I planted a garden and it was slow going but once the spring rain stopped, things really took off.  I planted way to much for the space and I hate to pull it out, just to pull it out.  I have dried some of the herbs, so trying to use what I can.  I have to admit, I knew that cucumbers and tomatoes grew on a vine, but didn't realize how the flowers factored in.  Sure is fun watching it all grow and love being able to go pick food for dinner.  I have started canning some of it and decided to use the sous vide method versus hot water bath on the stove.  We will see how it all turns out.  I planted some bell peppers and jalapenos.  Little did I realize I bought a pack of bell pepper seeds that got mixed in with wax hungarian peppers.  So trying to get creative with the produce.

Recently went camping for the weekend.  Took the camper out to a designated camp ground and enjoyed 2 days/nights of just hanging.  Whenever I camp, a day feels like 3 days, so felt like I was away for ever.

We recently embarked on our first ever family 'trip'.  Actually, Benjamin had to work but the four of us set off.  We wanted to go way south but decided we will need to wait another year on that one.  We headed to Mt. Rushmore for 2 nights.  Take in some of the activities there.  We drove all night and decided to catch Rushmore at sunrise.  Took in an indoor water park, miniature golf, air and space museum, go karts, etc.

Some random pictures from the summer

Another catch up post with all the pictures at the end.  A long rambling post too!

(I wrote this the end of June and just now downloading all the pictures to my computer.)

Benjamin recently turned 19!!!  Last year of being a teen ager!  He had a quiet day chilling and then we all headed out to a fancy restaurant downtown.  His bent towards the nicer things just makes me laugh.  It was an authentic quite, candles on table, restaurant.  For dessert he ordered gelato and espresso!  (A first for me, I got to the restaurant and didn't have my glasses, so had to turn the light on my phone to read the menu.  It's becoming way too frequent.  Holding things at arms length won't work for much longer. 

He is selling fireworks for the next 10 days or so.  The quick paced selling is right up his alley.  I have always said it, but he will make money with his mouth and pretty sure it will be some type of sales.  He just needs to figure it all out and then the sky will be the limit.  Not sure what direction he will take in 10 days, but he will figure it out to pay his bills. He was working in another kitchen restaurant but recently quit.  He continues to live at home.  He blew the transmission on his truck recently so he has been driving my van.  Some hard life lessons he has had to learn quickly.  There are some complications with trying to get the truck fixed so he is struggling if it is worth it or you count your losses and move on. 

Jacob and Joseph finished up 7th and 10th grade!  

Jacob finally got a bear!  He went with some friends over Memorial Day and got the bear at 615 yards.  The bear was estimated to be between 18-23 years old.  Was looking forward to trying bear jerky but as soon as they cut the hide, there was a terrible smell.  The Fish Wildlife employee, taxidermist and a family friend said they had never smelled a bear that bad.  No one can explain it, but something was wrong with the bear.  So we were not able to harvest the meat.  Jacob has gotten the skull taken care of but won't get the hide until early winter.

A few days before Jacob got his bear,  he was in the hills scouting for bears.  He happened to see a huge elk across a ravine.  After grabbing the binoculars, he realized it was a dead elk.  A friend, JR and Jacob set out to find the elk the next day.  They were able to hike up to it.  It had died of natural causes and a bear had not yet gotten it.  Jacob harvested the huge rack.

From the moment Jacob got home after his bear trip, Bree was not happy.  She would have nothing to do with him for about an hour.  Bears have a very distinct smell and she knew something was off in our home.  Even a few days after the trip, Jacob had his backpack out and she would not even go near it.   We were going through the house following her with it and she was running.  

Jacob played a few basketball tournaments this month.  He went to a football camp and took a hard hit, so they ended up benching him for a few days.  Fortunately they take concussions seriously and take no risks.

Jacob decided not to have a regular, consistent job but instead wanted to hustle this summer.  So far he has laid sod, done housekeeping, mowed lawns, put up billboards, detailed cars, landscaping and house remodel.  He told me he just signed up for Amazon Affiliate.  Today he saw a free bench with storage on FB and he wanted to get pick it up so he could 'flip it'.  I just stood there smiling as he told me he would sand it, paint it, etc then sell it.  Unfortunately, by the time we got over there, there was a lady literally just picking it up (it was first come first serve).  This dude is saving up for a truck and then a house.  He has some plans!

Work has been very interesting!  With the slow downturn of the economy/inflation, plus some employee issues, we have had our share of struggles.  I recently told my boss that these will be the days he looks back to in 10-15 years and realizes these trials were the ones that forever changed him as an employer/leader.

Joseph has now surpassed JR and Benjamin in height.  Years ago I predicted he would be the tallest and it appears to still be holding true.  Although Joseph has a few more inches until he beats Jacob.

 Three weeks left of school.  Crazy!!!

The weather has finally settled down and looks like we have left the snow behind and won't see it again until November!!

I recently spent two weeks down in Texas with my dad and helped with some medical issues he was having.  Everyone survived just fine with me being gone!

Jacob is the elusive child right now.  Don't see him much.  Between school, odd working jobs (he quit his lumber/hardware store job), basketball stuff, football stuff, the gym and hunting, he is hardly ever here.  He has connected with a few hunting friends and is spending a lot of time with them looking for bears.  It is nice to know they are responsible enough to go out by themselves and of course, they think it is great!  He recently spotted, hundreds of yards away, a dead elk.  The following day, JR, Jacob and one of his friends was able to go find it to harvest the sheds.  A big animal!  It appears the elk just laid down and died.  No trauma and surprisingly, a bear had not found it.

And for the first time ever, he cut his hair short.

Benjamin continues to work about 35 hours a week at a restaurant downtown.  He is considering making a switch but nothing definite yet.  He has launched into the Amway world.  There is a huge network/mentoring that has been amazing for him.  He is getting out now that the weather is warmer and going to car/coffee weekly groups.  He enjoys those connections.  He is also getting into shooting more, golfing, etc.  Great to see him getting out.  He just got the NFL schedule and really wants to go to the Seahawks/Jets game in NY.  He wants to go to NY so bad.  I told him if he wanted a travel companion to let me know...would be a fun trip.  I will always jump at the chance to travel with that kid.

Speaking of travel, everybody in the family now has a passport so we are hoping for a trip this fall, somewhere down south, if we can work it around Jacob's sports.  

Joseph's voice is starting to change!  So strange.  He has finally started hanging out with a new friend and I am so excited!  He has been getting outside more and active!  Hard to believe he will be 14 this summer!!  He could take driver's ed in a year!!!!

We have planted a second round of seeds.  Hoping to get them started inside before we put them outside in about 3 weeks.  The boys are getting into them, especially Benjamin.  Hoping this means they would all learn to eat them more frequently.  Benjamin would actually like to figure out a way to grow them all year.  Not sure that is possible without a really well built green house!

That's the latest!!  Maybe the next post will have pics of all three of them....crazy how much they have changed!

 Another month down!!  Can't believe it is April and Easter today.  He is Risen!!

Had a great day.  I wanted to catch the sunrise service at the ski resort but couldn't convince the family.  So we attended the annual Easter breakfast at our church, church service then we drive 45 minutes to a BBQ place for lunch.  The weather was beautiful!  Probably the nicest day we have had since November.  

It has been a brutal winter.  Long, cold and lots of snow.  About 2 weeks ago we got a dump of about 13 inches.  Everyone is ready for some shorts weather!!

Jacob has put in his 2 weeks notice at his job where he has been for a year.  He has some other irons in the fire, so will be fun to see where he ends up by the time school is out.  He is at the school at 6:30am most days of the week, with football and basketball workouts.  He is putting lots of time in the gym and man, that kid is getting strong.  He is really working on his vertical jump and his core strength.  He can now, being 5 ft 9, jump up and touch the rim of the 10 foot hoop.  He told me today that he should be able to do the light pole core manuever soon....I think he is referring to where he goes horizontal to the ground with his legs straight out, holding onto a pole.  I love to see his dedication.

Benjamin has started working at another restaurant.  He has also found a 'tribe' of guys/men to hang out with, so it is nice to see him out of the house more than he is in the house.  He is planning some weekend traveling this summer and fall, so trying to save up his money.

Joseph is glad that the snow at the skate park has melted.  With me working weekdays, it will be a struggle to get him out of the house and active.  He is at a hard age because there are not a lot of 'camps' for that age and they are not old enough to drive.

JR is hopefully done with roof snow shoveling.  I don't even know the hours he has put in on the roofs this winter.  There are so many roofs with leaks, from all the snow, freezing, melting, freezing.  And now we jump quickly into the 60s so I expect some local flooding.

I am still 40 hours a week and really enjoy it!  I like it when the younger employees invite me into their life, by sending me random Easter texts, or sending me pictures of their gender reveal, or telling me about their modeling gigs.  Just fun to connect with a different generation.  I am gearing up for a small garden this year.  Years ago I planted one and it turned out okay, but now there is so much more information online, that I find myself researching a lot.  I have always wanted to try a compost bin, so gonna start that this week too.  We have also gotten passports for Joseph and Jacob.  Hoping for a trip this fall.

We recently caught the Northern Lights.  I saw them years ago when I lived in North Dakota and have waited for another chance.  It was spur of the moment but I got JR, Benjamin and Joseph to head out with me one night.  They were amazed.  2 pictures are below.  Benjamin used a shutter exposure on his phone and was able to catch more color than what was visible to the naked eye.  The streak in the sky is a phenomenon they call STEVE.  

Here is a picture this morning from church breakfast.  Someone commented yet again how different they all look, and I agree.  It is weird to see Benjamin with longer hair than Jacob.

 Jacob's basketball season has come to an end.  They ended up with 2 wins and probably 15 losses.  A hard season.  It is a struggle to continue on when you are the underdog, but they persevered and finished the season.  He was asked by the varsity coach to travel with the varsity team to divisionals as a manager.  Coaches just really enjoy having him around because he is a motivator and hustler.

A few weeks ago, my little momma heart was so proud.  I have never really celebrated Valentine's day.  A celebration for me is more along the lines of picking up fun dinner foods and making a special meal. Well, our schedules were all over the place, not to mention Jacob had a basketball game that night.  So, it just kind of slipped my mind.  On the evening of the 14th, Benjamin walked in and said "I didn't forget" and handed me a box of Crumbl cookies.  He loves to give gifts and it just makes me smile!

The five of us recently went out to the local university and shot some pool.  They have a really cool Sub/rec center that is open to the public.  They are growing up!!

The following week, I took Joseph and one of his friends back there.  We shot pool and bowled.  It was ugly bowling for all of us, but I did come out on top for both games!!

We recently bought a new truck for JR's business.  His other truck was 20 years old, so it was time!!  Our first big cash purchase!  Feels so good to not have a car payment.  Hopefully 2023 will be the year to upgrade my vehicle!

Spring break is around the corner.  Not much planned, other than a day trip to meet a friend and take Joseph and a friend to a water park and trampoline park.  I am so excited for spring.  It has been a long, hard, cold, dark winter.  It is just about time to ditch the coats!!

Just a quick check in.

Jacob saw the hand specialist (he had a bone chip in his right hand during football and it appeared it never fully healed.)  The doctor manipulated the finger lots of different ways and there was very little pain.  The doctor said he did not know if the bone would ever really heal.  The bone chip was being held in place by the ligament and scar tissue, which was actually providing decent stability.  He was afraid to do surgery given how small the area/bone chip was.  He was concerned about making it worse.  So, the bottom line was 'go live your life and let pain be your guide.  So, Jacob is back on the basketball court.

The team is currently 2-12.  Not the best season but Jacob has done well.

We had a little excitement last week.  Something I want to chronicle for the blog but not wanting to shed light on anyone in particular.  One of the family members last week fell 13 feet onto some concrete.  They landed on all fours but their right side took the brunt of the fall.  After an ER visit, it was determined no broken bones.  After 3 chiropractic appointments, a full recovery is in store.  So thankful, it could have been much worse.  So thankful for the Lord's provision.

Our weather has been so wacky!  Swings from -40 to 40 plus.  The freezing and thawing is getting old.  Right now everything is so slick with the snow starting to soften and melt.  It is almost mid February.  Shorts will come in about 4 weeks.

My job is still going well.  Fun to be in a position that plays to my strengths!  Working close to 40 hours a week.  Hoping that as I get more processes in place and we can stay on top of things, the hours will drop a little.  Bree loves playing with Zoe (Dalmatian!)

That's it!  Good night

 Mid January 2023!

We blew through the holidays.  The boys were out of school for 2 weeks.  Jacob had a few days off from basketball games/practice, so he enjoyed a few days of skiing, working out and hanging with friends.  Joseph got some time in with JR at work.

I am still enjoying work.  Working close to 40 hours a week.  Definitely more than I want long term. The boss and I are hoping to maybe hire a third person in March or April.  I told him I need a good handle of the invoicing side of things (our A/P, A/R person just left - she worked about 15 hours a week).  That way I can train someone coming in in all aspects of the office.  We have hit a glass ceiling, so to speak, and need to either stop saying yes to things or we need to bring on more crews to do more work.  I think he is leaning toward the latter.

Some big things have happened over the last several weeks.  Probably the most impactful, several days before Christmas it was bitterly cold, like -40.  That kind of cold can reek havoc on vehicles.  So, Ben's heat wasn't working so he couldn't drive it to work in the bitter cold and Jacob's car would randomly die so he was selective when he drove his car.  We were all kind of sharing 2 cars and making it work.  Then on the 20th, our nicest car, Subaru, was totaled in a wreck.  The unnamed individual rear ended a truck in 5 o'clock traffic.  We had a fiasco getting the car towed.  Once it was towed, Jacob went with me to get everything out, take off cargo box etc.  

The crazy thing about the evening of the wreck, within an hour of the wreck, we had left the scene of the wreck and saw one of our vehicles pulled over by cops.  It was a minor infraction, so no ticket.  But then about 10 minutes after that pull over, the other male in the house was also pulled over, for the same minor infraction.  The joke of the night was that the Morales men represented well on the police scanner that night!

The biggest lesson learned for me from the wreck, was insurance.  We have always carried just liability, because none of our cars are that nice and they have always been paid for.  What I paid in towing fees, would have easily covered the full coverage premium on the Subaru.  So, totally rethinking the car insurance.  The other thing, if you look at the pictures below, the car crumpled exactly as it was designed to do.  Both of the front doors still open properly, so the front end took the full brunt of the wreck.  The air bags went off but the inside is fully intact.  Crazy!  There were only very minor injuries - seatbelt bruise and friction nose burn from the air bag.

We got through the cold and all vehicles began functioning normally.  Just a few days ago, we found a new work truck for Jose, so hope to pick it up this week.  Although we are paying cash, I will get full coverage!  

Jacob's basketball season has caused some frustrations.  The district sports teams are still struggling to keep up with the larger schools in our district.  They current record is 2-6.  The last few games he was struggling with some minor injuries, but his broken finger, from football, had been bothering him.  We went for an xray last night and sure enough, the same break again.  Thinking it never fully healed and then got re injured.  We will see a hand specialist this week.  The school's athletic trainer seems to think they might do surgery.  There are probably still some tendon issues too.

Trying to catch my breath.  

I have started working and still trying to get use to time management.  I have taken a job at a cleaning/property maintenance company.  There are about 20 employees, with hoping to hire another 5-10 in next few months.  It has been fun learning a whole new industry (although I am somewhat familiar with property maintenance side, with Jose's management business.)   It was real unclear when I started working, how many hours or what my job description would be.  I am currently office manager but thinking it will morph more into a general manager in the coming months.  I wanted 25 hours a week, but working closer to 35.  My boss is open and flexible and as I learn more of the systems, etc, I am hoping to drop down to 30.  The best part, I can take Bree, our dog.  The owner has a Dalmatian and her and Bree get along well.  It is fun to see Bree dominate and herd Zoey.  She holds her ground and makes it very clear when she has had enough of Zoey's antics.  Bree comes home every day tired!  There is a picture below of me with a helmet on.  My boss has a really nice side by side and we took it out for a spin recently.  

I have also officially started meeting with an 'official' financial coaching client!  So fun to be walking alongside someone on their financial journey!  The Turo cars are still parked, but anticipate we will start getting reservations in the new year.  Not sure if I am up for another winter with the cars.  Fortunately, if it proves too much, I have a friend I can hand them off to.

Joseph has his last basketball game this Tuesday.  Their team is undefeated.  It helps when you have a player that looks like he is 17, instead of 13.   Joseph has enjoyed the experience and has done really well with the early morning (6:30am) practices.  I wish there was another sport he enjoyed, because the activity and social interaction has been great for him.

Jacob had his first basketball game yesterday.  A very intense game that they almost pulled out  at the end.  He made the sophomore team.  There are only 7 kids on the team, so he is getting lots of playing time.  Shortly before Thanksgiving they had their end of season football banquet and he found out he letter, despite missing half the season with his hand injury.  He was so excited.  A picture of his letter is below.

Hunting season we ended up with 3 deer, 2 bucks and a doe.  There are still a few elk tags to fill for shoulder season, which is through February sometime.  A successful year!

 Thanksgiving 2022

Some of the big and little things that make me smile and bring great joy.

1Chronicles 16:34 - Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, His love endures forever.

Thankful for Jacob recently getting his driver's license - the kid that always needs to be someplace :-)

Thankful for my new Vionic slippers, that keep my feet really warm and have great support.

Thankful for an amazing summer with my mom being here and the family that visited.

Thankful for the means to fix all of our recent vehicle issues.

Thankful for my new job (will post on it next week!)

Thankful for my morning cup of hot tea while I read my bible!

Thankful for another year of amazing health.

Thankful for basketball and the outlet it has become for Jacob and especially Joseph.

Thankful for my 2 new pots I found for my plants.  (Sounds silly but there are very few things I find and immediately love enough to purchase)

Thankful for my ability to be able to think outside the box.

Thankful for a church that doesn't waver on preaching the word of God.

Thankful for airplanes that help bridge the gap between me and my family.

Thankful for texts and memes, that give me another way to stay connected with the boys.

Thankful for snow shovels, which we have had to use way more than I would like :-)

Have a blessed Thanksgiving!

 It has been a while!  We are on auto pilot!  

I went to Texas last week to spend time with my dad!

Joseph has started basketball and won their first game.  They have one this afternoon and hopefully can get some good pictures.  Joseph has started going to the gym with JR, instead of me.  I think he enjoys time with dad and much rather take lifting advice from his dad than his mom!

Jacob will start basketball just after Thanksgiving.  He has been going to open gym and shooting hoops several times a week.  He is still working every Sunday afternoon.  He is not much of a spender, so his account is slowly growing.  He is itching to get out on the slopes too!  

Speaking of slopes...our area has just been hit with another 12 inch dump of snow.  It is coming early this year.  And I am not ready for it!  Fortunately this time around it was the dry snow, so not real wet and heavy.

I went and voted today.  I don't recall ever seeing so many people out voting!  So good to see!  Will be interesting to see how things turn out and what the next 2 years hold.  Regardless of where anyone falls, I think we can all agree that some areas have gone sideways!

Benjamin is into a week of snow removal and I think he might be regretting this decision.  You are paid whether you work or not, which means he can go 10 days without working and still get a paycheck, but when you do work, it can be very intense!  He worked yesterday 7am-7pm, come home to sleep and then went back from 4am-noon today.  He has to be back tonight from 9pm until probably noon tomorrow!  Bless his heart.  He has committed to the end of March and I think it will be a long hard winter.  That will be like 35 hours shoveling in about 50 hours, plus the 45-60 minute commute one way!

Benjamin recently took a weekend trip to Seattle, all by himself.  The travel bug is alive and well with him.  He went to a Seahawks game.  Got a hotel room, took public transportation and shopped.  He certainly doesn't mind going and doing by himself, but wish he had a friend to go with.  He said most of his friends don't have the money to spend.  He is hoping to pile up money this winter and maybe take a trip next April or May.

While Benjamin was in Seattle, the rest of us carved pumpkins.  They had a good time!  I didn't get any pictures of the finished project, but I read to cut open silica gel packets and put inside and that will make them last longer...and it worked.  We got over a week out of pumpkins.

It is hunting season!  Between JR and Jacob, they have a total of like 6 deer tags and 2 elk tags.  So far we have 2 bucks (deer).   It has been fun to see Jacob start going out with friends to hunt.  He sure enjoys it.

I have completed my first 'blog' book.  I got years 2008-2015 formatted.  I sent it off to be printed in black and white.  Wanted to make sure it was going to turn out, before committing to color printing.  The book ended up being close to 400 pages!!!  It will look so nice in color.  Trying to format 2016 through end of this year.  Then early next year, I will send both of them off to be printed in color.  Not sure the boys will appreciate it, but in due time.  It is neat to go back and put a timeline together of trips, big events, illnesses, etc.  I am also trying to go through all the digital pictures and clean up/delete duplicates.  My goal with this is to give each of the boys the blog books, as well as a flash drive with all photos on it!!!  

Random pictures that were on my phone....

Fall is slowly rolling in!  The boys have been in school for a month and I have yet to get their 'back to school' picture.  

Things have been pretty quiet with the boys.  Jacob has football every day after school and then he works Sunday afternoons.  Several weeks ago he chipped a small bone in his hand.  Due to the location and nature of the injury, they could not really splint it in such a way that he could continue to play in football games.  So he is sidelined, but hopefully might get clearance just before the last game of the season.  He is still going through all the drills and footwork, but has been discouraging for such a small injury to sideline him totally.  It should heal on its on though!  He has decided he will play basketball, so that will start just after football ends.  He also gets his driver's license tomorrow!  Hard to believe!  Given the crazy car market and some other car issues we have had, he is going to drive Benjamin's old Mazda.

Not sure if I mentioned but Benjamin bought a new truck (with cash - yay).  He is currently working out at the airport, just trying to put some money back.  He is committed to helping a friend move snow this winter.  After that, not sure any plans.  He would love to move out but the rental market is still nuts here!  I anticipate things will look very different for him 6 months from now.

Joseph is currently doing a basketball academy once a week and I think is planning on playing basketball this winter.  He and I go to the gym most days after school.  He is just putting his head down and crushing 7th grade!

JR is moving into a slower season, before the snow comes in November.  Hunting season (bow) is here.  JR and Jacob are both geared up to get an animal and there is talk of maybe Joseph, but not sure.  I am trying to empty out our freezers so we have room for any game that comes home!

I am still in a lull with work.  Trying to get some financial coaching going but I have stalled out.  Just need some motivation.  My mom has been here all summer and it has been wonderful.  She leaves on Friday, back to Ohio.  Will miss her for sure!

Just a few pictures below.  We attended our fall festival and they have a free lunch and they roast pigs the night before.  Always cool to see their cooking set up. I jump at the chance anytime I can to get a picture of Benjamin!  Jacob and I after a shutout (we lost 63-0) but it was cool because they got to play at the university stadium.  Joseph and my mom's dog, Bingo.  Jacob and one of his best buds (Jacob is in green jersey!)