Term 3

Thank goodness this term went a lot faster than last term.  It was nice to have school pretty much back to normal (other than the having to sanitise and wash hands many times throughout the day, having to disinfect tables and having to get parents to fill out Covid screening forms whenever they came to school for something). 

I feel so lucky to live in Tasmania as the government was able to close the borders and we were able to get down to zero cases of Covid 19 after a few months.  We still have restrictions of numbers at events and many events have been cancelled for the rest of the year, but we are very lucky. 

We still have no cases and we are happy but also nervous that borders will be opening back up at the end of the month.  I just hope that we will be able to contain Covid so we can still go about a fairly normal life.  

The boys were so happy to be able to play club basketball, even though it was a shorter season than normal.  They both had a tough season but just being able to play helped their mental health so much.  

Jay came home for mid semester break during the week of his 21st and Harri's 16th birthday.  We went out for tea for both of their birthdays, before Jay headed back to Hobart. 

We celebrated Jay's birthday with him early, as he was going to be back in Hobart for his birthday. While he was home he caught up with his friends from up here.  I love that he is still friends with Rani and has been since Kinder.  

Jay was actually really excited to be in Hobart for his birthday as he's made a lot of friends down there this year, and it was the Christ College ball on the night of his birthday.  

He sent me photos from the ball and I loved seeing how much fun he was having.  I haven't met any of his new friends, but he talks about them a lot and has done lots of fun things with them like going camping on Bruny Island and has been playing lots of sport and is also in the Christ College play. 

We visited Aaron's Dad and step Mum before the boys birthday and they're always amazed that the boys have grown so much.  Kobe was very excited to be taller than Nanna now. 

Harri passed his Learners drivers test a few days before his 16th birthday but couldn't get his license until the day of his birthday.  

He was very hesitant in going for his license, but I didn't want him to be like Jay and take ages to get his drivers license so I put the pressure on him to go for it, so he could get it on his birthday.  Even after he got it, he wasn't keen to drive and I wasn't keen to teach him how to drive either so we didn't go driving for a couple of weeks. 

We started on the quiet roads near mum's house and at first he was very nervous, but he quickly got some confidence and now loves driving.  I thought we would clash a bit as Harri is very strong headed and I thought he would find it hard to listen to me, but it's been surprisingly easy so far.  He takes it very serious and listens to everything I say and so far we haven't had any arguments :) 

Before Covid hit Tasmania, Harri asked me if he could play footy this year.  He's only ever played school footy and I had said in the past that the boys couldn't play because I was only just coping with working full time and running them to basketball and work, let alone adding another sport on the weekend. 

Even though I'm always busy and often exhausted, I agreed that he could play this year as I'm feeling on top of things a lot more lately, but just before the season started he decided he didn't want to play.  Towards the end of the season the team he was going to play for were short of players, as they had a lot of injured players. They asked Harri if he could fill in which he was happy to do. 

He played four games at the end of the season, and I actually really loved it. I would get scared every time he was near the ball that he was going to get injured, but once I got over that I really enjoyed watching the games.  The best thing was that Kobe and I could sit in the warm car, eating and chatting while we watched the games. 

On Father's Day he played at Deloraine which was a nice chance to go to Dad's grave at the same time. We also went to Aaron's grave in the morning. Jay headed back to Hobart that afternoon. 

I cleaned up Dad and my brother Daniel's graves while we were there.  Daniel would've turned 40 years old that week, but passed away when he was nine months old. 

Most of Harri's footy matches were close by, but one week he had to play at St Helens.  It's still a special place to us even though Aaron passed away there, so I was happy to go down for the day.  We had lunch on the wharf before the game and the boys talked about the times they had gone fishing there with Aaron.  Even though Kobe was three when Aaron died, he still has a few vivid memories of him and one of them was when we were at the playground near the wharf and Aaron texted me a photo of the fish he just caught. 

After the footy we went to Binalong Bay for a walk, even though the weather wasn't great.  We couldn't go all that way and not go to the beach.  

The waves were huge, which Aaron would've loved.  We will always love this beach as it was where we spent our last day with Aaron. 

This was the boys being silly while I was trying to get a decent photo.....'no thumbs up Kobe', 'stop standing like a statue!'. 'give each other a hug'.  Boys! 

We also went for a quick drive to the lookout at Beer Barrel Beach. 

Harri has loved playing school footy this year.  He got to play his last game for the year on Aaron's oval which he was so happy about.  

It's crazy to think that Harri is just about to leave high school and is going to college (year 11 and 12) next year.  He has been to two orientation days and was asked to be a part of the photo for the Launceston College orientation day with students from other high schools. 

It's also hard to believe that Kobe will be leaving primary school soon and going to high school.  He's definitely growing up and can be very emotional at times, but he's hilarious and lots of fun. 

I've had a super busy term at school with excursions, the cross country, different days such as footy colours day, transition visits with some of my students to high school, helping to organise and run four school discos as well as teaching full time. 

We had to take our possum tree photo without Jay this year which was a bit sad, but it also tells a story about how our family is changing and it's a good change.  I am happy that he is at a stage in his life where he is happy to be independent and is following his passions.  

Simone and I only get to catch up every few months, but whenever we do it's always the same.  I'm grateful to have such a good friend who has stuck with me through everything and has been there for the hard and good times. 

I've been trying really hard to work on my mental and physical health over the last year and have been loving being back at the gym.  I joined with some friends from work before Covid shut things down for a while, but none of them have been back to the gym with me since it reopened.  I don't really mind as I'm loving going on my own anyway. It feels nice to be doing more for myself.  

I have adrenal fatigue (I'm blaming Noah and Aaron for that!) so I have to take things pretty easy, so there's no more high cardio classes for me like Step or Body Attack as my body just couldn't cope with it.  I'm having to really listen to my body or I find I'm exhausted for a week or two if I do too much.  Instead I'm doing lots of Yoga and Aqua Fitness classes and am loving it.  It's also been nice to have had an old gym buddy in lots of my classes, who I haven't seen for a couple of years.  

It's been such a strange year and it doesn't feel like it should be the end of the year already.  The boys and I are loving being on school holidays at the moment and know that next term is going to fly. 

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.