Z Sisters

Annee:

Rachel, I'm wearing the same shirt as you!

• Since the last update, we have had three weekdays of NO SCHOOL.  We've also had more rain than we've seen since the summer.  I feel like it's been a bit drab lately.  
• No subbing.  One teacher told me it's because they were doing end-of-semester testing.  All the teachers felt like they had to be at school.  On Friday I got about five calls for upcoming subbing jobs.  I guess she was right.  The teachers know when they have to be there, and know when they can take a day off.  It was nice to be at home, I won't lie.  Lots of laundry, cleaning, and quiet.  Just what I wanted.  
• I finished The Wednesday Wars, started Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, and read Ava's Man an abridged version since that was the only thing available on Audible.  Each one of these has been an excellent book, which I would 100% recommend to anyone asking what they should read next.  All that "reading" indicates all the little tasks that I've been doing throughout my day while the kids have been at school.  It also means I started a quilt!  I'm more excited about this quilt than any other quilt in a long while.  Super excited.  Can't wait to show it. 
• Ran Monday-Thursday.  A small victory.  Saturday I took Henry on his 11-year-old Scout 5 mile hike.  
• We have four kids on basketball teams right now.  Mercifully the girls are on the same team, but still it means Monday-Thursday we have an evening activity for someone.  It is exhausting.  Saturday we had games at 10, 1 and 4.  I think our car is on auto pilot to and from the school where they have the games and practices.  If I had a dollar for every time my van drove those roads, I'd be a rich lady. 
• Friday afternoon attended the Young Author's Tea.  George, Jane and Ruby all submitted books.  Jane won a first place prize for illustrations.  Ruby won a "Best Of" award for a book about a hero.  And George won the Best OVERALL for the 4th/5th grade.  His book will get published and bound.  A hard copy will go on the shelves of their school library, and we'll get a copy for our library.  He dreams about being an author.  This is really SUCH a big deal for him.  I wanted him to win so badly, but didn't know if it was too much to hope for.  He wrote a really amazing book. Seriously.  You should read it sometime.   
• Friday night date-night was to see Iron Lady.  I think we were the only ones in the theater who were under the age of 50.  Except one young guy who looked like he had taken his grandma out on a date.  No matter, it was a good movie, if you are seeing any and all movies out right now.  I didn't know much about British history during the late 70s and throughout the 80s.  For that it was super interesting.  It's kind of a love story in the end.  Who know Margaret Thatcher was such a romantic?  

This Week:

• Hosted playdates on Monday, since there was no school and it was raining.  Had to help keep everyone occupied somehow!  
• Tuesday I got a hair cut!  Refer to photo.  If I only cut my hair every five months, I might as well cut it short.  It will be a long time before I'm back there again.  To humor the receptionist I set-up my next appointment in eight weeks.  Do people honestly get their haircut every eight weeks?!  I'll probably end up canceling it.  I cut almost all of the color out of it, and didn't put any new color in.  I'm going au-natural for a while.  Until I get depressed that my hair is a mousy brown, streaked with blondish grey.  Then I'll go back and color it. 
• Tuesday night caught the first quarter of Henry's second game of the week.  He made the first shot of the game.  I was excited.  Then I excused myself to attend book club.  All that reading has to be put to good use :) 
• Also, Tuesday morning I woke up and could not hear out of my left ear.  I spent the entire day yawning and holding my nose while blowing, trying to pop it, TO NO AVAIL.  I was so depressed about my loss of hearing that I went to bed early Tuesday night hoping that I'd sleep the ailment away.  When I woke up this morning, still only hearing out of one ear, I actually called the doctor.  I was at the doctor's office this morning at 8:45.  My ears needed to be flushed.  Who knew?!  There was so much wax and build up that came pouring out of them, that honestly I almost threw up.  I was so embarrassed.  But they assured me it was completely normal, and that they routinely flush people's ears.  Seriously?  When was the last time you needed your ears flushed?!  
• I'm subbing all day long tomorrow for the worst kindergarten class in the school.  I felt kind of bad that I hadn't subbed in so long, and kind of bad that I was enjoying my leisure time so much that I said yes, only to shortly thereafter regret having to spend my day tomorrow with so many naughty 5 year olds.  I will do many mental exercises tonight to geared up for a long day of joyful endurance.  
• Pinewood derby Saturday.  I'm supposed to be a judge of some sort.  Not for the official speed races, but for all the other categories.  Followed up by a whole afternoon of basketball games.  
• I hope I get to finish my quilt sometime in the middle of all of that.  

Ana:

Last few weeks:

-Loved having everyone in town for New Years but we missed the Wileys and Earnests.  Surprises of surprises I managed to ring the new year in awake instead of asleep in bed like normal.  I won't say I didn't miss those precious hours of sleep the following day, but it was great to be with everyone.

-Sleep training William. (Either I trained William or he trained me). It's became ridiculous that he will only nap in our arms so we did some serious sleep training which made both William and me a mess.  We didn't let him cry it out, we just put him down each time he fell asleep in our arms over and over and over again.  I am happy to report that most days he takes four naps in a crib instead of my arms so I can get some work done, make dinners, and acknowledge poor Jack's existence.  I do miss having the little snuggly guy in my arms though.  There's nothing like holding a sleeping baby.

-Sent Jack back to school after the long winter break.  He was a little less excited to go to school then I would have expected him to be.  I guess days full of beaches, family, bowling, wii, zoos, etc don't make school seem so appealing.  I on the other hand was happy to see it start up again.

-Had a major malfunctioning week that included driving my car into the garage with the surfboards on the roof, breaking the surfboard and our garage.  Not my best week.

 -Made the s'mores cookies on Annees blog.  Darn all the yummy things in this world making me have to stay in my big girl pants :).  I didn't have Hershey bars so I ran out to the 7 eleven and behaved like such a moron the guy behind the counter wanted to make sure I was ok.  Yes, I am just that tired.

-I see babies younger then William and I want more babies.  I want to do it all over again and it makes me question my sanity.  With Jack I cried till he turned one if anyone even mentioned me having another baby so this is new territory for me.

-Our house finally went dark after Christmas.  It was just time.

-Finally accepted that I wasn't getting a Christmas card out this year, or even a birth announcement.  Sad, but true.

-Jack turned 6.  I told him weeks ago that if he wanted to stay home on his birthday he could, but he insisted he wanted to go to school.  Then the morning of, when he was dressed and ready for the day and about to head out to the car he told me he changed his mind and wanted to stay home.  Zack was home for the day too so it was spent playing football, playing wii, going bowling, going to the arcade, opening present after present (I really have present giving issues with my kids), eating in-n-out, eating rubios, baking and eating cake, and cookies.  It was a lovely peaceful day and I am so grateful for each moment I get to be Jack's mom.  (yes, even the yucky ones).

-Finished West Wing.  We loved this series and I hate that it's over.  What are we going to do with our lives now?

This week:

-Exercise

-Work

-Avoid blogs that post yummy recipes...

-Try to set up more play dates for Jack so when summer comes it will feel more normal and regular to meet up with his friends.

Sarah:

Last Week(s):

• Found out we're having a BOY!!! June and Scott were really rooting for a girl (or two), so there was some slight disappointment, but both are coming around now. Naming a boy is hard.
• Finished Brenden's Science Fair Project - testing angles of trajectory using a potato cannon. Mostly it was just an excuse to build a potato cannon, but we found some science in there to justify it.
• Lower Lights meeting to plan out shows and recording for the upcoming year.
• Moved Huck out of his crib into a bed in June's room. So far so good, although it is IMPOSSIBLE when he's napped during the day so around 6pm I have to really focus on keeping him awake (and try not to drive anywhere)
• Started watching Downton Abbey (on Netflix) - many of our artsy friends were telling us it was great, and we resisted for a while but now are hooked too.
• Bought a new pair of maternity skinny jeans. I love our sharing system since it makes me feel like splurging for a few nice pieces is ok since I get so much for free already. I might be coming back around to the full-panels, although bottom line is there is really no way to keep the pants up no matter what. Can't wait for spring when I can wear skirts all the time.
• Took the kids swimming on Saturday to the indoor pool in Lehi.
• Made cookies - believe it or not it's been long enough this is actually a noteworthy list item
• Took advantage of an especially warm day to take down more outdoor Christmas decor. Back to cold wet snow now.
• This is such a boring list. My life feels rather blah right now.

This Week:

• Brenden starts the process of getting braces
• Major grocery shopping and laundry needs
• Send out 1099s to people we paid for work with The Lower Lights or The Rooftop Concert Series last year
• Oli needs new church shoes. Brenden needs new snowboarding boots. Remember when you could just shop for fun? I hate business shopping. Although now that I know I'm having a boy maybe I can justify improving Huck's wardrobe a bit.
• Plan a trip with Scott. We desperately need a getaway. Doesn't have to be fancy. Just something to mix things up a bit and to look forward to.
• Get a massage - Scott bought me a gift certificate so I need to take advantage! I'm usually not much of a massage person, but it sounds pretty nice right about now.

Rachel:

Last 2 weeks:

• We made it to SLC for the wedding.  The visit was way too short but I'm glad we got down to Provo for at least a couple hours.  It was fun to visit dad in his new office.  The building is very Mad Men.  Thanks for letting us stay mom and dad.  
• Sunday we had the missionaries over for dinner.  I made BBQ chicken salad and the CPK tortilla soup.  It was good.  I was wishing I had mom's plates which are oval-ish and have a spot for a bowl.  Our table it a bit too small for plates and bowls all together.  I'll keep my eye out for those unique place settings.  
• Finally updated my phone to iOS 5.  It took an entire day, but I can iMessage you all now, whatever that means.  
• Team lunch on Tuesday.  This busy season, we're planning to take one evening off per week.  So Mondays I will leave at 430pm and I'm not supposed to work for the rest of the night.  Sounds like a fun experiment!  I chose Monday b/c that's volleyball day, and by the end of the week work things have backed up so an evening off then would be more stressful than relaxing as I worry how everything will get done.
• Another work lunch at Cafe Rio one day.  So great that it's close enough now!  
• Two dates this weekend just because.
• Saturday I went through the barn sale circuit with Dawn.  I was searching for an organizational solution to our front door area where we drop all our junk.  I think I found some good things.
• Before I left town for SLC, I was awoken in the night by a huge loud crash and breaking sound.  Ken was already out of town so I was too freaked out to investigate what happened.  Turns out the shelf we put up in the laundry room had fallen down along with all its contents.  Note to self: don't store heavy paint cans on a top shelf!  Anyway, Ken rebuilt the shelf this week and added a second shelf underneath only for laundry supplies.  Next we need to a row of hooks to the wall behind the door.  I love the shelves soooo much.  They are so functional and organized and make me happy.  
• Did I mentioned we've been asked to attend a marriage class during the second hour at church?  There are about 8 young couples who attend.  So far it's been pretty fun.  I teach the 5 year olds now and Ken is in Elder's Quorum.  
• Listened to the Mormon Stories podcast about this former seminary teacher who left the church.  It was interesting and sad and frustrating at the same time.

This Week:

• Monday I'm supposed to leave at 430.  We'll see how that goes!
• Looking at my agenda book, I can't really see much going on this week at all.  
• Plan Superbowl party type treats to bring to a work party on next Friday.  Any ideas?  I'm leaning towards making these bite-sized baked bries.  Aren't they cute?
• Hopefully CZ will come back to the office and we can all go to lunch.
• Re-paint my nails.
• Find an eye doctor and make an appointment.  Headaches every night now.
• Deep clean my makeup/get ready area.  This requires throwing out half of the old makeup and samples I've accumulated over time.  Hard to do.
• Make Beouf Bourguignon one day.  Probably Sunday.
• I'd like to invite my 2 VTees over with their husbands for dinner.  That would be 6 people total.  We can only fit 4 at the little round kitchen table.  Is it weird if we invite people over and then have 4 at the table and Ken and I sit at the coffee table or at the island?  Should we invite them over for snacks and games instead?  Or we could bring in some kind of card table that possibly all 6 of us could fit at?  While I love our little place, it's really annoying and awkward that we can't ever invite anyone over.  Especially after people have invited us over and the natural thing would be to return the invitation.  But if they have lots of kids and such, there just really isn't a lot of space or anything fun for kids to do. And there isn't a way to say can just you and your husband come over or something.  Anyway...
• Ken and I would really love to start Crossfit again this week.  Hopefully there will be time.  

Ie Li:

Last Week:

• I kept up with the laundry.  I am pretty good about doing one load of laundry from start to finish each day.
• I cleaned a lot.
• Finished the second season of Sherlock with Steve.  Oh, it's so good.
• Finished Peace Like a River. Oh my goodness, I loved this book.  It was beautifully written and talked about faith in a way that I believe anyone could appreciate it.  It was wonderful.
• I resumed Cutting for Stone, and so far, I am enjoying it very much.
• Ie Ling stayed with me for the weekend while her hubby was out of town.
• Ie Ling watched our kids Friday night so we could go on a date.  We picked up Steve's new glasses and went to the Cheesecake Factory for appetizers.
• We surprised Ie Ling by bringing Ie Mei home from our Friday night date.  Ie Mei flew in just for the weekend and it was wonderful.  We spent all day Saturday shopping at the outlets.  Clothes shopping is expensive and difficult in Mexico City, so we spent the majority of the time outfitting Ie Mei.  We had great success.

This Week:

• Visiting teaching
• Organize pantry
• Get to bed early.  Steve and I discussed our game plan for this busy season at length and concluded it would be best for him to get on the get to bed early/wake up early schedule.  This morning, he got out of the house really early before the kids got up, worked out at the gym in his office building, and was able to start work by 7:30.  Seems like a good strategy to me.
• Resume parent/child dates.  The kids have been asking to start them up again.
• Go on another date with Steve.

Christine:

p.s. I texted her last night trying to encourage her to send in an update.  This is what she said:

"I will try.  I've just been there(at work) 8:30am to at least 9pm every night.  And I'm sitting right next to my manager always so it's hard to do anything other than work on my computer." 

And I haven't heard from her again since.  She sounds busy.  Rachel, take an action shot of her at the office:-)

More Evidence That Pinterest Is Making Me Fat.

It's starts innocently enough.  Someone pins something.  I repin it.  In this case, it was my sister Christine.  Darn her.

Source: the-girl-who-ate-everything.com via Annee on Pinterest

It usually ends the same way too.  A few days later, I find myself in the kitchen making a devilishly delicious treat.  Of which I will consume entirely too much.  Darn consuming too much.

These were delicious, for real.  You put down a layer of graham crackers.  Then, you mix up this cookie dough concoction.  Then, you spread it over the graham crackers and partially bake it.  Take the tray out of the oven, and press a hershey square into it.  

Darn delicious.

In other news, George turned 10.  I'm totally going to give him his own birthday post.  I PROMISE!

And Henry went to a UNC Basketball clinic where he got to spend an afternoon working with the UNC coaches and players:

Which apparently is a really big deal when you are 12, LOVE basketball, UNC, and all things related to either one.  Well, I mean as big of a deal as anything can be when you are 12, and mostly too cool for anything to be a big deal.

But in the mean time, Ruby decided she wanted the same haircut as Jane.  Believe me, I tried to talk her out of it.  But Darin insisted she be allowed to have full ownership over her own hairstyle.  I guess it's good kids have both a mom AND a dad.

We're back to people not being able to tell them apart.  Which apparently is exactly what they were going for...

(More details about their dresses can be found over at MOM)

Untitled.

Sometimes Christmas Eve is almost more magical than Christmas.  The anticipation is so contagious, and sometimes impossible to top.  Nothing makes my life more sweet than being a mother at Christmas time.  Yeah, it's totally exhausting.  I was sick for the entire week after Christmas because of all the lost sleep.  But they totally make it worth it:

This is our last Christmas without a teenager.

Time goes by too fast.

(George is six days old in that photo!)

Know what I mean?!

I try to believe that I'm constantly trading in something that is good, for something that is better.  

I hope I'm right. 

Things sure are pretty good.

Merry Christmas.

Ballet away.

Took these girls to their first live performance of The Nutcracker.  

That was a really great idea!

Thank you UNC for bringing such beautiful performance right to my backyard.  

Tonight they were full of plans for tutus and dancing, just as I suspected they'd be.

Lovely.

Thankful indeed.

My blessings are too many to count.  

We had a great trip to VA/D.C. for Thanksgiving.

Darin is a great photographer.

It helps that he's working with such exceptional specimen.


The United States Botanic Garden is worth going to.  Especially for the Season's Greenings display.  


Even though when we told the children we were going there as our last activity before driving home, they responded:


"I thought you said we were going to do something fun?"

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, they can thank me later for this fabulous childhood!


It's never too late to a be grateful.

Mid-week, partial sister update.

This week is just passing me by!  I think we're all still trying to catch our breath a bit from the whirlwind of activities from last week.  Here is a glimpse from me, Rachel and Christine.  Maybe next week we'll get more participants.  We all need a week off here and there.

Annee:

Last Week:

• RAN A MARATHON!  It was my fifth marathon!  But my first one in four years.  In those four years, I mostly feel like I've gotten older and fatter.  I really didn't know what to expect from this "race".  As it turns out, it was either an extraordinarily good day for running, or maybe getting older isn't the worst thing that has ever happened to me.  I even feel like I'm recovering quicker.  Here it is Wednesday night, almost all my soreness is gone, and I most definitely feel like I could go for  a run in the morning.  (I won't though.  I'm taking at least one full week off before I lace up the shoes again!)
• It's been my goal since I started running marathons to run one under four hours.  It occurred to me when I hit the 20 mile marker that if I stayed on pace, I might actually come in UNDER four hours.  It was a big moment for me.  It was one of those moments you never turn back from.  I grabbed the idea, hung on to it with all my might, and generated a mantra.  That's what they say you should do when running long distances.  You should have a mantra that you repeat in your head.  Here was mine, "My finish time will start with a 3".  Repeated one million times in those last 6.2 miles.  To finish a marathon just barely under four hours is still a remarkably average accomplishment, but I just love those rare moments in life when the mind, spirit, and body get on the same page to accomplish something so meaningful to the soul.  Those moments are few and far between, so we have to celebrate when they happen.  I started crying as I crossed the finish line.  It was a beautiful thing.  
• The week prior to the marathon is all a bit of a blur.  There was the usual amount of subbing and kid shuttling.  There was piano and cooking, and laundry and cleaning.  But none of that was my priority.  Breaking in my new shoes and mentally gearing up for the big race, those were the focus of last week.
• The other highlight of the marathon weekend was the family gathering that occurred.  I am so grateful to be part of a family who seem to genuinely care to be together as often as it is possible.  It doesn't take much to call "family gathering".  And just like that, my dad was taking a taxi from the Richmond airport to the finish line of the marathon so that we could all spend two days together in downtown Richmond.  Those huge meals, and pool side chats are every bit as meaningful as the sub-4 finish.  It was the perfect weekend.

The Blurry Group Shot:

This Week:

• I committed to the elementary school P.E. teacher that I'd sub for her all day on the 17th and 18th.  But if I hadn't, I wouldn't have subbed at all this week.  I turned down jobs on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday in order to recover.  What good does it do to run a marathon, if you don't even get to take a few days off afterwards?!  The rest and quiet days at home have been just what I needed.  The two loads of laundry that I cycled through the wash on Sunday night are still sitting unfolded in laundry baskets.  I am OFF duty this week.  
• I'll be the P.E. teacher for the rest of the week.  I'm fine with that.  I'll have all three of my elementary students in my class at one point on Friday.  That always makes it worth it.  The other great part about being the P.E. teacher is that she has her very own dress code!  She gets to wear whatever she wants, but mostly she wears track suits.  While I do not have the nerve to show up at the elementary school in a track suit, I do have the nerve to show up in jeans with my running shoes for those two days in a row!  Mark my words!  
• That's all I'm doing this week.  I think Saturday I've promised Jane and Ruby that I'll make them pioneer bonnets.  They are performing a play on Monday, wherein they should wear bonnets.  After sleeping in until 10am, I will rise from my bed and make bonnets.  That's my big goal for the week!  
• Of course Thanksgiving in VA is on the horizon.  And Christmas shopping is looming large in my mind.  But I'm really happy about taking things just one-day-at-a-time right now.

Rachel:

Last Week:

• Work work work.  
• Wednesday night I came home and pre-made dinner for Thursday night, made 2 different batches of apple pie filling and boiled down the turkey carcass to make stock.  The turkey stock was so so gross to deal with.  I haven't made anything with the resultant turkey stock (aka turkey jello basically) but it will have to be REALLY good to convince me to ever make stock from scratch like that again.  Gross.
• Thursday evening our friend and his baby came over for dinner.  I dropped the pie off at enrichment but skipped out on the craft.  
• Friday I slept in, did laundry, packed and left town for Richmond.
• Picked up our packet and t-shirts at the Richmond Expo.  Really wanted to buy a reflective t-shirt for the winter but didn't.  
• Met up with everyone for a pre-race pasta dinner at a local Richmond hot spot ;-)  Remember how the people next to us watched a show on their phone all through dinner without headphones??  So annoying.
• Ran the Richmond 1/2 Marathon!  Achieved my goal of finishing below 2:36:00.  It felt so good to do a big race again.  It reminds me why I like this whole crazy running thing to begin with.  It is fun to see everyone around you and feel such camaraderie.  It's amazing to feel so strong and capable and uplifted.  Thank you everyone for coming and participating!
• Circled back to watch Annee run her sub-4 marathon!  Amazing!!
• Exchanged gifts with Ken for Year 1: Paper.  
• Back to DC on Sunday.  Dinner at a friend's house on Sunday night.  Mom, Dad, CZ and Jon came over to our house afterwards.  It's fun to have family in our house!

Next Week:

• Meet our 4th grader names Flor for Everybody Wins DC on Monday during lunch.
• See mom & dad one last time before they leave town.  
• Bring cookies on Wednesday for a little fundraiser in the commons at work.  I've been wanting to make mint surprise cookies anyway.
• Run 4 miles on Saturday.  I'm still way too sore to run today or tomorrow, but by the end of the week I want to be back at it!
• Plan more races!  The fire has been stoked and we are really hoping to get more dates on the calendar.  I wish I could find another 1/2 marathon in Dec/Jan/Feb before work gets crazy again but there just aren't that many around, particularly due to the impending cooooolldddd.  But we're planning on at least a 10K Turkey Trot in Ashburn and a Hot Chocolate 15K the next weekend downtown.  
• Make a final list of all the skirts I want to re-hem longer.  Find a tailor who is good.
• Order the photos and envelopes for our Christmas cards.
• Finalize our Thanksgiving advent jar.  
• Pick up Ken's anniversary gift once it's done.  
• Never eat again.  

Christine:

Last Week:

- Continued to get used to the working schedule.  Didn't get to the office as early as I would like to each day, so I need to work on that.  The first couple weeks have been a little difficult knowing what I should be doing or who I should be reporting to since I haven't immediately been assigned to any client work.  I recognize that this is all just part of starting a new job and things will start picking up.  In the mean time I've been trying to make an effort going around and talking to people within my tax group to see if there's any work I can help with. 

- Started studying for the first part of the CPA exam which I'm scheduled to take on November 30.  It's hard studying now after being out of school for a little bit, I'm just not in that mindset anymore.  It's going to require a lot of focus and discipline to stay on track.  It'll be hard but I know I can do it.  

- Had dinner with Melissa Tuesday night.  It's always nice to see her and catch up, it's sad how little we're able to see each other even now that we're in the same city.  Life is busy. 

- Successfully brought a lunch with me to work Monday-Thursday.  I was pretty proud of that, need to keep that up.  

- Ran three miles on Monday, four miles on Wednesday, then successfully completed the Richmond 8k on Saturday, running it all.  

- Had a fantastic weekend in Richmond with the family.  It was so much fun and so great to have so many of us there, Zack and family were definitely missed.  I was happy Jon was able to come and join us on Saturday so that Sarah, mom, and dad could meet him.  I really enjoyed every moment of us all together as I always do.  

- Picked up my car Sunday night!  It is driving and seems to be working fine.  Hopefully it lasts more than a month before breaking down again.  

This week:

- Training at work Monday-Friday.  This entails sitting in a freezing hotel conference room for eight hours each day while we are instructed on a wide range of topics.  It'll likely be pretty slow and a little rough, but at least they're providing us with lunch each day.  And hopefully it'll be a useful crash course to help us get started on the job.  

- Continue to study.  I won't be able to study at work at all which I was lucky to be able to do last week, so I need to be very good about studying at home after work for at least a few hours.  

- Continue to find time for exercising.  

- Sleep as much as possible.  

- I can't think of anything else but I'm sure I'm missing something. 

Thanks for such a happy weekend last week family!  As always, I have to express my personal gratitude to Darin who helps me make my running dreams come true.  He acts as the best support crew a girl could ever ask for.  He was able to get the kids out on the course at various places, as well as having them all there at the finish line.  It means the world to me!  Until the next big race...

The events.

He turned 12.

It was a pretty simple occasion, per his request.  2-dozen chocolate chip cookie dough filled cupcakes, dinner at Chilli's, and cashing in about a year's worth of allowance to finally get an Xbox.  Those were the highlights.

Since his birthday was on a school day, and he wouldn't let me bring cupcakes to him at lunchtime, I decided he should at least wear all new clothes, head-to-toe, to school that day.  Even if no one else noticed, he'd feel celebrated. 

As it turned out, his new shoes were too hard NOT-to notice.  He got to tell lots of admiring 6th grade boys that his new shoes were for his birthday.  My plan worked!

We are so glad to have Henry in our family, taking us into this new and uncharted territory of parenthood.  I couldn't ask for a better middle-schooler.  At least for now, he's making my job pretty easy.  And now he's perfectly outfitted, and can't wait for his upcoming basketball season.  

Which leads nicely into talking about Halloween.

Speaking of basketball...

Henry was a basketball hoop for Halloween.  Which felt like a huge breakthrough in my opinion, since he's wanted to be a scary guy/zombie for the past four or five years in a row.  I liked that he was willing to "think outside the box" with me this year!  But I was kind of sad that he didn't want to trick-or-treat with the rest of the family.  He just felt like he was too old.  Sigh.  But it was nice to get to trick-or-treat knowing the our house was still being hospitable to our neighborhood trick-or-treaters.  

The rest of the crew...

Jane was Hermione, Ruby was a Witch Princess, and George was your grumpy grandpa.

He took his role very seriously, trick-or-treating in an old-guy voice all night long.  And he fun all weekend long trying out different old guy one-liners.  Good times.  Collectively, they brought home over 12 pounds of candy!  What in the world am I going to do about that?!

For a moment, I thought my heart was softening towards my least favorite holiday, when I felt compelled to decorate my front porch in a festive way.  

I'm still totally charmed by my black crow forest, but as soon as I had to stay up til 3am one night, sewing a witch princess costume, I remembered why I do not like this holiday, in general.  But we do it for the children!  I don't think they actually know that I don't like Halloween.  

While we were out trick-or-treating, Jane asked me what my favorite holiday was.  I said, "probably Christmas." She said, "Oh, I thought it would be Halloween, since you love going on family walks".  She was commenting upon the fact that we were all out together as a family (minus one brooding middle schooler), walking around our neighborhood, on a crisp autumn night.  Really, what's not to like about that?!