KirstasBlog

Fun Family Times

2026-09-09T10:10:34.695-07:00

Will got into town just before noon on Saturday and we played as hard as we could (some more than others) all Labor Day weekend.

First we took him to Idlewild Park, down by the Truckee River.

We walked around the park and saw a bunch of people outside the rose gardens hanging out with their phones. It was a Pokemon Go thing. We didn't know people were still playing that!

We also stopped at the workout bars to see who could do pull ups and pull overs. (Not me.)

We had lunch at our house with Faith and Collin and then walked up to Las Brisas Park, where we all had more fun than Charlotte, but it was great to see her in the swings and fun to take her down the slides.

It was so great to see Will. Ivy even stayed with us this weekend because Will stayed with us!

Sunday we went for a hike at Jones River Trail. It was fun and watching Collin with Charlotte in the baby carrier reminded me of all of our hikes as a family with Bill carrying whoever was smallest at the time. Really heart-warming!

There was a point when we decided to give Will some great profile pics for Hinge (which he refuses to do anyway!)

Faith and Charlotte wore their "Taco" and "Taquito" shirts that I gave them for Mother's Day. They finally fit!

She's cute no matter what you put on her.

We then went to eat lunch at the hospital in Carson City, which is possibly the fanciest hospital we've ever been to and has a great grill. Afterwards, we were going to do some go-carting in Carson City, but the place was too busy and we were all tuckered out. The guys ended up going to a place in Reno later that night while Faith rested at home, I did crafts and Ivy did homework at our house.

Monday morning Faith called when I was the only one awake. I went over to her house to watch Charlotte while she showered and work on my craft some more. It was a fun playdate! Then Bill, Will and Ivy came and we all went on a walk around the Sparks Marina and Scheels for a Ferris-wheel ride.

Will and Ivy waiting for our tiki masala pizza. Lunch was at an Indian/pizza fusion restaurant!

Will left with all the burners. Luckily, we didn't see many around our house after Burning Man, but we did see lots at the airport. They were unmistakable - super dusty and dirty people. The airport was having them put their luggage in large plastic bags because it was so dirty.

Subbing in earnest

2026-09-03T12:23:29.014-07:00

I had a 2.5 week job start at McQueen High School (less than a mile up the hill from where we live) last week and have been busily learning all about ionic, covalent and hydrogen bonds with biology students. It's really nice to be back at school and it makes me realize how much classroom teachers do that I just don't have to do as a sub: no grading papers, no lesson planning, no inputting grades and no meetings. It's nice to just show up :)

I subbed middle school band one day. It was light work and kinda fun. The poor teacher had been evacuated because of wildfires.

He had a whole big deck of Dad Jokes that I took some pictures of. His room was fun and interesting.

Ivy has started ROTC at UNR. She officially has her gear as of today too. School sounds busy and good. We don't hear too much from her, but when we do she sounds like she is doing all the wonderful things that college students get to do. Living with friends is fun and exhausting.

She did want to come get her car this weekend, but we were using it to block out "burners" who are staying at the adjacent unit to us which is an Airbnb (erg!) Burning Man started this last weekend and Reno is the stopping off point to load up RVs with bicycles, food and other supplies as well as drugs before heading out to Gerlach. (Seriously, Bill saw them loading up the RV wearing hazmat gear!) It was a rough 5-6 days around these parts. Faith says it's even worse when they get back.

I took only one picture, but you can see the RV and a girl taking a selfie (her arm, anyway!) It was through the blinds!

The good news is that Will is coming up for Labor Day weekend and we are really excited to see him. Ivy is even going to stay with us over the weekend. That's the draw that Will brings! He has warned us that he might be showing up with facial hair (a mustache.) We can't wait to see him.

A new normal

2026-08-24T08:51:37.635-07:00

I subbed at 3 schools this week: Hug HS Spanish, a special Ed class at Melton ES and 1/2 day of 4th grade at Towles ES. However subbing hasn't been as easy to accomplish this year with all the wildfires. I have had as many jobs canceled as I have actually gone to!

The week ended with a bang on Saturday with the Hawk wildfire causing evacuations near us. In fact we are still on warning (since Saturday) to be ready to evacuate. The other side of the nearest cross street (Seventh) is under evacuation orders.

Bill and I drove almost a mile south for dinner at Dahlias on Saturday after spending the whole day couped up waiting on fire updates. (Bill had shrimp tacos and I had shrimp chili rellenos - both amazing!). When we got done with dinner, the fires had been blown significantly closer to our house. We drove home ominously toward the smoke.

The aircraft used to fight these fires are amazing. This looked like a passenger jet flying low over our house and diving into the smoke and flames with retardant. Nothing makes you more grateful for first responders than wildfires near home. These people are true heroes.

This is Bill in front of our little townhouse. There was a glow all around from the fires.

We live on this corner. On this side of the street we didn't have to evacuate. On the other side of the street they had to evacuate.

As it got darker, it got more and more dramatic and easy to see the flames (like in one of the pictures above.)

I have also been working on the restoration of Grandma Glenda's sewing machine. I took it apart and cleaned it - including the motor and light. I am ordering a new cord and foot pedal and it's running like a champ. I'm just having some bobbin issues. We'll see if I can figure it out. I might need a new bobbin case.

This cord had been fixed with a new plug and a band-aid. I wondered whose handiwork this was. GGG? I don't think it was Mom because I don't think she ever sewed with this machine.

This morning schools are shut because of wildfires so I get Charlotte time! She has a new bottom tooth this morning!

She makes cute noises, blows raspberries and wants you to help her walk everywhere. Crawling just isn't as good.

She had a pretty sleepy morning. She was asleep when I got there and after breakfast and some play time, she was sleepy again and fell asleep in my arms.

Heaven!!

All the new vistas

2026-08-02T15:56:16.057-07:00

Reno has spectacular skies and stunning sunsets. On our Nextdoor neighborhood group people post pictures of the skies every day. There are also posts about bears and bobcats in peoples' backyards :0

We are in Northwest Reno on a hill and our nightly walks take us up ridges that have great views of Reno and mountains too.

That's Bill walking down below. I took the high road and he took the low road and he definitely got there before me.

A view toward the mountain pass (Donner Pass) to the West.

Faith supplies me with pictures of both her baby and my baby doing fun things. Charlotte is cutting teeth and Ivy got to ride a horse at an event at Texas Roadhouse that Faith had to go to for work. That is one BIG horse! Ivy had to climb up steps to get on it and was a little concerned about getting down!

This is a view from a mountain biking park near our house called Sierra Vista park. It's looking East and South toward the center of Reno and Damonte Ranch, but the other side of the park has lots of trails through the ridges and some circuits with hills and hilly bridges - I don't really have the vocabulary to talk about it! I'll go take pictures of it.

It's fun to be able to just pop in and see our Grandbaby! She is just precious. Last week she cried when I left her from babysitting, so even though she might not speak English yet, she definitely understands love :)

Charlotte is almost 8 months old!! In my heart of hearts I secretly call her La Carlotita :)

Bill and I hiked Hunter Creek Trail this weekend. It was fun and we were rewarded with a waterfall at the end of it as well as a baby snake! I got very wet. Walking out wet was fine as it was a pretty hot day. Next time I'll wear a swimming suit.

So glad the people who were there before us spotted this snake, because it was small enough that I don't know if we would have seen it!

Pinecones come in lots of different sizes here. The monster ones are super impressive!!

I am trying to be as strong as I can and not apply for the part-time Spanish teacher position at Reno HS. I really want to teach Spanish!! But I know for sure that a part time position will be full-time work for half the pay. One must have standards.

In the meantime, yesterday I went to McQueen HS (the closest high school to me) to drop off a substitute business card and let them know I was here and wanted to be on their list of subs. The secretaries were great:

Me: I'm a Spanish teacher, so Spanish or English are easy for me.

Sec: Will you sub SPED?

Me: Yeah, for sure.

Sec: What about PE?

Me: Absolutely! I love PE.

Sec: How do you feel about band or orchestra?

Me: Oh, I love music classes and art!

They loved me. I told them how close we live to the high school and they got really excited too. I think this is how I'll start making friends :) Everyone loves a sub (except the students!)

2135 Santona Circle

2026-07-24T15:54:47.682-07:00

Our little townhouse is perfect for our needs right now. I actually love it that the kitchen and living areas are downstairs and the bedrooms and laundry are upstairs. It keeps me running up and down stairs all day and I can feel my knees getting stronger for it.

Front Door

At the end of the front hallway you can seee our library (which is actually our half-bath.) I still can't figure out why they didn't make the kitchen pantry bigger and the half-bath smaller!

Below are pics of the kitchen and living areas which is quite small. The little dining area has a door to our very small porch where we keep Mom's turtle bench.

I got toys to put in the ottoman for Charlotte when I went shopping with Faith this week. Charlotte showed me which toys were the tastiest :)

At the top of the stairs there is a built-in desk that I though we would use a lot more than we do so far.

Our beds just arrived a few days ago. We got rid of lots of beds with this move and ordered adjustable bedframes and new mattresses for the master bedroom. It's fun to play with the adjustable frames :)

Down the hall from the master are the two other bedrooms (you can see Bill's hands at the computer where we have put his corner office), a bathroom and laundry "room" - it's really a closet, but a bigger laundry closet than our last place!

All grown up

2026-07-24T15:44:46.469-07:00

Ivy turned 18 yesterday and agreed to come to our place for dinner. She grew up just a little bit too fast, but that's also how she likes it.

Faith took her to Scheels for her last day as a child and took pictures for us while Bill and I visited the Reno Basque Festival and went mattress shopping.

Still just a child, but definitely capable of handling a monster Jeep!

Ivy is doing ROTC this year at UNR. She would like to receive their scholarship next year.

She's too little to go to college!

Life speeding up

2026-07-17T20:23:09.550-07:00

I can't believe we have been here for over two weeks. The time is flying! These pictures are not in order, but do show some of the things we have been up to.

The Elephant and Twain wildfires have been making for some pretty dramatic sunsets. That is not a streak of fire in the sky, just clouds and smoke lit up by the sun and fires.

Last weekend Bill and I went with Faith, Collin and Charlotte to Pyramid Lake. We had fun talking about all the myths and folklore surrounding the lake on the way there. We also talked about Papa Fred and Nana Patty falling in love and having a date at Pyramid Lake.

Pyramid Lake is a desert-type lake. The headwaters come from Lake Tahoe and people say (even though it's not true) that people who drown in Tahoe are found later in Pyramid Lake. The water was MUCH warmer than at Lake Tahoe, and even though there are sandy beaches, there are rocks at the shoreline, so we wore our sneakers while swimming. It was fun!

Faith was a little irritated that I waited until after our adventure (which is pretty typical for me) to take a picture (she had worn make-up and was looking all fresh beforehand.)

Pyramid Lake is on the Paiute Indian Reservation and any of the places that have red dots next to them are forbidden to visit by non-Paiute peoples (us).

The day before we went to Pyramid Lake, Bill and I ended up driving up to Mount Rose, down to Lake Tahoe (Kings Beach) and then home through Truckee, California. It was a spectacular drive. We got out and tested the waters of Lake Tahoe with our toes only. It made us feel very proud of Ivy and her friend Amy who had been swimming in those waters (heads and all!) just the day before!

Below is a picture of Bill at the beginning of what turned out to be a big date. We were just planning on going to his office to talk with a colleague and pick up his business cards, but we ended up eating at In-N-Out, walking through a few model homes in Damonte Ranch and then heading up the mountain (as mentioned above.) Empty nesterhood is pretty fun!

One of my first days here in Reno, Faith was going to a blood drive for work at The Atlantis. She had brought Collin and Charlotte with her, so I met them there. I was the one who ended up giving blood. Charlotte was a good sport about sitting on top of me for a little bit while we got selfies, but the phlebotomist didn't like it when I started moving my arm around so that Charlotte didn't grab the needle.

Aren't these two just too cute together??? I just love the pictures of Bill and Charlotte together :)

Tuesday was orientation for Ivy and me at UNR. We finally got to meet her roommates face to face and it was fun to meet parents as well.

Hailey is on the left and is from Foresthill, California (just a few hours west of Reno.) She is the oldest in her family, but doesn't turn 18 until September. Shayanne is in the middle and is also a youngest child. She is from Dayton, Nevada (just east of Carson City) and has a horse.

Yesterday I got to babysit Charlotte for a few hours while Collin was at work and Faith was at a hair appointment. Collin told me that she was tired and hungry. I gave her a bottle when he left and she was really happy with that until she looked at me and realized I was the wrong grandma! She was heartbroken to have been left with a stranger! I took her out back to their balcony and rocked her to sleep on their porch swing (which Faith and Collin refinished together and is delightful). We basically had a nap together until Faith got home. Fun morning!

Our little townhouse is great. I even like how small it is. It's big in the right places. The one thing we haven't enjoyed as much is living on homeless row. Faith says it's hard to get away from that in Reno. Reno is a bit of a homeless destination. There are LOTS of non-profits that make Reno a great place to be homeless. This week a dilapidated old RV parked right in front of our front door along with a man living out of his car right in front of it. We finally called uncle after four days and called the number on the RV to ask them to move it.

It's time to go walking! I'll take pictures of our little townhouse soon.

Reno, here we come!

2026-07-05T17:37:51.685-07:00

Our last morning in Henderson was (thankfully) the day before large item pick-up day. Last 2 things to go were the other sofa (the one I was sleeping on) and the ironing board that didn't like tall settings. Below is just before we pulled out. Bill drove the U-haul pulling his Subaru behind.

We went as far as Tonopah where we spent the night in the clown motel, 🤡 It was on my bucket list, but I don't recommend doing it. One of our worse motel experiences, and not because of ghosts. Also, we had some terrible Godfathers piza there 🤮 We just can't win in Tonopah!

We got up the next day (Wednesday) and headed for Reno. We stopped at the Maverick in Yerrington for gas. We would have had their awesome chicken burritos, but we had just had breakfast from McDonalds in Hawthorne.

I took a picture of the machines at Maverick for Dad

We got to Reno in time for a #5 from Del Taco before meeting our landlord at the unit for keys. Faith and Ivy came to give us hugs and then we set up a bed and washed some sheets so we had a place to sleep for the night.

Thursday morning we picked up a few guys to help us unload and got it done and the U-haul returned in the morning. You can pretty much guess what we have been doing since: unpacking, playing with Charlotte and frequent trips to Walmart.

Faith and Ivy convinced Will to drive up for the 4th of July, so we had a mini family reunion which was the best thing ever. We topped the day off with food and fireworks displays viewed from outside the offices of NV Flight at the Reno-Tahoe airport.

Some Last Goodbyes

2026-06-24T15:07:06.934-07:00

Last week my colleagues from Basic got together at a luncheon at Martha's new home in Summerlin. It was good to get to say goodbye to them. There were a few more that I would have liked to have seen there, but it just wasn't in the cards.

KJ, Anita, Joani, Lorraine, Martha & Elaine

Martha now works in Summerlin at Palo Verde High School, so this house is much closer to her work than where she was in Madeira Canyon. These ladies were my mentors and friends for my five years at Basic. I sat in on one of Anita's Spanish classes and watched her incorporate some very cultural things into her lesson that I now do. Joani was in the library and always so easy to talk to. We have kids near the same ages. Lorraine knew everything there was to know about policies and procedures and was always there with good advice. Martha's made beautiful agendas for each day which I now do because of her example. Elaine served a mission in Chile and her love for language and learning inspired me to not be afraid to ask questions about new concepts.

Today I had a farewell lunch with my friends from Green Valley High School at the same French Cafe that Chin and I went to on cinco de mayo. This time I got a watermelon/tomato salad with arugula and blue cheese. I don't know what the special dressing was, but it was a delicious salad!

Chin teaches Chinese and is my party soul sister. She posts on social media and knows that she can always count on me to drop anything to do a Tik Tok dance or take selfies in the hallway. Amanda is my department chair. Small, smart and fierce, she is a powerhouse. I have observed her teaching and learned to grade students as they talk to each other to save time and increase participation.

So blessed to have wonderful colleagues from Clark County School District. I will miss them all so much!

25 years of being a dad

2026-06-21T13:54:10.859-07:00

This week we got rid of a bunch of furniture. Our leather sofa and loveseat set and dining set went out to the curb the day before large item pick-up day. We were so relieved when everything was taken before the garbage men came for it. (We also put out a queen size bed that the garbage men did get, but we didn't feel so bad about that.)

Sitting on our sofa outside for the last time.

Today we spent the morning pruning trees out back in preparation to leave. Bill found a guy to come trim the Mexican fan palm out front and we're hoping that he can also blow the debris away for us. We're doing all we can do to get our deposit money back! Bill has a good eye for detail, and keeps finding things that "Kathleen is going to ding us" on. So with his keen eye, I'm hopeful that we'll do okay.

Here is my report on how Bill is doing as a father :). Bill is great about keeping in touch with family - including his children. He loves to talk to Will about what Will is doing at work. I love to hear him talk to Faith on the phone and then hear Charlotte in the background which inevitably elicits an, "ooooh" in a cute baby-talk voice. He sings little songs to Charlotte over the phone and she loves it. He and Ivy tease each other. Faith and Will think it's crazy because she has a different relationship with Bill than they do. Bill worries about how much Will works and also about how much Ivy takes on. I always remind him that they are young and we did the same when we were young. He agrees.

Lots of life is about managing back pain right now for Bill. Some days are better than others, but he looks good and that's what counts! Right?

We will have one of our children here with us for Father's Day. Will is coming for dinner. We're going to take Bill out to a Japanese steakhouse. He loves that.

Here's my favorite father's day song to end. It's actually a song that makes me think of Bill when I hear it. It's called The Riddle by Five for Fighting.

There was a man back in '95

Whose heart ran out of summers, but before he died

I asked him, "Wait, what's the sense in life?

Come over me, come over me"

He said, "Son, why you gotta sing that tune

Catch a Dylan song, or some eclipse of the moon

Let an angel swing and make you swoon

Then you will see, you will see"

Then he said, "Here's a riddle for ya

Find the answer

There's a reason for the world

You and I"

Picked up my kid from school today

"Did you learn anything? 'Cause in the world today

You can't live in a castle far away

Now, talk to me, come talk to me"

He said, "Dad, I'm big, but we're smaller than small

In the scheme of things well, we're nothin' at all

Still every mother's child sings a lonely song

So play with me, come play with me"

And hey, Dad, here's a riddle for ya

Find the answer

There's a reason for the world

You and I

I said, "Son, for all I've told ya

When you get right down to it

The reason for the world

Who am I?

There are secrets that we still have left to find

There are mysteries from the beginning of time

There are answers we're not wise enough to see

He said, "You're looking for a clue? I love you free."

The batter swings and the summer flies

As I look into my angel's eyes

A song plays on while the moon is high

Over me, somethin' comes over me

I guess we're big and I guess we're small

If you think about it man, ya know we got it all

'Cause we're all we got on this bouncin' ball

And I love you free, I love you freely.

Here's a riddle for ya

Find the answer

There's a reason for the world

You and I

Yay for family!!

2026-06-16T07:54:25.009-07:00

Milestones

2026-05-31T08:37:28.229-07:00

It has been a big week. Ivy graduated on Wednesday.

Thursday we drove up to Reno to move her in with Faith and Collin as well as take care of some pre-work orientation things like drug screening and fingerprinting.

Friday we took care of my W4 with Washoe County School District and tried to solve the housing question for Bill and me. Maybe we did it.

Yesterday we got to play. Charlotte is at such a cute stage with her happy noises and is a lot of fun. I have been missing Faith so much. It has been good to get some time with her and see her in Charlotte too!

I will fly home to Bill today and leave my baby with Faith and her baby. I've told Ivy she's too young to leave me and somewhere down the road she owes me 3 more months living with me!

I called Dad yesterday for his birthday. He and Marj sounded good, but tired. I probably waited until too late to call. 89 is a pretty big milestone! I congratulated dad on making it to such a high level.

I also had a milestone yesterday. It wasn't that fun, but maybe after 50 the only fun milestones left are grandchildren. The guy at the theater asked me if I was a senior. I just replied, "obviously." Because what do you say to that?

BeReal Day 10

2026-05-26T23:14:37.815-07:00

BeReal Day 9

2026-05-25T19:42:03.429-07:00

Days 7 & 8

2026-05-24T07:48:18.728-07:00

I saw this on my neighborhood website. Kinda creepy!!!

BeReal Day 6 - hAppY BiRthDaY, Heather!!!!

2026-05-22T21:07:28.560-07:00

BeReal Day 5

2026-05-21T18:36:59.135-07:00

BeREal Day 4

2026-05-20T17:00:06.024-07:00

BeReal Day 3

2026-05-19T12:40:38.590-07:00

BeREal Day 2

2026-05-18T16:35:21.787-07:00

BeReal Day 1

2026-05-17T16:59:17.536-07:00

Sprinting to the end of the school year

2026-05-16T08:48:18.060-07:00

There are a lot of things to do in the next week (which is the last week of school.) Fortunately, Ivy's year is winding down. Seniors finish before everyone else. She is in Reno this weekend for job interviews and is coming home today with two in her pocket. She will be a camp counselor Monday-Friday from 7am-1pm for the Boys and Girls Club of Sparks and then she will be lifeguarding for the city of Reno on the weekends. Until she turns 18, is is illegal for her to work past 4pm in Reno. Who knew??? Seems like an intense law.

We have lots of pictures of Charlotte this week. Faith and Ivy both contributed!

This was from just this morning :) She is such a happy baby!

But Faith gets the most smiles from her.

I have a few pictures from Mother's Day, which was wonderful. Bill took Ivy, Will and me out to Johnny Mac's last Saturday night. We started feeling bad about going out to eat on Sunday and being served by all the overworked mothers :) Maybe next year we'll celebrate on Monday instead of Saturday so that we can get deals on the flowers too!!

Ivy made me an awesome shark that I'm really excited about too. I'll put it up on my wall at school.

It's the time of year when students are madly trying to raise their grades by making all sorts of crazy requests. On my walk this morning I thought about how much I'll miss this group of students. It has been a good year.

Best Week of the Year

2026-05-09T09:14:00.004-07:00

Piñata week at school is the week before teacher appreciation week and Mother's Day. It's a lot! But it's a lot of fun too! I had some students make some really cute piñatas. I will have to take a picture of my room once I have all the piñatas hung up that are staying in my classroom.

A group of 3 girls made this cute dinosaur.

Ivy had an ortho appointment early in the week. They repositioned brackets and one came off. Now we have to go again to get it put back on. She has been relentless with the studying. Between getting ready for the AP calculus test, looking for and interviewing for jobs in Reno, and finishing the painting of my Mother's Day gift (I'll show you when it's done!!!) this last stretch of high school has been pretty stressful. I have to keep reminding myself to stop asking to take her picture. It's too much!!

Don't tell anyone, but the Chinese teacher and I took off cinco de mayo together to go have brunch and hang out. We ate at a cute French cafe and then wandered around my favorite used book store, The Copper Cat together.

The food was pretty and tasty too. I had the breakfast sandwich and the matcha latte and she had the avacado toast and black fruity iced tea. We have known each other since Covid. She taught online at Basic with me that covid year and then moved to Green Valley High School, so it was nice to have a friend already there at GVHS when I came over.

Happy Mother's Day! I'm off to get my shingles booster today. Another remembrance of my mom. Perfect for this weekend.

Just try this

2026-05-03T10:29:00.000-07:00

Green Chili Casserole

Have you made green chili German pancakes? They are my favorite thing and you should do it if you haven't. Also, I really love to drink a Dr. Pepper Cream Soda with them. (But I'm the only one who likes to do this.)

Ingredients:

6 eggs (yolks and whites separated)

1 cup milk

1 cup flour

1/2 cup Mexican cheese blend
5 Tbsp butter

Salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cumin

4-5 whole green peppers (from a can)

Make German pancake batter, but fluff up the whites of the eggs like merengue. Also, add some garlic powder, salt, pepper and cumin to the batter. While you're making that, melt some butter in your pan in the oven so it covers the bottom of the pan (like you do with German pancakes, right?)

Layer half of the batter on the bottom of your 9x11 casserole dish. Cut open the green peppers and layer them on top of the batter, cover with cheese, then layer the rest of the batter on top. Cook in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes.

Top your piece with the Taco Bell Verde Salsa (or whatever green salsa you like).

Mango margaritas for dessert with Tajín around the rim of the glass.

Turning corners quickly

2026-05-02T19:53:00.002-07:00

Ivy studies a lot these days. She has an AP calculus test coming up soon and finals in all her dual-credit classes. She also worked Tuesday through Friday. She is picking up every extra shift she can. She can work much more now that track season has ended for her. Her last day of school is May 21st and graduation is May 27th! It's a sprint to the end!

This picture was taken on the trolley in New Orleans.

Will got a new tool belt that came to our house. It's nice when he has to come here for any reason. He too is working a ton. His truck is leaking oil and coolant, which is disturbing and had him considering getting something else to drive - especially with these gas prices! However, his truck fits his needs pretty well right now. I tried contacting him today to invite him to dinner tomorrow, but he didn't answer. I hope it's because he was on a date!

Faith got a new co-anchor, so life is a bit easier at work. Charlotte continues to love all the noises she can make and word on the street is that she is now rolling over in both directions, but only on accident. It's fun to talk to Faith on the phone and hear Charlotte getting her two cents in while we talk. I feel very far away from them. It's a little bit terrible. It helps that I'm pretty busy doing my own things, but we will see them soon!!

Only two more official days of piñata making in my classroom. I'm going to make it! Thinking about my students and lessons keeps me happy and is what gets me out of bed in the morning. I received my best ever evaluation from my supervisor this spring and have been stunned. I don't feel like this year has been that different than any other, but I'll take any wins I can get right now because my 50s decade so far feels like a big L.

This is me wearing green at Green Valley High School. Everyone loves it when we wear green and I got a cute green shirt-dress last month that is perfect for spring.

Bill has been going keto this week to see if it helps the inflammation in his back. If it does, it's pretty subtle. He is starting to get some bad pain in his other SI joint, so that is a bit concerning. We are wondering if more back surgery is on the horizon. We are starting to look for places to live in Reno. Wish us luck!