We spent our weekend turning this:

Into this:

Our trees lost a TON of branches during the wind storms, though we're lucky we didn't lose an entire tree like many of our neighbors. (Noah's social studies teacher lives just down the street and had a tree crash through her bedroom window, barely missing her bed, which she was in at the time.)  It was a lot to clean up, but hey! Free DIY firewood!

(Ike is wearing a very old Coach logo-print rain hat, circa the year I started this blog and was inexplicably and basic-white-girl obsessed with all things Coach. I didn't even know I still owned this, but Ike has taken a liking to it and insists on wearing it all the time.)

Poppy was not happy to be confined to the backyard while Ike and I cleaned up the front. Also not happy that we cut up or threw out all those big, delicious sticks.

The firewood will be used to fuel our new fire pit (that old inherited-from-the-former-homeowners one there is completely rusted through because we...uh, forgot about it all winter and also did not inherit a cover), which we shall enjoy before/during/after dips in the NEWWWWWW HOTTTTTTTT TUBBBBBBBBB.

And yes, I say it just like that in real life. 

(screaming with excitement)

(aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh) 

(omggggggggggg)

Not long after we bought this house, Jason and I went to a local spa/pool store and were like, "One hot tub, please!" Before being informed that that's not exactly how it works, if you don't have an extremely solid place to put a hot tub and special electrical hook-ups and understand code regulations and such.

We were then like, "Oh. Okay. I guess we'll go do all that and come back."

TWO AND A HALF  years later, we finally did. And last night I sat in my very own hot tub for the first time and felt like I'd gotten away with something, because owning a house with a hot tub feels like something only a much adultier adult is capable of. 

Tirewatch, the final (????) chapter. 

On a less trivial/spoiled note, Noah's middle school participated in the student/teacher walk-out this morning, which meant we had to have a very difficult conversation last night over dinner so he'd understand what was happening. (My kids are pretty sheltered from the news, meanwhile I'm like a current events/political anguish sponge.) We told him it was completely up to him if he wanted to participate or stay seated, but let him know what students are hoping to accomplish with the protest and the significance of today and the 17 minutes. I don't know what decision he ultimately made, but I feel very very grateful that we live in a school district that not only promised students no blowback or punishment for walking out, but actively encouraged teachers to participate as well to ensure the students stayed safe and un-harassed throughout. Go show how it's done, kids. I'm sorry us adults are so bad at being the real grown-ups.