Wednesday, March 6, 2024
Happy Birthday, MJ!
Friday, February 23, 2024
Career Day
It's our final Career Day! Little Man went as a football player (again), and Sweet Pea went as a graphic designer. We couldn't figure out how to dress like a graphic designer, so we finally decided to print some graphic design software logos onto sticker paper and put them on her shirt.
(And yes, Little Man wore the helmet to school!)
Tuesday, February 20, 2024
Mountain Escape
For the second year in a row, we went to our new favorite mountain cabin for President's Day Weekend. The weather was cold but clear, and we had a great time!
We played poker, lounged in the hot tub, explored the nearby waterfall and stream, made s'mores, played Uno, read books, played foozball and air hockey, and otherwise just lounged around together and relaxed. Amber ran around, free as a bird, and slept in the sunbeams all weekend. MJ didn't even work!
It was so chilly outside that it never got above freezing, even during the day, so we stayed inside. We never left our home away from home, except for a quick trip to the grocery store that first morning to get all the obligatory junk food for the weekend.
There's a wood-burning stove in the family room, so we made our fires there every day, and the crackling of the fire burning was the soundtrack to the weekend. We even made our s'mores right there in the family room!
The final night, we were treated to a gorgeous sunset. The colors stretched 360 degrees all around the horizon! It was the perfect punctuation point on our weekend.
Wednesday, February 14, 2024
Valentine's Day
Happy Love Day!
Yes, I'm aware that I've been MIA for ages. Life happens! I have some posts that I'll (hopefully) put up soon to catch you up on the happy chaos that is our life. But in the meantime ...
Monday, February 12, 2024
School Dance
CC's middle school has offered several dances since she started there last year, but she's always been too intimidated to go. But after she helped me set up for the dance in December, she decided it looked like fun. So last Friday, she attended her FIRST DANCE! She was so excited! Unfortunately many of her friends were out of town for the weekend, but she went with one of her good friends, Patricia.
Since it was Valentine's Day-themed, she originally planned on just wearing leggings and her v-day t-shirt. But Patricia convinced her to wear a dress, so they'd both be dressed similarly, and CC complied.
I chaperoned the dance, and I could tell she had fun. The DJ played songs that the kids loved, and it made me smile to hear them all yelling the words and watch them jumping up and down to the music. CC regrets not going to previous dances, but she's looking forward to next year's options.
Sunday, February 11, 2024
Thursday, January 25, 2024
Life Lately
Between the kids' activities, the elementary school PTA, the middle school PTO, and finding time to work out and learn tennis, I haven't been updating the blog much. But here's what we've been up to lately:
Sweet Pea made straight A's on her report card, so according to Morrison Family Rules, she earned a donut from Krispy Kreme. She picked one of the new heart-shaped donuts, filled with cookies and creme filling, and topped with cookie crumbs. She gave it two enthusiastic thumbs up.
In related news: CC must start over in her quest to earn a trip to Universal Studios by getting straight As for four quarters in a row. She did not get all As on her report card this time -- she earned an 89% in Social Studies. "It's not fair!" she whined. "I tried my best!" But then I showed her in PowerSchool how she had three missing assignments in that class. "Having missing assignments is the exact opposite of trying your best," I told her.
Little Man and I finally got one of his Christmas gifts up and working: a robotic quarterback. It's pretty cool -- it shoots a football surprisingly far, and you can program it for different directions and distances. He's been having fun with it out in the yard, and I love watching his intensity.
Direct link to video: https://youtu.be/Gj7HtiV6Mmo
The monkeys had a rather extended wrestling session last weekend. It went on and on, and MJ and I just watched with amusement as they rolled around like puppies.
CC continues to altar serve every Sunday she can. She's learned how to open the Roman Missal to the right page for the priest, and has been helping train new servers (including whacking their hands when they fidget during Mass!). I was able to sneak this picture of her helping prepare the altar before Mass the other week:
MJ and I keep doing our thing. MJ is hopefully that he can transition into a new, less stressful position in the next few months, so we're crossing our fingers that happens sooner rather than later. And we're all looking forward to heading to the mountains next month for a little break!