Tuesday, December 31, 2019

The One With Christmas 2019

December 24 - 29, 2019

SANTA!  I know him!  Of course, we watched the obligatory "elf" movie with Will Ferrell, and we set out Sushi for Santa, and we spent time with family this holiday season.

The girls spent Christmas Eve in Orlando with their family but made it back to our house in Stillwater for our traditional Christmas Eve PJ pic and the reading of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas.  This is a little different from our normal tradition, but change is inevitable.

Emma and Lara (17), Finn (8), Jake (12)

Our FIRST Christmas with Evie!

Traditional Sushi for Santa

Christmas day started with a flurry of stocking, presents, and wrapping paper!  The girls got fun stuff to start their dorm room collections, a few necessities, and some things they really wanted as well.  After we Ake a birthday cake for Jesus, it was off to Nana and Grandpa's house in Perkins for a Baked Potato Bar Lunch (thank you, Instant Pot!) which was a HUGE hit, and another round of presents!  Lara's favorites were the new Harry Styles LP and her weighted blanket.  Emma's were her new shirt for welding and the black VANS sneakers.  The whole family got Disney+ from Sants, so there was a lot of TV watching going on!

The day after Christmas is best spent exchanging presents and spending gift cards, so that's what we did.  Emma had a pair of shorts to exchange, and all the kids had gift cards burning holes in their pockets.  Because there are 6 of us and 4 drivers, we ended up in different cars going different directions at different times during the day, but it was fun!

Mom, Lara, and Emma out shopping - crammed in the cab of Emma's truck!

Emma went back to Orlando after our shopping day because she had basketball the next morning.  Friday and Saturday were relaxing days - finding places to keep all the new Christmas gifts!  Saturday, we watched a lot of college football.  Capped it off with the LSU vs OU playoff game.  It was the Chick-fil-A bowl from Atlnat (Lara's BFF Erika was at the game), and we told Jake if LSU won, we would take him to Chick-fil-A for dinner.  YOu be the judge of what happened;

LSU WINS!  Geaux Tigers!
One of the best things about being in Stillwater during Christmas break when the students have all gone home is that the OSU men's basketball team always has a game (or two), and to fill the arena, they sell the tickets really cheap. So, on Saturday, we headed up and headed to Gallagher-Iba Arena to watch some Cowboy Basketball!  Finn was Pistol Pete Partner of the Game and LARA!  Lara got to play the match game at one of the time outs in the second half, and she won $25 from MidFirst bank!  What a fun way to spend a cold afternoon.


Christmas Break Fun!

Pistol Pete!  I KNOW HIM!

LUCKY!


After the game, Uncle DW and Aunt Jackie Boyd were in town, so we had Hideaway Pizza at our house and got caught up with our family from North Carolina.  Just a few more days left in this month, this year, this DECADE!  The NEXT blog entry will be in 2020...





The One Where They Broke for the Break

December 20-22, 2019

School is OUT for the Winter Break!  Emma and Lara have only ONE semester left before they turn 18 and graduate high school.  This project is winding down MUCH quicker than I ever anticipated!  And maybe that is why the posts seem to be lagging behind so much.  I want to write them, I really do!  But the closer we get to May 2020, the more reluctant I am to write it all down.  Christmas is coming SO FAST - and it's kinda the  "last" Christmas at home.  Everything changes after this one...

Nothing much happened this weekend.  Everyone was happy pot be done with the semester, looking forward to some downtime, and gearing up for Christmas.  Last minute shopping, finalizing plans, and catching up on relaxation were on the agenda.

Other than a family friend mistaking Lara's best friend Erika for Emma at the Pioneer basketball game Friday night, the only other "exciting" thing we did this weekend happened when we took Evie to meet Santa at the local dog treat bakery.

Slightly Terrified, but still cute!
Santa Claus is coming to town!

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

The Where We Moved On


 

December 13-15, 2019

Football is over.  Basketball homecoming is over.  Now, we move on to the next things!  Lara is on to wrestling, and Emma is finishing out her basketball and cheer seasons.  Both girls finished out their first concurrent college classes (Emma got an A and a C, Lara got 2 A's), and we are ALL looking forward to Christmas break.

This weekend was relatively slow and simple.  Lara was at a wrestling tournament all day Friday, worked the donut shop Saturday and got her nails done in Guthrie, and spent Sunday babysitting Finn (Jake had a basketball tournament in OKC), finishing her Christmas shopping, and just hanging out.  Emma had a basketball tournament in Garber and played for the Lady Panthers while also being a water girl and fan for the boys' team Friday and Saturday.  Sunday was a catch-up day for her as well.

This next week brings certification tests, finals, and the last days of school for 2019.  Looking forward to having some downtime and finishing out 2019.  Even if it means 2020 is here and it is Graduation Year!