Crazy for Bitmojis

This is our Bitmoji family. This is our latest craze. Chuck and I had no idea you could have a Bitmoji without having Snapchat. As soon as we learned that we too, could be cool and hip, we jumped at the chance. It is very stressful trying to commit to your Bitmoji though. Oh. My. Goodness! That only took forever. Even though I am ok with my persona, I still change her outfit every other day. Chloe too.

We text these to each other all day long.

There are so many opportunities to post a Bitmoji.

The things you can say, or point out, or question are infinite.

Of course, you can just be repetitive as well. Bennett likes to send this at least once a day.

Chuck spends way too long scouring all the offerings that Bitmoji affords us average Joes.

I mean....what an awesome way to say "goodnight". This says it all.

And then sometimes, it says nothing.

Sometimes I learn new ways of saying things like: ob-v or adorbs or perf. No need to use the whole word anymore. See, Bitmoji's are also educational.

This has come in handy for me several times.

School doesn't always help Gavin achieve what he's looking for.

Finally Fourteen!

It's finally her turn! She has always hated being the youngest. The boys have already "been here, done that"; 14 is old news to them. But to Chloe it represents freedom, getting bigger, being taken more seriously, getting taller - it means everything to her. And she has amazing friends who are lavishing with the one thing she treasures: attention! She loves to be doted on (who doesn't) and remembered (don't we all) and feel special (friends said they were planning a surprise party).  She has completely matured over this past year. Not only has she has had a growth spurt, she's learning to bite her tongue better instead of argue (although, I think she was born to argue - I'm pushing her towards being a social advocate or lawyer so she can use these powers for good instead of evil), to look out for other's needs instead of her own, and that being kind is always better than being fair. 

These pictures are perfect representations of her relationship with her brothers.

She looks too close to Gavin's age in this photo for my liking.

In this picture she's wearing 3 inch heels, so she's not quite as tall as Chuck yet, but she is eating it up in this picture. 

Me and My Boy

I love this kid! He was the most hilarious little one and has remained true to who he is into his teenage years. We had THE BEST time this Spring Break. We were lucky enough to spend the whole week together hanging out while Chuck and Chloe were in Minnesota and Gavin was still in California.

The first order of business was to go shopping for dress clothes. We have a wedding to go to in a few months and he has no clothes for the event. He HATES shopping with a passion. And he only ever wears sports clothes. So I knew this was going to be a challenge at best, a nightmare at worst. But he shopped like a champ. We actually made record time. We finished shopping for his entire outfit: shoes, socks, belt, slacks, shirt, tie in under 2 hours. Even I was impressed. However, when I asked him to put the whole outfit on again once we got home so we could take a picture and send it to Dad, this is the face I got. Which harkens me back to my favorite comic: Calvin & Hobbes, of which, he impersonated perfectly.

Yup....that's Bennett alright.

Thank God it was the start of March Madness. We watched lots of the big upsets.

We did lots of basketball drills in the basement. We also played a ton of ping pong.

We took a tour of the University of Northern Colorado. Very cool school and the only school that actually offers what he wants to major in: Sports Coaching. 

However, we didn't plan our time well and were starving and cold throughout most of the tour.

Hands down the best day was skiing at Snowy Range in Wyoming. Believe it or not, even though we live in Colorado, it was much closer for us to drive 1 1/2 hours to Centennial, WY. And much cheaper too. There were hardly any people there on this gorgeous, sunny, high 40s day. We owned those slopes. We did at least 10 runs. 

The slopes were tree-lined and just breath-takingly beautiful. We were both in awe.

We also tried out a few restaurants in town, our favorite being a new pizza restaurant that reminds us of our favorite place in Minneapolis. Bennett even got to go hang out with his best friend a couple of days and watch March Madness together. I got a ton of lesson planning done and even enjoyed reading a couple of books. Time off is a nice gift. We absolutely loved our time together. There was so much laughing, my stomach hurt. It's times like these relationships and memories are made of. I'm reminded of something Rob Bell says (in Launching Rockets), "We're not meant to raise our kids, we're meant to enjoy them." (that one line taken out of context doesn't give you the complete picture - of course parents are supposed to teach and guide their kids - but too many parents forget to enjoy their kids b/c they get caught up in the dos/don'ts of parenthood). That has been our philosophy of parenting from day one until now and has seemed to work out pretty well for us. 

UCI Parents Weekend

Seeing Gavin on his home turf this past weekend gave us so much joy! It is genius of universities to have these parents' weekends so that we can see how our kids are now thriving in their new environments. This wasn't for Gavin's benefit - it was all for ours.

We did all the cheesy parent stuff like take pictures next to balloons

and with Peter the Anteater

Gavin showed us his dorm (and the ping pong table he's never played a game on but has used to spread their Thanksgiving feast upon). We even got to meet friends and confirm that he has washed his sheets at least twice since moving in.

Every time we talk, Gavin says he's on his balcony. That sounds so absurd to me because most college freshman do not have the luxury of talking on a balcony while enjoying a Mediterraneanesque climate - just one of the many perks of living in SoCal.

He took us on a walk all over campus. The whole campus centers around a large circular park in the center. It's very beautifully landscaped and an atheistically appealing design.

There are gigantic Eucalyptus trees all over campus. They smell gorgeous. It is a very "green" college for being in a city. It has actually has received recognition as one of the top 10 Greenest Campuses in the country.

Just another view of the beautiful, incredibly tall Eucalyptus tree showcasing its smooth, white bark.

Being SoCal, you have many unique forms of flora. It becomes very apparent that Dr. Seuss got all of his inspiration for his artwork by just looking outside.

The only other place I've seen a 'flower' like this was in Horton Hears a Who.

Bright spots of color litter the grassy areas. Instead of buttercups, they grow these florescent wonders.

And the Hummingbirds were plentiful around these trumpet flowers. 

Unfortunately, it did rain most of our visit. But that just gave us a chance to see critters like this little guy that we never would have taken the time to stop and marvel at otherwise.

We did have one little SNAFU. Our rental car wouldn't start. Thankfully, we weren't in a hurry or late to an event. We had 2 hours to kill waiting for someone to come give us a jump, drive back to the airport and exchange our car for another

For all the hassle and wasted time, they let us pick out any car we wanted. We ended up with some pretty nice wheels for the rest of the day.

Everyone needs a picture next to an anteater bus at least once in their lives. On another random note, Gavin is letting his grow out. He doesn't like going to get it cut. He's done that only once. He'd rather wait it out every 2 or so months until he sees me so that I can cut it for him. Ever the practical one. It helps that he looks good with long hair. 

We ended our whirlwind 2 day trip by going to an NCAA Basketball game on our last night there. UCI played number one seed, UC Davis.  It was an enjoyable game to watch, even though we didn't get to sit next to Gavin. He was in the student section. He had to stand the entire game but he said the energy was fun and it turned out to be an awesome game to watch - even if they did loose in double overtime.

It was so wonderful to see Gavin thriving in his new home. Parents leave their kids after dropping them of for the first day of class with such trepidation and sadness. It gives us so much joy to see their positive adjustment to their new phase of life and excitement about what their new environment offers. We left him in excellent hands. He left the nest and is soaring...we couldn't ask for more as parents.

Kindness To Strangers

Since moving to Colorado we found a small little church that we tried a few times. I love how they don't just believe in ideals and concepts - they do them. They live out the social gospel by literally feeding the poor, clothing the naked, finding homes for the homeless, sponsoring DACA kids, and standing up for social justice issues alongside other organizations. 

One of the ladies invited me to join her at the local Catholic Charities Homeless Shelter to cook dinner one night. Someone who committed had backed out and she thought she'd ask me last minute even though we had just recently met. Turns out, I was free and I was excited to help. I get tired of only giving money to problems. I like to get in there and 'get dirty', meet the people, and do the work. 

Turns out that at this shelter different organizations from all around the city sign up to cook meals one night a month. We found out that our church does the 3rd Thursday of every month. It takes 4-5 people to cook a meal. The shelter provides all the food through donations. They also give us the meal plan. It's just up to us to cook it and serve it. Talk about putting a face to the homeless. Chloe and I went that first month and we loved every minute of it. I love places that allow youth to actually do the work and help. Chloe felt that her time and energies really mattered and realized that she had something to give.

My friend called again and said that more people backed out this month and did I know of anyone else who could help. It just so happened that Chuck and Bennett were free that night. I said we'd make it a family affair. Chuck nor Bennett have ever helped at a homeless shelter before. I think it really impacted them. Bennett showed his usual colors by picking the one apron with Wendy on it.

I was a little nervous about what job Susan would give him to do. But she could read Bennett like a book and knew exactly the tasks for him. He was to butter all the bread. Now there's a job Bennett can handle. Here is a small moment of brother and sister working together and not tickling one another, making weird faces at each other or saying smart-alecky things to each other. They're just concentrating on one task - helping us all pull off a meal for people who need it.

Chuck is very good in the kitchen. He was in charge of the green beans, rice, and making gravy. I made the main dish (sautéed onions and mushrooms with ground beef topped with Chuck's gravy). Chloe made the fruit salad. Bennett worked hard on his bread and butter. And Susan oversaw this motley crew.

It was such a joy to serve these people dinner. They were all so kind and thankful. They wanted us to look them in the eye, ask how their day was, make small talk with them - just treat them human and with respect despite their current circumstances in life. When we did, people opened up. There were lots of smiles, lots of reciprocation asking how we were, and plenty of banter. The people were truly grateful, gracious and complimentary. They didn't have to be. But it sure made all the work and time that much more enjoyable.

On the way home all we could talk about were the kids we saw at the shelter and how it broke our hearts. Chloe and I also recalled seeing some of the same people we saw last time. Now we can't wait to make this a regular part of our month. We're only afraid of "the other" when we don't know them; when we can't put a face or a story to them. I'm so thankful to be a part of something that helps "the other" and not just ourselves. Isn't that what life is really about?

I recently saw a sticker that said: Human kind....be both. I like that.

The Rebuke

A random angry stranger followed me home and told me off yesterday. I have never experienced this situation before in my life. Here's what happened:

I picked up the kids from school and went immediately to my chiropractor appointment. Of course, because I was in a hurry, the chiropractor was running behind schedule. I was supposed to be home to receive a furniture delivery. I was running 20 minutes late. Thankfully, the kind furniture delivery people were patient and agreed to wait for me when they called to find out where I was. 

Remember, I live in Fort Collins - the land of slow Subaru drivers. It seems everyone here is slow and a greater than normal percentage of the population drives a Subaru. And my experience and data collection have yielded the conclusion that all Subaru drivers are slow. I'm sure there's a mathematical formula or logic statement buried in that sentence  somewhere. This is just a layman's observation.

Anyways, I digress. It's also no secret that I'm a wee bit of a competitive driver. I own it. I know it. My kids know it - they were the ones to bestow that title upon me. Let me clarify that competitive doesn't mean "bad", it means "I like to be the first in line and not behind the slow people" or "I look for the most efficient lane or route" type of competitive. If that sometimes means I need to break the speed limit to achieve it, so be it. However, I would never endanger my life, my passengers' lives, or another driver to achieve my coveted place in the front of the pack.  I refuse to sacrifice safety in my pursuits of "greater efficient driving methods." 

All that background information is necessary to understand what happens next. Our new house is located farther out in the country. The driving lanes continue to merge from 3 to 2 down to 1 the farther out of Fort Collins you drive. There is one stop light on the way to our house that narrows from 2 lanes to 1 lane immediately after the stoplight. If you're stopped at the stoplight, there is a little bit of lane for you to continue driving in, but not much.  You pretty much need to merge immediately. Some people don't notice the merge sign and get stuck trying to merge into the flow of traffic. Other's, like myself, choose to drive in the lane that is about to merge in order to avoid the mile long back up of (slow) cars in the other lane that continues straight. 

Yesterday, as I was focused on getting home so as not to keep the furniture delivery men waiting, I knew it would be a "drive in the merge lane" kind of day. However, the lady I was supposed to be merging in front of would have none of it. Apparently, she doesn't believe in merge signs. She believes she is right and must evangelize the rest of us as to her rightness. Unfortunately, at this same merge spot yesterday, a huge semi-truck was parked just to the side of the merge lane/shoulder with it's hazard lights on. So I had no room for error, I had to get into the continuing lane of traffic quickly. I sped up a little. So did the lady behind me. For whatever reason, she did not want me to merge. So much so in fact, that she was forcing my car almost into the parked semi. Then she was forcing my car into the shoulder, which quickly was disappearing into a ditch. I forcefully merged as not to end up in a ditch, thanks to her little lesson.

Along with her advancing speed, she was waving her middle finger vehemently at me. My heart was beating fast. I was trying to avoid an accident, get my kids home safely, avoid the crazy maniac driver behind me, and make it home for the delivery. 

I finally make it to the turn off of the main road. The crazy lady follows me in the direction of my neighborhood. I figured there might be a slight chance she lives in this neighborhood as well, so I wasn't too worried yet. I was praying she wasn't one of my new neighbors. Just to be safe, I took a turn earlier than my street. She took the same turn. I come to a round-a-bout. Bennett wanted me to go around it like 5 times. But at this point, I knew she was indeed following me and was trying to formulate a plan.

I asked Chloe, who was in the back seat, to turn around and get her license plate number. Why? I don't know. It just seemed like the thing to do; a way to find or track this person down if need be or I needed to give this information to police.  I then decide to take some random side streets and meander my way to the model homes that are all clustered together. If this lady did something to me, I wanted witnesses and I surely didn't want her knowing where my house was. 

I pull to a stop in front of the model home. Guess who pulls up right beside me? I roll down my window and ask, "Do you need something?" I have my phone in my hand ready to dial 911. This is road rage if I've ever seen it. The lady decides she needs to be the one to point out my driving flaws. She says, "You were very rude back there. I was trying to leave a safe distance of space behind the car in front of me and then you had to zoom in there and cut me off."

I said, "I'm sorry I offended you."

She would have none of it. She said, "Look at what kind of example you are setting for your children....blah, blah, blah....".  I heard nothing more because I rolled my window up. She was pure angry. Nothing I was going to say was going to convince her, change her mind or enlighten her. She had her mind made up about me. She didn't want to listen to me. She had already judged me and my intentions and wanted to justify her behavior and rightness to me. 

By the way, the kids loved the window rolling up trick while she was still talking. They were like, "Oooooh Mom! That was the ultimate roast!" And I was like, "I know, she really roasted me." And they were like, "No Mom. You just roasted her but shutting her down while she was still talking." I said, "I didn't mean to roast her. I just didn't want to hear her tirade. I didn't have to sit there and take it." Once she realized she no longer had an audience. She drove off in a huff. I bet she feels better now that she told off one driver.

After making sure she was no where around, I drive down the street to our house. The delivery guys said they drove around the block a few times waiting for me.  I almost drove straight to the police station with her following me, except for these sweet guys who I knew were waiting on me. I couldn't abandon them or be inconsiderate about their time. 

This took me a long time to calm down from. I was quite shaken up. Even if I was completely in the wrong and did in fact cut her off, you still don't follow someone home to berate them about their dumb driving. You just chalk it up to another dumb driver and let it go. I've done that myself to people who have cut me off, run me off the road or just been jerks while driving too many times to count. 

I had to realize she was probably just a good person who was having a bad day. I did not want to judge her character but it was very hard not to. I questioned the kids and tried to see it from their point of view. I asked them if I had cut her off. They were like, "No, you were just merging." Then I realized, I hate it when people think bad of me. Yet there was nothing I could do to convince this lady I wasn't a bad person. She hated my guts and she didn't even know me. She had judged me and judged me wrongly. How often have I done that to people? 

I eventually let it go and hold no ill will towards her. But it did give us another good story and a new way to shut someone down - just roll the window up.