Winter Break

We are a week into winter break, and so far it's been so good! We started the break with a night out with some of Sara's best friends to celebrate her birthday. They were a fun group!  

Lots of laughs and pizza ...

... followed by ice cream. It was fun to watch Sara with her friends. One has been a friend since 1st grade, a couple others came along last year in middle school, and another is new this year. I love watching her find her place and her people!

We followed up that fun night out with an all-day soccer tournament in the middle of nowhere. It was freezing with high winds ... made for an interesting day. Worth it to watch this team play one last time before Christmas!

Of course we've had plenty of baking going on. You can see how excited Emma was to have Sara helping her with the gingerbread dough.

They managed to figure it out though. This year I realized they really didn't need me for any part of the cookie making or decorating process. Not sure how to feel about that.

The girls had been asking to go ice skating again, so we hit up free skate earlier this week!

More baking for Emma ... she wanted to make peppermint candy cane cookies, so she set up the recipe on her tablet and got to work!

We also made a trip to see Santa, which Emma had been asking about but then didn't have much to say to him once we got there. She said this Santa was wearing too much green and had too many brown hairs in his beard. Oh, well. Sara humored me for a cute picture!

The big change so far over break is Sara's new braces! We didn't go into the break knowing this was in the plans, but after a check-up early in the week, the orthodontist said it was time for round two. She said Sara would probably need to wear them for about sixteen months, so after some quick math, Sara opted to go ahead and get them ASAP so she can be done before high school (hopefully even by the end of 8th grade)!

Turning all that dough into cookies ...

We spent a fun Christmas Eve with the Brittains, and then Christmas morning got going around 7:30 am - not too bad! Everyone was excited to see what Santa brought!

Sara got all sorts of things she wanted. This year she sent me direct links so I bought the right items ... but I was still able to surprise her with a few things!

Emma had been asking for a ukulele, which arrived from G&G. She spent much of yesterday practicing, and she's getting the hang of it!

We thought our pickle present shirts were pretty good!

It was a good Christmas. It always comes in such a whirlwind, and then it's over just like that ... but it's been a really good season. Having the last week to unwind and settle the stress a little bit really helped, and we've been enjoying our winter break as a family. Still more to come; we aren't going to push it ... we'll see what comes up and what sounds good, and do those things!

Merry Christmas!

 

13 Going On ...

Going on anything beyond 13 seems unbelievable, but here we are. My Sara Noel is a teenager! She has become the coolest young lady and I'm so just proud of her.

At 13, Sara is now several years deep into cheering with her team at Texas Dynamix. She is a hard worker and a strong leader on her team, and she continues to push herself at every opportunity to master new skills. Anytime there is an optional tumbling session or the chance to take a few extra passes on the floor, Sara is there for it. I love watching her perform, and I'm so impressed her with strength and drive.

Sara is in Student Council and also recently auditioned for, and made, the one act play. I love that she's putting herself out there. She's connected with a great group of friends and spends countless hours on group chats with them. Sara is a voracious reader and a fashionista in the making. She discovered thrift stores not long ago and loves piecing together new looks. She rocks them all. The proud owner of several vintage band t-shirts, Sara says you can only wear them if you listen to the music. As a result, she's the proud owner of a CD player which she uses to play Steve's old hand-me-downs and whatever else she can find in the bins at Half Price Books.

I cannot imagine what else we could have possibly asked for in a daughter. Sara is smart, thoughtful, hard working ... eager to debate and defend her positions ... always up for a laugh, a frappucino, and a good time. She may be taller than me already, but she'll always be my #1 girl.

Happy 13th, Sara Noel. It's been so, so good ... but I know that the best for you is still ahead. 

Thankful

 For the second year in a row, we headed to Broken Bow for Thanksgiving. This has quickly become such a beloved tradition that it may live forever. When I say that going to stay in a cabin in the woods is one of the few things my family unanimously agrees upon as one of the very best things ever, it's no exaggeration. We all love it.

We left Tuesday and had to hit up Buccee's on the way out of town. Emma dressed for summer since the sun was out! It was a pretty day, but quickly cooled off once the sun went down in Oklahoma, and the week got progressively colder. It made for great snuggling and campfires! 

The girls spent plenty of time in the hot tub. The cabin doesn't make all fighting go away, but it does make the girls spend more time together, which is always a good thing!

Jim loved cabin life. From the smells outside to the large enclosed deck to the couch naps by the fire ... this guy was in heaven.

I always love the simplicity of this place ... the girls spent hours playing ladder ball and tag. I took time to notice leaves and when it was dark at night, we could so clearly see the stars.

We all enjoyed quiet reading time ...

... and the weather was perfect for nightly hot chocolate.

Of course Emma was eager to help in the kitchen, making our pumpkin pie and peeling potatoes. The oven was a little slow so the turkey took longer than expected ... but it didn't matter because we were on no schedule other than relaxing and watching football!

The girls got an early start on Christmas activities ...

We did venture out for Grateful Head pizza on Wednesday night, and "funtivities" on Friday: horseback riding and lunch at the brewery. I've learned that my family does not enjoy highly scheduled vacations; they were perfectly content to play outside, take Jim on walks, sit by the fire, read, etc. Our lives are so over-scheduled all the time, I just operate in that mode ... but it was good to hear from all of them that they were happy to just BE. Still, they did enjoy our one small adventure. Such a peaceful ride.

I'm so thankful for this family of mine, and our simple yet wonderful time away together.

Halloween 2021

The week leading up to Red Ribbon Week, which is full of dress up days. Most of our schools make it work so that the kids can wear their costumes on or around Halloween ... it's not worth the fight! Emma's school had "book character day" on the 29th, and she was excited to wear her witch costume to school.

That night, we carved pumpkins. Jim was very interested in the event, and stole several chunks of discarded pumpkin from the table to munch on.

From left to right: Katie's, Sara's, Emma's, Steve's

On Halloween, of course Emma had a soccer game. We celebrated their win with a trunk or treat immediately afterwards. It was a beautiful day and the girls had a great time gathering all sorts of treats from one another!

Pre-trick-or-treating ...

Emma went with some friends in the neighborhood and loved riding in the trailer again. It would stop every once in a while and let the kids run up and down the street to collect candy.

Sara went with a group of friends in another neighborhood. This is the first year I've let her do this (selfishly, really), and she had a blast as I knew she would!

Both neighborhoods had some great decor!

And of course ALL the candy.

Sunday night trick-or-treating is less than desirable, and it's making for a long week with tired kids. But it was a fun night and worth the yawns!

Fall Catch Up!

 OMG - it's already Halloween! I've been meaning to update the blog for weeks, but it's been hard to find a moment to breathe. Sometimes when I do have a minute, I feel so paralyzed by the list of to-do's that I almost can't start anything. Same at work and home ... just SO busy, and going a million miles an hour. Here I am sneaking in a few sentences between cheer and softball (and laundry). It's been a super busy, super fast fall!

We had a great time as a family at Great Wolf Lodge for Emma's 9th birthday. I took all of two pictures! 

In early September, Emma had the chance to run for student council for the first time and she was elected as her class representative. She has loved the new leadership opportunity!

She's also been playing with her softball team in two leagues - staying busy most days of the week with either soccer or softball. In fact, she's just had Thursdays off, now that I think about it. I still think it makes me more tired than it makes her. The Diamond Darlings played in their first tournament a couple of weekends ago and won. It was a tough tournament and they hung in there in some close games to come out on top. Super exciting! Instead of the usual trophies or medals, they were thrilled to get their first rings.

Seems like every weekend has been full of fun ...

We had a fun weekend in Waco for the ISU/Baylor game. The game itself left us disappointed, but the awesome tailgate with tons of fans, cheerleaders, and Cy was super fun!

My mom came to town for a weekend to watch the girls' sports. It was so great to spend some time with her, and she made it to cheer, softball, and soccer!

Emma and StuCo friends participated in the Plano West Homecoming Parade ... 

... and the Daffron Color Run. It's so fun that she has a sweet group of friends right in our neighborhood!

Another weekend was spent in Lyons for Lauren's wedding. It was a quick trip up and back, but we had the best time dancing the night away. So glad we were able to be part of the big celebration!

Sara has been hard at work on her science fair project. She's working on the board now and is almost completely finished. She tested various types of dryer sheets and balls to determine most effective. For the record, the balls collect the most lint.

She's also been spending lots of time with friends. They've been to a couple of the West football games recently. It's so fun to watch her blossom as she closes in on 13...

We are looking forward to a fun Halloween tomorrow!