Life Lately July/August/September/October 2024

It has been quite a while since I've written a "Life Lately" post, which I will attribute to being busy with the start of a new school year. Even though I included it in the title, most of July consisted of our trip to California and Australia, which I've already shared, but I did start back to work at the end of the month. I'm fortunate in that I am housed at the same two schools this year, and I love both of the principals I work with! I am convinced having a great relationship with the principal is critical for this instructional coaching role and I feel so incredibly lucky because these two are amazing!

Aside from work, life has pretty much consisted of hanging out with C and Avalanche, which is obviously my favorite way to spend my time. We took Avalanche to Shenandoah NP, Rehoboth Beach, and NY when our new nephew was born and he enjoyed his third hotel stay, as well as countless walks and car rides! I managed to do a few other fun things, but I seriously don't know how it's already November! What I do know is that I am super excited for Thanksgiving so I can hold my sweet baby nephew again!

he is always so well-behaved whenever
we take him somewhere with
outdoor dining

sassy

dramatic

he looks like he is contemplating
the meaning of life

making his displeasure known

he voluntarily held my hand
and my heart melted
(as I bossed C around to get his phone
to take a pic before Avalanche moved his paw)
LOL

Husky Shedding Season

I was trying to change the sheets after
we had visitors and he was not helpful at all

Me: Avalanche, please get up!
Him: Make me.

then he got on one of the beds with a bone
to really drive home his belief that
he can do whatever he wants

refusing to even acknowledge that
I'm speaking to him

we put up a tent for our niece and nephew to play in
when they visit and he is obsessed with inspecting it
after they leave

fall in NY

in the hotel, he started off on his bed
that we brought from home

then decided to eat his bone up on our bed

then returned to his bed because
it was closest to the air conditioning

he is still not a fan of the beach!

"I love you always"

I draped a blanket on him and you can tell
he really loves it

highly annoyed with me

he's a great companion because he wants
to always be near us, but doesn't demand attention
(even though I wish he would sometimes!)

every day he and C wait for me
at the end of the driveway
when I get home from school and when
I open my door and he sits down for pets

I combed his tail
(soda can for size reference)

best part of my day

he loves hotel life!

made himself right at home

thought C might have to sleep on the
pull-out couch, but Avalanche eventually
got too hot and returned to his dog bed

we spent Halloween evening watching
Frankenweenie because we never
get any trick or treaters

C and I saw Twister (the 1996 movie)
in a very cool 4DX theater

there were fans to simulate wind and the
sound system was pretty impressive as well

water is sprayed throughout the movie
(but you can disable that feature
if you so choose)

the seats were in groups of four
and moved up, down, side-to-side,
and tipped forward and back

our niece made donuts...so sweet!

this was the cake for our nephew's baby shower - 
it was made by one of my dear friends!

our 15-year old nephew Max!

made a point of visiting the
Jon Bon Jovi rest area
on one of our road trips

whenever I see them on a menu,
I get a turtle sundae because they were
my mom's favorite

C got this for obvious reasons LOL

drove out to a park about 30 miles from our house
in hopes of seeing the northern lights!

they were so beautiful!

twinning with my favorite girl in the world

she made us a card

and the message on the back is just about
the cutest thing ever!

my forever team

spent an amazing day with my besties

enjoyed a super fun bachelorette weekend
in PA for one of my best friends...
this was the view from the rental house!

the beautiful bride to be!

I'll end with some pics of Avalanche and his best friend Finn; they spent several days together over the past few months!

this is the huge smile he gives to his favorite babysitter
Hayley...can you tell he absolutely adores her?!?

she made him cookies

and he loved them!!!

Happy Tails to you!

New Nephew!

Now that the proud parents have made their public announcement, I am beyond thrilled to share that C and I have a new nephew! B2 and S2 welcomed their sweet baby almost four weeks early! All three of them are doing well and our entire family is completely smitten with him!

I was able to hold him when he was only 10.5 hours old, and I was the first person to hold him after B2 and S2 (and hospital staff, obviously). I was pretty impressed with how quickly C and I were able to pack some things, put Avalanche in the car, and make the five-hour road trip. (For reference, with our other nephew, I was able to hold him when he was only about 16 hours old, and with our niece, I was able to hold her when she was about 22 hours old.) If I wasn't making it clear, being their Auntie is my favorite job in the world!

He is named after our mom's favorite Star Wars character, and when they told me what they planned to name him and why, I thought it was such a sweet and touching tribute to her. It is awesome and perfect in every way.

For those wondering, no, his name is not Jar Jar. LOL!

As much as I would love to share it here, I'm not going to. I use my B1 / S1 / B2 / S2 codes instead of my siblings' names because this blog is public and it's one small way for me to protect their privacy. Those of you who know me in real life know who I'm referring to and those who don't know me personally don't need to know their names!

Up to this point, I've been able to just refer to my niece and nephew as exactly that, but since there are now two nephews to love, I've going to have to come up with a code for the three of them! 

I am so, so, so, so proud of B2 and S2! I was 10 when B2 was born and I remember that day so clearly. My dad took me and B1 (who was only 1 at the time!) to the hospital to see our mom and meet B2 and I recall holding B2 and marveling at how precious he was. So it was not lost on me what a very surreal moment it was for me to now be holding B2's baby.

Perhaps this is because my mom is no longer with us and I've been feeling all of the family things in a whole new way since her passing. Moments seem bigger and more meaningful and the early arrival of this tiny little human is a huge deal to all of us!

I'm so excited for all of the adventures we will have together!

Happy Tails to you!

Lucky 13

Today is Avalanche's 13th birthday!

It's hard to believe he's only been ours for a little over 21 months because he's been a pretty perfect fit for us ad it feels like he's been part of our family for much longer! He is so well-behaved and no trouble at all whether he's in public, at his dog hotel, in the car, with his beloved babysitter, at his grandparents' house, or even at the vet. His biggest flaw is the fur he leaves everywhere he goes and if that's the worst thing I can say about him, we are extremely lucky dog parents! His talking/howling is still a rare occurrence, but we are highly entertained every time it happens and he's a beautiful example of how amazing rescue dogs are!

In honor of his birthday, here are 13 of his favorite things:

• walks
• meeting other dogs
• air conditioning
• treats
• feigning deafness
• naps
• laying out in the sun when it's over 100 degrees (we don't get it, either!)
• road trips
• playing in the snow
• his babysitter Hayley
• C's mom
• me
• and his absolute, no contest, undisputed favorite thing in the entire universe...C!

Cheers to our big, fluffy, Silly Goose!

Happy Tails to you!