January!

We started out the year with a good month! We had our traditional good luck meal on the 1st; hoping it brings us good fortune in 2026. We had a nice family dinner out at the new Doherty's in Holly Springs on the 2nd where we ran into StMM teacher/friend Mrs. Smith. Bob and Anna watched a sad Wolfpack loss to Virginia on the 3rd, but we all enjoyed a fun and exciting Wolfpack women's win on Sunday afternoon! 

It was back to school on the 5th. This week was my busiest week for Robertson interviews, and between conducting the interviews and typing up my notes, I logged 33 hours of work! That hasn't happened in 16 years! Otherwise, it was a good week back to the routine. Erin registered for an exciting school trip to Costa Rica in February 2027. It's going to be a great experience! Anna tried to register for the trip to Western Europe at the same time, but it filled up with rising seniors before the rising juniors could register. She has a plan to try to go to France with the French teacher in 2027 and hopefully go to Japan with Gibbons in the spring of her senior year. 

Anna got her hair cut on Thursday evening and helped with 8th grade placement tests on the 10th. Bob and I enjoyed a fun wine tasting class at a store in downtown Raleigh on the 11th as a part of my Christmas gift. 

Anna was back to youth group that evening, but due to holidays and weather, has only had to go once in 6 weeks (fingers crossed for another weather cancellation this coming weekend!). Bob left for New York bright and early on Monday the 12th and returned in the late evening of the 16th. We had our shower regrouted and fixed up from Monday-Wednesday that week. It looks so much better!

Anna and I went to a college planning meeting on Tuesday evening while Erin was at piano. Joe came over on Friday night for some quesadillas and basketball watching. 

Bob and I watched a sad loss to Georgia Tech on the 17th, but then the Pack upset Clemson at Clemson the following week. We can't figure this team out, but, overall, they're doing pretty well. I went to Liz's birthday lunch at Chuy's on the 18th while Bob helped drive Erin to work (weather concerns). Anna and Joe did some shopping, bowling, and then came over to our house for pasta and cookie decorating. Monday (MLK Jr. Day), I had piano and Anna babysat for her friend Foster for a few hours. 

Tuesday ended up being Anna's only day at school for 11 days (!) before she was home sick the next 3 days. I had an extra morning at CPO on Tuesday and got to supervise some Gibbons kids who were helping with their advisory. They did a very good job! Anna was better by Saturday and enjoyed a fun day at ParTee Shack North and Morgan Street Food Hall with Joe's family, his friend visiting from Florida, and the friend's family. Bob and I went to mass while Erin was at work before the "huge winter storm hit" on Sunday. 

All churches (and everything else) were closed on Sunday. The storm ended up being less than 0.5" of ice and thankfully, despite lots of warnings, we did not lose power. Anna did a lot of sledding with the Tierneys and Finley enjoyed walking in it. It was mostly melted on Monday, but due to very cold temps and the risk of freezing, the kids were out of school on Monday and Tuesday but had work to do from home. 

The rest of the week was fairly routine. Bob headed to Brussels and London on Friday. That rounded out the month! Anna and I were hoping to meet Ansley's family and Grandma and Grandpa for lunch in Greensboro on Sunday for Ansley's birthday, but they got loads of snow on Saturday while we got none! We all had some lingering sickness at various points, but nothing we couldn't handle. Let's hope for fewer school cancellations and better health in February! 

January!

January was, as usual, a quiet reprieve from the previous few months.  We had a nice New Year's Day, going to Mass, relaxing, and having our good-luck dinner for security purposes for the year ahead.  

Erin joined me at CPO on the 2nd, stocking carts for clients, and then we had a nice lunch at Chipotle and a self-guided tour of Peace College.  It's small!  

After trying out my new pasta maker mixer attachment for dinner that night, we girls enjoyed watching the Wicked movie that evening while Bob blew off a Knights meeting to hang out with his friends instead.  

Anna did some shopping with friends on Saturday, and more shopping with different friends on Sunday!  Monday the 6th was back to school, and I had a nice book club meeting that evening.  We spent that week getting back into the swing of things.  After a bit of a snow disappointment on Friday evening, Bob and I enjoyed going to the NCSU/UNC men's basketball game on Saturday, though unfortunately it did not go our way.  

Anna collected her winnings from a Knights of Columbus essay contest on Sunday evening before Erin lectored at Mass, followed by youth group.  

The next week was more of the usual, ending with a fun trip to the beach for Anna with Lyla's family.  It was a bit rainy and, of course, cool, but they had a great time!  Meanwhile, Bob, Erin, and I did a little car shopping on Saturday and ended up bringing home a 2023 Accord!  We love it so far!  Erin and I also hit Southpoint while we were in the area, and then the three of us tried another NCSU basketball game, which again didn't go our way, but was still lots of fun.  

Erin drove herself to piano rehearsal on Sunday.  Monday, Anna got her hair cut while they were off school for MLK Day.  The second round of snow on Tuesday evening brought more than earlier in the month, and the kids got 2 snow days and a delay on Friday!  They were happy to have one regular day and one short day that week.  

Anna had been under the weather for a couple of weeks and ended up getting an antibiotic for walking pneumonia on Thursday, which helped a lot.  Bob and I enjoyed watching Erin's piano ensemble festival dress rehearsal before dropping him off at the airport for his trip to Sao Paulo.  The girls had a blast that evening at the Gibbons Snow Ball, which was moved to January from December this year, and only freshmen and sophomores were able to go.  So, it was a smaller crowd, but they said it was actually more fun and less crowded than the other dances, and had better music!  Anna had dinner with friends at Superica in Fenton before the dance.  

Sunday the 26th was Erin's ensemble festival.  Her group, and the others, did a wonderful job!  It is so cool to hear so many kids playing the piano at the same time; the sound is amazing!  

The last week of the month has been pretty tame.  Anna went back to her alma mater for a charity basketball game on Monday and enjoyed seeing friends and teachers from StMM.  Erin has had a busy few weeks doing extra dance classes and placement tests for school classes for next year, in addition to the piano festival.  

This week is Catholic Schools Week, so they're having some extra events at school.  The bishop showed up for all-school Mass today!  Bob will return home on Saturday, and we are looking forward to meeting up in Greensboro for Ansley's birthday lunch this coming Sunday!

So, it was a great month with some snow excitement and some quieter days.  I had a smaller second round of scholarship applications to review for UNC, and we have been enjoying following NFL playoffs and Wolfpack men's and women's basketball (a little less enjoyment surrounds the men's team at the moment).  We are thankful for a fun and quiet month, and are looking forward to another great month ahead!

January

January was wonderfully quiet and peaceful!  We rang in the new year with Anna and 2 of her friends sleeping over, then had a Midwestern-Southern fusion good luck meal that evening.  

We got our long-awaited new carpet on the 2nd and 3rd and have been enjoying it ever since.  The ladies went back to school on the 3rd and were happy to ease back into school with a short week.  Saturday, Bob and I went to neighbor friend Ms. Mona's funeral.  It was sad, but she lived a long, happy life.  Sunday, Erin did the second reading at youth mass, followed by a speaker for youth group.  It was good, but involved over 30 minutes of kneeling during Adoration that we are not used to!  

The week of the 7th was pretty calm.  I had my final meeting for the Robertson program on Wednesday the 10th.  It went well, and I think I was pretty close to where I should have been with rating the applications.  I really liked doing something new and having a little taste of a semi-real job for awhile!  Erin and I enjoyed seeing a dance showcase at Holly Springs High School on Thursday evening as a part of her dance honors credit for Gibbons.  Friday, Bob and I had a great dinner with Liz and David for her birthday.  Bob took down the nativity at church on Saturday while we ladies did a little nature walk.

Anna had a fun shopping, movie, and sleepover with friends on Sunday.  

Monday was MLK Day, and Erin had 3 friends over for lunch and mini golf.  The rest of the week was fairly calm.  Anna sustained an eye injury at the sleepover, so we visited the eye doctor and got some drops for 2 days.  Easy!  Thursday night, Erin tried a jazz dance class as another part of her honors credit.  Friday evening was the annual Hoops for Hunger at StMM, and Anna and I both enjoyed the fun evening of basketball!  That weekend was pretty laid back.  Anna was sick for a couple of days, so I helped cover her cat-sitting job next door.

Bob went to London from Monday-Saturday the following week and had a good trip.  He even got to venture out of the city to visit a friend in the Cotswolds area on Friday!  While he was gone, we had a full week of school, book club, activities, meetings, and Anna had a half day of school on Friday.  We ladies enjoyed a fun visit from Uncle Chris, Logan, and Ansley on Friday evening into Saturday.  We met up at NCSU for dinner/walking tour, then back to our house for hot tub and sleepover.  Saturday, the guys had a robotics meet at Wake Tech, and we ladies did a tour of Raleigh:  Gibbons, 321 Coffee, the Red and White Shop, and Crabtree mall.  We had a really fun day!  

We then met up at Wake Tech and saw the final rounds of the tournament, where Logan's team made it into the final 4!  Bob arrived home that evening from London.

Anna participated in the annual 8th grade Saint Wax Museum on Tuesday the 30th (during Catholic Schools Week) as St. Margaret of Scotland.  She chose her because she was royalty.  

Bob and I enjoyed visiting the saints and catching up with a couple of parents who we haven't seen in awhile.  That was pretty much our month!  It was nice to have some quiet, but we stayed busy enough.  We are looking forward to some fun in February, including a trip to Brazil for Bob, soccer starting for Anna, and a break from school around President's Day!  We're also hoping for a little snow - we will see about that!

January!

We had a great month!  January is so nice in that things have calmed down after the holidays, but we still stayed busy.  We had a pretty quiet New Year's Day with a good luck dinner to hopefully help bring us a great year ahead!  

Anna hung out with friends on the 2nd and we got ourselves organized to finally return to school on Wednesday the 4th.  Erin took her placement test at Gibbons on Saturday the 7th while Bob did some work for the Knights.  Their nativity set sustained some damage from a storm before Christmas, so the stable ended up being empty at Christmas due to broken plexiglass.  Eek!  

Erin had her first rehearsal for Dance Theater on Sunday the 8th, and that's going very well.  She's enjoying it and is excited for the performance on March 11th!  We were back at it for a full week of school beginning on the 9th, and all went smoothly.  Bob and I enjoyed a dinner out at Osteria G with Liz and David on Friday for her birthday.  Anna's friend Morgan came over on Saturday, and Bob and I attended neighbor friend Angie's dad's funeral on Monday (MLK Jr. Day).  Anna and I had a blast at the annual Hoops for Hunger game at StMM on Tuesday the 17th, including the unveiling of our new monarch butterfly mascot!  So much fun! 

We had a busy day on the 21st, including Erin's first group rehearsal for her piano ensemble performance while Anna and I went to Immaculata in Durham for the cheer competition and then she was on to friend Meredith's birthday sleepover.  Bob headed to NYC the next day for a few days for work, and we ladies had a fairly calm week.  On the 28th, Erin had her dress rehearsal at Meredith College for the piano ensemble, and then Grandma A. came up and spent the night so she could see the performance as well!  We had a very nice visit!  Sunday, we met Olivia at church and brought her to the concert also.  It was so much fun!  Bob then headed to Seattle that evening for work.

That pretty much wraps up January!  Anna is doing some training for the upcoming soccer season, and Erin has been busy with her regular piano and dance classes, plus the additional piano performance and Dance Theater.  We are cautiously hopeful for some snow at some point this winter.  Finley has been in hibernation for the most part.  It was a great month!

January

2022 got off to a pretty good start!  We had a nice New Year's Day with a good luck meal (it remains to be seen if it worked or not!).  

Then the kids had a delayed start back to school due to "ice" on Tuesday the 4th.  The rest of that week was spent getting back in the swing of things -school, work, basketball games, piano, ballet, Knights meeting, etc.  We had a fun time on Saturday with Jimmy, Danny, and their parents and a quick visit with Grandma and Grandpa F., too!  We also enjoyed a fun meal out with the McGees on Sunday evening.

The week of the 10th was fairly routine with a half day that Friday to end the second quarter.  We girls had a fun outing on Saturday to Southpoint mall and then to watch their cheerleader friends in a competition in Durham.  StMM got 2nd place!  

We then went to mass that evening ahead of the "snow", which ended up not being much to talk about.  It was a little icy and a little snow, but Anna and friends gave it their best shot with the sled.

The kids were off for MLK Day and were back to school on Tuesday for just 3 days before the third winter weather event of the month hit on Friday evening!  They canceled school on Friday even though the actual snow didn't start until that evening.  This time, we got about 3" of snow, so it was our best one yet this year!  Erin got her covid booster vaccine on Friday evening and wasn't feeling the best on Saturday, so she stayed inside.  Anna, Finley, and I had a blast that morning until it melted!  

Anna volunteered to keep the class pet turtle over the extended weekend, and he was a lot of fun.

The week of the 24th was their first full week of school all month, and it all went smoothly.  We had a fun time in Greensboro on Sunday the 30th for Ansley's birthday - Jason's Deli lunch and some shopping!  From there, we went to the NCSU womens' basketball game at UNC.  It seemed like there were more Wolfpack fans than Tarheels!  After a tough first half, the Wolfpack pulled out the win.

That was basically it for the month - it was nice to settle down after the holiday madness, and we have been thankful for staying healthy.  The big news this month was the "omicron" variant of the covid virus circulating quickly.  Their school has had dozens of cases, but thankfully, kids who are exposed who have been vaccinated do not have to quarantine, which is an improvement on last year.  So, they haven't had to miss any school.  This variant seems to not make people as sick, but is much more contagious, so many more people are getting it.  

Other than that, our porch project continues plugging along.  The addition is framed and the roof is finished, and this week they are adding a load-bearing beam between the existing porch and the addition, and then they'll start the decking.  Progress!

Anna had 2 basketball games each week, with her final two games this week.  Their record hasn't been great, but I think she ended up enjoying it more than she initially thought she would.  And she (and the whole team) has gotten a lot better, more confident, and they're even running plays (actually, just one play, according to Anna).  It's been a lot of fun for us parents too.

We planned a fun spring break trip to Hilton Head, and Erin is looking forward to her class trip to Washington DC at the end of March.  Anna's grade is also doing an overnight field trip to a science research facility at the coast this spring.  We are looking ahead to warmer days ahead (though you'll never hear me complain about the cold)!

January!

 We had a good January, despite the continuing pandemic situation.  Our New Year was fairly uneventful - Erin woke up with a fever on the 1st, so I went to church by myself while the rest watched from home.  In a protest of the traditional "good luck" New Year's meal not working for the past two years, we revolted and had New Year's lasagna instead.  Hopefully it will work better than the usual stuff!  We watched a sad loss for the Wolfpack to Kentucky in the Gator Bowl on the 2nd.  

We broke out the fondue pot again on the 5th for some chocolate:

The school decided to have all kids do remote learning for the first two weeks back in January due to holiday travel and Covid spread, so we did that.  It went well and was much smoother than remote learning last spring.  It was also nice to save some driving time and be able to sleep a little later.  The kids seemed glad that we didn't decide to do that for the whole year, though!  

Otherwise, some highlights were our new washer arriving on Friday the 8th.  After being without one since Christmas Eve, we have a new appreciation for it!  The new one works great so far and is getting lots of use.

We girls and Finley enjoyed a hike at Raven Rock State Park on Saturday the 9th.  

Erin started her first of 9 weeks of rehearsals for Dance Theater on Sunday the 10th.  She is enjoying doing something new, and the show should be really cute!  The teacher has had to be creative as far as dividing the kids up and doing as much as possible outdoors.

Erin made a gourmet breakfast for us on the 14th!  

We attempted breakfast for dinner for the first time in over 10 years (due to Erin's disdain for it), and she tolerated it well.  Whew!

We enjoyed visiting with Liz and David's cats on Saturday the 16th, and the kids had a day off for MLK Jr. Day on the 18th.  

Erin got to go hang out at Olivia's that day and had a great time.  Then, it was back to school on Tuesday, and so far so good there.  Due to 2 more people quitting in the cafeteria, I am now there every school day from 9:30am-1:00pm.  Thankfully, Bob is home with Finley so I don't worry about him, and it's been going well.  I get plenty of exercise running the food to each classroom!  

We had a bit of snow overnight between the 27th and 28th, but only had a 2-hour delay at school.  Anna and Finley got out to play for awhile in the morning and it melted shortly after they went to school.  I was glad they didn't cancel the whole day!

Otherwise, the last two weeks of the month have been fairly routine.  The kids were busy with school and Erin also has been busy with dance and piano.  Anna is looking forward to soccer starting back up in February and has been working on decorating her newly painted room.  We are enjoying the winter weather and wouldn't mind a bigger snow at some point!  Bob is still working with the Knights every Saturday and Sunday to cook and serve meals to families in need in Apex.  Last count, they had served over 20,000 meals over 44 weekends.  Wow!

We are excited about booking a short trip to Fort Lauderdale during Spring Break in April.  We hope that Covid won't mess it up!  The vaccines are slowly being given.  We hope that speeds up and we will be back to normal soon!

January

We had a great month of January, sadly, with no snow.  We started the year out with Erin altar serving at mass on the 1st, followed by a fun day at home.  We did not do a traditional good luck dinner since it didn’t seem to work so well last year, but we did do a toast to 2020!



Anna went to Sofia’s house on the 2nd for a fun play date and outing with her and Addie.  Saturday began the weekend of ballet auditions for Erin - first up was a trip to North Raleigh for her to audition for the Carolina Ballet summer intensive 2-week camp...spoiler alert:  she got in!  She is so excited to spend 2 weeks dancing and learning lots of ballet in a fun setting this summer.  Sunday, she tried out for a dance theater/ballet performance at her dance school, but did not get a part in that one.

Monday the 6th was back to school, and we had a fairly quiet week getting back in the swing of things.  Anna went to new friend Maddy’s house for a fun birthday dinner at Bonefish and playtime at her house.  Saturday, Bob helped take the nativity set down at church and Anna had her first of many Science Olympiad meetings for the two events she’s participating in on March 28th.  So far, she is really enjoying it and is learning a lot!  Erin was an altar server again on the 12th, Bob worked the pancake breakfast at church, and Anna had fun at Gerald’s tae kwon do birthday party after her second science Olympiad meeting of the weekend.

The kids had a fun week of dress down days (with donation) to support the school/church sister parish in Haiti.  The excitement this week was the girls having a teacher workday on Wednesday and Erin had Olivia over to sleep over Tuesday night - they kept me busy with a lemonade stand, baking shortbread, making homemade applesauce, making rosaries, practicing our knitting and crochet, and lots of playing school.



While all of that was happening, Bob and Anna had a really fun adventure at Disney World!  They redeemed the free single-day park hopper ticket that Disney graciously gave them in exchange for the day that Anna missed due to sickness during our trip to August.  They flew down Tuesday evening, stayed at a hotel near Disney, and hit Magic Kingdom and Epcot hard on Wednesday before flying back late that evening.  Most impressively, Anna was back up and at ‘em for school on Thursday morning.  They had great weather and tons of fun!





I got to go in to Erin’s class on Friday afternoon for a social studies Discovery game demo from Erin’s class.  It was pretty complicated!  Saturday, Anna, Laney, Erin, Finley, and I went on a fun hike at Bass Lake in the afternoon.  I went to Liz’s birthday dinner at Chuy’s that evening.  Sunday was more science Olympiad, and Monday was a nice day off of school for MLK Day, which we mostly spent at home and at piano for Erin.  The rest of that week was fairly uneventful...Anna had two sick days at the end of the week with a fever and cough that hung on for awhile, but she is much better now and has all of her sparkle back.

Bob left Saturday afternoon for a week in Vienna, Austria, for an IBM meeting.  It was his first time there, and he really enjoyed the people and the food.







Anna had a blast at Emma’s pottery-painting party that afternoon.  The following week was Catholic Schools Week, which brought more fun dress down days and exciting events for the kids.  Both girls participated in the Living Rosary on Wednesday, and Erin’s music class cantored for school mass on Thursday.

That pretty much sums up January - it was overall a great month, despite the lack of winter weather.  We think Finley needs to see some snow!