Book 4!

I finished book four  of 2024 this morning:

This is another in the Poldark series, and wow. We are approaching the turn of the century, and a bit more reality has hit the family. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I have no idea where the next book will take us!
 

That Did Not Go as Planned

As Issa is getting ready to go to college, one of the things that has been making her worry the most is the fear of failure. We had the brilliant idea that they meant she just needed to experience failure. The surest place we could think of was the pottery studio. I got permission to take her in to the studio and give her a lesson. I intentionally started her with a huge lump of clay, which is insanely hard. This is his first throw:

She initially wasn't sure about the feel of the clay, but she definitely did not experience failure:

She kept working and tweaking--even when I told her that she could try something but it might cause the vase to collapse. She was thoughtful, and she opted to take the risks, and it paid off. It wasn't the lesson we were going for, but it was an important one nonetheless. 

 

A Very Big Weekend

We had a whirlwind weekend around here!

Friday night, Brad and I went to our favorite Italian restaurant to celebrate Valentine's Day:

The food is just so ridiculously good, and our waiter was charming. His wife also has celiac, so we felt so safe eating.

Saturday, we had Scholars' Day on campus for Issa:

She didn't have to interview since she's already been awarded the Teaching Fellows and Scholars' awards, but she did get to meet some of her future classmates, which was fun. She has some new contacts, and she is still really excited to come--even thought the dining hall really blew it and didn't label things. It gives us time to trouble-shoot that before it is her every day.

Saturday night, Issa and I went to the Journey concert:

Toto opened for them, and it was Journey's fiftieth anniversary tour:

We sang out hearts out, much to the amusement of the gentleman sitting next to us. It couldn't have been more different than our last concert, the Eras Tour, but it was still so good in its own charming way.

Sunday, we girls headed to the ballet:

We saw three Gershwin pieces, all of which were new and incredible. It was the first time we ever saw a ballet done in character heels! 

It was a busy weekend, but it was also so very fun!
 

Once More to Wonderland

Every four years, the Meredith faculty and staff produce Alice in Wonderland for our students. We put the whole thing together in basically a week, and it only works because we reprise our roles over time. This year happened to the 100th anniversary of this tradition, so it was an extra special event. Most of our department participated, and I was thrilled to reprise my role as the Caterpillar:

The family got to come see it on Saturday, which was really fun:

Since this was such a big year, we also did an extra matinee performance, so the College provided dinner between the two shoes on Saturday. We were quite the spectacle:

There really is something magical about these trips to Wonderland. There is no other time when the faculty gets to spend a week together just doing something fun, and the students love it. It's so fun to watch them realize who we are and sign their books afterwards. 

It also takes us three and a half years to recover. It's a long, exhausting, physically-demanding week. But by 2028, I'll be so ready to do it all again...

 

Book 3

I finished book 3 of 2024 this morning:

The Poldark saga continues, and I love that this one was allowed to end in a tangle rather than a neat bow. However, I might feel differently if I didn't have the next one ready to go! It was also very nice to read in my dry sauna again this morning. It was a much softer way to start the day!
 

God is Good and Captain Disaster Wins

 This morning did not begin as planned.

Brad was supposed to be traveling to DC this morning. He found out his afternoon meeting today moved virtual, so he was able to delay his flight to this evening since he would have no where to take a virtual meeting early this afternoon if he was traveling.

I went out to do my yoga this morning, and I heard running water. That is never a good thing in the garage. Sure enough, our hot water heater had sprung a leak. I went to get Brad up--extra grateful he was there. We started moving things, and then I looked up hot to shut down a water heater and narrated the process to him.

While he drained the tank with a garden hose I called ARS. They were here by 8:15.

The good news:

Brad had just redone the garage and the only thing directly on the floor were some mats and weights--all things that are easy to dry.

ARS is able to replace the water heater today, which is even better since we had to turn water off to the house until it's repaired.

Brad's meetings for the next two days also moved to a virtual option, so he was able to cancel his trip no problem, which means he will be here for the whole repair/dry out process.

It is certainly not a fun way to start the day, but we are so grateful that we are able to get it repaired today and that we were both here to deal with the chaos and still get everyone where they needed to be this morning!

Onward...

She Said Yes

This is was a very fast and very fun weekend. Mom, Shannon, and I met Becca in New York to do some bridal gown shopping! We all met up Friday evening, and we had an amazing Italian dinner. I had chingale for the first time state-side, and I was very, very happy.

Saturday morning we have breakfast at the hotel before going to Kleinfeld's:

These people know what they are doing. Becca was able to share her vision with the consultant while the three of us cozied into a couch. We stayed put, and Becca got to play fashion show! I don't remember exactly how many dresses we tried on, but I do know we found the most perfect dress:

Complete with a champagne toast:

We had lunch at Eataly and did a little shopping before having a super cool dinner at Beauty and Essex. We found a few of the recipes we want to try, including the most perfect tortilla soup with a cheese dumpling and a kale and apple salad that was amazing. 

Sunday morning we had brunch before Mom and I flew back. 

We had such a fun weekend catching up and chatting about wedding plans. It was a whirlwind, and I'm so tired, but I am very, very grateful we were able to be together and find the perfect dress!

 

That Did Not Go As Planned

Sunday afternoon was Monarch's season debut! We had a great morning getting ready and were out the door early:

Stephanie snapped a picture of the seniors before the show began:

And then things went south. 16 counts into Issa's first dance she went down. She did it very gracefully and got herself off stage, but I knew it was bad. When I got backstage she was in the wings with Brooke evaluating. Thankfully we have a team mom who is an EMT. She ruled out bone and really, really bad. As a true gift, Stephanie told her she was done for the day, and we were advised to go straight to ortho urgent care. 

Our Monarch family stepped up. Vicki all but carried her to the dressing room to change. Her team helped her plan for her littles and stepped into that gap. Moms hugged me and helped me pack. Issa stayed freakily calm, and we headed out:

We received awesome care and a super cool brace:

She was diagnosed with an ugly sprain after a lot of images. Given what we were afraid of, Issa was thrilled. She was cleared to dance in the brace as tolerated starting yesterday. She did everything but big jumps and up and down off the floor no problem. Her senior season is going to happen!

And Kai came in clutch. He drove Mom and Evan home and then joined us in urgent care:

He is so sweet taking care of her. 

Everything could have been so much worse, and we feel so lucky and so loved. I would also like to never do that again thank you.
 

Extra Cozy and Special

Since it has been cold, the critters have been extra snuggly. Issa is still very much Inks's person:

And just look at those toe beans:

And then there is this knuckle head:

Why sleep on the bed when you can be under it!
 

Book 2

 

I finished book 2 of 2024 this week:

I'm still in the Poldark world, and I'm still loving it. The characters keep growing and shifting in interesting ways, and the story is evolving over the decades. It's just nice to visit somewhere else for a while every morning and settle in to see what is happening with this circle of friends. I am already worried about what I will do when this series ends. Thankfully, I still have seven books left.

You Say Yes

Brad is traveling for work this week, and Issa was at Kai's for dinner last night, so this guy and I were on our own:

Mondays are usually his sacred alone time. He emerges for dinner, but aside from that he kind of does his own thing.

Last night, though, he asked to hang out. He made bean dip for dinner, which we ate on the couch watching TV, and then he asked me to play Madden with him. I lost every game, but boy did we laugh. I'm grateful for the times he wants to hang, and I will always say yes.

 

That's a Wrap for the JV Season

Evan wrestled his last JV tournament for the season on Saturday:

This was our only tournament that was divided into tiers as well as weight class. Evan was not thrilled to be placed in the top tier, which was mostly upper classmen. He only lost on points in the first round, and that kid pinned everyone else in the first. He was also a junior who usually wrestles varsity. We'll take it! 

Now we wait...the varsity team is still wrestling through the play-offs, so we will see if Evan gets more mat time. He is truly fine either way. I think we are all hoping he at least gets to go to see some of the meets as a back-up even if he doesn't wrestle.

It's Cold

 We are freezing down here.

Brad and I were laughing this morning about how when we were little 18 in January felt warm. Now it's freezing. The kids actually had a three hour delay yesterday because temps were in the single digits. I actually wore my winter coat into work today.

It's funny how quickly cold becomes relative. We are looking forward to some 40s this weekend, and we are very sad this cold didn't at least bring some snow.

A Big Wrestling Weekend

We spent most of the weekend in a gym! 

Friday, Evan started in the varsity tri. He lost on points and then got a pin! Brad and I had a blast sitting with a bunch of other wrestling parents. They are just a fun group. 

Saturday morning, we were up way too early to go to a JV tournament. The team had a great day, and Evan took second:

He lost by one point to the guy who took home gold, so we will take it:

He is very excited to have a metal that actually has wrestlers on it. His one medal from last year has a volleyball player on the front even though it says wrestling on the back.

He just keeps getting better every weekend!

 

A Big Win

Evan had a huge wrestling tournament last Friday! He had three matches:

He won the first one on points, got a pin on the second, and won the third on points:

That meant he officially won his bracket:

He also got his first black eye:

That pictures was when he walked off the mat; it got way worse. He actually ended up with a broken blood vessel, so his eye is pretty gnarly. He thought it was pretty cool until the adrenaline wore off and he actually could feel the pain. 

We are so proud of how much he has grown this year, and it was so fun to have such a huge win!

 

Slow Reentry

This has been a gentle reentry into the real world. I'm back to work as of Wednesday, but I have not had to drive in yet. Students don't arrive back on campus on next week, so I have been able to do all of the paperwork and what not from home. It was even warm enough to do some of the work in my tree house:

I still love that space! The wifi is shockingly strong, so it's a nice way to get some fresh air and be productive at the same time.

I also finished book one of the new year:

I'm still loving the Poldark series. It is now officially past the point where the BBC show left off, so I really have no idea what is going to happen! The show did depart from the books quite a bit, so I've had plenty of surprised up until this point, too!
 

A Very Merry Christmas Break

We had an absolutely lovely Christmas break. I literally did not turn my computer on the entire time, so this will be a big catch up!

We started the official festivities the day Aunt Shannon landed on Thursday with our annual sugar cookie adventure. Kai joined this year, and it was his first time making this kind of cookie:

The siblings humored me with one decent picture:

And we created our usual crazy assortment of cookies:

Nana did request one plate of normal ones to take to the neighbors, and we managed to make that happen.

Saturday poor Nana went down with a stomach bug, so Shannon and I took Issa shopping. We did get plenty of dressing room door footage to share, and Issa humored us with a full fashion show! 

Christmas Eve was at Nana's house:

Our pajamas celebrated Issa's college choice this year:

We had a great evening of mashed potato bar, gift giving, and watching Frosty the Snowman for research purposes (more to come on that later).

Christmas morning saw Santa's arrival at our place:

Evan has a pretty big ask, so he was surprised to still see three packages under the tree for him:

Santa brought his requested VR headset along with some video gaming fuel in the form of chips and soda.

Issa's Christmas started her college preparation, and Santa brought her all things coffee, including a Nespresso, pod drawer, and cups:

Nana and Shannon joined us for a charcuterie lunch:

We spent the rest of the afternoon playing a Christmas version of Dungeons and Dragons and cooking. Brad smoked turkey and pork belly, and Mom and Shannon brought sweet potato latkes and brussel sprouts.

The next day Shannon went down with the bug, so our final celebrating was delayed until Thursday when we did a Frosty themed Cake Wars.

Brad and Shannon's team stuck to the central character with their stacked cake pops and rice krispie treat hat:

Mom and I recreated the green house scene where Frosty saves his friend but melts in the process:

We had a tough team of judges, but they ultimately awarded Brad and Shannon the win:

New Year's Eve found us back at our place finishing the D&D campaign while munching all the things: cheesy potatoes, potato skins, and Greek nachos. New Year's Day we finished the whole to-do list at Nana's house before Shannon flew home! I managed to take not a single picture.

The rest of the week was a lovely combination of cozy and chaos. There were snuggly fires:

I finished book 37:

I'm still enjoying the series, and it was nice to have some extra time to read! I also started cross-stitching again, which has been lovely.

We also had two wrestling tournaments:

Both were two day tournaments with top teams from across the region. Evan learned a lot, but he didn't get a win at either one.

I will be forever grateful for this coaching team, though:

They have to be exhausted by they just keep showing up and coaching! Evan is still enjoying wrestling, and he's excited to have the varsity starting position at the meet tonight!

Brad and I are back to work, and the kids went back to school today! It's looking the 2024 is going to be a great one...