Kara Turns 16, Return to the Office & Mardi Gras Parade

Kara turned 16 on Wednesday. Her big celebration was the cruise, so her actual day was pretty anticlimactic. She thought about skipping school, but didn't want to miss lacrosse practice. I made cake pops that she took to school and shared with her friends. It was also the night of Jack's first pre-season track meet. So, Thomas went to that and I took Kara to her chosen dinner--Taco Bell. Luke made her a bracelet, Anna gave her a camo hoodie, and we gave her a $25 Starbucks gift card. She likes to make her own cake, but I think that may not happen this year. Obviously, I offered to make (or buy) one for her, but at first she planned to make it over the weekend, now she is saying she doesn't really want one. We shall see. So, like I started with--it was kind of an odd birthday. It is hard to believe she is 16. I can still see her in my mind as a cuddly 3-year-old, full of personality.

Other happenings have been a bit crazy. Thomas and I are back in the office. On our second day, there was a small electrical fire. They sent us home to telework for the afternoon, but had us come in the next day even though there was no internet. The internet came on late that afternoon, but was out again the next morning. The return to office feels very rushed. I know some people think that teleworkers don't actually work. I have many personal opinions on the matter, but I will keep it short and just say that I firmly believe diligent workers are going to be diligent, whether they are working from home or an office. And, lazy workers are going to be lazy, no matter where you put them. Anyway, it's been a big change. 

There have been mass firings of federal workers. I am not sure why we've become the enemy.  I have been up since 3am trying to figure out what Thomas and I will do if we lose our jobs. We have both spent our entire adult lives working for the Navy, which doesn't translate well into the civilian world. I feel like we will have to start over completely, which is terrifying when I thought we'd be retiring in 10-15 years. I do not like what is happening in the world and that along with the fear of extreme personal upheaval has created a level of stress that I've never experienced. I wish I could say this was my first or last sleepless night, but there have already been many and I imagine that there are still plenty in front of me.

Okay, moving on. As mentioned--Jack had his first track meet. He did the mile in 5:22 and the 1K in 3:08. He was happy with those times and has set some lofty goals for himself going forward. The lacrosse season has started. Kara is really enjoying playing. In last night's game, both of the regular goalies were out, so she played the position for the first half and had about about a 50% save rate. Their team won 23-3 and Kara got the game ball!

It's a great time of year to sit outside and watch a game.

On February 3rd we got to toss beads from a float during Universal's Mardi Gras parade. They let passholders reserve a date and the signups were released at noon in January. I got the link around 1205 and had a significant wait in the virtual queue. By the time I got in, there were two days left to chose from, both weekdays in early February. When we first did this a few years ago, they had lots of spots for passholders and you could sign up for two nights. But now they sell the opportunity to be on a float as part of a dinner package, so the free passholder spots are very limited. I was happy that we were able to snag one and was excited when the night arrived.

It was actually the day our passes expired and we had to renew in person (we changed our passes slightly). So, we raced to the parks after work, renewed our passes and checked in for the floats. Then, we grabbed a quick dinner. It was very rushed, but totally worth it. Unfortunately, Jack and Kara didn't want to miss their after school practices, so it was just the 4 of us. We missed, them but those of us who went had a great time.

Even on a Monday night, the parade draws a crowd.

January Wrap-Up

January ended well. Kara made the Varsity lacrosse team and Jack is doing distance for track again. They are both very busy with after school practices. It is so incredibly nice having Jack drive and not having to go to the school every day for pickup.

We bought a new couch and a new tv. Between that and the cruise, January was a very expensive month. We are going to have to live lean for a while to make up for it. We bought our last couch right before Luke was born, so 11 years ago. It held up relatively well, but had some weak spots, separating cushions, and was making creaking noises; I was ready for a new one. We found one we liked, but it was way over budget. Then, I found it online for a much better price and the store price-matched. We like to support brick-and-mortar stores and are willing to pay a bit more, but this was not an insignificant difference. Anyway, we have a new, non-creaky couch to enjoy.

Our old couch, looking good in its final picture from our living room. We gave it away on freecycle, where another family was thrilled to get it (even in its much used condition). 

New couch and rug. It is more cream colored than it looks in this picture, but I don't want to wait until morning to take a picture with better lighting.

We probably could have got some more time out of our tv, but the one we have in our bedroom has been black-and-white for close to a year now. We don't use it very often, but it is nice for occasional use. And, our main tv has some minor image issues. Plus, there is a lot of speculation that electronics are going to increase in price with the new tariffs. So, we bought a new tv and will move the old tv to our bedroom and get rid of the black-and-white.

Luke had two baseball tournaments this month. His team has gone 2-5, so not a great start, but they moved up a division, so it is not unexpected. At school, he got an award for exhibiting the Cambridge trait of "Innovative". Last quarter he got the "Responsible" award, so we were not expecting that he would get anything this quarter (each class has three awards for 3 quarters). And, he was the only kid in his class to get straight As. All the kids did very well the first semester. 

Luke and his teacher, Ms. Carter-Mello.

Kara spent the day at Universal yesterday (Saturday) with two friends. Anna and I went up around 4, rode a few rides, had dinner at Burger King in City Walk, and then met up with Kara and friends to watch the parade (then drive people home). It was incredibly crowded. People were lining up for the parade 90 minutes before it started! It was Mardi Gras opening day and a T-Pain concert, so maybe that is why? We are used to lighter crowds in January.

We had fun sitting up here and people watching.

I mentioned in my first blog of the month that we went to Fort Christmas and to lunch at Steak-n-Shake. I was going to write in more detail later, but obviously that didn't happen. It was a really fun day and a great way to spend the last day of winter break. We played tennis, looked around the houses and fort, then had a nice lunch (and milkshakes) at Steak-n-Shake.

I'm sure I am leaving something out, but that is a good enough summary. Thomas and I got new glasses. We had some really cold days, which was fun. There was lots of school and work and Thomas and I enjoying what are likely our last weeks of telework.

One random picture to end. When we took down our tree, I snapped this picture of my snowmen ornament collection. I love them.

Cruise Finish

Day three was a sea day. As previously described, the night was long and miserable. But, the rest of of the day was fun. We had breakfast and then I took a 30 minute power nap, after which I felt much less cranky. We had our specialty lunch at Chops Grill, which was delicious. Then Anna and I went to a movie quotes trivia where we did not do very well. From there, Thomas, Anna and I saw the ice-skating show which was okay. Then Anna, Luke, and I went to general knowledge trivia and finished second! Luke knew two answers that I didn’t, one was how many moons does Venus have (zero) and the other was what is a group of frogs called (an army). Anna also knew two answers that I didn’t: how many divorces/announcements did Henry VIII have (two) and what band was made famous by Eurovision in 1974 (Abba). So we made a good team and were pleased with our finish. After dinner, we headed to the evening entertainment, which was a magician. He was amazing with a deck of cards and we enjoyed it. Thomas, Jack, Luke, and Anna ended the night watching the Commanders/Lions game on the screen by the pool, Kara went off with her new friends, and I decided to call it an early night. Oh, I almost forgot, at some point during the day Thomas saw the neighbor who had the temper tantrum and he apologized to Thomas and told Thomas to tell me he was sorry as well. I had gone to guest services and got some ear plugs and I was so tired I didn't hear a thing.

Day four was a Bahamas visit to the island of Bimini. We had never been there before and didn't have anything planned. It was kind of cold and windy, so no one wanted to visit the beach. Right outside the port, we were asked about 50 times if we wanted to rent a golf cart, but we politely declined. We were told there was a museum about 2 miles away from the port and it was safe to walk, so we did. Some of the kids were pretty annoyed and complained a lot about this decision, which was frustrating. Although, in fairness, we definitely felt a little odd being the only people walking as all the golf carts rode past. It took us close to an hour to find the museum and then it was closed. Ugh! But, there was a beautiful beach nearby and some of really regretted not wearing our suits. Luke sat on the shore and a wave came and covered his legs, soaking his shoes in the process. He also lost his watch somehow. 

Anna, Kara, Luke and I took a cab back to the ship. Jack and Thomas wanted to walk. The driver was very nice and told us about the island, he also pointed out the main museum, we had been directed to the wrong one! Something for next time. Once we got back, the girls really wanted to go to the beach. We had lunch, then put on our suits and I took them to the one right next to the pier. The boys didn't want to miss our reserved time for laser tag. So, we went our separate ways. The waves were really strong and we had fun playing in the water. Meanwhile, the boys said laser tag was super fun. They were all on the same team with a bunch of little kids, the other team was all the kids parents (its random). But, they won and were very proud of themselves.

Beautiful Bahama water!

We really enjoyed Bimini, we talked to several locals and they were all happy to tell us about the island and they all said that they liked having cruise ships visit. That isn't always the case with the ports the ships visit and we really liked that they liked having us there. No one was aggressive and the beaches were completely free. You could rent chairs, but it wasn't required and no one made you feel bad if you didn't. We really liked the laid back feel and would be happy to go again.

We stayed for a few hours then went back and showered. Luke, Anna and I tried to recreate our trivia magic, but only got 4/15 right! Luke got disgusted with us about 5 questions in and left, telling me I really should know more. I felt very judged! Dinner was good, we were sad to say goodbye to our waiters. Then, Thomas, Jack, Anna, and I went to the farewell show. We had a late night snack in the windjammer and then packed up (Kara went off with teens and Luke watched tv in his room, but joined us later to get an ice cream cone).

We carried our luggage off the ship around 745 the next morning and were home about an hour later. It was a really fun few days and everyone had a good time. It was a smaller ship than we normally cruise, but I really enjoyed that. We didn't have to reserve any entertainment and it was nice just going  with the flow. I would definitely do this exact cruise again (and just hope for better neighbors!). 

Monday was a holiday (MLK Jr Day), so we were able to leisurely unpack and relax. I spent about 4 hours working on getting my dad's medication straightened out. It involved calls to Medicare, two health insurers, the nurses at his assisted living center and emails to the doctor. That was not fun, but I think I got it sorted for him and will hopefully save him lots of money. 

An (early) Birthday Cruise, Days 1-2

Kara turns 16 next month and to celebrate we decided to take a cruise. She chose to go on a 4-night in January as opposed to a 3-night closer to her birthday. She had a couple of reasons for this: 1) 4 nights are better than 3; and 2) a January cruise would not interfere with lacrosse (or baseball or track).

Initially, it was just going to be just me and the girls. But, then Luke really wanted to go. And, Thomas felt a little left out but didn't want to leave Jack home alone. Then, Jack agreed to go and it turned into a mini family vacation.

The cruise let on a Thursday. I worked for a few hours that morning and Jack went to school to take a test. It was supposed to be two tests, but one was postponed. We only live about 45 minutes from the cruise port; we left our house around 10 and walked on the ship around 1115. Easy peasy.

Our ship was Voyager of the Seas. It was a new-to-us ship and smaller than the ones we usually go on. But, it worked for our schedule. And, I actually enjoyed the smaller ship. You don't have to reserve entertainment and it has a more laid-back feel. Of course, we missed some of the big ship amenities, but overall we were happy. Anyway, after we got onboard, we did our muster and then went to the Windjammer for lunch. We explored the ship a bit, including playing mini golf. The boys also played 2 v 2 basketball with some other boys. It was a cold and windy day. So no pools for us. Although Anna and I did go into one of the hot tubs later in the day. 

We had dinner in the main dining room and then the boys, Thomas and I went and saw the welcome aboard show, which included a funny comedian. It was a good start to our trip. The teens all went to the teens club. Anna said it was more middle schoolers than high schoolers and I’m not sure they will go back. 

Friday was our CocoCay day. I LOVE Perfect Day at Coc Cay. Unfortunately the weather was not really perfect. It was overcast and a little chilly. Normally when we go to Cococay, we are among the first off the ship, but as we knew it was not going to be the greatest weather day, we were in no hurry. We had breakfast around eight and then came back to our rooms and changed and were off the ship around 930. We went for a nice little walk around the island through a really cool vegetation area. I don’t know how to describe it, except it felt like we were in an island jungle. Of course, we were on a nice sandy path. Eventually, we settled in at the Chill Beach area, and even though the water was a little bit chilly, Luke and I decided to go for it. Jack came in as well and we played monkey in the middle with a football for a while. We love the giant lagoon pool, but it was just too cold. Although Luke did dunk his head in to see if the underwater speakers were working. They were.

We lounged on the beach for a bit before heading to lunch. Lunch at CocoCay is among our favorite meals on a cruise and it did not disappoint (at least for me).  After lunch, Anna, Jack and Thomas went back to the ship. Luke went and played on the kids' play structures, where he ran between buckets of dropping water. While he played, Kara and I sat and listened to some talented singers. After another hour or so, we came back on the ship, everyone showered, and we rested a bit then got a snack. The Icon of the Seas was in in port with us at CocoCay and we enjoyed walking around the top decks and looking at the ship. It is massive and looks like so much fun. We are debating whether to try and book it for next spring break. Some of us played mini golf. Some played shuffleboard. Thomas, Luke, Kara and I went ice-skating. 

We had dinner in the main dining room. Then Kara, Anna, and I went to a silent hush party, which is always fun. They played some fun oldies that most people tuned into like Livin on a Prayer and YMCA. After that, Thomas, Anna, and I listened to karaoke. Anna did not last long, remarking that she didn’t understand why I liked it. There were a couple of really good singers, a couple of really bad singers, and several in the middle. Kara went to the teen club. Jack walked around a bit. All of us except Kara called it a night around 10 PM. We walked over 20k steps and Thomas and I each climbed 38 flights of stairs!

Unfortunately, we had the worst neighbors we've ever had on a cruise. It sounded like about 10 people were in the room next to us and they were loud and kept opening the door, then letting it slam closed. I finally got mad and banged on the wall, at which point, one of them aggressively banged back multiple times and started screaming and swearing through the wall, telling me to open my door and face him and how we was prepared to spend the night in the brig. He was fighting with the people in his room too and they eventually yelled at him to leave. So, I did open our door. I thought if he saw a middle-aged mom, maybe he wouldn't try and break into our room and murder us. I told him I was sorry I banged on the wall, but I just wanted to sleep. He responded that he had just lost his father and went down the hall yelling again about how he was ready to go to the brig. He eventually came back and then the fighting resumed (not with us, with his family). At one point, his mom was in the room and he was yelling at her too. I estimate he was in his 20s. It was crazy. And, I literally did not sleep the entire night. We should have called security. 

New Years and 2024 Year in Review

On New Years Eve we had our traditional cheese fondue and talked about our highlights for 2024 and what we are looking forward to in 2025. We also shared our resolutions. I have permission to share, so here they are:

Jack: 1) don't die; 2) no added sugar; 3) no chips; 4) keep getting straight As; 5) figure out the future; 6) run a 4:40 mile; 7) stay off social media; 8) 1450 SAT.

Luke: 1) get stronger; and 2) better at baseball

Kara: 1) win lacrosse districts; 2) get drivers license; 3) keep getting straight As; 4) get more creative at photography

Anna: 1) less screen time; 2) do a front and back walkover

Kori: 1) no added sugar at home; 2) average at least 10 minutes a day of DuoLingo; 3) turn over more control to the kids (stop doing so much for them and let them be accountable).

Thomas: 1) eat healthier and 2) read more.

Everyone except Jack stayed up until midnight. Thomas and Luke played blackjack, the rest of us mostly did our own thing. Before midnight, we all went outside and counted down to the new year. Some neighbors were shooting off fireworks, so we watched those, did some sparklers and then called it a night. 

Now, the Year in Review:

2024 was an amazing year! The first thing that comes to mind is obviously our trip to the West Coast. We spent several days in Seattle, then a few in Vancouver, then embarked on a week long Alaskan Cruise. The whole trip lasted two weeks and took extensive planning. The effort was worth it, as we loved every minute. It was our longest ever vacation, the first time 5 of us saw the Pacific ocean and the first time on a plane for Luke. We traveled by car, plane, boat and train. There was a lot going on and everything went just about as well as it possibly could have. It was everyone's highlight of the year. 

In other fun, we also did a Spring Break cruise. It was on Symphony of the Seas, which we really loved. We used our passes to all the theme parks. Somehow we ended up owning passes for SeaWorld, Disney, Universal, and Fun Spot. Which is really too much (both $$$ and not enough hours of the day to make it worthwhile). We did not renew Fun Spot and probably won't renew SeaWorld. But, I am not giving up Disney or Universal. That covers most of our free time. And, we are definitely a family that lives for the weekends :)

We had some other major expenses: a big plumbing issue in January. A major car repair later in the year and Anna's wisdom teeth removal, which for some reason insurance did not cover. We bought a new car and passed the Honda to the kids. 

For individual summaries:

Luke: turned double-digits. We celebrated on the spring break cruise. He played a lot of baseball. He finished the season with a .526 batting average and OBP of .641 and was one of his teams go-to pitchers, often chosen for the highest pressure games. He is doing amazing in school and was the captain of the Battle of the Books team. He is in the gifted program and earns straight As and high test scores. He is mostly a homebody and is happiest hanging out in his pajamas. He would rather stay home than go to a theme park or just about anywhere, unless it involves playing sports. He is also still too hard on himself and can be a bit of a bad sport. His favorite things are the iPad, the t.v. show Big Time Rush, and baseball. 

Kara turned 15 and got her learner's permit, but has not done much driving yet. She does great in school and is very social. She has many, many friends and is often busy doing things with one friend or another. She enjoys playing lacrosse and is a very aggressive defender. She also enjoys doing creative things, like painting and photography. She also likes music, her favorite artist is still Lana Del Rey. She is the opposite of a homebody and gets irritated when we spend too many days, which for her is probably more than one, without plans. 

Anna turned 17 and is enjoying her junior year. She likes all her classes and is much happier at school this year. She also played lacrosse, but unfortunately, did not like it very much. She enjoys the theme parks, especially Universal and is generally up for an adventure. She is interested in joining the Air Force when she graduates. She has gotten much better at advocating for herself. With Thomas and I, she vacillates between I'm still a kid/I'm practically an adult arguments (whichever suits what she is aiming to achieve). She also started posting fun 'day in the life' type videos on TikTok and Instagram.

Jack also turned 17. Like all his siblings, he is doing great in school. He is very busy with band and running. He really enjoys track and wishes he had started running earlier. He has a good group of friends that he enjoys doing things with. He is still very intellectual and enjoys history and reading, both fiction and non-fiction. He also enjoys music. He is generally helpful and good-natured, although he still gets frustrated with his siblings rather easily.

Thomas and I enjoyed having every other Friday off together. We would often drop Luke off at school and then spend the morning at Epcot. It was nice to have those regularly schedule day dates. It was a busy year with work. My year started very busy, then was calm in the summer, and now is busy again. Thomas stayed busy all year. We were without a supervisor for about 6 months and Thomas had to take a rotation, which made him my boss for a month. Unfortunately, I did not receive any special treatment during that time. 

Today, we spent the last day of our winter break going to Fort Christmas and lunch. I may write about it later, but in short, we played tennis together and had a fun few hours. While we were at lunch (Steak n Shake) I couldn't help but look around and notice how big the kids are, at least the oldest 3. It is going by so fast!

So, what is everyone looking forward to in 2025?

Jack: mountain trip

Luke: mountain trip

Kara: mountain trip

Thomas: mountain trip

Anna: Senior Year

Kori: mountain trip

Christmas and End of December

Christmas was, as always, amazing. Everyone was up around 6:45. We opened our stockings then took a break to make the traditional breakfast casserole. We each opened a few presents and then had breakfast. Then, we slowly opened the remainder of gifts. Everyone was happy with what they received and gifted. 

Some of us watched How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Luke and Kara gave Anna an air track and the three of them played on it outside. I puzzled and read. Jack went to the park and played baseball with a friend. The boys watched football. Anna made a video for her YouTube channel. Kara spent time learning how to use her new camera. It was peaceful, relaxing day.

Luke said his favorite gift was his new mitt. Thomas gave Jack an old set of biographies (late 1800s to early 1900s) which Thomas has treasured. He bought them from the antiquities section of the St. Mary's County Annual book sale several years ago. They are marked with the name and notes of the original author, who Thomas researched. He passed it all on to Jack. I wasn't sure it was a great gift, as Jack is out of space for books, but Jack loved it. Kara got the camera and lenses she had wished for. And, I think Anna's favorite is her air track. She also finally got her Roller Rabbit pajamas, which we very reluctantly purchased (they are ridiculously expensive for pajamas). Thomas said he couldn't choose a favorite gift and likes everything. My favorite thing that I gave him is probably a giant Burt's Bees container filled with chapstick. He really likes Burt's Bees and I thought the container was funny. He also got his requisite baseball cards and some other gifts. Thomas gave me a custom puzzle and a "puzzle of the month club", where he will create a themed puzzle for every month this year. As I have mentioned--I am a lazy puzzler. I like them to be around 500 pieces so I can clearly see the pieces and I like bright, easily discernible colors. I am not really up for a challenge. And, while the puzzle he created is 500 pieces, the pieces are really small. So, I am a little nervous. But, January's puzzle is a cool picture of all the kids sitting in a tree that we took in January a few years ago, so I am looking forward to giving it a try.

Luke with his new mitt, slippers, watch, clothes, and his favorite--candy necklace.

Jack and Anna also exchange the same Barbies. He's also wearing new clothes, including a really soft Cariloha sweatshirt.

Thomas and his Darth Vader snowman Funko.

The rest of the week passed similarly. We ate leftovers for days. On Saturday, we visited my dad. Unfortunately, he was having a rough morning. It was actually the worst I've seen him. We went to the dining room and played a few rounds of spoons, but he was not really up to the visit. So, we left after about 45 minutes so he could go back to bed. I wasn't ready to face the drive home yet, so we went to Chick-Fil-A and to Lakeland Square Mall, which was the best local mall back in my day. It had a lot of empty space, but was not nearly as vacant as many malls. We enjoyed walking around; Luke and Anna got new shoes. 

The mall had some fun photo-opps. We didn't even know the Magic had an affiliate team in Lakeland (just looked it up and they don't--they used to play in Lakeland, but are now in Kissimmee). Anna did not want to pose, but here's the other kids:

Then, we headed out--it took us close to two hours to get home. I was glad our drive to Lakeland had been pleasant and quick (57 minutes) as the traffic on both sides of the road was now horrendous. There are a few good times to travel on that highway (I-4), but unfortunately, it is nearly impossible to time it for both directions. 

This sign was after we had already been in stop-and-go traffic for about 20 minutes. If there's ever an accident, just forget about it, you're looking at hours. 

The next few days were quiet. It is now New Year's Eve. Luke has an orthodontist appointment and we need to get the ingredients for our annual cheese fondue. I am not sure if we will stay up. Thomas and I are still off from work, which has been amazing. Thomas did work a few hours yesterday and I have worked a bit here and there and will probably work at least half a day on Thursday, but still it's been very nice. Christmas is a good time to take leave because most people do, so we don't have to go back to work with a full inbox. And, the kids are definitely enjoying the break from school.

December Highlights (pre-Christmas Day)

December has been a very busy, fun month. I am super far behind, so I am going to do a highlights type post.

SeaWorld: We love SeaWorld at Christmas. They do an amazing job decorating the park and have fun Christmas shows. Thomas and I, with various kids on various days, went three or four times, usually on Friday nights. Kara also went one night with her friends. We did the food booths and enjoyed passholder perks, like free samples (except Jack, who does not have a pass).

We loved the Rudolph-themed photo opps.

Including Yukon Cornelius!

Disney: Wednesdays were Disney days. We went to Hollywood Studios once and Epcot twice. We love Epcot's Christmas Around the World festival. Like last year, I bought a Disney gift card when it was on sale at Sam's Club ($200 for $180) and we let everyone get whatever they wanted at the food booths. The first night, we also did the cookie stroll. You buy five cookies and then get a prize; this year it was gingerbread cookie dough. That night, we ate way too much. So, the second visit, we just got our favorites, which only included one cookie. (Last year, I reread my cookie stroll blog to remind me which cookies I liked, so for future reference--the spiced hot chocolate crinkle is still my favorite, the linzer was also good, I did not like the snickerdoodle, or the coffee. The pb was okay. Although, my other tip to my future self is to just skip the cookie stroll.) Everyone made it to Epcot at least once. Thomas bought a sweatshirt from England that he really wanted last year. It sold out last year, so we kept checking this year to buy it as soon as it hit the store. Anyway, we had a lot of fun at Epcot, but Thomas and I never managed our daytime visit to hear the Christmas storytellers or see the Voices of Liberty singers. Maybe next year!

Thomas is wearing his new sweatshirt.

Universal: Anna and I went once, on a random Tuesday night (December 17th). It was surprisingly empty, and we rode a ton of rides in just a few hours. We even waited for the front row of Velocicoaster. It was a very fun night. Thomas wanted to go, but after a three-year hiatus, his cluster headaches are back. I am not sure if I have written about his headaches, but cluster headaches are extremely intense and debilitating. He has shots he can take for the peak of the pain, but even with the shot, he is left with a shadow headache that is still more painful than a regular, bad headache. Anyway, he is in a rough cycle right now, with both daily and nightly clusters. A cycle is always really hard, but having them in December has been especially sad.

That covers the theme parks, which has been a big part of our December fun. As I have said, and will continue to say--there is nothing quite like going to Disney on a random Wednesday night! 

In other news, Anna hosted a fun holiday party for her friends. They did a white elephant gift exchange (but, were too nice to steal each other's gifts), sang Christmas karaoke, and hung out. It was Anna's first time hosting and she enjoyed it. 

Luke had two baseball tournaments this month. His team made it to the Championship game for both, but could not quite swing the victory. Still second place was amazing! I guess USSSA agrees, because his team got moved to their top level for next season. That is actually a little disappointing, because I don't think they won any USSSA tournaments. They were always competitive, but I think moving up might be discouraging. His team's record was 24-12-2, so we shall see how next year goes. Luke played really well and had great stats, both for pitching and batting. I hope he continues to enjoy it.

I helped with Luke's class Christmas party. He rotates between two teachers and they asked the room moms to handle the party. Which we did. We had the kids rotate between the two rooms where we decorated gingerbread people, did holiday trivia, played minute-to-win-it games, holiday charades, etc. I think it went well and Luke said he had fun. 

I can't believe I had my props backwards! But, I still love this picture with Luke.

Thomas, Kara and I went to the high school's Prism concert. It showcased all the performing arts, including Jack's band. It was festive and fun. Jack also took the SAT. He did very well and will secure 100% Bright Futures once he completes his volunteer hours. 

On Saturday, the 23rd, I took Anna, Kara and Luke to Marta's. They participated in their annual Gingerbread Manger making with Marta and Elizabeth. I dropped them off and then went and met my sister. We had lunch and a nice visit, then I went back to Marta's to hang out. 

Throughout the month, we went for multiple walks around the neighborhood. Thomas and I watched lots of Hallmark movies. We, plus some of the kids, also watched Christmas Vacation and Home Alone and Christmas episodes from some of our favorite shows, with Yankee Swap (The Office) and Regionals (Community) being the top two.

On Christmas Eve, my sister's family and Kevin came to enjoy dinner with us. I did not take any pictures, but we had a good time. That night, we went for a walk. The kids opened their pajamas (a tradition we tried to nix this year, but were met with intense protest). Thomas read The Night Before Christmas and we called it a night.

It has been a December to Remember!