What the heck?!

So a whole month has gone by and within that month I thought, "the blog just isn't gonna happen. Great first & last post Courtney!" But as I look over the past month, again, there is so much that I just don't want to forget. For starters, this past week alone was CRAZZZY! One encouraging thing was... the sun came out! 

Monday, I sat in a very long meeting discussing a 49 page lease. Yes, 49 pages. I am sure more will come later discussing that... But anyway, my brain hurt and we only got halfway through before I had to move on to my next activity- Headstart! Although I love my job at the restaurant, I find so much joy in spending time with 3 & 4 year olds once in awhile! There is so much energy, enthusiasm, & innocence that is so refreshing to me after hours & hours of managing a business. I love the funny things they say and I gain so much satisfaction from the little things I can (hopefully) teach them about life. For example, "what do you say to the nice lunch lady?" .... "THANK YOU!" Ahhh, makes me smile. : ) I also subbed at Headstart on Tuesday and discovered that one of our 3 year olds can read! He sounded out r-e-s-p-o-n-s-i-b-i-l-i-t-y on a bulletin board on the way to the cafeteria. Are you kidding me?!! He said it perfect. I then started throwing addition and subtraction problems at him at the lunch table which resulted in equal shock & awe- a cute little smarty pants! 

We also managed to undertake 22 catering jobs this week between breakfast, lunch, & dinner Monday- Saturday. It amazes me the strength, dedication, & work ethic that comes from the staff at the restaurant. I respect the commitment & perfection that results from each meal they provide. Everyone pulls together- the front of the house is rolling silverware in any spare moment they have and organizing all the phone calls. The back of the house is prepping every food item on top of what they are already responsible for to make the restaurant function. My dear husband and a few of our managers are up @ 5.00am four days in a row and then do not get home until 10.00pm at night. They are beasts and they know what hard work is.... seriously. And in the midst of all that, Alex butchered a mutton:

(which I learned is an aged lamb)

I am also in the process (again) of schedule stresses, interviewing, and hiring- on top of the daily responsibilities. By now I just know that it comes with the job and if I get a couple months of peace, that is a good stretch. 

We also came out with a new beer list (wine menu came out a couple weeks ago)! That is the SUPER fun part of my job responsibilities because in order to pick a beer list you have to try a lot of beer! Lots of work but lots of fun. Please try this one at some point in your life:

I also had the experience of "Cooking with Caleb" this week at the YMCA! This month he was asked to teach a kids cooking class. The director also asked if I could come along just to help the kids and be another person to interact with them. There were so many things about this that were exciting to me. First, I have never been to one of Caleb's cooking classes. It was so neat to see him in action. : ) He is so talented. Second, I loved interacting with the kids and seeing how passionate and focused they can be when they are putting their creative energies to use! 

On the personal side of the week it was a BIG week for the France family. Corri and her boyfriend, Brad, got engaged! It was SUPER to be involved in the proposal & planning leading up to it! Caleb and I are very happy for the couple & a fine pair they will make! Brad threw a huge celebration for the occasion on Saturday. We got to see a lot of the France family as well as meet a lot of Fiance Brad's family. His missionary parents even flew up from Mexico to surprise everyone and congratulate Corri & Brad. It brought back all sorts of emotions regarding that phase of life. So happy for them! 

On top of Saturday's engagement celebration was Caleb's 29th birthday celebration! I cannot even explain how proud I am of this man. Another year of life and SO MANY accomplishments! He said that his favorite part of the year was opening the Tapas & Beer Garden at the restaurant. So much joy came as a result of this project...

And a close second in regard to memories made... our 5 year anniversary trip to Ireland.

He has also recently taken up flying lessons. In the midst of his 22 catering jobs, expediting at the restaurant, advocating for a community garden, teaching cooking classes, running every day, and somehow consistently making me feel valued and deeply loved... he stills pushes himself to do more. And that doesn't even scratch the surface. I am SO BLESSED to have him in my life. So I took him to our favorite city to frequent, Chicago! We had a wonderful dinner with his college roommate, Jordan & his wife, Amie. We stayed downtown on Michigan Ave. We had brunch with family friends & a differnt dinner with my college roommate, Sara & her husband Dave. Unfortunately, because of all the fun, this is all I have to document the occasion!

So, despite the unreasonable-ness that was this week.... we survived and ended on a great note! Happy Birthday to my one and only... there is no one else that could make this ridiculous journey as fun as you do!