Tuesday, January 03, 2017

Mystery Thriller Puzzle

Isn't it ironic how many GREAT things one fines when cleaning out their things to MOVE? Krista was no exception. I'd never heard of this - but it was GREAT. It's a mystery thriller puzzle. There is a story to read, and then a 1000 piece puzzle to  put together. There was NO PICTURE to guide you. The picture is a clue to solve the murder mystery. 

These four worked on the puzzle for a couple of days....

I helpfully pointed out saws, shotguns and forklifts as the puzzle came together. 

Michael and Nolan worked on throughout the day when they had breaks....we wanted it done tonight. 
We texted the photo to Jamin so he could be in on the solution. 
 Checking the photo for clues! 

The best thing is she found the puzzle at a thrift store for $1 - $2. I must go thrifting while we are here! 

Krista's Crazy Winter Vacation

Whew! Krista's Winter vacation has been a whirlwind. Her last few weeks have been "full". Some of the craziness was expected - Arielle's wedding, family visiting, roommates moving out - some was unexpected -  sprained collateral ligament in her knee!  

I KNOW having all of us in her driveway and Jamin in her roommate's old room was both a blessing and a stress. I do pray it was mostly blessing. We LOVED spending time with her, being here to help during the days when she wasn't mobile, taking her to doc appointments, shopping together, cooking together...and WE got to help her move!  It is fun to be the helper and not the  main movee. 😊

She had planned to be ready to move by the time she went back to work - but her knee injury slowed her down, just a bit. She's sorted things to give to sisters and friends, donate, store until she moves to Virginia, store until she goes active duty, take with her to Mexico.....it's all getting done. Before this beautiful, live tree came down, she hosted family dinners, two game nights, one Christmas Party, one New Year's Eve party and will host a birthday party tomorrow night and another on Saturday. This is "slow" Krista. πŸ˜€πŸ˜‰πŸ˜

She's been BUSY - though she says she stayed home most her vacation. ::snort:: She HASN'T played any more soccer. Her knee is still giving her trouble and she will be starting physical therapy soon. 

Krista went back to school today, Jamin flew back to College Station today. We moved a few more things for Krista, took a load to storage for her, and generally tried to get things "in order" for her. We also washed ALL our bedding - I can't even get all of the queen sheets in a load in the motor home. It took FIVE HOURS when I tried. 😜We're working to remove all trace of "us," as we'll pull chocks tomorrow. 

Her bedroom is nearly empty. Two rooms ARE empty. The living room furniture is gone. 

People have been coming by for days to buy things. Frankly, as a mom, I'm HAPPY we are here with all the characters from Craig's list dropping in and out.  Can you guess what the boys are doing? 

 Krista asked Jamin to make sure her checks were destroyed...um....they are!Another pile is growing to be donated. This may not end until she is driving down the highway. ::snort::

I had one of her favorite meals ready when she got home from work, Veggie Pot Pie, we've played games and answered the door to Craig's list folks...it's time for vacation to come to an end and all of us to get back to reality.

Ja Mata, Jamin!

When everyone else went home after the wedding, Jamin stayed.  He went home on 3 January and will prepare for his final semester at A & M. This is the longest visit we have had with Jamin since he moved out of our house in 2009.

Krista happened to have two roommates move out at about the same time as the wedding, 😏and we all moved over to her house after the out of town bridesmaids flew home. Jamin camped out in one of the rooms upstairs and we moved our rolling home to her driveway. It was nice to be on "that" side of town and be able to easily visit with BreZaak.


He  was a big help to Michael who has gone on a project binge the past few weeks. πŸ˜‰

Jamin is the star of many of our parenting stories, and it is truly a blessing to see the man he has become.

His time has been full lately with travel and internship in Germany, attending writing conferences, writing his novel, finishing his degree at the Bush school of Government, and speaking at Sustainability conferences.

He's got a big year ahead of him....he'll turn 26 next month and shortly have his second master's degree. He's been online applying for a variety of jobs post-graduate. We look forward to seeing where he ends up.

We are thankful for the extra time we had to enjoy Jamin this year! Today, we said "Ja Mata!"