Christmas 2019

A weird thing happened this year.

Nothing went horribly wrong at Christmas. 

Last Christmas, Jane was just barely recovering from a really bad case of strep throat, two years before that, she had c. diff. The year before that I was on chemo, and the year before that Jane had a crazy high fever from the flu.

It was fun to just have normalcy. 

We decorated the tree. We finally went fake last year after the tree aphid incident. That was a disgusting last straw.

But the wreath is still real. It lives outside and can have aphids all it wants. 

We ceremoniously hung the special ornament from this year's travels. 

The governor gave us a half day on Christmas eve, so we spent the time going for a run and finishing up the last few things while the girls were at my parents.

They came home just in time to make Jesus' birthday cake

and open pajamas

and go see lights. 

Christmas morning may not be as frantic with older kids, but I like the more relaxed pace. 

Still, excitement abounds. 

and then we ate fatty pastries which we immediately regretted before spending the rest of the day playing the Nintendo Switch Jane got for her birthday.

Merry Christmas to all!

Hey, Nineteen

Today Chris and I have been married for 19 years. 

It's been a roller coaster.

Fortunately, I love roller coasters. 

There is no one I would rather be with.

Chris is the kind of person who who loves to go on adventures and who takes surprises and problems in stride.

He is the kind of person who says "Thank you" for everything. "Thank you for folding the laundry", "Thank you for picking up the kids", "Thank you for getting me hot sauce at the store".

He is smart. He can figure anything out given enough time and access to YouTube. If Chris can't fix it, then it can't be fixed.

He loves a good spreadsheet or a new Google product. He's always an early adopter of new technology.

He hates big crowds and awkward personal interactions, just like me.

He loves a good long walk accompanied by a long conversation, just like me.

He can't get enough spicy foods, not like me.

And somehow, even after all the twists and turns of our own personal roller coaster, he still loves me.

And I love him.

Those Girls Sure are Running Fools!

This year both the girls participated in running programs. Emily did cross country again and Jane participated in Girls on the Run.

Some families are sports families. They grow up watching sports on TV and playing sports in the backyard. Those families are great, but they're not mine. 

In my family, it's important to be active, but it's not important to win. 

Here's Chris, pushing the girls in a race when they were small:

Chris is athletic, built for running. I am not. But I do it anyway. My runs are shorter and slower every year and one of these years, my knee will finally force me onto a bike. But while I can, I run.

I'm glad that the girls picked up on this. 

And I'm glad that, despite having received a heaping helping of their mom's athletic ability, they have decided to run anyway. 

After all is said and done, very few kids will grow up to be professional athletes. But the ones who gain the most from their experience with athletics are those who learn determination and consistency. 

Thanks to great coaches and great friends, that's what my girls are learning. 

Long may they run.

It's Not Every Day Your (Other) Young Lady Turns Eleven

Jane turned 11.

For her birthday Emily decorated her door, which was pretty fun and included lots of Baby Yoda memes. 

She got the traditional "Welcome to Hogwarts" 11th birthday cake.

She did not get a party. I'm still too tired from last year's party. I'm sure she will be a better mom than I am and let her kid have a party every year. 

But to our credit, we did get her a Nintendo Switch... you can see her ignoring it below while she opens her sparkly backpack.

It turned out all she really wanted was a unicorn blanket. Go figure. 

We love Jane. It has been fun to know her for the last 11 years. She never ceases to entertain us or amaze us with her ability to make friends. Happy Birthday, Jane!

Thanksgiving 2019

This year may be the last big family Thanksgiving for awhile. Next year my oldest niece will be at college and my parents will be on a mission. So whatever happens next year won't be the same. We tried to hold up as many family traditions as possible.

My mom cooked all day

Emily contributed this lovely apple cake, which she made entirely by herself. I've decided cake > pie and love a way to work it into a pie dominated holiday.

My whole family gathered. 

Including Lucy and Jane. If you've ever seen the Phineas and Ferb series, it's kind of like that. Except for Phineas and Ferb manage to hide the evidence better. 

I'm glad we got to have one last traditional Thanksgiving before the kids started to scatter and the grandparents skipped town. It was a good one.

Napoleon, don't be jealous I've been chatting online with babes all day

My girls love Halloween. I think it's the dressing up part... no... it's the candy part. Either way, Halloween is just a giant sack full of joy in our house.

Jane knew right from the start she wanted to be Napoleon Dynamite. She researched the role heavily.

She sketched up ideas for a costume:

                                 

She learned the dance:

 And she perfected the stare. Emily elected to be Eleven this year from Stranger Things. Pictured here in her Starcourt Mall Battle ensemble, she is ready for her very first teenage party. She had a blast. Jane went trick-or-treating and shut down the neighborhood, as usual.

Can you guess which pumpkin goes with which girl? I hope to be able to show this pic in 20 years when Emily is a data analyst at NASA... or something else equally great somewhere else. 

And, of course, would it be Halloween without Lisa's donuts? No. That's a ridiculous suggestion. Lisa lives on the next block and she has already assured herself a mansion in heaven by putting up with Jane wandering over to play all the time and by providing me with these:

Who needs Christmas when you've got Halloween?

Back to School 2019

This is Emily's last year of junior high. It's weird how they work things around these parts since last year was her first year of junior high and it's already the beginning of the end. We hope she will have a good year and that the drama is kept to a minimum. I also hope that a cure for cancer will be found. Not sure which is more likely.

Jane is in 5th grade. She has some good friends in her class. She has mixed feelings about being in the modulars but we think she has a great teacher. Mostly she is just excited to see the friends she's been missing all summer.