One day there were some unique violins set up in the music store where Sam took piano lessons.
I play the piano and I like being able to do that, but my favorite instrument is the violin. I took one year of it in 7th grade in Utah and then we moved to Massachusetts and my new school didn't have an orchestra, so I didn't take it up again. It's one of my biggest regrets because I really wish I could play the violin. I've been thinking about taking private lessons for years but I feel kind of silly doing it as an adult. But I really do hope to make my dream of becoming a violinist, even a (very) amateur one, happen at some point!
Here's Violet lying in a patch of sun with her ear flipped up. 😄
This was the last Iowa men's gymnastics meet we went to. Our whole family really enjoyed these meets.
This was a big one, with teams from three different universities (Iowa, Penn State, and Arizona State).
There's John down on the floor in the blue shirt and pants! He volunteered to do a fun relay race during one of the breaks. I took a video of him doing that so this is the only picture I have. He did great and had a fun time!
Here was another eventful trip to the vet with all three pets (I missed it being four with Brody 💔).
Bentwood is the most chill cat! Usually cats are more high-strung (Brody was), but Bent was as cool as a cucumber whenever we went to the vet, which made him a favorite there.
Boo Boo is the one who got the most high-strung about vet visits!
Note how he's lying right by the door--he wanted out of there ASAP! 😄
Sweet relief, time to go home!
I liked this cover of the Lands' End catalog. This model is living my dream leisure life (travel, beach, relaxation) and I thought she was really pretty. By the way, I think Lands' End swimsuits are the best. I have several of their pieces, including a longsleeved swim shirt like this one (but with a different design).
The March Relief Society activity was a Murder Mystery dinner, and it was really fun! At my table I turned out to be the murder victim and so I got to lay in the hallway at one point pretending to be dead. What a spiritual feast it was. 😂
The table centerpieces at the dinner were these amazing homemade chocolate bowls that held a delicious array of fruit. Chocolate and fruit, one of my favorite combinations!
I took pictures of our cluttered bookshelves before their contents were packed away. If we hadn't moved I would have cleaned them out and re-organized because they really had gotten very full, but there was no need to do that since most of this was going into boxes in order to stage the house. In fact, much to my dismay, they ended up taking out this whole wall of bookshelves and putting the piano there. My cozy little book nook was soon to be no more. 😢
I don't care what the experts say, the site of cluttered bookshelves makes me happy. 😊
The boys' picture wall in the upstairs hallway was going to have to come down too, so I had to take pictures of that before its demise.
I didn't put these up in our new house even though there's a good hall for it because it's so much work and it takes up more and more space as the years go by!
And of course my magnet collection on the fridge was going to have to come down. I'd been collecting these since college from all of our trips!
That wooden magnet with the girl in the pink and green dress--I painted that when I was a kid!
Sadly, the magnets have stayed bagged at our new house (actually, I don't even know where they are right now--they better not have gotten lost in the move!). The fridge in our new kitchen is stainless steel and isn't as magnet-friendly. Plus I can see how they do look a little "busy." But I still love them.
I spotted this in the HyVee parking lot. Just another reason to love the Midwest!
Check out the pair of fat little birdies sitting on top of the swingset roof! I thought they were so cute, even though they're hard to see because they blend right into the scenery.
Right after the book nook, the jacuzzi tub was my next-favorite spot in the house. I took many relaxing bubble baths here over the years. The tub was ideally situated under these two windows because when the water was too hot (as it often was at first), I'd open the windows and the cool breeze coming in felt really nice in combination with the hot water, and steam would rise up from the water. It was bathtime magic!
