Catch-up for GPa Rod

A couple nights ago Grandpa Rod asked me what my plan was for the blog.  Was I going to do any more posts?  I appreciated his question because it had been on my mind, too.  It's been 7 months since my last post here, and a crazy amount of LIFE has happened.   Instead of feeling guilty about it, though, I decided to follow one of my favorite phrases lately:

Begin where you are.

So, where is the Cushing family?  

Right now Jason and I are at home getting ready for the day.  For once I don't have to be at school by 7:30 am, so I'm taking advantage of that and making the most of it with a longer dog walk, and...some blogging, haha!  

Jason will leave for work soon--he's feeling better after not feeling well the past couple days.  He printed out a few things he'll need for church tonight and will head out the door in a bit.   He's been Bishop Cushing for almost 4 months and is doing really well.  Mutual nights and Sundays are the longest, and we don't see him as much as we'd like to on Sundays, but we make up for it with plenty of family time other days.

Wade was up at 4:50 am--every school day he does that and we are VERY happy and appreciative of his good attitude and pretty impressive time management.  By now he's at school for his first and probably favorite class of the day--symphonic band.  New for him--he's practicing touching his eyes to get ready for contacts, and he's excited about the extra money he's making mowing a couple neighbors' lawns every weekend.  He also had a FANTASTIC 15th birthday!

Rhiannon has two months of college at UNR under her belt.  She has been sick this week and I'm anxious to text her to see how she's feeling today...but I'll let her sleep.  Wednesdays are her busy days with a full class schedule and then work at the campus cafeteria near her dorm for 5 hours tonight.  She has three "callings" at church right now--she's a greeter, helps on the "new member committee" and also got asked to serve on Institute Council.  She's getting along with her roommates okay and is managing well.  It's not easy--she has said that being away from family is the hardest, hardest thing for her!

A few other things:

--Wade finished up the symphonic band's football season last weekend with an out-of-town game.  I've been surprised how well he has adjusted to a busy high school schedule.  We are very proud of him--as I like to say, "He's killin' it!"

--Last weekend Jason and I went to a really fun ward activity out in the desert.  We enjoyed a bonfire, good food, and a REALLY good turnout from the ward.  It was awesome!

--So far Rhiannon is getting all A's and B's in her first semester of college, and Wade is getting straight A's his first semester of high school.  We are really happy with their efforts and hard work!

--Also happy for extended family:  Uncle Tommy and Aunt Lydia welcomed a new baby girl Clementine Pearl, Uncle Derrick and Aunt Traci have a new foster baby boy, and Uncle Brant and Aunt Chris's little boy Brooks will be adopted next Monday and they'll be able to be all in one house in Chicago!!

August 2018

College Move-in Day, August 2018

First Day of High School, August 2018

Playing catch-up: Rhiannon gets her braces off!

Oh, boy, was this a happy day early in November!  We were so excited that we had to take a picture with all present staff at Ridgecrest Family Dentistry that day, haha!  Rhiannon is so happy with her new smile!

First day of 10th and 6th grade!

The next school year has begun after a super-fast-and-fun summer!  10th and 6th grade, here we come!  Both Rhiannon and Wade did a great job getting up and were ready for the day by 6:00 am!  We rushed out to the backyard to take our traditional pictures before I took Rhiannon to the high school for her band class (which starts at 6:35 every day).

Cuties!

She loves that "Hello" shirt--super soft and comfy!

And if you're an Avengers fan, you can imagine how Wade felt about his Jarvis t-shirt!

Rhiannon and I saw the most beautiful sunrise on the drive.  As soon as I dropped her off, I zipped into a parking lot so I could capture it!  

After I got home from that, Wade and I killed a few minutes before we had to leave to get him on base to Murray Middle School.  Most days he will catch a ride with our neighbors, but I told him I wanted to take him on the first day!  Wade was so excited that we left 5 minutes earlier than we planned and got to the school so early we had to sit for a few minutes.  (Classes start at 7:20; students are allowed on campus at 7:00).

The rest of the day flew by while I waited for their school day to end.  I messed around on Facebook, got groceries, and went to a disaster preparedness class offered on the base.

Wade walked in the door happy and content at 2:30 pm; then I left to pick up Rhiannon and some friends at 2:40.  

Rhiannon already had Spanish, chemistry and history homework.  Wade's only homework was to get his mom to fill out school paperwork.  They both said it was a good, fast day, with no problems.   YAY!!!!!!!!!!!

Just for fun, here is something I made yesterday when I found myself with a bunch of extra time in the morning.  It was fun to see how much the kids have grown each year!  11 years of first-day-of-school photos! :)  We love these kids and know they will be successful and happy if they try their best, work hard, and show kindness!

My Pioneer Trek experience (Rhiannon)

Hey it's Rhiannon! :) I don't normally do the blog posts, but Mom practically begged me to write this one. So I obliged and here we are.

Trek was absolutely amazing, in every way. My faith grew, my muscles grew, and I have a greater appreciation for what those pioneers had to go through all those years ago. I had no idea what to expect when I first got to our Trek site, but I can tell you I wasn't expecting the trail to be as difficult as it was. SO HARD.

The good thing was I didn't do any of it alone. Our small Ridgecrest Stake got divided into five families with about twelve people in each, including our "Ma and Pa's. Everyone thought they had the best family but I know I had the best one. I was part of the MacGregor family, with my old seminary teacher as my dad and his wife as my mom. They are great and definitely made Trek that much better. Same with my "siblings". I already thought I knew most of my family pretty well, but I learned even more about them, and strengthened some friendships for sure.

To be honest, most of Trek went by in a blur. The first day was very strange and hard. Getting into our families was fun, but hiking 8 miles with a handcart, in one day..not too fun. We got POURED on with rain and one of my good friends (and sibling) Tamara sprained her ankle pretty badly on the first mile. She was a trooper, and started helping again afterwards, but I bet that was hard.

Our Stake was pretty lucky. I think Tamara's ankle and various people with blisters were the only casualties. We were definitely blessed! I was (happily) surprised that my feet did alright. I didn't get a single blister and my bunion didn't bother me at all. I did have a moment on the last day where I think I was getting dehydrated. But I felt well enough to keep going so it was fine.

There were a lot of people on the Trek. From our tiny stake there was fifty or so, but a stake from Las Vegas came as well and there were about two hundred of them. We had meals alongside them, and the dance was combined but besides that we were just pulling our carts in a line. Speaking of meals, the food was super yummy. I probably would have eaten anything but the food was REAL good. There was lots of tex-mex type food, and chicken. Mmm, mmm good.

For sleeping the first night, the boys slept in tents and the girls slept in this huge barn. It was fun and the barn was very cozy. Needless to say I passed out when it was time for bed. The second night was more "real" because everyone slept under the stars. No tents, just sleeping bags. The boys had one side of the field and the girls had the other. I didn't sleep as great that night but there were hardly any bugs and more fun that the barn.

There were lots of random speakers that impersonated people from the pioneer times. We had a Brigham Young speak to us multiple times and a Porter Robinson. I can't remember any of the other names, but I liked all of the speeches.

One of the most worrisome things of the whole Trek was crossing the river. (insert Jaws music here) It really wasn't that bad, and it was actually quite refreshing considering the water was cold and we had been sweating like beasts the whole time. I took my shoes off, hiked up my skirts and away we went. It really wasn't that hard, as the water barely went past my knee. The pioneers had to go through much worse than that.

The second day was probably the funnest. All of the days were, but we had more activities that day than anything else. We played a few fun games as a stake. My favorite game was "Grab-your-Gal" which is really hard to explain, but there was some winking and partnering up involved. You would think playing games like that would be super awkward and weird, but it really wasn't as awkward as it sounds--promise.
Also on the second day was the dance. It was incredibly crazy and disorganized but it was still pretty fun. If I could change anything about it, I would have the dance be in our own stakes. I was a lot more comfortable dancing with people I knew, rather than random people I had never met before. It was still great though, and I got my pioneer dance moves on for sure.

The third day was HARD. It consisted of 2 miles (easy, right?) where we had the Women's Pull, and steepsteepsteep hills that went almost straight up. The Women's Pull really wasn't that bad, because we were smart and the ladies in my family were buff (did I mention I grew some muscles on Trek?) On the hard parts we planned ahead and had families team up, so that each cart had twelve girls instead of six. We would take turns running carts up the hill. One cart would go first and then we would ocme back for the second cart. It was still tough but we were fine. As we met up with the boys again (who had been doing a Mormon Batallion reenactment) they sang for us and tried to get us to stop pulling the cart but we wouldn't let them.

The last mile and  half was incredibly hard and even more steep than the Women's Pull which is definitely saying something, but our families worked hard, and we made it. BARELY.

At the end, I was super close with my family, with God and my ancestors. If I could do Trek again, which I can't because I will be aged out next time, I would go in a heartbeat., It was amazing!

Pictures from Christmas Day

Christmas Day 2014 was relaxing, magical, and very happy.  We slept in our own beds, didn't get up TOO early, were spoiled with wonderful gifts, and had cinnamon rolls for a late breakfast.  It was fun talking to family throughout the day.  We had a really yummy Christmas dinner, too.

A very happy day!

The kids enjoyed their blankets from Santa!

One of Wade's win-win! gifts!

Joyful mess when we finished

VERY happy girl with her "bookies" and new noise-cancelling headphones!

Duck Face and blue scarf

Christmas in a nutshell, haha--happy kids!

Institute Party

I follow the local community college's schedule when it comes to teaching my Institute class.  Last class for the fall semester was on December 9th, and we don't start back up again until January 20th.  I really enjoy rubbing shoulders with these young adults--they are fun, kind, respectful, and full of good ideas and experiences.  We have a good time together!

Here we are having a mini Christmas party after class--everyone brought goodies to share and then we played quite a few rounds of Reverse Charades.  It was awesome!

Verity's "happy" list

I thought I'd share my "happy" list of late, things that have made me smile or made me excited!

#1:  Working on Couch 2 5K.

This morning I completed the week 5, day 3 workout, and it was pretty tough for me.  I'll probably have to re-do it, and that's okay.  I am loving some things that make this attempt easier for me, though:

--running in the dark with the dogs while Rhiannon is at seminary.  I've done it for 5 weeks so far, 3 days a week faithfully.  This is big for me.

--the 5K runner iPhone app.  Genius.  Love.  It cues me when I need to start running, and I can play my own music over the top of it.  It's silly, but I also like the little "badges" I've gotten from reaching certain milestones.  The "Hidden Athlete" badge made me laugh but also made me feel good, too.  It's the little things, right?

--setting my exercise clothes out right next to my bed the night before.  This makes a huge difference.

--playlists on my iPhone.  Some songs that I've found particularly motivating so far are:  

"I Just Wanna Run," by Downtown Fiction

"I Will Wait" by Mumford & Sons

"We Are Young," by Fun.

"Miracle Mile," by Cold War Kids

"Lightning Strike," by Snow Patrol

"Crazy," by Gnarls Barkley

"Try," by Pink

"Move Along," by All-American Rejects

"Calling You," by Blue October

"Radioactive," by Imagine Dragons

"Chasing Cars," by Snow Patrol

"How You Like Me Now," by The Heavy

This endeavor hasn't been without its challenges, meaning that I am SORE as all get-out some days, but I'm pushing through and trying to be smart about it at the same time.

And just so we're clear, my "run," is more like a really fast walk. :)

#2:  Making progress with emergency preparedness.

Last month I "sorta" participated in Food Storage Made Easy's 7-Day emergency preparedness challenge.  I found myself thinking about it and making lists more than doing the challenges throughout the day.  That's okay.  I've been doing a lot of different things over the past few weeks, such as:

--updating 72-hour-kits

--updating first aid kit, throwing out expired supplies

--purchasing honey and chocolate in bulk orders (important, right?)

--purchasing a mobile washer for washing clothes in a bucket, flashlights, sanitation items, etc.

Right now I'm working on an emergency, grab-and-go binder with copies of important documents.  It's slow going but the fact that I've finally STARTED it is a big thing.

#3:  Scorpion on CBS.

This show just started, folks.  Don't miss it.  It's got my favorite things:  nerdy, super-smart geniuses with low social skills saving the world in a government-backed group.  So far I LOVE IT.

(Grandpa Rod, have you DVRed this one?  You should!)

#4:  My institute class

Last nights's institute class was my favorite one yet.  We spent nearly half the class time talking about our favorite General Conference talks.  It made me happy to realize that every single person in the class had watched Conference carefully and come away with something they needed.  We all felt the Spirit as we talked about the messages that had impacted us.  Then we dug into Doctrine and Covenants sections 42 and 44, had cookies, and sang "Happy Birthday" to one of our class members who CAME TO INSTITUTE ON HER BIRTHDAY.  Even I don't have that kind of dedication, and I teach the class, haha! It was a great night.

#5:  Kindness of others.  

I'd posted on Facebook a couple days ago, asking what to do about sore hamstrings.  The next day my friend Carol showed up in my driveway with a yoga DVD and a foam roller AND a list of massage people in town.  It made my day, and I was really impressed that she cared enough to do that.  I can learn a lot from that, to be more pro-active instead of using the standard, "please let me know if there's anything I can do."  What a sweet friend!

#6:  Cushing Family Camping trip this weekend!  WOO-HOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Life is good!

I splurged...

I splurged, with Jason's blessing, and purchased one of these planners, an academic-calendar-year one for Aug 2014-July 2015. It's supposed to arrive this week and I am STOKED!  I haven't used a planner in a couple years, but with life changing around here in a month (high school, seminary, Institute, etc, etc), I'm hoping it will help me feel a little more put together and help me focus on the things, the PEOPLE, that matter the most!


 

I don't know how I came across it exactly, but this blog post inspired me:

http://intheleafytreetops.com/blog/ideas-on-using-the-mormon-mom-planner/

Happy Organizing!

Pedal to the metal

For Webelos this month we've been working on the Sportsman badge.  It's been SO much fun!  Tomorrow night we'll go for a bike ride with 8+ boys around the neighborhood near the church, and, believe me, I'm looking forward to it, crashes and all.

Rhiannon graciously let me borrow her bike for this thing, and I hopped on it this afternoon for some practice and rode with Wade over to his piano lessons.  We're talking a 2-minute bike ride, but it was exhilarating, ha-ha!

I miss the bike I had in college that was stolen.  Boo.  Time to think about getting myself a bike!

Thankful for rain!

When we first moved to Ridgecrest back in 1999, I wasn't too impressed by the smells after a rain here.  It was a super-strong scent that didn't smell clean to me.  Maybe it was the part of town we were living at that time, I don't know, but it was stinky!

Fast forward to this weekend and 2 days of glorious, much-needed, prayed-for rain.  I was out walking the dogs this morning and fell in love with that crisp, ridiculously clean smell of a dusty desert town that's had a bath.  Everything looked cleaner, too.  California still needs a lot of rain, but I'm very thankful for the little bit we got this weekend!

Other happy news:

I just updated my Google calendar for the next 3 months.  School's out on May 29th--yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thoughtful people make the world go 'round

Yesterday some thoughtful people made me very happy.

One friend came by in the morning with some divine cookies, STILL WARM, and visited with me for a bit.  She wanted to thank me for pointing out an article in the January 2014 Ensign called "The Healing Power of Grief" to another friend, who quickly called her and told her about it.  My friend's visit was unexpected--I hadn't showered and had just come inside from washing windows, I was in my old red sweatshirt, purple leggings and brown shorts (I know, I know, tacky!)--but, boy, was her visit wonderful!  We had a very real conversation, beyond those "How are you?" ones.  My friend had been gone for a few months taking care of her sister, who died after a battle of cancer just a few weeks ago.  It meant a lot to me that she would take that time to stop by, especially when she's dealing with her own sadness and grief.

Shortly after that friend left, I got a call from Wade's school asking me to please, please come in and sub for a teacher who'd gone home sick in the morning.  I'm thankful for thoughtful friends who were willing to change plans and pick up Rhiannon for me from school, especially since it was my turn to carpool that day!

Then there was my handsome, hard-working hubby, Jason, who kindly drove Rhiannon and her friend down and back to the stake center for a dance activity.  I was at Cub Scouts with Wade, and it helped a lot to have Jason do that.  It's the little things that mean a lot!

Then another friend called during the day and invited me to join her next Friday for a temple trip.  She has to go down to LA anyways to pick up a friend from the airport, but she figured she'd carve some time out to do a temple session, too.  She remembered me mentioning to her that I had a goal to attend the temple more this year, and so she called me up to see if I'd like to go with her.  I really appreciated that!

Then there was our daughter Rhiannon who sent me upbeat texts, got dinner started while I was driving Wade to flag football, and just all-around makes me happy with the sunlight she spreads around her!

Then there was Wade, who put the icing on a busy, happy day when he said he wished that our Webelos den meeting had been longer last night!  Cool!

So, cheers to thoughtful people who make my life easier, brighter, and happier!  Happy Friday!

Be a good human

Saw this on Facebook this past week.  I love it!  Be a good human!

Things that made me happy today

Things that made me happy today:

1.  Jason sporting a Christmas tie for church.

2.  Me making a mess opening a bottle of Martinelli's (leftover from Thanksgiving) and Wade grabbing paper towels and saying, "It's okay, Mom!  I'm on it!"

3.  Sitting next to a newly baptized member of our church congregation all through Sunday School and Relief Society and enjoying her friendship and kindness.

4.  Taking a short nap with Samson the dog.

5.  Rhiannon taking charge and doing laundry for the family; wasn't asked to do it--she just did!

6.  Painting baseboards together; appreciating Jason's patience with us all, knowing that he could do it a lot faster and better by himself.

7.  Reading Around the World in 80 Days on my Kindle.

8.  Our whole family fasting with our ward for missionary work.

9.  Taking a break from Thanksgiving leftovers (we have a lot left!) and eating DiGiornio for dinner, ha-ha!

10.  Pretty Christmas tree, all lit up!

11.  Wearing my turquoise scarf (that I bought on the Ensenada cruise) to church today and remembering fun memories!

12.  Having time today to soak up all the good fun we've had this past week and preparing mentally for the month of Christmas!

"The soul should always stand ajar..."

"The soul should always stand ajar, ready to welcome the ecstatic experience."  --Emily Dickinson


I saw that quote this morning as I sat down to blog and thought it was fitting for how I've felt about life in general lately.  Even though I'm not feeling 100% today with allergies and a cold, I feel happy and grateful for so many things. 

Here are just a few feel-good examples:

Rhiannon went to Disneyland last week and had a wonderful time with her friends in concert band.  They went to a workshop in the morning and then had 6 hours to "play," and then they got home around 11:30pm.  It was a long, full day, and she was exhausted the next day at school but survived!  She made me happy when she pulled out a Perry the Platypus stuffed animal for Wade that she'd purchased with her own money.  I was blown away by that--a small gesture but so kind and thoughtful!

On Friday Jason and I went to Wade's final school assembly of the year and watched him "walk the red carpet" three different times for completing 6th grade math objectives, competing on the 3rd grade Battle of the Books team, and reaching the Classic 2 goal in the Accelerated Reader program.  We are so proud of him!

On Saturday the kids helped us out in the backyard all morning as we cleaned up patio furniture and pool accessories, swept, and worked on the pool.  We celebrated by going to see Into Darkness, the Star Trek movie, in the afternoon.  It was really fun!

On Sunday night Jason rounded us all up in the truck, including Oscar, and drove out to a dark road in town so we could see a rare Dance of the Planets.  Just on top of the mountains, at sunset, we were able to see Mercury, Venus, and Jupiter in a triangle.  It was AWESOME!!! 

The good times continued yesterday.  We went to our ward's Memorial Day pancake breakfast--there was a great turnout!  I loved the picture of me and Rhiannon with my friend Vilma--thanks to the Parkers for taking it!  Rhiannon looks so tall here, ha-ha! :)

 

 

Our friends Howard and Sandi had us over for dinner that night--we loved the food and enjoyed catching up with them!  Sandi made a wonderful meal of grilled pork loin, potato salad, toasted bread, and green beans.  It was delish!!!

 

I also wanted to thank my brother Logan for making the following available to me, a citation to Owen Sheen, my grandpa Max's brother who died in WWII:

 



Owen C. Sheen
Date of death: August 2, 1944
Place of Birth: Idaho, Paul
Home of record: Paul Idaho
Status: KIA

AWARDS AND CITATIONS

Silver Star

Awarded for actions during the World War II

The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Silver Star (Posthumously) to Private First Class Owen C. Sheen (MCSN: 338605), United States Marine Corps Reserve, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity as Leader of a Rifle Squad, serving with Company B, First Battalion, Twenty-First Marines, THIRD Marine Division, during action against enemy Japanese forces at Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, on 3 March 1945. With his squad pinned down by shattering small-arms fire emanating from two well-concealed hostile pillboxes, Corporal Sheen voluntarily pressed forward against the withering barrage to conduct a lone reconnaissance and, after locating the emplacements, returned to organize an attack. Boldly charging ahead of his squad, he led an aggressive strike against the strong point, personally destroying the initial pillbox with his accurately placed grenades before he was fatally struck down while assisting in the destruction of the other. By his superb leadership, valiant fighting spirit and cool courage maintained in the face of tremendous odds, Corporal Sheen contributed materially to the success of the bitterly fought Iwo campaign and his zealous devotion to duty throughout was in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.

 

General Orders: Commander in Chief, Pacific: Serial 12708 (January 25, 1945)

Action Date: August 2, 1944

Service: Marine Corps

Rank: Private First Class

Battalion: 3d Battalion

Regiment: 6th Marines

Division: 2d Marine Division

Our family is very thankful for all those who've served and are serving our country!

Baseball and Bed Angels

As part of our mini-getaway last week, we went to a Lancaster Jethawks baseball game Wednesday night.  We had a great time and GREAT seats right behind the Jethawks dugout!  The sunset was amazing, too!  Thanks, Daddy!

Oh, and here's how we stayed entertained while we were waiting to head to the game:

New windows!

Out with the old windows and patio doors...

And in with the new!  We think they look amazing!

The "waterfall windows" were pretty tricky--they had to be installed from inside the house! 

Kudos to Rhiannon and Wade for dealing with all the distractions gracefully.  They managed to entertain themselves this morning by making mummies out of....eachother!  I had to get a picture of that--they were having a pretty good time wrapping the other person up!

Big little purchases

Today I made 2 little purchases that made me really happy:

a laundry sorter



and a hopefully-Oscar-proof trash can with a snap-top lid:




The swinging-lid trash can was JUST. NOT. CUTTING. IT. with our inquisitive dog!  We caught him on Sunday night with his whole head in the trash can, and this was just a few days after the sock "fun."


It's the little things in life and little improvements that completely make my day!

Students of the Month!

Wade was chosen by his teacher to be September's Student of the Month, and Rhiannon's math teacher chose her for October's (out of 140 students). We love these kids and are so proud of their hard work at school!

Poems

Today was a very happy day for Wade--his mom subbed in his class the whole day!  He was a great student, super helpful and hard-working.  One of the activities for the day was creating poems about a friend, trying to use rhyming words.  Here was Wade's:

A Good Friend

I want to play with my friend each day
And even on Saturday.
And even if we get in fights,
I still want to play at his house all day and night.

by Wade Cushing


Here was another favorite:


Mrs. Cushing is nice
Just like Jesus Christ.

by Elijah

This cute, bright little Hispanic boy wrote that and was so excited to show it to me.  A student next to him asked me, "Didn't he use a bad word in his poem?"  I said it was okay, he wasn't swearing, just using a name.  I seriously wanted to hug the kids and take them home with me, it was too cute.

Of course the kid who threw pencils around the room and stole things from people's desks wasn't cute.  (I had to call the office and have someone come get him--he wouldn't do ANYTHING I asked him to do.) But the other kids in the class helped make it a pretty darn good day! 

A great week

We've been blessed with a very smooth first week of school.  I'm so proud of the kids for getting up and going each morning so that we could be out the door by 6:40am every day!  School is school for Wade--he likes his teacher and says everything is good.  I think he might be a tiny bit bored (straight 100s on everything he brings home), but things will definitely pick up now that his teacher has had a week to build routines.  Rhiannon is a little more enthusiastic--every afternoon she walks through the front door and looks like she's floating on clouds, you can tell she is so happy to be in middle school!

I feel like I'm floating on clouds, too--I was able to take off the walking boot on Tuesday after I got a clean bill of health from my doctor.  He said to wear stiff shoes and stear clear of heavy activity for another 6 weeks, but my foot has healed nicely.  I asked the doc about this small bump on my foot, and he said that was new bone that had formed to protect the injured area.  As long as I don't feel discomfort, he said it should be fine.  So far it's been okay.  I'm re-learning how to walk without the boot--the first day was pretty rough, but I forced myself to use the left foot more as I did some volunteer work at Wade's school during the week and did some light aerobics with ladies at the church this morning!  (Well, they did aerobics and I did my own version!)

Tonight we're having some neighbors over for grilling/swimming, and then tomorrow night we'll host another grill/swim with our game night group.  We're looking forward to it!