Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Keeping Up With...Family (Catching Up)

Hello Again!  It's been a while since I've written here.  There are a few reasons with the biggest being life got in the way.  We haven't had a ton going on that was worth writing about but at the same time we've been super busy.  Nov and Dec have been pretty good months for us and I'm looking forward to what 2016 has in store for us.  More on that in the next few days.

So what have we been up to?  Where do I start?  The big things I guess.  We celebrated Thanksgiving (twice) with the Jones grandparents before they headed down to Florida for the winter.  We celebrated Carl's birthday with the traditional meal of pizza, beer & cake.  We took the older boys to see "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" the musical.  It was a great show, perfect for their first theater experience.  Grandma took Zak for that day & took him to McDonald's & Meijer, he didn't realize he missed out on anything with us. 

Christmas came and went was amazing!  Santa finally granted the boys wish of a WiiU and they were beyond thrilled.  They got a bunch of games from the family so we have a nice start on a collection for the new system.  We also got a bunch of board and card games.  We have been enjoying all of them this break.
The boys also got an experience gift from us, we went to see Marvel Universe Live yesterday and it was fantastic!  We all really enjoyed the show, especially all of the stunts.  And AJ had the best time when "Hulk" gave him a thumbs up at the end of the show.  We were about 7 rows back & he was standing right in front of us.  AJ had on a Hulk hat from his cotton candy so the Hulk actor caught his eye and gave him a thumbs up, twice.  The look on AJ's face was priceless, SO excited!

Other than those big things life has been cruising along with our normal busy pace.  AJ is still playing ice hockey & is constantly improving.  His hockey team skated at intermission of a Columbus Blue Jackets game.  Daniel is really enjoying Boy Scouts.  He competed in his first Boy Scout Raingutter Regatta (and lost badly).  Zak is loving soccer & is excited to play football in the spring.  Zak finished up ice skating lessons and moved on to the next class (although we are taking a session off right now).  All 3 boys want to start baseball in the spring too.  AJ & Daniel didn't finish up their bowling league last season, it just became too much for our schedule.  But we are back to that and swimming starting in January.  All 3 are also still doing great in school.  AJ is working very hard to try to get straight A's this quarter at school.  He's close and has another 2 weeks when break is over to get there.  I hope he makes it!  Adrian has worked a bunch of overtime and then scored this whole week between Christmas & New Year's off.  He was bummed the Buckeyes lost to Michigan State but is excited for the bowl game.  I taught a bunch of Zumba classes, volunteered a ton at the schools and successfully got everyone where they needed to be.  I am holding my breath for the Jets to make the playoffs.


I think I'll stop talking there and drop a few photos for you to look at.  I'm sure there is more I'm forgetting about, but these were the highlights.  Come back later this week for a recap of my 2015 goals, 2016 goals, a return to menu planning and a recap of our winter break.  It feels good to be back!
Daniel at the Raingutter Regatta
Zak and his bird feeder
Ohio Theater Selfie

Zak the ice skater
AJ the hockey player

Mailing Santa letters
Santa picture
Daniel's gingerbread house
Christmas Eve - it was 60+ degrees!
Our WiiU gifts - nice start to our collection
Marvel selfie!