weeknight soccer practices. Next spring will involve many track meets, almost all of which will be on weeknights and within a 30 minute drive of home. No more long weekends in Madison. No more months of weekends being booked with soccer.

I’m thankful the boys both have had the opportunity to play soccer like they have for as long as they have. That said, I’m beyond excited to have more time to do other things on the weekends as a family, to have exponentially less travel time on the weekends, and to spend more quality time with the boys.

The trips to Madison have been fun, but I’m very appreciative for the opportunity to close that door and open the next.

Thanks!!!

Day 2,063

Seems like it’s been forever since I’ve been home with no plans for an entire Saturday. It probably hasn’t been as long as it feels, but I’m thankful for it nonetheless!

An early-ish bed time last night led to being done grocery shopping by 9am. Afterwards I took advantage of the momentum and went to work on the compost pile. Thanks to a friendly neighbor we had a handful pallets to replace the old ones. Seeing as that had gone well Gavin and I bought and installed a new microwave too! We took a nice hike with Becky, went to church as a family, and ate supper together. Chill and now off to an early bed for a busy Sunday. Nonstop action, largely productive.

Having a Saturday at home to get stuff done always feels great, having a beautiful Spring day like this was even better!

Thanks!!!