Last Break Hurrah

As one last hurrah before we all returned to reality, we made a family zoo trip last weekend:

The weather was perfect! It was in the fifties, and the sun was beautiful. For the first time in a long time, we did the whole zoo, including the dessert where we were all tickled by the sand cat:

My otters were out for the first time in forever:

But the chimps were the absolute highlight:

Watching the baby play was so cute, and they were close enough we could really see their faces:

It was one of those times when you really see how we share 98% of our DNA. I swear I've made the same faces playing with my own toddlers.

I love our zoo. All of the animals were active, and it was amazing to watch them. The rhinos were running across the plain, which was really something to see, and we got to see several of the herds of antelope run, too. 

It was a fun last day trip of the break, and I'm so glad it's such an easy day trip for us.
 

Book 1

I finished book one of the year this morning:

 It's the third in the series, and it did not end at all where I thought it would! I really appreciate how this story is developing, and I'm anxious to see where it goes!

A Holiday Wrap-Up and Book 31

We had a fabulous end to 2024. For the first time in my career at Meredith, I took my work email off my phone and didn't open my laptop the entire time the campus was closed. That left some extra time for holiday fun.

The week before Christmas, we made cookies to take to the neighbors. We learned a double batch of Grandma Rhodes's sugar cookies is the absolute capacity of the mixer:

Issa believes that it actually exceeds the limit, but we got the job done. And I had the best delivery crew in town:

I also learned that the kids used to eat sprinkles when they were home alone, complete with a reenactment:

The Monday before Christmas we made another batch of cookies at Nana's:

Christmas Eve found us back at Nana's in the most cozy Christmas pjs:

We did the now traditional mashed potato bar and played a new kind of Uno that is a different kind of complicated.

Christmas morning Santa visited our house:

The kids are almost as tall as the tree now:

Evan was thrilled by some new gear for his VR set:

And Issa got some new luggage for her study abroad this summer:

Santa also brought Buddy a new toy:

It last ten minutes:

I was particularly proud of my oven organization this year:

We tried a new Christmas afternoon activity this year. Inspired by a commercial, we built a pretzel gingerbread house:

We discovered candy melts are the much-preferred glue:

And we learned Brad is a shockingly good pretzel whittler: 

The end result was pretty impressive! It's hard to see, but Brad shaped gum drops into little ducks for Issa's gummy worm pond:

A big part of the reason that we did the traditional Christmas turkey dinner was so that we could attempt leftover sushi:

We used the mashed potatoes and stuffing as the outside. Once it was rolled, we froze it for a bit and then crisped it up in the pan:

It was shockingly good, but it also took a lot of time and fuss for a few bites. It was fun, but I'm not sure we will do it again.

In the midst of all of that, I finished book 31:

This is the second book in series, and I still really like the characters. I'm not quite sure where the story is headed, but I'm excited to find out!

We have one more weekend with Issa home, and we are trying to squeeze in a little bit more run before reality hits Monday!

 

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...