Friday Favorites: Ian's 17th Birthday Party

 I can't believe we're wrapping up the month of April already and heading into May this weekend.  The campground officially opens near us this weekend and that's usually a sign that things are going to get busy again.  We'll start seeing more and more people around the neighborhood and more and more boats out on the lake. 

Alec had school in the building on Friday followed by practice.  The other boys and I finished schoolwork in record time.  Both Ian and Evan only have 2-3 subjects left before we're finished our schoolwork for the year. As soon as Ian was done he headed out to work on the neighbor's lawn. 

It was another very windy day so Evan and I spent our afternoon inside-  we both miss hiking so much but it's been either really cold or really windy.  Just before cooking dinner we did head out on a short walk to the mailbox and back as it was finally warming up and the wind was dying down. 

Saturday morning I was busy getting ready for Ian's party.  He's turning 17 this month and we had all his grandparents over for dinner.  I made a card, cleaned the downstairs, and put together a salad while Alec worked on making Ian's peanut butter pie he had requested for dessert.  

As soon as we were done in the kitchen and had finished our lunches Alec and I headed out to meet friends at Roseland park.  We used to hike with this family and spent nearly 2 1/2 visiting with them.  We hadn't seen them since before Alec started school so we had lots to catch up on. 

We had a lovely dinner and time with the grandparents.  Ian got all sorts of gifts for dirt bike riding-- gloves, goggles, goggle covers, a new jacket, etc.  

It was raining on Sunday so I cooked up a batch of soup and made some fresh bread.  My husband and I went to the woodworking shop and got all the board laid out and cut to start gluing the countertop together.  We went with a randomized butcher block style. 

After a quick trip to the grocery we headed out on a Ranger ride.  We finished our day watching Iron Man 3 & The Goldbergs. 

The trails were so wet and muddy!  I kept my feet on the dashboard almost the whole time.

Monday morning was beautiful!  Ian ended up getting called into work; he was only able to work for 1/2 a day sine he was working with his grandfather in the afternoon but at least he could help out.  Evan and I worked through his work quickly and I was in and out of the dining room helping Alec with any online schooling questions he had. 

After school was over I ran Alec to track practice and met up with my mom. We walked for nearly an hour and half but it was chilly out.

Since Ian had worked part of the day on Monday he stayed home until lunchtime on Tuesday to get his schoolwork done and then headed into work.  He loaded the 4 wheeler into the back of his new (to him anyway) company work truck and brought it with him.  He'll be dismantling those parts he needs to work on and fixing it all up in his spare time like he did with the  jet ski.

Ian is loving that he has a vehicle that he can actually fit in without having to put the seat ALL the way back now and no steering wheel rubbing against his knees. 

Evan and Ian were done their schoolwork quickly and I sat with Alec a few times during his virtual schooling day.  When he was finished with school I ran him up to the school for his track meet.

My mom and I went for another hour long walk while waiting for Alec's event-- the javelin is always last.  

Alec was finally back in the building on Wednesday so I ran him up to school and then started in on schooling with the other two boys. Alec only had a 1/2 day so I had to pick him up by noon but with his practice at 2:15 it seemed silly to come all the way home.  

We ended up going out to lunch at Subway and heading to my mom's house.  My mom and I went walking while Alec was at practice.  We saw lots of sky divers again.

At one point we counted a dozen of them in the sky!

Alec's practice was cut short due to a brush fire in the area so we headed home early and I got a jump start on dinner. 

We were supposed to get lots and lots of rain on Thursday so I talked Evan into going on a very early morning hike.  As soon as Ian left for work I headed out with Evan and we dropped Alec off at school.  We found a nearby trail and began hiking at 7 am!  We made it back to the car just as it started to rain and had hiked for nearly an hour.  We would have hiked longer but our feet were soaked and we could tell rain was imminent. 

We hiked 2 different trails at the Audubon center. 

I was so taken with these red trillium flowers growing by the side of the trail 

Evan and I headed out to lunch with my mother in law and had a very nice visit. 

With Alec's track meet canceled I had to run up to the school around 3:30 to pick him up after practice and I read my book while waiting for him to finish up. 

How was your week?

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