spring in February?

Rick is home from Kansas and brought the Kansas City Great Gomboo - that is the official medical term. He was through the worst of it earlier this week when it was down in his lungs, but it seems to be ramping up again for a second round today. Hopefully another couple of days of rest and fluids, and he will be better. He had a good visit with his sister Michelle and her daughters, Aimée and Kimberly, while in Kansas. His next round of work out in the world is still a few weeks away, and then he anticipates another 14 jobs that will most likely take him into July.

Nichole's birthday was on the February 8. She is in the process of moving out of her apartment and into a house with Michael and another friend, so there is that whole shift of stuff and packing and changes going on for her. I know she was looking for a home for her snake in all the up-ended chaos; apparently snakes don't do well with a lot of changes. Nichole is coming over tonight for some curry and birthday cake, so perhaps we'll get to hear more about what is happening.

Merissa has been "discovered" by a modeling agency, and she is busy working to put those pieces together to see if she can dip her toe into that world. It is a reputable company, and they initially contacted her earlier last fall but she didn't make the initial cut at that first call. She came away with a better idea about what they were looking for, and worked with a trainer at the gym to see if she could make some changes without turning her whole body on its head. The call a couple weeks ago resulted in a contract. All a great adventure, and it could be a great opportunity for Missy at this time in her life.

Becca's plan to graduate a year early has required an enormous amount of dedication to her schoolwork and the additional college classes in the evenings. Her focus is admirable, and she has accomplished a phenomenal amount of work: essays, research papers, lab experiments, classwork and core projects. The result is that she remains on track to graduate in June - a full year early. I suspect she is looking forward to the summer with more than a little anticipation.

My 1-year term contract with WSU is up the first of April, and it will not be renewed. After all that has gone on lately, I find that I am neither surprised nor disappointed. It has been a learning experience, and now I am looking forward to what comes next. Just this last week, I have updated all my online resources and my resume; yesterday I sent out the first batch of applications. For the dicey economy in our area, there are jobs out there. Change shakes up the routine, but in the bigger picture, that's not so bad.

Every day is an adventure.

The Momgoose

just nichole

When Nichole was in Kindergarten, she brought home all her assignments with the name "Nichole Stephanie" written at the top. I thought perhaps that she had mistakenly brought home another little girl's work. But at parent teacher conference, her teacher told me that I should be very proud of Nichole's enthusiasm and the effort that it took for her to learn and write out her first AND middle name on every assignment. Except that she doesn't actually have a middle name.

And before that, soon after Merissa was born and Amy came to stay with us for a bit to help out, Nichole was so enamored by her aunt that when I would call her by name, she would ignore me for awhile. And then correct me. "I name Mimi," she would say.

Also famous for saying, "I do it I-self!"

So here's some old and some new pics of our little Nichole. Love you - tones and tones (as she used to write on notes to me).

Love
The Momgoose

It's a new year

It's a new year and already we've been a busy family. It snowed during the week after Christmas - a whole 6" shuts down everything in P-town and surrounding areas. The commute home from Missy's work was looking like a 4-hour trip, but she waited until after the initial panic began to clear and the road crews got out with sand. Then she drove home in about 40-minutes, not much longer than a regular drive. Good job, Miss.

Rick filled his camping cooler with snow before the rain came in and melted it all away. Then on New Year's Day, he made ice-cream with the snow. He swears the snow is twice as good - saves having to crush the ice. We had blackberry-cinnamon ice-cream for dessert after a turkey dinner.

Rick and I spent New Year's Eve at our traditional hockey game. A bunch of our friends always buy a block of tickets together in a group. This year, there were 70 in our group, called "Friends of Thor." Ryan, Megan and our grandson, Atreyu went with us this year. And the Portland Winterhawks won 6-0 against their arch-rivals, the Seattle Thunderbirds. Our seats were at the visitor's goal for 2 of the 3 periods, so we got to see most of the goals scored close-up. Very exciting. Plus we all got free Winterhawks' hats, although it looks to me like an angry duck.

I've had time off work since Christmas eve. We are taking the tree down today, and Rick flies out to Arizona tomorrow for his next job. I am terribly sad to have to return to the real world on Monday.

Hope all of our friends and family had a wonderful holiday wherever you may be. Much love from the Hoffman Clan.

The Momgoose