Go, Go, Goers!

RHS hosted a cool Jazz and Desserts concert on Monday night. It was very casual, taking place in the Student Center. Each of the 5 (6?) jazz bands performed three-ish songs, while we all browsed the multitude of desserts that were available. It was a really neat, casual format, where we could chat with the people around us, and still be able to enjoy the smooth sounds of jazz in the background. I ended up sitting with the family that we carpooled with for marching band over the last few years. It was nice having a chance to catch up! I wasn't able to see Ava perform (she was tucked behind a pillar that I couldn't see around from my seat), but Jazz Blue (the band she is in) sounded good, and it was great seeing so many band parents again, since we've had a bit of a break since marching band season ended a few months back. I'm already looking forward to this event again next year! There was also pep band, swimming, taekwondo, more jazz rehearsals, dentist, ortho, high sch...

Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to be a kid now vs when Scott and I grew up. Not a month goes by where the kids don't have at least one day off of school, and it's usually more. This past week, the kids didn't have school on Monday (I didn't work either, hooray!) and they were both off on Friday. Only three days of school (or work) per week sounds pretty good to me! Monday was an exciting day, though...Ava is officially done with her braces (aligners) and will be getting her retainers next Friday. Woohoo! What was supposed to be an 18-month process ended up taking 30 months instead, so we are all very happy that she's finally done with her aligners. Her retainers are going to be pink and glow-in-the-dark swirls...fun! The kids and I ran a bunch of errands on Monday, and went out to lunch, and by the time the evening rolled around, we were all pretty tired. I made the executive decision to skip both swimming and taekwondo. And we were all happy about that. :...

It finally snowed! And now it's chilly. Why were we feeling a little sad that it didn't feel like winter yet?? One good thing about this weather is that it came during the week where Ava was doing her six hours worth of driving with a district instructor. She managed to get in 4 hours in the evening, on decent roads, and then on Saturday morning, she was able to get in around 2 hours on snowy roads. The instructor took her out into a parking lot to get her comfortable with driving while the roads are unpredictable. I'm really glad that she was able to get that professional instruction under her belt. She seems to be making great progress every time she goes out driving...it's awesome! Ava informed us that next year she'll probably do a Zero Hour gym class (before school starts each day) to get it out of the way, and allow her to take the child development classes she wants (since Zero Hour will free up one of her hours during the day.) She'll need her license an...

We had a wonderful holiday season, spent with family and friends, eating, drinking, relaxing, being productive...basically, ALL the things! The kids and I thoroughly enjoyed our week off of work/school. I tackled my to-do list, and plowed through a bunch of it, while both kids had the chance to see friends (and also help me around the house.) Scott had to work, but we all enjoyed evenings at home together. On Christmas Eve, we said goodbye to George for this Christmas season...he let us know that "I'm a barbell lifting pro!" Hopefully those muscles will help him get safely to the North Pole with Santa! We spent Christmas Eve and my parent's house, and Deb joined us, as well! It was great being with all of the grandparents, and getting to spend that time together as an extended family. The last Santa sugar cookie...we might be at the end of an era :( After we got home, G and I opened our traditional matching Christmas jammies We read "'Twas the Night Before Ch...