Book 30!

I finished book 30 yesterday!

 I have followed this author online for a while now. I really appreciate how she researches time periods thoroughly before she writes, and I enjoy listening to her talk about her process.

Last month, I finally purchased her whole first series. It is not historical fiction; it's another fantasy world that I'm fully addicted to now. Her main character is a strong female assassin, Amira, and I'm so glad there are so many books in this world. The books is told from her perspective, and I love how her character is complicated and evolving.

One of the coolest aspects is at the end the book there is a novella that tells the pivotal event from Daindreth's perspective. He is the target turned love interest turned prince who needs saving, and it his perspective fills in so many of the details that we need to fully build out the world. 

The Tree is Up and Another Wrestling Tournament Down

Issa and I finally decorated the tree Friday night:

This one was a doozy. It's a hurricane tree, so we literally had to untangle some of the branches where the wind had twisted them. It's also oddly soft, so many of our heavy or fragile ornaments stayed packed up this year. But...we are happy with the final result:

Saturday, we had an all day wrestling dual on Saturday. We wrestled six teams and came in second over all:

 We were up against some tough competition, but I love the way Coach framed the day. Evan still loves spending the long days with his friends, and Brad and I have learned to go out to lunch during the buys, which makes the day go so much faster. 

Book 29

I finished book 29 this week:

 A colleague plans to read this with our adolescent literacy class, and she wanted to make sure she wasn't crazy. She is not. I think this is a really important text for students and teachers to read. What happened in California was a failure on so many levels, and hearing from all sides of the story and watching it all unfold is so fascinating. I'm truly glad I read it, and I'm even my glad our students will be reading it.

An Evening of Theatre

 Last night, Issa and I drove to Campbell to see Kai in a theatre production. He played a sarcastic clock in a play written, staged, and performed by his honors class.

The whole thing was 20 minutes long and was a commentary on modern society's rush and lack of focus because of it. It was amazing well done for a group of freshmen who were not theatre majors and who did this as a final exam. I can also safely say this will be the one and only time we see Kai on stage. 

Afterwards, we went to his favorite pizza place and helped him pack up to come home from break. It was fun to see him in his element and to see people wave him down to say goodbye. 

It was also hysterical to compare his room and packing to Issa. Issa has a million throw pillows and every inch of her space is so her and so full. Kai's room is so spartan and so chaotic. He had exactly zero clue what he wanted to bring home and how he was going to get it there. It was hysterical. But...we got it done and he's home until January. 

I'm tired today, but I'm so glad that we made the trip.

Another Wrestling and Holly Jolly Weekend

Friday, we had a lovely, quiet day. I had a ton of Zoom meetings, so I worked from home, and we had an evening with zero plans. The highlight was Issa making a Walmart run and coming home with new Bluey todays (you can just see their hats in her back seat):

Buddy is not complaining about the extra snuggles since it's been so cold. He also now likes to be tucked in to a blanket:

Saturday we had another wrestling dual tournament. Evan won his match, but I got no pictures. This is the only picture I have, and I stole it from Instagram:

The team came in second overall after a really hard last match. Brad and I also managed to sneak out for lunch during a buy round and found a great taco place and coffee shop, which was a definite bonus!

Yesterday, we went over to help Mom put up her outside decorations:

It had been freezing, so we were grateful for a bit of a warm-up:

Evan is still glitterly from the angel, which is making me chuckle:

But it ended up being perfect:

Monarch asked Issa to come back and carry the banner in the Christmas Parade, so Brad and I went out to watch yesterday evening:

Our little town is growing, so the parade is getting bigger! We managed to get there early enough to score seats on the church wall, though, which was brilliant.

This is my last week on campus for the semester, and Issa is already home. We can make it!
 

All Wrestling All the Time

We are in driving from gym to gym season. 

Evan wrestled as a varsity starter for the first time Wednesday night! He had three matches: lost the first one on points and took two pins. It wasn't the most fun night. But...he learned a lot. 

He is right on the varsity/JV bubble, so last night he wrestled in the JV match and got two pins:

Tomorrow, he is wrestling back-up for a varsity dual tournament. His best friend is the starter (just coming back from pneumonia), but he knows he won't be able to wrestle all five matches. We think Evan will get at least two--maybe more.

It's not always easy to watch wrestling, but I'm so very, very proud of him of how he fights hard every match.

 

Book 28

I finished book 28 over break:

 This one flirted with breaking my no reading for work in the morning rule, but I'm glad I read it. Our new campus president suggested it, and it is so interesting. I've been accepted into a national leadership institute for the spring semester, and I'm enjoying dipping my toes back into this aspect of my professional life. I've been so focused on teacher education that it's nice to get back into my leadership brain. 

A Very Happy Thanksgiving!

I did a horrible job of taking pictures last week, but we had a lovely Thanksgiving break. It was so fun to have both kids in the house for an extended time again, and we crammed a lot into just a few days!

Wednesday, we went to see Wicked. It was even better than I had hoped, and I'm so sad we have to wait a year to get the second half! 

Thursday, Mom and Shannon came over for Thanksgiving lunch. I love setting the table with a tablecloth, glasses, and silverware that belonged to my grandmothers:

This year, I added a set of napkin rings I made in the pottery studio:

I finally have the turkey down to a science, but this one scared me. The thermometer read too hot when we took it out, but it was still juicy and delicious:

We forgot to take a picture at lunch, but we did manage to capture one at dessert:

We also have Nana the first gift of Christmas:

Her Nespresso Advent calendar has become tradition now. We spent the afternoon watching Christmas movies and chatting before leftovers for dinner.

Friday, we ventured out for trees:

Mom got a new stand, which made her set-up super fast:

I picked a tree that was a bit too tall:

We got it trimmed down to fit, but there will be no angel on top this year. 

Friday night we went to DPAC to see Hades Town after a fabulous tapas dinner. We are all still talking about that meal, and Hades Town is on of my favorite shows.

Saturday and Sunday we did the decorating, starting with the teddy bear tree:

We had dinner at Mom's last night, and Issa headed back to school this morning. 

I'm so excited for the holiday season, and I'm so grateful we had such a wonderful beginning...
 

What a Weekend

We had one of those truly wonderful weekends. Both kids had big events Friday, Brad and I got a date day Saturday, and yesterday we girls went to a ballet before a big family dinner.

Evan had a wrestling meet Friday night. It was the home invitational, and he drew the two toughest teams for his bracket:

His first pin took until the second period, but it was pretty:

The second took less than a minute and was the best we've ever seen him wrestle:

He won his bracket, and Coach was very, very happy, which is always a good thing.

While we were watching wrestling, Issa and Kai went to semi-formal:

They had a blast until the pregamers arrived, at which point they made their exit:

This is the only full-length picture we got, but it's better than nothing:

They had a lot of fun and ducked before their introverted selves decided it was not fun anymore.

Saturday Evan had to work the wrestling tournament all day. I went to the farmer's market with mom in the morning, and then Brad and I worked our shift at the tournament before having a date day. We did some Christmas prep and generally just enjoyed some time just the two of us, which is hard to come by these days.

Yesterday, Shannon came into town and all four of us girls went to the ballet to see Marcelo's final bow. He has long been one of our favorites, and I'm so glad we could be there to see it. Afterwards, we met the boys for PF Chang's before coming home to prep for the short work week!

We have many holiday plans this week, and I'm excited for all of the family time to come!

 

Book 27

I traveled to NY this week to do an AAQEP Accreditation visit. I had a fabulous team, and it was a great three days. These visits are packed and a ton of work, but I truly enjoy doing them. I learn a lot by seeing what other sites do, and I enjoy trying to make the process as painless as possible. That travel gave me some extra reading time, so I finished book 27:

 This was the third in the Lightlark series, and I thought it was the last. Sadly, it is not and it ends on a huge cliffhanger! I think the second book was the best of the three, but I did enjoy this one. The main character is really developing her strength in this book, and now I'm so anxious to see how it ends. With no release date in sight, I am not a happy camper.

And so it begins...

 Last night officially began the wrestling season, and I didn't take a single picture. 

Evan is in the number two spot for 150, so he didn't wrestle last night, but he does get to travel with the varsity team again this year! Last night we had a Tri in Asheboro, which is a little over an hour away. Brad couldn't get off work early, so I drove down. 

We trounced Science and Math. Everyone but our poor freshman 136 got a pin. But then we wrestled Uwarii. They were last year's state champs, and only Alejandro (the number one in 150) won on points. Everyone else lost. It was ugly, but I was so proud of the team. They kept good spirits and still cheered each on.

We didn't have a ton of spectators on our side, but I loved sitting with the senior moms. They kept the same good spirits and cheered everyone on. We were loud even if we were losing! 

I really think this is going to be a very fun season.

Books 25 and 26

I finished the second book in the series Monday:

Half of the book is a series of flashbacks that make the first book make so much more sense. The first book easily stands alone, but this really adds some depth and complexity. It also ends in a way I absolutely did not see coming.

Since I knew book three was supposed to arrive last night, I read this book yesterday:

It's George Washington's journal that essentially launched the French Indian War. Brad got it for me when I was in my revolutionary rabbit hole, and it got buried the the to be read stack. It's been a while since I read a primary document, and it was so interesting to see the combination of surveyor, diplomat, and soldier play out.
 

What a Weekend

We had another fabulous weekend. 

Saturday morning I got up and went to the farmer's market. It has become a little dose of happy for me every week. I have a few farmers I know by name, and I love spending some time in the fresh air with my little market basket.

Later that morning, I picked Mom up and we went to a friend of Evan's open studio. He does welding with found metals, and Mom took home these two herons:

I just love them, and it's really fun to support one of Evan's friends as a professional artist.

Once we found a home for the sculpture, we met Issa at the mall for lunch. It was so fun for the five of us to catch up, and I'm always grateful when we have some found time together. After lunch, we split up. The boys went candy shopping, and we girls went dress shopping for Issa's semi-formal. Issa is so fun to shop with, and I can't wait for the pictures in a couple of weeks when she and Kai go to the dance.

Yesterday, I spent some time in the pottery studio, and other than that we had a really easy day. Evan and I ended the day watching the Lions game, which about took me out. I love my Lions, but good grief this season is a ride!
 

Book 24

I finished book 24 last week:

 Issa read this one first, and it's another fantasy novel with an interesting world and complex characters. I was almost finished with it, when I realized there was a second book, and I managed to get it here the day I finished this one. The third book comes out next week, and it is preordered! 

I'm really enjoying visiting these other realms. It's a nice break from our reality.

A Very Fun Corn

Issa and I both participated in Corn on campus this weekend!

For the first time, academic departments were asked to be in the parade. Our department went all in with a choreographed dance to "ABC" by the Jackson 5 and matching shirts:

We had the best time, and it was so fun to hear the students lose it when they saw us. We were also the only department to participate, so I'm extra proud of us.

We were most excited to support Issa, though:

She has spent the last several weeks rehearsing multiple times a week with her friends. She was in every dance in their skit and choreographed one of them, and it was so good! She made some good friends and had fun, which is all that we could ask for. They also came in second, which is not too bad!

Corn is just one of those things that is hard to explain. It's a class competition and a celebration of all of the best that is Meredith. Watching my seniors process in I was a teary mess. It's a nice reminder that this really is Wonderland.
 

A Different Halloween

 I have so much to catch up on here, but I want to give each event it's due, starting with Halloween!

This was our first Halloween with no kids at home. Evan was at wrestling, and Issa celebrated on campus. She and her roommate were Boo and Sully:

We opted to do the Great Pumpkin at our house again, and I added some fun yard signs this year:

Kids could choose, a toy, candy, or rock:

Rock was still the most popular! We went three 250 toys, 250 pieces of candy, and 100 rocks.

Brad said it was too hot for his full doghouse costume, but she still wore Woodstock:

I did the full Snoopy:

We had so much fun passing out candy. Every kid was so kind and gracious, and I loved seeing all of the costumes. It was strange to know so few kids, but I don't think I will ever get tired of trick-or-treat in our neighborhood.

And So It Begins

The wrestling season is officially underway:

Evan is one of the kids with someone else on his shoulders. He woke up sore this morning, but he is so excited to be back on the mat every day.
 

A Transition

Last night was a big night for Evan:

He was invited to the adult black belt class to exchange his youth black belt for an adult one:

He has been training with the adults for a while now (mostly because of his size), but he was really excited to make it official--especially since you usually have to wait until you are 16. I got a little teary watching these adults he's trained with celebrate and spar with him:

I always love watching my boys do their thing, and it's been a long time since I have been able to:

And then it was official:

I haven't seen him practice since Brad got his black belt, and he has gotten so much better. He was holding his own with much higher ranked black belts, and I loved seeing him smile and joke around with his village.
 

My Favorite Fall Tradition

Saturday, we made out annual trek to Pumpkins with Goats:

Aunt Shannon was able to join us this time, which added to the fun:

I really do love all of the goat cuteness, and we were there early in the day so they were still very interested in being with us:

My friend helped me carve a cat pumpkin this year:

Brad did a pumpkin who fell over:

The kids did a zombie and stars:

And Nana stuck with her traditional route:

Aunt Shannon won with her monkey:

We had so much fun carving, and then we spent some time petting and feeding the donkeys, alpacas, and horses. The highland cows are always the favorite, though, and Nana brought one home with her this year:

She spent a lot of time choosing the cutest cow with the best moo!

The farm has grown quite a bit since we started coming, but it's still so fun. You really can't beat a day with goats.