November

November was full of so much goodness!  We started out the month with possibly the biggest event:  Erin got her driver's license on the 1st!  She had an appointment that morning at the Cary DMV (the same place that she got her permit) since they were off school that day.  It all went smoothly, and she passed her road test!  So exciting!  She's been gradually getting used to driving alone, and is doing a great job and starting to feel more confident.  We are so proud of her.

We went to mass for the holy day that evening.  We took a cruise on the lake on Saturday morning while Anna babysat and then went ice skating with her friends.  

Erin worked at the Gibbons open house on Sunday, and Anna and I hit some stores while she was there.  The week of the 4th, everyone was here, and we were busy with the usual things.  I enjoyed going to a Hurricanes game with my friend Molly on Thursday evening.  Saturday the 9th, Bob and I cashed in his birthday (?) gift and went to the Wolfpack/Duke football game!  It was a beautiful day and we had a blast, other than the outcome not going our way.  The Pack fought hard, though.  We had a quick little tailgate and had a fun shuttle ride over in an open-top party bus.  Nothing but style for the Pack!  

Meanwhile, Anna went to Friendsgiving and a sleepover at Lyla's house with her new crew of friends from Gibbons.

Bob headed to Salt Lake city on Sunday for a work event.  We ladies had a busy and productive week, ending with attending Jeff's fall play, The Giver.  It was so good!  We caught up on things on Saturday, and Bob headed to California on Sunday morning for another work event.  We girls enjoyed Ms. Karen's annual apple cider-making party, then Erin lectored at youth Mass before youth group that evening.

The final week of school for the month was another busy one; teachers were trying to get final tests in and projects wrapped up, plus Erin is preparing for her fall dance show the week of December 2nd.  She also visited her alma mater, StMM, on Monday the 18th with her Service Beakers club, where they taught a science lesson to 4th and 5th graders after school.  Erin got to present the lesson to the group!  I had a kitchen consultation on Tuesday; we are considering renovating it, as well as the master bathroom.  I'm already concerned about all the decisions associated with that!  Erin also went to lector training at church on Wednesday evening.  She has been a busy bee lately!

Bob got back on Wednesday evening for a solid 8 days at home!  I had a busy week making dinner for 3 families - Vera had ACL surgery, Heather T. had surgery, and a family from church had a baby.  We ate better because we had the same things!  Anna babysat Friday night while Erin and I enjoyed a dance performance at Meredith College to fulfill her honors requirement for her dance class.  Saturday was pretty laid back, and Sunday, Erin and I had a blast at her Friendsgiving/Olivia & Luciano's 16th birthday party!  Monday, I took Olivia hiking and to lunch as her confirmation sponsor; we ended up doing a pretty intense 4 mile hike along the Haw River, but the weather was beautiful and nobody got hurt!  Tuesday, Erin and I worked at CPO on what was advertised to be a crazy day but in reality wasn't bad at all.  Erin did a great job and enjoyed it.  

Bella came over to hang with Anna that afternoon.  Wednesday, we girls headed to Concord for a super fun 2 days with the family!  The girls went shopping in the afternoon, then helped Grandma make pies and cranberry salad that evening.  

The California Ambrosinis arrived late that evening, and we all had a super fun sleepover!  Bob drove down on Thursday morning.  Thanksgiving was a great day, too, with family portraits, an awesome meal, football for the guys, and lots of fun family time!  We headed back that evening.  

Friday, Bob set off again, this time to Sydney for his bi-annual trip there.  He had a marathon travel schedule:  RDU to O'Hare, then to Houston, and THEN the 17.5 hours to Sydney!  He's still in the air as of writing this.  Jeff came over here Friday afternoon, and he and Erin played games, baked, and made dinner for us!  Anna managed 3 pet-sitting jobs that day, too.  Saturday, Anna is planning to shop with Bella while Erin is at Hadestown at the DPAC with Jeff's family, then she and I are going to see Pentatonix tonight!  We cannot wait!

So- November was full of lots of work, but fun too.  I've been working on the Duke/UNC applications again this year; 'tis the season!  We are so thankful for our health, family, friends, and all of our blessings!  Bring on December!  It's going to be condensed and jam-packed!

October!

October was, as always, very busy!  Bob started out with a quick trip to Washington DC for a work meeting with the federal government.  The kids enjoyed Spirit Week at school with fun dress days before the homecoming football game on Friday, plus dressing up for an all-school Mass for the feast of St. Francis.  Erin did a make-up piano lesson on Friday because of a cold on Tuesday, then she and Bob met us at the football game that evening, which was a lot of fun for everyone!  The parents and Finley enjoyed a nice morning on the boat on Saturday while Anna babysat.  

Sunday was fairly relaxed with youth Mass/youth group that evening.

Bob headed across the pond to London the following week for some work meetings from Tuesday-Friday plus travel.  Erin went to the Service Beakers club Mass after school on Monday the 7th. We got a peek at the Northern Lights in North Carolina on the 10th.  

The rest of the week for us was fairly uneventful, until a super fun time on Friday night for Friday Night Lights, the Gibbons football event for middle school families.  Erin worked hard helping with the egg and spoon race station for a few hours.  Erin and I did some yard work on Saturday while Anna babysat, then Bob got home that evening.

Bob, Gina, and Erin had a great afternoon at the lake on Sunday, trying to get in as many warm days while they are here!  

The girls were off on Monday the 14th for a teacher workday, so we used that time to go to the dentist.  We also had the excitement of having our water heater replaced with a tankless unit.  Nothing was wrong, but the old tank was 10 years old and we wanted to avoid the emergency situation that happened 10 years ago when one of our previous tanks sprung a leak.  The installation went smoothly, and we are enjoying having "fast" hot water now!

Both kids took the PSAT on Tuesday the 15th and were able to go home after, and then they were off again on Wednesday while the juniors took the PSAT.  For them, it's mostly for practice and also to help with course placement for next year.  I had a nice long walk with my friend Priscilla that afternoon as well.  I went to vote early on the 17th between my shift at CPO and picking the kids up from school.  I definitely underestimated the wait time on the first day of early voting, but thankfully the kids could hang out at school and wait for me and I don't have to pick them up right at 3pm.  

We had a super fun trip to Concord on the 19th for Erin's birthday and the Buddy Walk!  

Bob also helped with the fish taco night at StMM and Anna had Bella sleep over at our house that evening. Erin lectored at the youth Mass on the 20th and the girls had youth group after the youth Mass. 

Erin went on her annual advisory service trip on the 22nd, where they went to a food pantry to help sort food, make hot meals, etc. and went to Short Journey (the retreat center that Gibbons owns) for lunch and time for reflecting/games. I hosted book club that evening where we discussed a historical fiction book about the lawsuit between Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse, which was surprisingly interesting!

Erin had an amazing SWEET SIXTEEN on Wednesday the 23rd, and you can read about that here!

Bob traveled to New York for two days and Gina volunteered at CPO on the 24th. I've been going every Thursday since early September and am really enjoying getting to know the other volunteers and helping assemble carts of groceries for the families that we serve and load the food into their cars.  The last Gibbons home football game of the season was on the 25th, so Anna and Erin went to that with some friends. Erin had her "monthly hangout crew" come over to our house on the 26th for a murder mystery party! You can read more about Erin's friend party in the Erin is 16! blog post. 

Anna babysat her usual Saturday morning crew (Bryce and Charlotte) and also babysat for some new clients, the Riegners, that evening. Sunday the 27th was a relaxing day with church and recovering from the party.

Bob went to the Bay Area from Monday evening until Thursday evening. On Monday, Anna went to the Gibbons girls retreat and enjoyed it, and Erin helped with an Admissions Morning event at school, where she helped distribute name tags to the parent visitors. I went to my first meeting for this season's round of reading for the Robertson program.  I'm very excited to get to review the applications again!  I went to a Gibbons meeting Monday night to hear about their strategic plan, and, of course, their need for financial support. Otherwise, we had a chill week, with Gina helping at the Gibbons school store and going to a Confirmation meeting on Wednesday. Anna had Bella over trick-or-treating in our neighborhood on Thursday, and Erin went trick-or-treating at Jeff's house with him and Olivia; she had a great time at his house. 

Yes, we know that the day after Halloween is November 1st, but that day was so special and Erin wanted it to be included in this blog post. Erin got her license on the 1st!!!!!!!!!!!! She had an appointment booked in Cary for 10:30 on Friday morning, and everything went smoothly. We waited a little while to get her documents uploaded, and then Erin was off to successfully pass her road test! She went into a small neighborhood to do a 3-point turn, drove in reverse for a bit, and then made a couple right and left turns and parked into a parking space. Her driving examiner was very nice and funny! After she heard the big news, she called some friends/family members on the way home (she wasn't driving 😀 ).  We are very proud of her for completing all of the training and supervised driving hours.  It was a bit of a rush to finish the 10 night hours, but she got it done in time!

So, whew!  That was October!  It's always so busy but so much fun.  We loved celebrating Erin's big 16th birthday.  I am personally looking forward to my favorite month, November, with perfect weather, beautiful leaves, a bit of a breather, and Thanksgiving!