February Photo Dump

Time to do a little catch-up as we work our way through February!  I can't believe March is just over a week away.  I realized that I'll put out my St. Patty's Day decor at that point (if not before), which will be out for barely more than a couple weeks before getting replaced by spring and Easter...just like that!  Now if the weather could get on board with that, that'd be great.  We're out of the deep freeze finally, and the snow has gone down a ton, but we just got some ice and then lots of rain, and I don't think the sidewalks are going to be walkable for a while yet.  Sigh.  Part of me thinks I should buy the mini treadmill I want because the moment I do that it will probably get spring-like out, rendering it useless until November.  Haha.

We had some very unexpected action around here last week.  I woke up last Tuesday to our doorbell ringing at 5:30am.  I immediately panicked and ran downstairs to answer it.  There were flashers outside and I immediately assumed something was on fire.  Thankfully that was not the case, but there was a cop at our door.  He said there was an accident out front and asked if we had seen or heard anything, had cameras, or knew anyone that might be an early riser.  I could only direct him to our across-the-street neighbors that have a camera.  This is what I was seeing outside, with a police car blocking the road right at our driveway.  All I could see was one parked car that appeared to be running, but not much else.

It took a bit for my heart rate to come back down, and I never did get back to sleep.  At 6:30 I got up for the day and saw this in our driveway--three TV cameras.  

At that point I decided it was time to walk outside to see if I could tell what had actually happened.  I thought maybe a car had driven into a house, or something like that.  But it turns out that someone (apparently the driver of that running car) came across an elderly man lying in the road.  Sadly, the man passed away at the hospital.  I'm assuming that he had dementia and had wandered in the middle of the night.  It was a bad time of year for that because it was bitterly cold, snowy, and slippery.  I'm not sure what ultimately happened, but it was tragic.  It definitely had me pretty shaken up that day, in part because the initial panic kept replaying in my head, and also because it was such a sad story.  Definitely more action than our quiet neighborhood is used to, but it was particularly odd knowing the news shots were literally from our driveway!

Sunday was Carter's birthday.  It ended up being a pretty low-key day.  We got ready for church but ended up being too late, so we watched it from home.  Carter and I had some good leftovers for lunch while Craig and Jacob headed out to Jacob's school to get some shots up.  That ended up being longer than expected because the baseball team had the gym when they thought they could get in, so Carter and I just hung out for the afternoon.  I wanted to wait until the boys were back to have Carter open his gifts, which he did, but then he immediately had to leave for baseball practice.  Who is this big kid, anyway?

He got a shirt and pants, a shelf for his baseballs...

...a bunch of stuff for his Sodastream (see the amazement on his face at the fun selection he'll have?)...

...and a new "fake Lego" Aldi.  He got a small one last year, but I couldn't resist the new one since it is full minifigure size and has some cool features, like freezers and shelves.  So, I figured it was worth adding to his food-filled neighborhood of food trucks, vendors, and cafes.  He still has one more thing coming (plus a couple more other gifts to build), but it's a heck of a work in progress.  

I had hoped to make a nice lobster dinner that night, but between Craig and Jacob getting back later than planned, Carter's practice, and that evening's planned activity, it just didn't work out.  That night was our annual free visit at Strong Museum.  The original plan was for me to go early (because we're late every year and I feel like I never accomplish all I'd like to), ideally to get the butterfly garden done, and have Craig and Carter come after practice to meet me.  But in true teenager form--yes, it's starting already--Carter opted out.  He got dinner with the big boys while I wandered around Strong Museum alone.  I was bummed he didn't come, but I tried to make the best of it.  It's a different experience to do the museum without kids, that's for sure.  But I just took things at my own pace and did what I wanted to do.  Not such a bad thing, even if it wasn't as much of a fun memory maker as it used to be.  But I did get some good shots!

I love the way this picture turned out.
 

My priority was the butterflies since that's an extra charge normally.  This lizard right near the entrance is so colorful...but I felt like he was giving me side-eye!

Normally I drive myself nuts trying to find an open blue morpho, because their closed wings are kind of creepy and moth-like, but the inside is gorgeous.  This one cooperated right off the bat.

I was pretty much a living heart-eyes emoji 😍 for the entire half hour or more that I spent in there.  

This was actually a dead one (it tends to happen with so many people (and probably the quail?) walking around), but it was a different one than I've seen and that green was so pretty.

These two were posing so nicely side-by-side.

Around seemingly every curve was another pretty picture.

How did this one match so perfectly?

Another one looking very matchy-matchy!

This one was still flapping its wings, but the body must have been still because the detail there is still amazing.

I followed this one around for a while because it looked so beautiful.  I finally got a picture.

Here was how it looked while flying...

I also caught this majestic sight...

I loved how I caught this one pre-landing.

It was such a lovely, leisurely stroll--good for the soul, for sure.  

I moved on to play some pinball, then eventually worked my way upstairs to play a few other video games.  I wandered into the Video Game Hall of Fame section, and came across a game that cracked me up.  It was a motion sensor game where you had to do different levels as you went through an airport and on to the plane, moving your arms to prevent people from touching your hair.  It's a thing that black women apparently deal with all the time, and someone made a video game to raise awareness.  I can't say that playing it was a great idea with shoulder impingement, as the swats hurt a little, but I appreciated the sentiment.  This was the winning screen--note the commentary, especially the last line. 

I couldn't help but laugh (and text my brother) upon seeing a version of the "risque" computer game we had back in the 90s on display.  It was an "adult" video game because there were hookers and gambling and other adult themes in it, and somehow they thought some kid wouldn't just lie about their birthdate to get into it?  

I scanned most of the displays for anything new, played a few Super Mario levels, and gave the giant Perplexus ball a good run.  I then headed downstairs to check out the new interactive marble run, which I had hoped to do with Carter, and I was bummed to find that they had shut down the action a bit early.  Boo.  

But I love the world's largest marble, probably 9-12 inches in diameter.
   

I finished off the night by making a jellyfish for the video aquarium, acknowledging Carter's birthday that I wished I could have spent more of with him.

At least I was able to come home and finish off Carter's unofficial cake.  He'll get a much more interesting one when we have his party with the grandparents.  But it was SO good!

Still sort of in disbelief that my baby is a teenager!  But he may have officially passed me in height now, so there's no denying it!

In other news, Jacob had two final regular season games Monday and Tuesday.  They lost a very winnable game Monday.  They certainly got outcoached, and there were definitely some questionable personnel decisions--like holding Jacob out for most of the last quarter and overtime, despite being in need of some points.  That was disappointing.  Another team mom called Craig on the way home and was livid, just absolutely blown away by how that game went.

Tuesday was senior night, which was obviously bittersweet.  It was a little odd because it would have been Jacob's senior night had he not reclassified.  It was a little surreal to see his long-time buddy Colby doing the senior night stuff while knowing we have another year for Jacob.

Colby and his family--he's such a good kid.

The whole team posing with the seniors

Later in the game, one of the other seniors got his 1,000th point.  It was a well-deserved honor for another good kid.  I was particularly impressed that he actually gave up his starting spot that game so the other seniors that don't normally start could all be out there.  And even better, he was cheering for them like crazy, both during the announcements and when they scored.  It was really sweet.  Once he got his points, they did a quick photo op with his family right after.

After the game, he and the team posed with the student section.  If you look close, there's a sign there with Jacob's name on it.  

One more team shot to finish the season!

Here's the sign.  Of course, Jacob claimed to not know the girl's name, but we found out later her name is Sophia.  Not a girlfriend or anything, but it was cute.  And that phrase--I had to look it up, but it's a thing--means essentially that his moves are a work of art.

  

They did win that game despite playing all of the bench seniors quite a bit, but Jacob had a rough night and only scored three points.  It was bad enough that after the little reception for the seniors in the cafeteria, he was back up in the gym shooting for a while.  Hopefully he can get his shot back, because sectionals are coming quick and they will need him.  Still, it's impressive that he made it through the season healthy, so that's a win.  This team has a ton of potential if they can just make smart coaching and personnel decisions.

Break week for the kids is almost over now, and I honestly haven't been able to lay down the hammer on the messy house the way I wanted to.  The days I was home this week were Jacob's game days, and then today he had a scrimmage so he's barely been home.  And when I'm at work, it's hard to hold them to anything.  Maybe tonight or tomorrow we can make some progress?

Otherwise, we're just plugging away.  Craig has the weekend off, and we have an interesting little day trip to take as we look ahead to Jacob's next steps.  I got an all-clear with the dermatologist, started PT for my back, and am working through the "backup" that the back x-ray made apparent.  It's a process, but I think I finally got the edge on it.  But why is middle age just a series of doctor's appointments and random ailments?  Regardless, I'm ready for the weekend, for sure!