Wedding Check List

Where to begin? Photos first!

The attempts at being serious are very entertaining :)

In the past two weeks, Caelan and Noah got their engagement pics back (lovely!), selected, designed, ordered and received their wedding invitations (exciting!), almost completed their wedding website (lots of details!), and ordered the fresh bridal bouquet and groomal (?) boutonniere (both very hard to spell words) from a local flower shop :) 

Caelan spent a bunch of time putting her wood flowers into bouquets for the bridesmaids; I think boutonnieres for the groomsmen is next. They spent a Sunday afternoon registering for gifts and eating fancy ramen. Oh, they went bridesmaid dress shopping this weekend with Noah's younger sister (who had COVID for the first appointment). They found a pretty dress that will look great with the others. In fact, they just walked in the door from their adventure!

Let's see, they had their first official pre-marital counseling session with the pastor they have asked to perform their wedding ceremony. Oh, and they made lots of progress on booking their honeymoon destination with Noah's family; his family has kindly offered to cover travel and housing expenses! I think we've ordered the last of the decor, and it should be arriving in the next couple of days. Hmmm, what else? 

My original title was: Wedding Stuff, Kitty Stuff, Life Stuff  . . . but I think I'll break that potentially very long post up a bit! Who is ready for more kitty stuff?? Lol.

Kitty Cat Week Two

Lol! You thought something else cool was going to happen this week and I would be updating with something other than cat--but no. All cat, all the time. That's where we're at these days :)

Ha! Well, the kitty did have a big week . . . he became more snuggly . . . 

. . . more adventurous (he also took up bird watching and piano) . . . 

. . . and continues to prove he was raised by a pack of dogs at his first home (have you ever met a cat obsessed with pencils who also carries them around in his mouth like a dog bone?).

Sorry for the blurry photos--cats are surprisingly difficult to photograph. He also regularly gets called Spax, so it only seemed appropriate that he and his mixed-up namesake meet! Gabby brought her kitties over to play--Spax was not impressed, tiny Geely was carefree as always :)

Pretty great pic of all three cats together, right? :)

Two cat stories: Graysen and Brennen wrote papers for school. I noticed they spelled one character's name differently. Turns out, G$'s paper needed correcting, so I told him I'd show him how to find the "search and replace" tool on his laptop. I looked and looked; he looked and looked. IDK where the tool went. Barclay, the IT cat, stepped one paw onto the keyboard--the search and replace box instantly appeared on the screen, and he walked away as if to say, "Amateurs." Graysen and I laughed for a full five minutes!!

Remember that cute Love Box that Buck gave me for Christmas? Well, I was putting some laundry away in our room and noticed the cat obsessively stalking the corner of the room. I couldn't figure out what was intriguing him, until I noticed (well after he did) that the heart was spinning! I decided to take a video and here's what happened next . . .

We have real concerns this clumsy kitten is either visually or spatially impaired--he face plants . . . a lot. Ironically, the message from Buck included a little cat character who said, "I cat wait to see you!" So perhaps Barclay thought the messages was for him :) Maybe he's really a genius! And maybe he comes into our room at night, not to walk on our legs and wake us from a deep sleep, but to check on his message box? 

Kitty Cat Week One

For the first couple days we thought we'd rescued an invisible pet . . . Barclay B certainly seemed shy. He hid behind the dryer (fixed that with a white board), he hid under the guest bed (fixed that with my sister's "boards of education"--yup we still use them!), he hid behind the furnace, on the furnace, and around the furnace. When we tried to take him upstairs, he hid under the couch.

Eventually, Caelan and I just sat on the floor in the laundry room and played with him. He was afraid of every sound, every voice, every door opening or closing--back to hiding! It was kind of frustrating. He also wasn't eating or drinking. I was wondering how to phrase, "Ummm, the cat we leased is broken--is there a warranty or something?"

But each day BB got a little bit braver, a little bit more friendly, and a little bit more playful and adventurous. By Day 4, he started making friends with Buck. He hopped up on the couch while Buck was napping and sniffed his head, lol! I saw it happening and decided to just take pictures. Barclay's whiskers brushed up against Buck's forehead and jolted him awake. But after that, the kitty settled in next to Buck and even took a nap during the football game! (I don't know why this text is centered, but I can't fix it :)

When BB started eating, it seemed to help to have us take turns feeding him. Then we'd play with toys in his claimed laundry room space. Then we'd slowly back ourselves out of the room and play with toys in the living room. One afternoon, I was the only one home and without unexpected noises (you never realize how many weird sounds your house makes that you DON'T hear anymore, until you start listening with a freaked-out cat). Barclay and I broke down some cat trust barrier and he let me pick him up without fighting, he let me hold him without resisting, and he even started purring. Last night he, astonishingly, climbed into my lap and took a mini nap, wha???? So different than Gabby's immediately affectionate kitties, but we're getting there :)

Today was a big day, too! It's been almost a week and now Buck and Caelan can also hold him. Barclay spent the morning roaming around the classroom and playing with Graysen (super cute!) When we went upstairs, the cat actually got lonely and came to find us!! He's never once explored upstairs on his own before.

So, I think just Brennen and Noah (who have tried and keep trying :) are left to win his affections. I'm glad things are improving. Hopefully, the next report will be even more glowing! And hopefully his growing curiosity is manageable--I looked up just in time to see Barclay jump out of the top bunk, over my head, and onto the classroom bench four feet below . . . yikes!! Steady there, Adventure Cat.