Shenanigans With The Schroeders: February 2023

An Ode to Alisha

Way back, a long time ago, during a time that feels like just yesterday, when I was no older than 11 or 12, nobody liked me. Girls are ruthless at that age, and I was currently at the wrong end of the stick. All my friends had decided not to like me anymore for who knows what reason. But there was this one girl who came up to me, right beside the water fountain leading to that ever-familiar middle school gym that I will never forget and said with all the frankness in the world (there has never been beating around the bush for this one) I will be your friend, you can hang out with me! She was my lifeline during a time that was brutally hard. She gave me a place to sit a lunch and a person to search for in between classes. Her name was Alisha.

That was almost 30 years ago and still, after friendships have come and gone, jobs have come and gone, boys have come and gone, and living close to each other hasn't come our direction since we lived with our parents, she continues to be a touch stone for me. She has been one of the few constants in my life. She always did and continues to provide laughter that my soul craves unlike anyone else ever can. We become those pure souls when we are together. Things are simple when you hang out with someone that knows you since before you even really knew who you were yourself. She knows my heartbreak of childhood and has seen me at my worst as an adult. And yet, this friendship only gets richer and deeper with age. That's the way it should be right? That's the way true friendship should age but those friendships are so hard to come by and life pulls so many apart that most people don't get to experience these types of friendships. I feel so blessed to still, after all these years and oodles of life events have a true friendship that has aged like fine wine.

I couldn't even begin to pinpoint a favorite memory or time with Alisha. From those good ol' days at the LAK and then, fast forward a good 20 years to celebrating 40th birthdays together, there are just too many memories to pick out one or two that resonate in my mind. When I think of Alisha, I don't and can't think of a certain timeframe or a certain memory, but rather, when I think of Alisha, I think of a part of who I am. She is a part of who I am.

Not many good things come out of the death of a parent, that's for sure. Especially when it's a parent as loved as my mom was. But one good thing about her death was bringing Alisha and I back into each other's lives in a real way. We hadn't seen each other in years by the time my mom died. Sure, there was the occasional text here or there but when my mom passed away, Alisha was the first person I told. She was that touching stone for me. When she showed up at her funeral, with tears in her eyes, after all the years that had passed, my heart smiled, if even for just a brief second during such an overwhelmingly devastating time. After all those years, I needed my friends more than I knew. I needed those that knew me best there. I needed them to be there to ground me in the horrific reality that I now faced. And Alisha was there. That's a true friend.

So, all these years later and after the death of my mom whom Alisha also had a special bond with, we have gotten to rekindle our friendship that has aged like a fine wine (not like the nasty stuff we used to drink in high school :)

And oh boy, have we had fun!

Recently Alisha decided that she needed to have a winter getaway so she could wear her god-awful winter clothes. Yes, she plans trips around places that will allow her to wear her overly ugly wardrobe! And, since I'm just a hop skip and a jump away from Jackson, she planned it for a time when I would be there so we could hang out.

We were able to go out for some nice dinners where we laughed like we were 15 again. We did some shopping, and we went on a sleigh ride together. But more than doing "things" together, it's the ability to not do anything in particular with her and still have a blast that defines such a great friendship. It's the conversations in between doing things that still happen so easily that make this friendship special.

40 years old now and it still feels like we stepped out of the high school halls together. There's just nothing like it and I wouldn't trade her (and all of her crazy outfits) for anything in the world! I love you like a sister, Alisha. Thank you for being you.

Goodbye Crib! Farewell

The time had come to take down Quincey's crib!

She has been reluctant to do it and even after telling her that she was getting a new big girl bed, she still wanted her crib to be left up although she hadn't slept in it more than just a time or two in the last month (she had been sleeping on her floor with her soft blanket).

But I told her it was finally time. It was definitely her safe place, but she loves her new Rainbow Bedroom. She is obsessed with rainbows and dinos right now and her room is filled with both!

Tearing down that crib was a big day in the Schroeder household.

Thermopolis Hot Springs

In all my years living in Wyoming, I have never once been to the Hot Springs in Thermop. I have driven through so many times, played sports there in high school, but never spent any time there.

Well, it was a far cry from the warmth of tropical Mexico, but it was a small reprieve during the long winter months in Wyoming.

We loaded up and headed out for a weekend. It's only 60 miles from Lander so it was a nice quick trip there and back. We went to the Tipi Hot Springs and played for a day, but the biggest hit was the dinosaur museum. I had no idea that Quincey would become obsessed with bones and dinos after going there. We showed her the movie The Land Before Time when we came home, and it's been a month and she still wants to watch it on repeat. And now, everything is about dinosaurs. She has acquired so many dinos in the last month that it's crazy! And every week when we go to the library, she loads up on dinosaur books. Who knew that an hour at the dino museum would change the trajectory of the next month!

We had a good time but that Hot Springs pool was so nasty! Disqusting. Absolutely gross. And sure enough, a couple days after arriving home, we all got sick with a cold. It was a sess pool of bacteria just waiting to attack us!

A Visit From Our Reimers~

The Reimers finally made it over the mountain to grace us with their presence. First of all, I cannot get over how grown up those kids are! It's like I had a baby and then one day, poofff! All three of them grew up!

It was a quick trip of only one full day here, but we made the most of it for sure!

Quincey got spoiled with loves and hugs from her Auntie and I got lots of good time with her kids. We went and got ice cream and Dessa spoiled all of us but mostly she spoiled Quincey. Quincey walked out of that store with like five new presents! And the kids all had fun trying on some new shades.

We also played pinocle and laughed hysterically about some crazy Jackson mom that they talked about. I can't tell you how much I really enjoyed this quick visit.

It was just so refreshing to have a sister come visit with her kids. It's like, I'm finally home! And not just home but have my own home and family to share with those I love most and Dessa is one of those people!

And finally, Quincey was obsessed with Sophia's blanket that she brought. It's called an Unhide blanket, and it is super-duper soft. Quincey loved it so much!

A week after they left, what arrived in the mail??? An Unhide blanket just for Quincey! Quincey would NOT sleep in her crib or big girl bed after she received the blanket. She had to have the blanket laid out on the floor and then she would wrap herself up in it and sleep there. I would go in nightly and pick her up after she had fallen asleep and put her in her bed but, by morning, she would be out of her bed and back on the floor in her soft blanket. In fact, it was this blanket that caused us to finally get rid of her toddler bed (which she never liked to begin with) finally tear down her crib and get her an actual bed that she could use her Unhide blanket on. So, for about 3 weeks until that happened, Quincey slept on the floor with her special blanket from Auntie.

Quincey laying with Sophia's super soft blanket getting a back scratch from Auntie.

And finally her own blanket arrived!!!!

SO MUCH SNOW!

We knew we were moving back to Wyoming winters, but I don't remember ever having this much snow since I was a little girl and then I still don't know if I ever lived in a place where there was this much snow. Apparently, Lander has gotten more snow this winter than they have in many months.

In one weekend we got 26 inches! It was fun to watch that much snow come down but two months later and we still have the snow. Finally, just a couple weeks ago, a snowplow came by our street and took the snow out of the middle of the road. It has been a mess to try to get in and out of our driveway with a big hill of snow 6 feet behind the car.

Joe and Quincey have had a fun time building snow forts and snowmen. I try to take her outside to play but after a little bit she wants to come in but her and Joe can stay out there all afternoon and have a blast.

Here is Joe falling into the snow trying to make a snow angel. He all but disappeared in the snow!

I did shovel the sidewalk and driveway for a bit but wasn't religious about it so we have since given up and it is all covered in snow that has hardened into ice. No way to clear it until the sun melts it (unless we took ice picks to it!)