Surprise 16th Birthday!

December 22 - we decided to have a surprise 16th birthday party for Kayson.  He has a lot of close buddies, and I wanted to have them get together. 

The boys arrived at Broheim's Indoor golf a little early, along with the help with Scott, Niky, Duke and Britt.  We arrived right at 5, and Kayson was surprised!

As pulled into the parking lot - Kayson says "Well, there's Hud's car... and Reid's car...  and I think that's Ben's."  I was dying inside...  so I said, "Maybe they are here without you!"

Kayson says, "I'm gonna check their location - yep, they are here,"

We walked in... and everyone was there!  Hud, Ben, Reid, Evan, Duke, Sam, Jaren, Josiah.  It was a good group, and I think they had fun. 

As a Mom, I wish he would have been more thankful, but he said he had a good time and he was surprised.  I guess that's all I can expect.  :)

Weekend

We had a pretty good weekend...  

Kids were busy on Friday - Kayson: basketball; Cora: attended the Nutcracker with Michelle (to support Cora A and a few other dance friends).  It was a good night for them. 

Cora also got to spend some time with Aylah on Thursday night.  

Saturday night, Cora, Ryan and I went to the Webster's little holiday party they have each year.  It was good...  we don't really ever know anyone, so it gets a little uncomfortable!  But we made an appearance, and headed home. 

Life lately

Kayson:

• Typical teen:
• thinks school work is dumb!  And he is showing that when he isn't a fan of a teacher, his school work declines.  
• He will be 16 so soon!
• He wants to be with his friends... or in his room!  There is not many times where Kayson hangs with us in the living room. 
• Started up basketball - on the sophomore team.  There are 20 plus kids on the team, leaving playing time very minimal for Kayson and others.  It's a hard thing to navigate and accept...  with big schools, it just shows how hard it is. 
• Still loving Show Choir - there has been a few conflicts with Show Choir and basketball practices...  again, sometimes hard to navigate, but the teachers/coach have been very flexible and good communication has been had.  Of course, Ryan would rather basketball come first, but that's not happening.  My insight is - basketball has a bench; Show Choir doesn't.  And Kayson loves Show Choir. 
• He's still working on golf - he has indoor lessons, which he hasn't had often (due to basketball), but he's still in the mindset. 

Cora:

• Such a sweet soul - so funny and working hard at this pre-teen life. 
• She's had a few friendship issues over the past month - some friends who are a little more immature than her, some harsh words said from time to time.  It's a difficult chapter of life - I'm trying to guide her and help her through some icky times.  Cora doesn't like confrontation (just like me), but I'm going to push her to handle these things and not dwell on them. 
• Dance is going well - working hard through her 7 competition dances.  (That's a lot - and we will not do 7 again!) 
• she's doing her first solo this year, and I'm very excited for her.  I know she will do well!
• She's still into crafting and just keeping busy.  Cora does not like to be bored!  She's my little side-kick. 

We are prepping for Christmas - can't believe we are just a few weeks out!  I have a lot of shopping done, and feel good about it.  I'm sure other things will come up and we will feel like we need to buy more!  I can't believe Kayson will be 16! He will get his license on the 27th, as that was the first day I could get him into the DOT. 

A few random pictures:

Festival of Peace choir concert

Look how happy he is.

Our Boomer

Cora has been working hard on curling her hair - curls don't hold, but it looks cute at first!

2024 Thanksgiving

Can't believe Thanksgiving has come and gone already... we are on the slide to Christmas. 

I finally started feeling better by Wednesday of last week, which I was very thankful for.  I had it rough!!  Thursday, we headed to Clarion - to the farm.  It had been a long time since we had been at the farm...  nothing had changed, but everything had changed... one of those.  I miss Mom.  I wish she was here and I could just talk with her... so much going on.  

Anyway, we had a really nice day/afternoon...  Cora and Kayson have so much fun listening to Ash, Linds and others grown up stories... it's hilarious. 

We had Friday at home...  decorated for Christmas.  We had to purchase a new tree for upstairs, as the lights/fuse went out and there was no way to fix.  I was so bummed.  Decorating took nearly all day!!

Saturday morning, K had basketball practice... then we headed to Diagonal for Taylor Thanksgiving.  Again, we had a nice time...  was cold, so couldn't get outside, but that was ok.  Following that, a few of us, decided to come back to DSM and go see Moana 2, the movie.  That was fun... unexpected.  The kids had fun.  

And then Sunday was a free day...  did some errands, and just hung out at home.  

It was a nice long weekend... we all needed the break.  The kids enjoyed sleeping in too. 

3 more weeks until Christmas break!!

Covid

So Ryan had a work trip to Arizona the middle of November...  all was well, until he returned.  He got back on a Saturday, and by Sunday he was down.  Down with tiredness and mainly a cough... and sore throat.  He was down until Thursday... so a solid 4 days.  Not fun.  

We all stayed away...  but by Friday, I was exhausted.  I took a nap during the day and just didn't feel right.  Friday night I slept awful, and Saturday I woke exhausted and had a sore throat and cough.  I was so pissed.  Saturday I rested most of the day...  coughed all day...  

Sunday I woke miserable.  I felt like I was swallowing knives...  I thought for sure I had strep.  Nope - Covid.  Thankfully (or maybe not), it's not the Covid that hit the world hard in 2020.  Doctors are treating this as a nasty common cold, however, the downtime is a solid 5 days, or more.  

I was devastated...  cried, sad, mad.  I absolutely hate being sick. It's a waste of days, waste of time, then so much worry about what I'm missing, and even more worry about the rest of the family getting it.  It just literally makes my skin boil - I hate it so much. 

Right now I'm on day 3.5 I think.  My throat is so sore...  runny nose... terrible, deep cough...  and wiped out.  But I can't relax enough or stop coughing to even take a nap.  So frustrating. 

Catching up with Friends

Last week we got together with Hummel's and Plaisance families at Top Golf.  We haven't seen Lara and John and kids for months...  such a busy family, but we finally nailed down a time.  We had a good time visiting, and the kids played golf.  Was a fun couple hours. 

In addition, Cora and I met up with some dance moms (old and current) - we had a great dinner and great chat with some of the moms.  Selena is no longer doing dance, so it was fun to catch up with her and Jacque... and then see Michelle and Cora A too. 

Then to wrap it up - annual Christmas shopping with Jill and Tricia - as well as Ash, Lindsay and Hope!  Eden was working, but man we had a good day!!

2024 Golf Banquet (Sophomore)

Sunday was the 2024 golf banquet - celebrating the 18 kids that made the team.  Not all the kids could be there, but it was a very nice 30 minutes. 

Kayson was awarded "JV2 Golfer of the Year" - very nice, and so unexpected.  I was pleased... that means a couple things - coaches noticed him, and so did his team mates.  He also got "All Academic Award" for having at least 3.25 GPA. 

I pray that he continues to work hard to Golf Tech and improve over the winter. 

Kids pictures

Another year of having Melissa Goche take our pics... she does a great job, she's quick and the kids do well for her. 

So pleased... and heartwarming.  I love them so much. 

Titans Convention 2024

I always feel once Cora goes to this Titans Convention, it's the true start of the season for us!  Even though, the team has been practicing hard for months!  

Sunday was convention day - one day - full of contemporary, jazz, hip hop, musical theater.  It was a good day - she worked hard, and was wiped out!!

Early morning, but she was ready!

Always required picture with friend Quinn!

with Quinn and Lauren (dancers from WestSide)

with instructors

Lunch break!

:)