Book 22 and a Weekend with my Boy

Issa is all settled in at school, and Brad went to a meditation workshop this weekend, so it was just Evan and I. Our whole weekend revolved around eating. Friday night we went to the Nickel for wings, Saturday we went to a local pizza place that only has gluteny pizza, and last night we got his favorite Taco Bell. My stomach may never recover, but it was so fun to just hang out with him all weekend. A lot of it was spent outside with this girl:

Bella will play fetch all day, and I think we just about did. She also crushed her training class this week, which was really nice. We are seeing so much growth!

I also finished book 22, a book club pick:

This was a Hallmark movie with a cover, and I loved every page of it. It was a nice break and fluff after a few heavy reads!

Book 21

Book 21 was a hard read:

This book captures of the 44 laws of capturing or holding power. It is a really insightful book that gives examples and counterexamples from across the world and time. I want to be angry about it, but it is so very true.

Given the context of our world, it explains a lot, and it certainly is a handbook for playing the game. I'm just trying to think about how to play it for the greater good.

 

It Explains So Much

Bella has been with us for three months, and she just keeps getting bigger and better:

She is so smart, and she loves to play. She is also incredibly stubborn and vocal. We have been incredibly curious about her breed, so we finally did the DNA test, which explains everything:

 Evan got his Husky. The energy and the sass come straight from that section of the breakdown. Now we just have to figure out how to channel it all!

He's Off!

Evan is having a very big month. Although school doesn't start for another two weeks, he sent me this first day of class picture:

He is doing two college classes at Durham Tech this semester, and he started Monday. He is loving the flexibility of a college schedule, and so far the homework is minimal. We are super proud of him for taking this leap, and we hope pre-calc and Java go well this semester!
 

She's In!

We moved Issa in last Friday! Year two was so much easier emotionally but a bit more complicated in the packing department. So many things were in nice flat boxes last year, and now we were moving built furniture and stuff to outfit a whole room since she has a single, but we managed to do it in just two cars!

Since Issa is an RA this year, she got to move in early and was the only one on her floor doing so! We had the elevator to ourselves, and we could load everything into the other half of the suite and then unpack slowly in her room. It made for a very happy move:

Her room is so cute, and I know she is going to be a great RA:

She brought back fabric from Italy to decorate the room, and she's divided her room into zones. This is her sleeping bed:

And this is her lofted couch bed for relaxing or studying:

She has her own bathroom, which is incredible:

And she set up her little kitchen again:

She has one desk for studying and another for beverage preperation:

It was nice to be able to get her fully settled complete with everything on the walls:

Even if it was a bit much at times:

We did learn we needed the good tape; tacky tuff just didn't cut it:

It only took us one Staples run to finish, and we were able to have a nice long lunch at Postino's halfway through.

It really is a great room, and it feels so much like her. I just know this is going to be a great year!
 

A Boy and His Car

When Issa got her license, Nana was ready for a new car and passed her old one on to Issa, which was still a really nice car that Issa still loves. When Evan got his license, Nana wasn't ready for a new car but she still wanted to help Evan out with his first car. So...he has been shopping. Saturday, Brad and I took him to CarMax and he bought his very first car:

The lighting is terrible, but CarMax even put a bow on his Civic for him.

He absolutely loves this carL

And his first solo drive in it was to show Nana:

Yesterday he picked up a friend and went to lunch, and last night he drove us all to McKay's and ice cream. He is so excited for this new chapter, and we are so grateful he has a safe car for it.
 

Street Legal

It was a big week for Evan! He passed the driving test and is now street legal:

 His first solo drive was to Bojangles. He is so excited to be able to go where he wants when he wants, and he really is a good driver. We start car shopping this weekend now that he can test drive, so fingers crossed!