December

December was as busy as it always is, but we got it all (or mostly all) done! We celebrated Christmas Tree Cake Day on the 1st.



Anna had a fun time attending the annual "Silent Night" basketball tailgate and games on the 3rd. The 4 Gibbons jv/varsity teams each play a game back-to-back all evening. On the 4th, she, Bob, and I went to a very exciting football state semifinal playoff game that sadly we lost in a very close game with Clayton. I am happy to report that Clayton proceeded to lose to Grimsley in the state finals the following weekend! Erin had a fun holiday-themed musician's meetup on the evening of the 5th, Bob helped cook with the Knights at the annual Christmas Jam, and I went to a fun neighbor ladies' holiday party that evening. 

Bob and I met up with Tim and his son Patrick for lunch and then a fun basketball game against UNC-Asheville on the 6th. The game wasn't as one-sided as we would have hoped, but we did win. The kids enjoyed two "snow days" on the 8th and 9th with very minimal snow and some at-home exam prep work to do. Erin still had piano on the evening of the 9th. Bob and I enjoyed a much more dominating victory against Liberty on the evening of the 10th. We celebrated Finley's 7th birthday on the 12th!

We had a busy and early day on the 13th; Anna helped welcome 8th graders who took the HSPT at Gibbons, and Erin took the ACT at Broughton. We all recovered from that and had a fun evening at home wrapping Christmas presents. Bob and his friend Dave went to a very exciting Wolfpack/Kansas game that went into overtime but sadly didn't go out way. Anna had a fun Christmas party with youth group on the night of the 14th, including Tropical Smoothie delivery and hide and seek in the StMM academic building! 

After a final regular day of classes on the 15th, they had their fall semester exams Tuesday-Friday that week. The exam schedule is nice because they're only at school from 8:30am-12pm and then have the afternoons to prepare for other exams. Anna enjoyed babysitting for her favorite family, the Lemons, on Monday evening. The exams went smoothly, and they were relieved when they were finished! 

I started a new thing with my scholarship job; moderating group interviews. I had 4 time slots scheduled between the 19th and 23rd, and they all went well (despite taking up a lot of time in an already-crazy time of year). We watched a solid Wolfpack football Gasparilla Bowl game win over Memphis on Friday the 19th. Anna had a blast making cookies and hanging out at Joe's house on the 20th. They went to see Zootopia 2 and had pizza on Sunday, too! Meanwhile, Erin did a little baking after work and dinner out with her parents.

Erin had her 17-year-old checkup on the morning of the 22nd, and it went well. She saw Dr. Lorensten for the first time, and they got along well. Bob and I enjoyed a really fun dinner with Liz, David, Josh, and Kati at the Angus Barn that evening. We had a blast catching up and enjoying the food and holiday atmosphere! On the 23rd, Bob took the girls to meet Ansley in Asheboro for a pre-Christmas sleepover at Grandma and Grandpa's. They had lots of fun, went out to Mexican for dinner, and prepared lasagna for the next day. Ben joined them, too! We had a fun hike with Finley and game night. We headed to Concord on the 24th for a really nice day with lunch, presents, and catching up with the California cousins via FaceTime! 

We drove back later that day and got dressed up for 7pm Christmas Eve Mass at StMM. This year, we decided to do that instead of attend the Tierney party. It was nice to go in the evening and not be rushed the next morning. 

Santa did indeed come to our house that night, even for Finley, and we had a relaxing (and warm!) Christmas with a skillet ham and Mac and cheese dinner. 

The 26th was relaxing; Joe came over to hang out and helped make our taco dinner. Erin and I had a great time at her annual Friendsmas, this year at Zophia's house on the 27th. Uncle Tom came over for a nice visit on the 28th. We also went out to lunch with the McGee ladies (including grandma Donna) at Colletta in Cary on the 29th for Dawn's birthday. We had special visitors, Grandma and Ansley, from the evening of the 29th through midday on the 31st. We had our piano Christmas sing-a-long, and they got to meet Joe! 

Erin worked until 8am on New Year's Eve, and Anna had a fun party/sleepover with friends at Lyla's. 

So, it was wild but lots of fun! We have enjoyed the down time over the holiday break and lots of time together before it's back to reality. Happy New Year!

December!

December was, as always, super busy and fun!  It was extra busy for Bob, who spent the first week of it in Sydney for his regular work trip that happens twice per year.  While he was gone, we ladies worked on Christmas decorations, book club, school, volunteering, a very cold tournament football game for Anna and Bella (they won!), and my seasonal job reading scholarship applications for Duke/UNC which kept me busy between everything else for about 6 weeks.  In addition to all of that, it was Erin's fall dance show week!  She had rehearsals on Monday and Tuesday for 3 hours, then a show on Wednesday evening and 2 shows on Thursday.  The theme for this show was seasons, beginning with New Year's and ending with Christmas.  Her class did a really awesome (possibly the most-talked-about; she said kids at school were talking about it the next day) Halloween/zombie-themed dance, and she was also in the Christmas finale!  It was a really great show, and she enjoyed being on stage.  She had special guests, the McGee girls, watching her on Thursday evening!

We had a busy day on the 7th, starting with Anna babysitting and Erin driving herself to her piano meetup while I helped at church.  

Anna and Bella then went to see the Wicked movie that afternoon while Erin and I enjoyed seeing Luciano in The Crucible at his school.  After all of that, Bob got back from Sydney at 11pm after a wild time navigating some flight delays and cancellations.  Sunday, we did some shopping and Erin lectored at youth mass before youth group that evening.

The week of the 9th was a little less crazy, but still very busy.  Anna had a cooking club meeting on Monday, then Erin and I went to Olivia's band concert on Tuesday evening (it was awesome, and Olivia was in a quartet!), and we went to the final football game on Friday night.  The weather was better than it was the week before, but the outcome was not.  We lost in the final 4, and the team that beat us ended up losing in the state championship.  It was a good game, though.  

Saturday, Erin drove herself to church for confession while Anna and Bella hit the books, studying for exams at the library and then Bob and I enjoyed a fun night out at the Angus Barn with Liz, David, Josh, and Kati.  It was so great to catch up!

  

The week of the 16th was midterm exams.  They had up to 2 exams per day from Tuesday-Friday between 8:30am-noon.  Erin didn't have any the first day because of her flex period and dance class not having exams.  Anna got to leave early on Tuesday because of PE, and got to go in late on Friday for her flex period.  They all went well, and now Anna has her first round of high school exams under her belt.  After finishing on Friday, Erin had her 16 year old checkup which went very well, and Anna had a blast at her friend Stella's house for Friendsmas!  

Saturday, Anna babysat her friends the Koesters in the evening while Erin and I had a blast at her Friendsmas, hosted by Luciano and his parents.  

Between all of that, Anna had a few pet-sitting jobs, and we got some baking done!

The girls went to Concord on the 23rd; Bob met Chris in Asheboro to hand them off.  They helped Grandma get the lasagna ready, and Erin went to volunteer at the homeless shelter with Grandma that evening!

While they were gone, we took Finley on a nice hike and watched a movie.  We went to Concord on the 24th for a super fun Christmas Eve!  

After getting back that evening, we had a blast at the Tierneys' annual Elf Party, complete with yummy food and super fun games.  Christmas was great, including going to church at 10am that morning.  We also had a nice ham dinner that evening.  

Highlight gifts include a new phone for Anna, and some money that Erin is required to spend on something fun (not put in her bank account!).  Bob got a nifty tabletop fire pit, and Gina got some comfy stadium seats for our football games.

Anna got talked in to taking the 30-hour drivers ed class over break, which meant going to the place in Garner from 8am-2pm for 5 days straight (the 26th-30th).  It was not fun, but she was a trooper and got it done!  We presented our annual 2025 trip proposals on the 27th; the final decisions are being made now.  We had a great visit from Grandma A. and Ansley from the 28th-30th, including watching a sad bowl game for the Wolfpack and going to a happier women's basketball game on the 29th!  

For New Year's Eve, we are mostly hanging out here, and Anna is having Bella over to sleep over. 

So, that was December!  It was wild as always with a couple of extras (dance show and driver's ed), but we got it all done, everyone stayed healthy, and we really enjoyed the extra time with family and friends.  We are looking forward to a great month and year ahead, and hopefully a little snow!

December!

December was as wild as always!  We had a fun, busy, and festive month, beginning with Bob returning from his trip to Sao Paulo, his first time in Brazil!  He had a good trip, and said it was very nice (and crowded) there.  The travel there and back was not the smoothest, with each of his 4 flights having some kind of issue, but he got there and back without too much of a delay.  He jumped back into business the next day, setting up the nativity at StMM.  Anna took the placement test at Gibbons on the morning of the 2nd, and then had a fun afternoon/evening participating in the Apex Christmas parade with her friend Bella and some others!  

We had never been to this parade before, and it was lots of fun!  Erin also had her first piano musician's meet up of the school year earlier on Saturday.  

That was a busy day!  We had a shopping trip to Fenton on Sunday, and then Erin read the second reading at the youth mass that evening, and attended youth group after that.  

Bob spent 4 days in New York the next week, and the rest of us were busy with school, piano, volunteering at sleigh rides, haircut, a work meeting, and attending Olivia's winter band concert!  Erin was off of school on Friday the 8th for a remote reading day prior to exams, so we went to the holy day mass together and then she did some studying.  Anna had a fun dinner out and sleepover at Gracie's with a few other friends for Gracie’s birthday on Friday.  Erin and I hit up confession at St. Andrew on Saturday the 9th, and Anna had a marathon babysitting job that evening for about 8 hours.  She made some good money that night!  

We had a fun lunch in Greensboro with the cousins and grandparents for Ben's birthday on Sunday the 10th!  Erin had her midterm exams from the 11th-14th, so it was a wild week with her schedule varying a lot.  She had 1 or 2 exams each morning; two of the days, she didn't have to go in until 10:30am because she didn't have exams for her dance class or for her flex period (study hall).  The nice thing was that she was out by noon each day, so Anna and Rory didn't have to ride up to get her at 3pm like we have been doing most regular days.  It was also nice for her to have the afternoons at home to recover from the exams that morning and also to study for the next day.  

I enjoyed helping review English papers in 8th grade on Monday, and Anna had her last physical therapy appointment for her ankle that afternoon.  It is now considered healed!  Happy 5th birthday to Finley on the 12th.  

The evening of the 14th, Erin and her friend Jeff had dinner here and then went to the Gibbons Snow Ball dance and had a lot of fun!  

Friday morning was the 8th grade Christmas bash at school, which was a wild time for sure!  By 3pm that day, everyone was officially finished with school and we could fully move into Christmas celebration mode!  Erin nervously awaited her exam and semester grades, which all came in quickly, and she was happy with the outcome her first semester of high school.  She worked very hard, and we are proud of her! 

Saturday, I had a fun neighbor lady Christmas party at my friend Stephanie's house.  We were busy the next few days finishing shopping, wrapping, baking, and other Christmas fun!  

Anna had a couple of babysitting jobs this week, and Erin had her 15-year old checkup on Wednesday, which went well.  We had a great Christmas lunch with Grandma and Grandpa F. on the 20th at Red Robin; yum!  Anna also slept over at Lyla's that evening.  On the 23rd, Bob and the girls met Grandma A. and Ansley in Asheboro and the girls had a really fun lunch/shopping/church/games sleepover in Concord!  While they were there, Bob and I went to a Wolfpack men’s basketball game, church, and dinner.  

We then met them back in Concord the next morning for Christmas Eve fun!  Everyone enjoyed their presents and the yummy lasagna lunch!

We were back on the road around 3pm or so and ended back up at 7pm Christmas Eve mass, which was really nice.  We even made a stop at the Tierney Elf Party after mass for an hour or so!  That was a busy day!

In between all of that, I have been enjoying my new “temporary” job reviewing scholarship applications for Duke.  It has been great to earn a little money and use my brain for a change!  I spent about 10-15 hours per week on this for about 6 weeks.  Finley was happy when I put his dog bed next to my desk.

We enjoyed a wonderfully relaxing Christmas the next day, complete with presents and food!  

The 26th, Anna had a friend shopping outing at Fenton and we enjoyed a nice visit from Yannis, Sofia, Andreas, and Vasiliki that evening.  We did some winter cleaning and hit Barnes and Noble on the 27th and had two car repairs on the 28th.  Grandma A. came up to visit that day, and we had lots of fun making bowl game food (but less fun watching the actual Pop Tarts bowl game, which did not turn out our way). 

We had a fun dinner at the McGees on the 29th, and Erin had a blast at her Friendsmas on the 30th!  Anna is having Gracie and Bella sleep over on New Year’s Eve, and that will end the month!  

 

Whew!  We are looking forward to a great year to come in 2024!

December!

December is up there in the top 2 busiest months of the year, and this December did not disappoint!  I can speak for myself in saying that I will never again take for granted all of the fun social events after living through the pandemic.  So, while the holiday season is very busy, I for one am grateful for each and every busy day!

The month began with Bob's first day of his "trip around the world" (Tokyo and London for work).  We ladies celebrated the family Christmas Tree Cake Day after school and ballet were over.  

Friday, Anna had futsal in the evening.  Saturday was a busy day: Erin had her holiday meet-up with fellow piano students, then Anna and I watched Sarah in the fun and festive Holiday Cabaret put on by the dance school.  It was super cute!  Between that, we did a telehealth visit for Anna's red eye and got some antibiotic eye drops for that.  After the dance show, 4 of Anna's closest friends came over for a Christmas-themed sleepover.  It was a lot of fun and was a wild time!  

Sunday, we recovered and then enjoyed attending Liz and David's Christmas Soiree, back after a 2-year hiatus.  What a weekend!

The next week was super busy around here with lots of holiday events at school, including the annual Christmas shopping extravaganza for the kids that I help with and a cookie swap for the teachers (with cookies baked by parents).  I hosted book club on Monday, we had the regular activities, and Anna had a fun sleepover with ice skating outing for Gracie's birthday on Friday.  

Bob returned home from his successful world tour on Saturday evening, and we enjoyed the return of the neighborhood holiday social event and hayride on Sunday!

The following week was a little more calm (Finley celebrated his 4th birthday on Monday the 12th!)

 through 3pm Thursday, when we headed out on our fun trip to New York City!  The trip recap can be found HERE.  

We got back Sunday and jumped into holiday crunch time, plus Anna going ice skating with Lyla on Monday (3 boys from school were there, but thankfully it wasn't too awkward), Erin's 14-year-old checkup and cookie baking on Tuesday, Erin and I enjoying the Carolina Ballet Nutcracker on Wednesday (it was wonderful!), and some family mini golf fun on Thursday.  

Anna caught an early ride to Concord on Friday to stay over at Grandma and Grandpa's with Logan, Ansley, and Ben.  The rest of us made some food and met them there Saturday morning for a super fun Christmas Eve celebration!  The California cousins joined us via FaceTime for presents, then we had a yummy lasagna lunch and played some Farkle since it was too cold to go outside.  We headed back around 3pm and got a call on the way back that some Tierneys were sick and couldn't have their Elf Party, so we decided to go to 7pm Christmas Eve mass instead.  It was very nice and not too crowded, and we really enjoyed not having to go on Christmas morning! 

Santa did visit our house, and we had a great time opening presents on Christmas morning.  Highlights were matching NCSU hoodies for Anna and Bob, Air Pods for Anna, a new desk chair and comforter for Erin's bed, and some great kitchen gear for me.  Finley also got some snacks and toys!  We had a great day just relaxing and enjoying time together.  We had ham and homemade mac and cheese for dinner.  It was a very Merry Christmas!

The next day, I was up at 5:30am to hit the sales for next year's Santa's Secret Workshop!  Erin joined me around 8am and we cleaned out 5 Walmart stores and 1 Michaels store with 2 trips home to unload.  The stores weren't as well-stocked as they had been in the past, but I've been more successful with finding stuff online lately, so hopefully it will work out in the end.  Our college friends Yannis and Sofia were in town from California and brought their kids over for dinner.  We had a wonderful time seeing them and catching up!  Their kids are so well-behaved, and the girls enjoyed a marathon Scrabble game with them.  Tuesday was more shopping, combined with Erin going to Olivia's belated birthday party and the rest of us introducing Anna to the Melting Pot!  Erin had a blast at Olivia's house, walking in the woods and painting, and then the 5 girls and Olivia's very brave mom went to dinner at Goji Bistro (Chinese)! 

Wednesday and Thursday, Grandma and Ansley came up to visit!  We had a really nice time and put them right to work with sorting, packing, and driving 3 car loads of our shopping haul up to school and unloading it.  We also had a yummy meatloaf dinner and pancake breakfast, walked Finley, and played a few rounds of Boggle.  After they headed back, we then had a great visit with Tom, Pam, Jimmy, and Danny!  The kids played outside, played the Switch, and played a game of Life while the adults attempted a game of Wingspan.  Thanks to Pam, she was a pro at the game and taught Bob and me how to play!

Friday was a little calmer with the main event being Anna, I, and 2 of her friends trying the ice skating rink at the Red Hat Amphitheater.  It was a beautiful day, but maybe a little too beautiful because the sun and 74 degrees melted the ice!  It was super slippery!  Luckily, there were also some food trucks and games set up, so they could take breaks from the danger.  They had a great time.  

Our Wolfpack did not have a great time at their bowl game that day, however.  Today, was sadly the day of taking down all of our Christmas decorations.  They served us well!  We also did the family cooking "week" (one night rescheduled due to other events).  I made chicken marsala on the 20th, Anna made BBQ beef sandwiches on the 21st, Erin made Asian chicken or beef rice bowls on the 22nd, and Bob made belated chicken Pad Thai on the 31st.  They were all delicious!!

We are spending New Year's Eve at home watching some football and playing games.

So, it was a really fun and  BUSY month!  We are thankful for every minute of this normalcy!

December!

December was a blur of holiday busy-ness and fun, as it always is!  We jumped right in with going back to work and school after Thanksgiving and had a busy first week of the month with school, work, and activities.  Anna's basketball team beat St. Michael's on Thursday for their first (and only, so far) win of the season!  Way to go!  

I had a busy week helping extra at school between Santa's Secret Workshop which was back on after a covid-related hiatus in 2020 and covering in the cafeteria so another lady could help run SSW.  It was a fun and busy week.  Saturday the 4th, we started really getting in the holiday spirit with Anna and me going to watch Sarah, Ella, and Lily in the dance school's holiday cabaret, which was lots of fun. 

Meanwhile, Bob took Erin to and from her piano holiday mock recital after some initial excitement of getting 2 birds out of the house that had somehow gotten in.  Bob also fixed the oven that had a burned coil and also a fuse issue.  I got my covid vaccine booster on Sunday the 5th - they're now recommending that people who got the vaccine more than 6 months ago get a booster shot to help protect them from the virus.  The girls made a pretty gingerbread house that day as well.  

We also had some landscaping done this week - removing most of the shrubs in the front yard, expanding some of the borders, redoing the border rocks, and planting new shrubs.  It looks great!

The next week was Bob's last week at Red Hat after 6 great years there.  He came across an opportunity at Google and decided to take it.  It was a good time to make a change, and so far, he is settling in pretty well!  Other than that, I had book club on Monday, we had the usual activities including 2 basketball games for Anna, I helped with the teacher cookie exchange, and Erin and I went to see the Nutcracker at Holly Springs High School for the first time on Friday evening.  It was a modern spin on the ballet, and we really enjoyed it!  

Saturday the 11th was a fun day - Erin went to Olivia's birthday sleepover, and the rest of us had a fun time at the Knowlands' party.  It was so nice to see them and some other friends!  The 12th was Finley's honorary 3rd birthday, which he celebrated with some presents and a whipped cream treat.  Anna also had friends Sarah, Addie, and Madeleine over for cookie decorating and a gift exchange that they had done.  

The rest of that week was the home stretch of school before the break, including a fun holiday event at school on Wednesday evening where Erin's chorus elective sang some songs and the band classes played for everyone, in addition to food trucks, sleigh rides, and crafts.  

The 16th was Christmas Feast day in the cafeteria, which was plenty busy but successful.  Erin's grade had a movie party with treats that afternoon as well as did a service project.  Anna scored 2 points in her game on Thursday - 2 of the 10 for her team!  Erin had parent observation at ballet on Thursday.  

Then it was break time by Friday at noon, and we were ready!

Anna went back to the eye doctor on the afternoon of the 17th and got the green light for contacts.  She's been wearing them full time ever since without any issues.  It is so nice to see all of her face again without those dirty glasses!  It will be good to not have glasses for basketball and soccer as well, plus it helps with the mask wearing as well, which continues.  Both kids had to come home early on the half day due to Erin not feeling well, but they didn't complain about that!

Saturday the 18th, the parents had a few events - Bob went to the Eric Church concert in Greensboro with Chris and stayed overnight there, and Anna and I went to Ms. Karen's cookie swap in the afternoon which was lots of fun!  I then went to a neighbor ladies' gathering at Stephanie Rook's house after that and had a great time.  We ladies enjoyed takeout from Los Tres for dinner.  Sunday, Anna altar served and then we all went to the NCSU women's basketball game that afternoon which was lots of fun!

Monday, Anna got her second dose of the covid vaccine and Erin had her 13-year checkup.  Both went well and were uneventful.  Erin was pleased to not have any vaccines due this time.  I have learned to not promise either way because I am usually wrong!  The next few days were full of Christmas prep - baking, wrapping, planning, etc.  Bob had a farewell party with Red Hat friends on the 21st.  We did a little last-minute shopping on the 22nd and had family PJ night.  

Anna had Sarah over and we had a fun day with neighbor dog friend Ruby on the 23rd. We each took turns cooking dinner one night this week, which was lots of fun and very yummy!

Our porch project finally began this month!  As of January 2nd, the footers are poured and have passed inspection (after 3 of them failing inspection the first time and needing to be dug deeper), the lumber has arrived, and we eagerly await framing to begin next week!

On Christmas Eve, we made a day trip to Concord for lots of family fun and a yummy lasagna lunch!  It was a great time exchanging gifts and playing volleyball with Ansley's new set.  We also got to facetime with Cole and family during the present-opening.  Then we headed home and enjoyed the annual Elf Party at the Tierneys, which is always a great time!

Christmas morning, we opened presents, went to church, and enjoyed a very warm Christmas...too warm, according to some of us!  It was really great and we had a nice pork dinner that evening in the dining room.  

The next day was the biggest shopping day of the year for Santa's Secret Workshop 2022, which was a family affair.  It was back after missing last year.  Erin and I left the house at 6:30am and returned around 1pm with a car full of stuff, which Bob, Anna, and Erin then sorted, logged everything into the spreadsheet, and packed into the Suburban while I went to a few more stores that afternoon.  Then, Erin and I paused shopping and went to Spanish mass at St. Bernadette that evening.  It was a busy day!

Monday the 27th-Wednesday the 29th, Grandma and Ansley came up for a visit!  We had a blast making more cookies, shopping, cooking, playing games, and unloading shopping stuff at school.  Despite a quick stomach virus for Erin, Anna, and Bob, the rest of us avoided it and everyone had a great visit.  

The 30th was the sad day of taking down Christmas decorations, which always goes faster than putting them up, but is still sad nonetheless.  I had a nice dinner out with some mom friends from school that evening.  We had a nice New Years Eve at home, playing board games, family basketball in the pool parking lot, enjoying a yummy Hello Fresh dinner (thanks for the gift, Bob!), and Anna, Bob, and I made it up until midnight!

So, that was December.  It was busy and fun, and we were so happy to have more of our usual holiday events back this year that were missed in 2020.  While things are still not back to normal, and the current drama is the spread of the "omicron variant" of the covid virus causing travel issues and general stress, we continue to hope that things will improve overall, though it's been a very slow process thus far.  The question of the year from some of us is "why did I bother getting vaccinated?" because many things have not changed, but we are trying to hope for the end of this at some point in the near future.  Hopefully this will just be a "funny" story some day!