Nate's Basketball Season

Nate's basketball season ended back on January 30th, and it was a good one! His team, the Saints, moved up to the 4th-5th grade league this year, so we knew there wouldn't be many wins (especially because we have all 4th graders, with the exception of 3rd grader!!)

Nate's first game was November 29th, and they WON! We were all so excited! Coach Jason recognized in practice how much Nate's endurance has improved, so he played the entire game that night. He was so happy but sooooo tired.

Little sisters make the best cheerleaders! 

Cate, Sabine & Abby

 Throughout the season, Nate struggled a bit on offense. He is always very hesitant when it comes to shooting - even though he's really good at shooting! He just would rather pass it off to a teammate. Regardless, he took a few shots this season, as well as a few foul shots. Proud of him for improving a little bit and gaining more confidence. Baby steps! :)

 That being said, he is a BEAST when it comes to defense! That is definitely where he is more comfortable and confident. His tenacity surprised me this season, and I was so proud of his effort and determination at every game. Coach Jason always put him on the other team's leading scorer, hoping that Nate would run him ragged. It worked most games :)

Nate's team went into the playoff in 10th place (out of 13 teams). And unfortunately, they lost in the first round of playoffs. They should have won, but made a few key mistakes at the end of the game. It was such a bummer! However, they got medals from their coach, and he said sweet words about each of them.  Click here to watch a snippet of that.

 Nate's buddy, Mason, missed the last game due to the flu. So, another mom photo-shopped his face in the group picture! She said she actually cloned Nate's body and then added Mason's head on top, since the two are pretty much twins! :)

 Proud of our little baller!

Cheer Camp

Abby attended the 3rd annual Tiny Saints Cheer Camp a few weeks ago, January 24-26th. They worked with the Varsity cheerleaders after school on Wednesday & Thursday, and then got to perform with them at the girls' high school basketball game on Friday. They leaned 5 cheers and were so excited to cheer with the big girls!

Abby & Cate

I love how committed she is to the cheer :)

The only time they got to go out on the court was at halftime, and I'll be honest, it was a bit of letdown. I think they were on the court less than 2 minutes total. And by the time I started recording, their *one* cheer was over. Click here to watch the one snippet I was able to get in time.

Abby had fun regardless, and enjoyed being with her friends. The Cheer Camp was for ages K-6, and a lot of her 2nd grade buddies did the camp with her.

Abby, Mia, Ella

Jonesy, Cate, Abby

My favorite cheer that Abby did was "Victory." Of course my camera messed up when I was recording it, so she was happy to perform it again when we got home. Sorry for the sideways video, but it's still super cute! Click here to view it.

So proud of our little cheerleader!

Webelos Woods

On January 20th, Nate had his first Scouts camping trip without a parent! He was VERY excited because he got a brand new *thermal* sleeping bag, back pack, and a tent for Christmas.

This was a new Scouting trip, called Webelos Woods, and it was a bit unorganized. So, two days before the campout, we were told the boys would not be sleeping in tents. (Instead, they'd be in the mess hall on cots. Lame!) So, the night before Nate left, he requested a sleepover in the living room with his new tent. And his sister, of course :)

They loved it!

 Greg dropped Nate off Saturday morning the weather was gorgeous! So in another last minute change of plans, they decided to let the kids camp in tents. The leaders had a few extras with them so the boys buddied up and assembled them in the field.

 Nate's group finished first! The leaders were instructed to be hands-off this weekend, and instead, the older Boy Scouts were to take the lead and help the boys if need be. 

 After camp was set up, they had a series of 6 stations to go through....some were play, some were educational. Of course, GaGa Ball was the favorite!

GaGa Ball is like enclosed dodgeball, but the ball has to stay on the ground.

 They had an Ecology station, First Aid lesson, Outdoor Cooking Tips, Human Foosball (fun!), and Knots & Rope Care.

 *AND* the boys cooked their own dinner! They assembled foil packets - I called these HoBo Packets when I was a kid - and Nate said it turned out pretty well. There was a hamburger patty, potatoes, and veggies all in there. Yum! And one of the leaders made a cobbler as well.

 Nate's den with their two Boy Scout leaders (on the ends)

The next morning, they packed up camp and headed out after breakfast. Nate came home *very* tired (as his two tent-mates like to talk late into the night!), but he had an amazing time and can't wait to do it again. I'm so proud of him for branching out this year and trying something new. 

Road Trip to Georgia

We went to GA for a quick trip over MLK weekend, and it was so good to see the Vetranos! Katie always plans something fun for us to do, and this trip was exception. We headed out for glow-golf and bowling!

 The kids loved that their teeth glowed in the black light :)

 Chandler was deemed the winner in putt-putt, and we goofed off in the arcade until our bowling lane was ready. (The place was super busy!)

Abby adores Caroline, and the feeling is mutual :)

 Even I got to play glow-bowling; it was super fun! Brought me back to my middle school days. The boys loved the computer and Caroline loved using the ramp.

 Lots of playtime back at Katie's. Their rental house is a little *tight* but that didn't stop the kids from acting like fools and riding vehicles everywhere! :)

 Nate was super pumped to bring his new laptop to show Chan. This is where they were most of the evening!

 While the boys were nerding out, the girls made brownies! 

 Nate got a laser tag set for Christmas, and we brought that to play. It was a little chilly outside, so they opted to play inside. And then Caroline took control of Nate's gun :)

 After dinner, we all played Bean-Boozled. It's where you spin the wheel and whatever color it lands on, you have to eat it. And you don't know if it will yummy or disgusting. For example, a green jelly bean could be lime-flavored or booger-flavored. It was sooooo funny! Abby & Katie lucked out and got good ones; me and the boys got nasty ones. I had Rotten Milk on round 1 and Boogers on round 2. Needless to say, I spit those out!

 We all had a fun sleepover that night, and then had a lazy morning of playing and being silly. When it was time to leave around lunchtime, these two girls had a hard time saying goodbye....

#twinsies

We miss the Vetranos soooooo much, but at least we still get to see them often. We go back mid-February for Chan's birthday party!

Abby's First Reconciliation

Abby had her First Reconciliation on Saturday, January 13th. It was a private mass, only for the families of the children doing First Reconciliation. 

The kids started out mass with a song, "Open My Eyes, Lord." 

Two of the big brothers, Nate & Jake, both did a reading. It was Nate's first time reading at St. Francis, so he was *super* nervous. But as usual, he did an amazing job.

And when Father Tom announced it was time for the First Reconciliation recipients to gather at the side of the church, some of them literally ran over there! I have never seen a group of kids so excited to go to confession.

Zoe Kate, Charli, Isabella, Abby & Mia

 Abby & her sweet friend Cate. This is the first year that Abby has not been in the same class as Mia. She was devastated at first. But luckily, she has become close with Cate and they have the sweetest little friendship! I overheard them talking about what they had confessed (shh!), and Cate said she wrote down 84 things. Just since Thursday :) And Abby wrote down 5 sins to confess to Father Tom. I heard her tell Cate one of them was that she "lies about brushing her teeth sometimes."

Since it took *awhile* for 20 kids to confess their sins (!), each family was encouraged to go to 2 prayer stations while we waited. I had no idea someone took this picture, but was happy when they sent it to me :)

#daddysfavorite

Doing her penance

All of the First Reconciliation recipients with Father Rick & Father Tom

Besties! Abby, Mia, Cate

Christmas #3

To complete our Christmas travels, we arrived in Johnson City, TN late on the 30th (after Otis' party). We were greeted by Greg's parents, Ripley (the dog) and Aunt Gena & Aunt Julia - who had travelled from Connecticut to see us!!! #bestauntsaward

The kids woke up on the 31st, excited to open presents for the 3rd time this holiday season (yes, they are *very* spoiled)! While Abby was waiting on all the adults to come downstairs, she scoped out all the presents :)

 As usual, the kids got WAY too much stuff. (Thank you, everyone!)

Abby got her long-awaited stilts, plus an awesome Polaroid camera and Kate Spade necklace. Highlights for Nate included a Garmin watch, Ripstick, and tent for Scouts.

 For lunch, we headed to our favorite spot.....Pal's! Jr Pal's, Frenchy Fries, and strawberry milkshakes for everyone!

 The afternoon was spent playing with new toys.....

Nate had a ball with Aunt Julia's new VR set 

Abby quickly mastered her stilts

and Nate got a hand from Aunt Gena on the Ripstick. That thing is hard!!

 Aunt Julia always comes up with fun crafts / activities for the kids, and this time was no different. The kids got to cut open oysters and find pearls!! It was so neat. I had no idea they could come in so many different colors.

 Late that afternoon, it started to snow! Well, flurry. Nonetheless, these Alabama kids suited up and headed outside to play in case it didn't last. Nothing like doing a snow angel on concrete with 0.01 cm of snow! :)

 It continued to fall all evening, so the kids went out with Aunt Gena for round #2. There is an empty lot with a hill at the end of the street, and the kids went SLEDDING for the first time!!! They could not contain their excitement.

 We had a wild & crazy New Year's Eve - I was in bed by 10:30 pm - but woke up to this pretty sight on January 1st.

 Greg took the kids sledding again, and managed to get a video. Click here to watch.

The kids had been asking to go roller-skating for weeks, so we decided to dot hat after lunchtime. I skated with the kids, along with Aunt Gena & Aunt Julia. (Greg is NOT a skater!) We had so much fun! Both kids have been skating before but it's been over a year since they last tried it. Nate caught on pretty quickly, but Abby wanted me by her side most of the time. After an about an hour, she was on her own and doing great!

 Unfortunately, both myself and Julia had some pretty nasty falls......Julia in the first 5 minutes and myself at the very end. We both came home and had to ice/rest! #weareold

Greg and I cooked a steak dinner for everyone (yum!) and then after dinner Abby got asked by Aunt Gena & Aunt Julia to be the flower girl in their upcoming January 2019 wedding!!!

She doesn't look excited at all, does she!? :)

That night, we watched Alabama play Clemson in the Sugar Bowl. Once again, Grandma here didn't stay up for the whole thing, but I hear it was a great game! Nate lasted till about 11:30 pm with Greg. ROLL TIDE!

We woke up on the 2nd and it was a wee bit chilly as we packed the car! I have never seen this temperature on my weather app, and had to take a picture ....

 All worn out from our travels! It was a fun week with family and we are grateful we got to make new memories.