Snow!

Well this is one blog post I never thought I'd be writing, but then again all I could say that about most of my blog.  

Back on the 4th of August the weather forecast was for snow at low levels.  If we ever want to go to the snow, we have to drive an hour away to the mountains or lakes where it often snows during winter.  Every few years we might be lucky to get a few flakes of snow where we live but it quickly melts. 

That night I went to a class at the gym/pool after work and got home about 7:45 pm.  As I pulled up it was just starting to snow a little, but it was more like sleet.  I ran inside and yelled out to Harri and Kobe to come outside (Jay was in Hobart for Uni) and we stood out enjoying it for about 10 minutes.  As soon as it hit our hands or the ground it would melt, but we went to bed excited to know that we got a little bit of snow. 

During the night I woke up and heard it 'raining' and thought it sounded really heavy but went straight back to sleep.  When I woke in the morning I got on my phone as I usually do, and a friend who lives up the road had posted on her Instagram story that they had snow at their house.  My heart started racing as I realised that if she had snow, then the chances of us having snow were pretty high as well. 

I ran outside and really couldn't believe my eyes!! There was so much snow which had settled everywhere! I ran inside and yelled to the boys to get out of bed and hurry up and get outside. They were just as amazed as I was! 

It was so heavy that a lot of our branches on our trees and bushes had broken. As we never have snow I was expecting it to melt quickly, so we stayed out for ages and just played in it.  

To see everything covered in snow was so magical. 

 

I really couldn't believe as I looked out over our suburb that there was snow everywhere.  I've lived in snow when I lived in Idaho a long time ago, and at first it was very exciting, but after a few weeks the novelty quickly wore off.  To have snow here though was very exciting as I knew it was a once in a lifetime experience for us here. 

A few schools were closed for the day as they had lost power or had roof damage from the snow, but our school was business as usual.  It felt so strange to drive to school in the snow. I kept pulling over to take photos as it was surreal seeing snow everywhere. 

I wondered how far the snow would stretch and didn't expect it to be at the school I work at, as it is a fifteen minute drive from home.  It was amazing to see that it was there as well (but not as heavy as what we had it at home).  The basketball courts were so icy and slippery. The kids were all so excited about it and it was awesome to experience snow with some of my students for the first time. 

It was incredible that the snow hung around till after lunch, and even when I got home from work there was still some snow in our garden in the shady spots.   All day all everyone ever talked about what the snow.  The news reported that it was a once in 75 year event.  

The next day when I was driving to work, I had to pull over again to take another photo to compare the difference from the day before. 

It snowed on a Wednesday and there was still snow just twenty minutes from home at Hollybank Forest, on the weekend.  Kobe and I headed out to have another play in the snow while Harri was at work.  It was actually a really warm day so we were surprised there was still so much snow around.  

We still talk about the snow day a lot and say we wish we could do it all over again.  It's a day we will  never forget.  

The most beautiful gift

Since Aaron and Noah passed away I've had so many kind people, do beautiful things for me and the boys.  Just after my birthday our friend Aaron and his wife Katie dropped around some gifts and I was blown away when I pulled this amazing picture out of the bag.  

Katie organised for her sister Chelsea to draw this for us and it came all the way from the USA.  I couldn't believe that Milly is also in it.  You can check out Chelsea's art page on Instagram which is @argyleillustration

Thank you so much Katie, Aaron and Chelsea for the most beautiful gift ever.  I'll treasure it always. 

Birthdays in Heaven and on Earth

June is a big month for birthdays in our family.  First it's Kobe's birthday, then mine, Noah and Dad's  birthdays are the same day and then my brother Christian's. 

I used to really dread celebrations like Mother's Day and birthdays after Aaron died. I don't care at all about gifts, but Aaron always made such an effort to make me feel extra special.  

Mother's Day can be one of the hardest celebrations all year, especially if I get on social media.  It's hard seeing what other husbands are doing for their wives and to hear what they are writing about them.  It's those days when I feel really alone.  But as my boys have gotten older, they've made such an effort to make the day easier for me.  This year they bought me some lovely gifts, let me take a family photo with no complaining, and Jay cooked me my favourite dinner of roast chicken and baked veggies. 

Kobe gets so excited as his birthday is coming up and always wants to have a party.  I hate having to plan a party as it's hard work on my own and birthdays are really just a day I often want to get over with.  He's only had a couple of big birthday parties with friends and I secretly felt very happy that I had a good excuse as to why he couldn't have one this year, thanks to Covid 19 restrictions.  

It's hard to believe that he is now 12.  I think his cute baby face makes him seem younger than he is.  It's weird to think that he's now the same age that Jalen was when Aaron passed away. 

Kobe was very happy that restrictions eased a little just before his birthday, as it meant that restaurants could now open up to ten patrons at a time.  He was very excited to go to his favourite Japanese restaurant for his birthday tea. 

I was doing an online professional learning on my birthday, which was actually lovely because it meant I got to go out for brunch with my friend Lynne in the morning before the online workshop began. 

It was nice to be at home all day and the professional learning I did was really good.  We had scheduled breaks throughout the day and it was a lovely sunny day, so Jay went and bought us sushi for lunch and we ate outside on the deck. 

The boys gave me a gift voucher for a massage, so after my online workshop was over I had that.  

It was a big day of food and that night we went to Burger Junkie for dinner.  I made the boys take another family photo with me and told them it was part of their birthday presents to me.  

It was nice that Jay was home for Noah's birthday.  It still blows my mind that he would've been turning 19.   After school and work we went to the cemetery with balloons. 

Kobe had a bit of trouble trying to get the 1 and the 9 in the right place. 

As much as I don't like getting older, I also know how lucky I am to celebrate birthdays more on Earth, because many don't get to.

Longest Term Ever

Term 2 was such a weird term thanks to Covid 19.  Most of the time the beginning of each term goes really slow and then it seems to speed up and before we know it, it's holidays again.  This term it just dragged on and on and on. 

As an essential worker I went to work every day.  At the school I work at we had quite a lot of students who were at school because they couldn't be supported at home, so we were dealing with kids at school and also kids learning at home.  

My boys all did learning at home.  They enjoyed being able to sleep in and do the learning at their own pace, but Kobe didn't cope very well without me around.  I would get home from work and there was lots of frustration from both of us (let's just say I wasn't 'mother of the year' this term!) as I would have to help him finish off his work each day. 

Because I'm an essential worker he could've gone the whole time, but we thought we would see how it went at home.  He only lasted a couple of weeks before we both couldn't cope anymore, and we decided it was time to go back to school.  He was so happy to go back, and I was so happy to get home from work and not have to help him with school work all night!  It ended up being only two more weeks until all primary school students could go back.

High School students didn't go back to school till week 7.  Harri didn't mind and really got used to learning at home, but missed the social side of things.  Once restrictions were eased in Tasmania and you could exercise with more than one person, he was glad that he could meet up with friends and play basketball.  He enjoyed redecorating his room and has moved Aaron's basketball cards to above his bed.

It was nice to have Jay home but he really wanted to be back in Hobart with all his new friends he made at the beginning of the year.  I loved getting home from work and knowing that all three boys were home together. 

I still cant believe that Harri is so much taller than Harri!

I know my boys have grown up, but sometimes it just really hits me when I see them all together.

It was so nice to have restrictions eased just before the long weekend.  Harri had to work so he and Jay stayed home for the weekend, but Kobe and I went to stay at Mum's.  This little road side stand on the road on the way always has people stopping at it.

The weather was so nice all weekend.  We have been so lucky with the weather this winter.  We've had so many lovely sunny days, which makes me not hate winter so much.



We were so happy to have restrictions eased and to be able to get out and about again, that the next weekend we decided to do a day trip to Devils Gullet. I had seen lots of people's photos from there and thought it looked amazing and was keen to finally go. Harri had to work (again) so he didn't come, but we met Mum in Deloraine and went together from there.

It said it was 45 minutes return, but it was a very quick walk to top. 

 

The view from the top was amazing! 

We were so happy when the state government announced that primary school students could all start back at school in week 5.  It was so good to have the students back.  My student's parents often spoil me by sending home cooked food.  It's always the best day when I have fresh momos (dumplings) for lunch or jalebi (a sweet). 

I have a new student from Eritrea and we have been talking about the different food they eat.  As she has limited English I always google pictures to show her what I'm talking about.  When she told me they eat porridge, I googled porridge and she looked very confused.  She told me that Eritrean porridge was different to Australian porridge, and brought me some to try one morning.  It was so different but really tasty. 

In term 2 we were learning about migration to Australia and one of the countries we learnt about was Vietnam. My Vietnamese student brought along some Vietnamese dong (money) for us to look at.  I haven't been able to travel much in my life, but I feel very lucky to be able to experience parts of my student's cultures with them.

Harri has struggled for a couple of months with a bad back.  We've been seeing our chiropractor a lot and have been trying to figure out what the problem is and why it is taking so long to heal.  He wasn't too sure about the gown when he went to have an x-ray. 

Uni classes are still online, but with restrictions being eased Jalen was happy to be able to go back to Hobart.  I was happy for him to go back, as I know he's going to have a lot more fun down there, but he also needs to be down there to this semester to make a short film.  I was a proud mum when he told me he wanted to buy a plant to take back down for his room.

We are so lucky as we've had over 50 days of no cases of Covid 19 in Tasmania.  It was nice to be home together for a few months, but we are so glad that things are pretty much back to normal here.  I'm hoping that term 3 isn't as long as term 2 was.