Sort of Sadie's

Dances haven't really happened this school year because of Covid. Prom will actually take place in April and June has already been asked, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. 

Instead, we'll go back to November or so. That is usually when Sadie's takes place. But no dances, remember. However, June decided to ask someone anyway. She and Christina both decided to ask and make a fun date out of it. 

I'm terribly sad that we didn't get a picture of June's poster. She asked Valerio and gave him wings and the poster said something like. "We may have to 'wing' it because of Covid, but will you go to Sadie's with me?" And he responded with a poster, flowers and some ice cream. I recall that on the poster somewhere it said, "I know I'm your favorite Latin person." Hahaha. Probably true. 

The girls planned to do the date mid November but then Covid numbers went up and everything tightened down. We had two weeks with a no socializing mandate. (Not the best time for a date.) Needless to say, with the holidays and everything else, the date didn't happen until January. But a good date is good...anytime.

The girls made dinner and dessert for the boys. Pacos for dinner.

And a brownie strawberry mousse thing for dessert. Yummy.

Valerio and Irving are both great guys. I think they had a lot of fun playing games. I know there were some epic rounds of Throw Throw Burrito.

It was at our house, so we were trying to stay out of the way. So we ordered in some pizza and ate upstairs. Hard to find a place to sit upstairs.

I'm glad that June planned some dates during Covid. There weren't many, but I hope she has fond memories of her Senior Year.

7 Years Later...

When we moved into our current home, there were a few things we wanted to fix, but because repairs and renovations cost money, everything was put on a list to do later. Many of those things have been done in the last seven years we've lived here. And many haven't.

Towards the top of the list, but a pricey item was carpet. In one family room, there was carpet that was worn down and missing in places leaving the tack strip exposed. Trust me, you don't want to step on a tack strip, so we had a little rug that we put over that spot. But rugs move and most people knew not to step there. Yet, every once in a while, you would still get a good poke in your foot.  

Last year the rental house that Tyler acquired got new flooring and I thought that maybe we should get new carpet, but it wasn't the right time. Christmas came and went. Then it was birthdays and Tyler took me carpet shopping for my birthday. (I didn't get too excited. We had been carpet shopping before and had even picked out samples to take home that didn't result in anything.)

But this time it was for real. We chose a completely different carpet than we had before (I like this one so much more) and we set up for them to come put it in. Our job was to rip carpet out before, to save on some money. However, the guys called and asked if they could come a day early since someone canceled. That was fine, but we weren't quite ready. The carpet company said they could pull it out for us. Tyler went to work with a vengeance, pulled it all up, and asked if they could take the old carpet away instead. Good deal.

We did our two big rooms on the main floor. Here is Midgard with the carpet pulled into the middle. The pad was very worn in places and it is amazing how much dirt can get through those two layers.

I actually didn't mind the blue carpet we had in Carnegie Hall, but it made sense to have the rooms match. Goodbye old blue.

When we pulled up the pad in Carnegie Hall, we found the evidence that Tyler left when he put the can lights in downstairs. Yes, he drilled right through the ceiling in the basement, up through the floor. Nicely done. (Shh, no one will know.)

The carpet guys were pretty quick. We thought the kids would be at school, but they came on a distance learning day. No problem. We all hung out in the kitchen. Soon enough, the pad was all in, in Midgard. 

Carnegie Hall was a little bigger.

Now carpet. Can you see the slight pattern in the gray? Almost like stripes.

All done. You can see where the carpet meets the wood. No more tack strip and no more extra little rug!

I adore the new carpet. It isn't super piled, but I like the height and softness. And not surprising, so does Nova. 

Trampoline Tricks

When we last left the trampoline at Christmas, it was bent and non functional. We had to wait a few days for a part to come in the mail, but before the New Year even started, we had the tramp up and jumping.

Pearl was so thrilled. She literally jumped for joy. 

Tyler was very happy that the second attempt worked. But actually, we should give some credit to the girls who read the instructions and made sure it was assembled in the right order the second time around.

Nova didn't know what to make of the trampoline. She doesn't like people where she can't reach them. She ran around and around and poked her nose up now and then to see what was happening. (She has gotten used to it now.)

Pearl loves to practice her flips on the tramp. She does back handsprings, tucks, and whatever else you can do in fifteen feet across. 

The tramp has gotten good use since we purchased it and we aren't even into the warm months yet. All the kids love it. Granny V even took a turn on it when she brought Hen and Grand over. 

The most recent escapade was a new game that Tyler and Pearl invented. It is called 'Ride the Bull.' I'm not sure how much the bull can take, since he seemed to have some back pain after, but I think the kids loved it. 

It really took us forever to get a trampoline, but the kids really enjoy it. It was a great investment.

An Affair to Dismember

Tyler and I decided to do a Murder Mystery for our birthday celebrations. We looked on ksl and found a box game for only $5. That is not too shabby. We spent time thinking of who might enjoy dressing up and being silly with us and we picked carefully. (It is supremely lame when you invite someone who doesn't want to play.) There was also some prep that went into our costumes. Robyn got out the henna and we both thought of something that might be fun to add to our look. I should mention that we ended up with a Halloween murder mystery. It didn't have to be used in October, but it was monster themed. Tyler was a cannibal and I was a gypsy clairvoyant. 

Tyler requested a cool skull on his throat to symbolize his desire for flesh. And he had a running tally of victims on his arm. Creepy.

I, of course, needed an all seeing eye on my hand. One cannot only rely on one's normal senses to see those beyond...

I had to heavily prevail on the kids to help with dinner that night. They stepped up and were amazing. They made pasta, alfredo sauce, warmed up Marinara, and cooked meatballs and chicken in the oven. That's a lot of things to time correctly and they did amazing!! Seriously, they saved my bacon. Because of them, I was able to enjoy the evening and hang out with my wonderful guests. Even better, the kids dressed up a bit to fit in with the evening. Pearl was sporting some spider adornment and Robyn was a really creepy blood donor. (Daisy also helped and had flowers around her eyes. I have no idea why she didn't get a photo.)

Karen and Mark came first and they looked great. Mark did a painted Frankenstein face with scars. Karen had her scrubs on for her evil dentist. 

Then Jonny showed up wearing a fun pirate costume that worked just fine for his devil persona. He even had an inhaler that Maggie made for him. Excellent. Beth was coming from Idaho and with the snow and accidents on the freeway, she was running an hour behind schedule. There was nothing she could do, and Jonny got a solo picture.

Camie and Nate looked amazing. Nate was wearing his mummy wrap and shades and Camie, the fiance, looked so chic. 

Naturally Tyler looked dapper in his suit and I was over the top in my gypsy wrap. 

We had time to kill, so to speak. We ate dinner, which was delicious and then we played the Name Game. That was really fun. Jonny has played it a lot, but not as one team. I think he still liked it even though there was no clear winner. Everyone came up with great works. 

Beth finally staggered in. Her character was supposed to be a depressed witch and it seemed to show. Don't worry...we fed her and she livened right up. Poor Beth. What a long drive. But we got a couple picture of her later.

The game was pretty fun. It was standard fair, where you read your page and then reveal clues. I'm not sure any of us were very good at it. The rules say you can't lie, so people often just read the stuff on their 'conceal' side when pressed. Mark was the funniest. He would give up and just read his entire page.

We were all terrible characters, of course. I was surprised at the sexual themes of the game. Everyone was having an affair with someone. But it made for many laughs and no one took it seriously. We had great candid moments.

Possibly my favorite cake ever, is a carrot cake I found in a recipe book from the library. It is so delicious. I made that for the party and then decorated it monster style. It was well received. I also appreciate people who appreciate a good carrot cake. 

By the end, I was sure that I had the murder game all figured out. I decided that I was trying to kill Neville, the victim, but Tyler got there first and took the victim's heart. Then a huge spider (a pet of Camie's) drained all his blood and then he burnt up when the sun came out in the morning. (Since he was a vampire and I had tied him to a pillar) What a way to go! And I was exactly right, EXCEPT for one tiny detail. Apparently I cast a spell that changed my soul with his, and it was actually ME who died! What? I was actually a guy the whole game? Neville was actually me in disguise? I couldn't' quite wrap my head around it. It was definitely a twist. 

In the end, even though multiple people tried to kill Neville, it was Tyler who accomplished the task first and was the murderer. (Although please recall that he actually killed me!) But Tyler being the murderer is normal. He is almost always the guy who did it. :) It was a great time and it was a really fun birthday celebration. What a great group of friends we have. 

It is healthy to murder one person a year. Guess we've checked that box for 2021. See you all next year!

Two Bits

Tyler needs his hair cut pretty frequently. He still has a LOT of hair. No visible thinning for him. I gave up cutting a while back and June is our new barber. I think Robyn has cut Tyler's hair as well. When June got the clippers out, Ivory mentioned that she needed a trim. 

Ivory's hair is very long and when she says trim, she wants barely an inch taken off. Just enough to get rid of split ends and even it up. June did a great job.

Daisy asked for a trim as well. So June straightened up her ends. Look at all the hair. 

No, it isn't Daisy's. Don't worry. It isn't even Tyler's although his cut is looking sharp. 

Nope, it was mine! When June finished with Daisy, she looked at me and said, "Your turn." I wasn't planning on getting a trim, but I needed one. In fact, I wanted a few inches taken off. I asked her how long it already was and she said it was down to the middle of my back. So I said, "Just below my shoulders would be great and go ahead and add some layers."

Well, what do you think? It just about touches my shoulders. 

Definitely shorter than I planned, but the shorter length allows my natural wave to come through better. It took a little getting used to, but I like it. And June did a great job. She may not become a hairdresser, but I think she'll be able to keep her family trimmed up.