Celebrations

 Better late than never - I'm finally getting to a post on our celebrations from the last month! Somehow, timely blogging has become a thing of the past for me. Not a big deal since I don't think there's a large audience out there waiting for updates (ha!), but I still like to get these memories "on paper" for my girls to hopefully enjoy someday. 

We celebrated Christmas Eve with the Brittains. Lots of good food, drinks, and laughter - and this is the only picture I have to show for it!

Christmas morning started bright and early (although not as early as some years - I think this year was close to 7:30), and was full of fun! 

We had a lowkey winter break. Lots of games, movies, walks, puzzles, trips to the park ... late nights, sleeping in, too many snacks, etc. The girls went through a little Rootbeer Float phase over the break!

Here's one of the puzzles we finished over the break, in time for the Cyclones Fiesta Bowl win!

On New Years Eve, we went bowling. Steve and I each had a high game, and left sort after three straight hours of bowling. New Years Eve was cold and rainy here, so it was a perfect socially-distanced indoor celebratory activity! At home, we did poppers and watched the ball drop.

Shortly after winter break, we celebrated birthdays for Steve and Jim! Steve said Jim looked at the fireplace all day long, anxious to get into his gifts. 

Jim had figured out presents at Christmas, and his birthday was the icing on the cake. I'm pretty sure it was his best day ever.

It was steak and ice cream cake for this 40-year-old! Hard to believe. Steve and I have now celebrated twenty birthdays together. Here's to many, many more.

Sunday SNOW Day

All week, the forecast showed potential snow in North Texas today. We've seen that forecast before, though, and didn't get our hopes up since snow in North Texas means it could be a lot somewhere but none here. So when I glanced out the window just before noon and saw a couple of flakes coming down, I was so excited!

The girls headed straight outside. If you look closely, you can see a few flakes in this picture. 

They went into the backyard and brought Jim outside with them, and the snow started to pick up a bit.

Jim wasn't sure what to think, but he had fun chasing the girls around and eating it!

Look at those big flakes! After multiple years in a row of snow days, it's now been years since we've seen this much.

There was some decent accumulation on the greenbelt out back and at the park.

The girls decided to give their sleds a try. We ordered these five or six years ago during a winter when we had multiple snowfalls, and they've just been waiting patiently for more use.

Headed to the park. They were out in the snow for a solid two and half hours before coming home wet, cold, and happy!

There are still some flakes coming down. Nothing that will stick around long, but it sure made for a beautiful - and exciting - Sunday!

Merry Christmas!

 

As for the Rest of December

I had a great plan to stay updated on the blog during all of our December events, but life (mostly work) was crazy, exhausting, stressful - and to make it to winter break was all we could do. So here I am with another photo dump catch-up post. Getting it in before Christmas, at least!

The first weekend of December, Emma's team split into two to play in a one-day 3v3 tournament. We had beautiful weather, and the girls wore elf jerseys and socks. It was a fun day (even if some parents were a little frustrated by the soccer itself)!

Sara was supposed to finally be taking her babysitting class through the city, but they ended up canceling it again last minute. She ended up at a sleepover with a few friends from school, so after the tournament, Steve, Emma, and I ended up at Austin Avenue to watch the Cyclones finish their wallop on West Virginia.

The following Friday, we celebrated Sara's 12th birthday! We decorated the house using The Office birthday theme, which she loved so much and made us all laugh!

Looking so grown up. Sara got clothes, earrings, gift cards, and airpods. She was thrilled!

On Sara's birthday, Emma's class had to begin quarantine due to a positive case her in classroom. Luckily, it didn't really change our plans because we had tickets to a drive-through lights display at a nearby ballpark. It was a lot of fun, and a great COVID-friendly way to celebrate a birthday!

Twelve candles in four bundt cakes so everyone got their favorite flavor. This really is the way to always do it!

Happy 12-year-old

While Emma was on quarantine, and until she had a negative test, she had to miss practices and games. I think that was the hardest part for her. However, she spent a cold, rainy Sunday making a recipe from scratch from one of her cookbooks. It was a pretty involved recipe for crumb cake, and she did a great job!

Jim enjoyed having Emma home from school, and now is loving winter break with everyone around.

Emma had a negative test in time to participate in her soccer practice/team gift exchange last week. She took a quick pic with Santa and then told me he obviously wasn't real, based on his beard hair.

Sara's school had fun dress-up days all week last week, and her counselor sent me this picture of her in her ugly sweater. Apparently they all got a good laugh out of it! 

On Sunday, Emma had her first basketball game! The team has a lot of the same girls as her softball team, as well as the same coahces. I didn't get to go because PSA only allows one spectator per child for indoor sports, and I had gone to indoor soccer that morning, but Steve got this shot for me (no parents at practice inside either). Emma scored one of the team's two points (free throw) and had a great time! Apparently there was some drama and the ref called the game because the other team's coach's mask kept falling down. However, the parents decided to let the girls play out the rest of the game as a scrimmage. I'm excited to see her play. She's been practicing a lot on the driveway!

Yesterday we had our baking day, and tried the candy cane twists for the first time. Easier said than done, but at least they taste good!

The weeks leading up to winter break were fun at school, as they always are, but also so stressful. my staff was dropping fast, we had a barebones office crew, and I was feeling less than my best. It was the wildest, hardest semester of my career, and I don't know that next semester will be much different. I was so glad to make it to last Friday in one piece. We celebrated with dinner at LaHa ... and Santa was there! The girls were super embarrassed that I made them take a picture with him in a restaurant, but it was the closest we were going to get this year. I think they look cute! Fajitas, margaritas, Santa ... what more could we want?!

We have NO plans this break. It feels odd to not be traveling, but I can also tell that our bodies and minds need rest. We had played with the idea of going to San Antonio for the possible bowl game there, but the Cyclones got a New Years 6 game and will be playing in Arizona! Unfortunately, our game is no-fans allowed so we'll watch from home. Just going to take each day at a time - play at park, do some reading, I've already cleaned out some cabinets ... all the things we've neglected for months. I'm excited about a true break!

Today the weather is beautiful (cold front blowing in for Christmas), and Emma played for hours at the park with a friend. Jim was there for a long time, too. I loved the long, peaceful, beautifully refreshing walk!

And a friend stopped over with gifts of booze and poppers! We had to do the poppers right away, and Steve and I reminisced about many fun MN Christmases where poppers were a staple. Missing our people there, but grateful for our people here.

Merry Christmas!

Twelve

Here begins the last year before Sara is a teenager. She's becoming a beautiful young lady in front of my eyes and all at once I both can't believe it and love it. She is one awesome kid.

At 12, Sara is doing well in school, looking forward to the various electives that will become available to her next year. She's made a great group of friends and loves to fill me in on the gossip. She continues to love cheer, making steady growth and building self-confidence that will continue to be an important asset. Sara loves "The Office", reading, Jim, and her phone. She loves wings, pizza, Dr. Pepper, burgers, cheese bread, and she's still stuck on her original staple: round meat sandwiches. She has started to love shopping if clothes are involved, and I have completely stopped buying her anything she hasn't picked out herself.

When we have time alone together, whether a quick trip to Starbucks or a dinner out, she always starts with, "Sooo...what you want to talk about?" She asks me all sorts of questions that I do my best to answer. I ask her some, too, and it's so fun getting to know the real person she is becoming. She has opinions and views - and I'm working on striking the balance between honoring her opinions as they are and steering them toward evidence. I do love that she's finding her voice and that she shares it with me. I'm going to work hard not to squash that in the coming years.

At twelve, Sara is just an inch or two shorter than me and can frequently be found rummaging through my closet. Most days she lets me hug her, even as she rolls her eyes when I tell her for the millionth time to go to bed or to pick up her room or to take the dog out. She's funny, smart, sarcastic, stylish ... and really just one of my very favorite people. 

Happy 12th Birthday, Sara Noel!

My Favorite Thanksgiving

 In early September, Steve texted me at work and asked if I wanted to go to Broken Bow for Thanksgiving. He'd gotten an email about just a few cabins remaining, and I didn't hesitate to say yes. I had been looking forward to our getaway everyday since ... with no idea of how badly I'd need the break and change of scenery by the time it rolled around. We started Thanksgiving break with a soccer tournament and putting up our Christmas decorations. Then on Wednesday, we headed north for a few days of cabin life! 

We arrived, unpacked, and wasted no time settling in. After playing some football, we started our first campfire. Roasted hot dogs, made s'mores, smoked cigars ... all the good things!

The girls took full advantage of the hot tub and were in it every day!

On Wednesday night, Emma helped me with the Thanksgiving meal prep!

We made viewing time for all of the must-watch events: Macy's Parade, The Grinch, Christmas Vacation ...

And we played LOTS of UNO! 

Jim spent equal amounts of time eagerly sniffing and exploring the wilderness, and passed out cold. He loved the woods but they sure wore him out!

We had beautiful weather on Thanksgiving Day, so we started the celebration with appropriate bevs ...

... and exploring!

Although it was just the four of us, we were at a cabin, and it meant way overpacking, we were determined to have a traditional Thanksgiving meal. It was way too much food for us, as we knew it would be, but still fun to prepare and share as if we were at home or with extended family.

Always room for pumpkin pie!

On Friday, we had reservation for a horseback trail ride. It was supposed to rain, but the weather cooperated.

We had a peaceful 45-minute ride through the woods where we saw many deer up close!

After riding, we spent a little time in town. We headed to the local brewery for drinks, pizza, ice cream, and the Cyclones game - a huge come-from-behind win!

The wishbone was dry enough to break at our final campfire that night.

It truly was the perfect Thanksgiving for us. It was peaceful, stress-free, quiet, fun in all the ways we wanted it to be ... full of "yes-es". It was definitely time our family needed together after so much stress and very little time off over the last several months.

Throughout our stay, I kept thinking to myself, "I hope they remember this, I hope they remember this." More and more, I find myself wanting to give my girls experiences that they'll always remember and treasure. I felt the same way when they were younger, but I know that so much of what we do during the years we're currently in, they'll have the capacity to remember, reflect upon, and even possibly someday incorporate with their own families. Especially during these types of trips - the most simple, basic fun is something I hope they remember with fondness. Just these few days of quality time together and special memories will hold me over for quite some time!