Updates from the Nills! It's been a long time since that summer vacation on my last post, oy. And it's been a VERY busy fall.
As a point of orientation, Ashton is in 5th grade at Wilson Middle (age 11) and Alex is in 3rd at Lilja still (age 8). Middle school has been a whole other animal - Ashton is so much more independent, has made all sorts of new friends and is really becoming his own person. A lot of the time that means he is a really annoying silly adolescent but hey. He seems very happy and besides needing extra help with reading, is doing fine. Alex on the other hand thinks school is dull and a complete waste of his time. Not unlike Calvin in fact. Two strips that could just as easily be him:
They even have the same hair.
Next, the boys are each on a new hockey team (Boch Blazers/Dedham for Ashton, Assabet Patriots/Concord for Alex). Records aren't great so far, not going to lie. But they do love it which is the most important thing, considering the miles we put on our car and the hours Jason spends getting them to their games (like, in other
states).
They also each play football. Ashton is one of the stars on his team (even though I've been told a hundred times which position he plays I still couldn't tell you. There are at least 2, one offense, one defense?)
And Alex, wellllll, Alex's age group is a combined 3/4 team so on the roster, he is probably in the 10th percentile in terms of age and size. He does not like it one bit and definitely won't play next year. Still looks the part though (this was on a professional photographer's instagram page, someone recognized him and sent it to me!)
The biggest news of all though is that the 6 Craft Road Great Improvement Project has begun! I don't think I ever really shared the full story, but it began when we realized we wanted a garage and we wanted one BAD. We hired an architect last summer (and also looked at the idea of just moving to a house that had one, only to be continually outbid by hundreds of thousands). Despite my many protests to the Natick building inspector and the Zoning Board of Appeals ("Ma'am, just because you want to put a garage on your house doesn't mean you can. It doesn't work that way, you don't meet the setback and we won't grant you a variance, so, move on") we knew we had to pivot. At least we could add the spaces we also needed: a gym, an office, and a finished basement for the boys. Here is a link to the plans, if anyone is interested. We went about finding a contractor, waited more than a year, got delayed with stormwater permits and other riff raff, and finally as of today, 10/31, we are ready to pour the foundation. We have a giant hole in the wall and in the ground - I'll take pics as it goes up. We first had to do some masonry to get ready to add the portico though:
Before, red brick and big bushes:
Kind of after:
We did add some new landscaping (which ended up all getting torched this summer in the heat with the water ban):
And here we are today, for the most part:
This project also involved a new front door, new side door, and all new trim on the windows and the mud room. They did a gorgeous job!
So, small improvements so far. Much bigger impact to follow, as well as Halloween of course (tonight!). The fall has been great, we have had so many family visits and fun events as we march towards my 42nd birthday - eeeek! --- and the holidays. It is my sincere intent to post more frequently and this post is dedicated to KK for reminding me I have readers who are patiently waiting!! ;)
