Friday Favorites: The Week Evan Turned 13

It's official; I am now the mom of three teenage boys!  We also survived our first week of distance learning-- it wasn't nearly as bad as I feared (boy I hope I didn't just jinx us for today!).  We have had distinct fall-like temperatures all week and I had to pack away the flip flops and take out my booties.  The leaves are starting to turn everywhere we look.



 Evan and I settled down to schoolwork pretty quickly on Friday (after I dropped Alec off at school) and were joined by Ian once he woke up.  They were both done school by 10 and Ian headed off to work on the patio with his grandfather.  Evan and I cleaned the house a bit and then I headed out to run errands before picking Alec up from school.  

Alec's final shop to try out was Automotive Collision Repair & Refinishing.  He learned how to spray paint while masking off colors.  They made little tiny "almost" cars.  



For dinner I had put some pork tenderloin and teriyaki sauce in the crock pot in the morning so all I had to do around 5 was roast some potatoes and throw a salad together. 

Alec, Evan, and I cleaned house on Saturday while Ian was at work and my husband was back at the hydro.  I made some homemade granola and read my latest book.  In the afternoon my father and his wife came to visit; we haven't seen them... since I really can't even remember when.  We had a nice visit though.  


After they left Ian, myself, and my husband decided to go out riding. Unfortunately, we got our Ranger stuck in the mud and I mean STUCK... several hours, several helpers, and a million attempts later by full on darkness we finally gave up and came home without it.  

We tried getting our second Ranger to pull out the first one but couldn't park close for fear of getting them both stuck!

It's not so easy to see but the front tires are sunk in the mud so the rear tires are hardly touching the ground

I cooked up burgers and hot dogs for a quick and very late dinner-- letting everyone pick out their own sides to go with it. 

My husband and I headed to his shop to load up on chains, cable, and plywood for the next day.

At first light on Sunday morning Ian and my husband set out to bring the Ranger home with the help of my father-in-law and nephew too.  Just a short hour or so later they were home and successful!  The younger two boys went to breakfast with their grandmother and I took advantage of a quiet home to craft Evan's card and make a few scrapbook pages too. 




In the evening we had a small party for Evan's birthday with a few of the grandparents.  I had cooked up my special meat sauce (with sweet sausage, pepperoni, and meatballs) to serve with spaghetti, garlic bread, and salad.  

Evan, once again, requested ice cream cake for dessert. 


I drove Alec to school Monday morning for his last in person shop day at school before two weeks of academics with mostly distance learning.  I sent him to school with a whole list of questions for the following day's lessons and he, thankfully, got them all answered.  

Once home Evan, Ian, and I worked through all their schoolwork quickly so Ian could leave to work on the patio with his grandfather at 10:30.  They're hoping to finish up this week if all goes well. 

I started a new Thanksgiving themed craft before heading out to pick Alec up from school.  I'm trying like crazy to get ahead on posts for next month not knowing how I'll feel after surgery next week. 


For dinner we had steak, rice pilaf, corn, and asparagus.  

Tuesday Ian headed off for his long day of work and driver's ed. while Alec prepared for his first day of distance learning.  I had picked a lightened load of work for Evan that I knew he could mostly do on his own so I could be on hand for any technical difficulties.  


Evan was finished his work in under an hour and while Alec did have to log on for each class and stay logged on it was just a half day so he was finished up by noon.  It was the perfect intro to what we can expect for full days going forward.  

I even had time to pull together a soup for dinner, a salad, cut up some fresh fruit for the week, hard boil eggs for breakfasts for the rest of the week and even made some more 2-ingredient bagels. 


After lunch I talked the boys into an hour hike, we swung by the library to pick up books.





I convinced Alec to help me make some fresh bread to go with the big pot of chicken soup I had made up in the morning. He had so much fun making the no knead bread-- even if he did try to knead it!


Wednesday Evan had plans with his grandmother so he had no school but I pulled out work for Ian.  

We learned that while Alec had school none of his teachers were going to be available for classes. Each teacher left an assignment for him to do... it was a nightmare trying to get assignments completed with no real instructions and not knowing our way around the different programs that well.  We did our best.

I had a pre-op appointment with my doctor in the afternoon so I was relieved that we seemed to have finished up all of Alec's work before I left.  The appointment went well and I came home with my fears mostly quelled.

Alec had his last karate class for the foreseeable future as I don't think I'll be up to taking him for a bit and my husband had haircuts with the other two boys so he offered to pick up dinner.  We all ate D'angelos grinders (heroes or subs for all you southerners) for dinner. 



Ian and my husband left for a full day of work (followed by driver's ed) on Thursday. I had picked out a stack of work for Evan and Alec logged onto his online schooling.  The day went pretty well and Alec finished up early as his last two classes weren't requiring him to stay. 

We headed out for a walk with my mom and then spent the afternoon at her trailer visiting.  We saw so many beautiful trees. 



For dinner I heated up some quiche and we had salad/ fresh fruit with it. 

How was your week?


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Comments

  1. Happy Birthday to Evan! What a cute smile! 2 ingredient bagels have me intrigued. Love the Fall color! Have a great weekend! xo

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    1. They are so easy and quite tasty! They're a Weight Watcher's recipe and we just love them. I'm pretty sure I have a blog post (or 2) about that dough this week.

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  2. I love how much you are outdoors hiking! Such beautiful pictures! Happy Birthday to you son!

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    1. I just LOVE to hike! A few hours in the woods helps us all to relax and I find I always sleep better after all that fresh air and exercise too.

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  3. Happy Happy Birthday to your Sweet Alec...that granola looks amazing! Thinking of you as you prepare for next week XO

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  4. So sorry you got stuck!! Glad that you were able to get out though. :) I feel like I need to start stocking up on wine and chocolate now for when I have three teenage girls in the house. LOL. I love how your boys still do things with you. :)

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    1. I think I'm pretty lucky that my boys still do so much with me and talk with me and are really quite fun to be around.

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  5. So many smiles while reading that post. Isn't it nice to enjoy the fall weather.

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    1. Oh I am so glad to hear my post brought you smiles! I am loving this fall weather.

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  6. Happy Birthday to Evan! I love all of your recipes!! I have a 13 year old coming up in January! :)

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  7. Wow! You had a busy week! Happy Birthday to Evan. It sounds like he had a delicious meal and ice cream cake! Love all of your projects in the works. Have a great weekend!

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  8. Three teenagers! That's so crazy and exciting!! I am sure you are wondering where the time went. Happy birthday to Evan!!!!!

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  9. Happy happy birthday to Evan!! Three teenage boys... WOW!! I'm so not ready for those teenage years, but I know they'll be here soon... just a few more years for us!

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    1. I was so nervous about the teen years but so far I am loving them! I know once licenses and girlfriends come along I might not feel the same way so I'm enjoying it now.

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  10. Happy Birthday to you son. You seem to be so busy with all three of them. The leaves are turning such pretty colors. Have a happy Friday and weekend.

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  11. Happy belated birthday to your son! The icecream cake looks delicious! Such pretty and colorful trees in your area already! I need to plan a fall hiking trip soon!
    I'm sorry about the stuck Ranger, that must have been so frustrating!!

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    1. I can't believe how colorful our trees are already; I didn't think that usually happened quite this early but I do know that Columbus day weekend really isn't that far away and that is always considered peak season so I guess it probably is normal but just seems early this year? I don't know but I am enjoying it! The stuck Ranger was very frustrating; I'm just so relieved we got it out.

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  12. Distance learning with no teachers there seems very hard to me. Happy birthday to Evan!

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    1. Yeah, that was nuts! Thankfully most of the teachers went over the assignment again the next day and since Alec and I muddled through pretty well he had a very easy Thursday. Yesterday we were dealing with state-wide internet connectivity issues... it's been a great reminder to be flexible and to just do the best we can with what we've got.

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  13. Happy Birthday to Evan. His birthday sounded like a good day. And that cake. Yum!!! That is some great spray painting skills. Have a great weekend!

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  14. Hey doll, hope you are resting up some this weekend before your surgery. I made chicken noodle soup for the first time a couple of weeks ago and threw in a packet of Ranch salad dressing mix at the last minute before dishing it up. Really gave it a boost. Hope the boys can help figure out meals and chores around the house until you are 100% again.
    Happy birthday to Evan. Love his big smile. And the dinner he requested. YUM.

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    1. Ooh! I bet that would give it a great flavor boost.

      Alec is pretty determined he's cooking dinner each night regardless of schoolwork and knowing him he will get it done. I'm sure the chores will be lacking somewhat but even if I can't lift/clean, I can still direct them.

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  15. Happy birthday Evan! What a trouble with the jeep! And with school. Here in the Netherlands it's the same as what I hear. To little teachers! Have a great weekend!

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    1. Yeah, it's been a bit stressful this week but I feel like we might finally have settled into a routine of sorts with distance learning.

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  16. Happy birthday to your son! Love the card you made for him. Glad you were able to get your ranger out of the mud. That doesn't sound like fun. Have a great weekend!

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  17. Happy Birthday, Evan! Sending lots of patience to you, Joanne. Haha. Three teenage boys sounds like quite a handful! My boys are only 7 and 9 so we have a few years until I have 2 teenaged boys. I feel like things don't get any easier, they just get louder as these boys grow! Thanks for linking!

    Shelbee
    www.shelbeeontheedge.com

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    1. I definitely feel like we're busier but my boys have mellowed and quieted a bit as they've hit these teen years.

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  18. Getting stuck in mud is one of my biggest fears. Praying for an easy recovery for you after your surgery next week.

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