1) Be the best ____ I can be. 2) Build community 3) Look into a Doctorate 4) Have a plan for the summer.
I'd say it was a successful year.
1) It's hard to measure #1 quantitatively, but I believe the year went well. The others are simpler.
2) I know more people. I recognize them in different places.
3) I looked. I took the GRE. I did not move beyond that, though.
4) Beach week, Camp Nana and Pop, Mike and Carrie getaway...There was a plan!
There were a lot of big events: Finishing my 2nd year of wrestling with a new HS coach, Carrie's career switch, Nib's birth, Mira's passing, trailer and truck adventures, Korra, Captain, tons of trips including the beach, SC twice, a Mike and Carrie date get away, trying new sports (t-ball and basketball), Shane learning how to ride his bike....the list goes on (That helps explain why I have so many blog posts).
Goals for the upcoming year (2018):
1) Take my next career steps.
Renew license (every 5 years)
Figure out the whole PhD or EdD thing. Apply if it looks like a good fit.
Part time at a community college? I think I'm already qualified, but busy.
2) Community! Keep building it! Look for a small group again.
3) Summer Camp for Shane this summer. He's not old enough for a sleep away, but he should try a day camp.
4) Stabilize horses - Largely on Carrie. I'd like to get a stable situation with her riding and training regularly. She loves her equines and they're good for her.
5) Work on Bible verse and language acquisition - Maybe I'll write them in Spanish.
6) Continue to grow wrestling in the city - I'll run the Elementary program again and see if I can keep growing the Middle School program in a healthy manner. An assistant coach would help at some point.....and I need to figure out uniforms. I never did this year.
7) Travel - It's good for Shane and good for memories.
The day started normally. The plan was for Carrie, Shane, Nana, Pop, and I to meet Kathleen and Cru at the Children's museum in Greenville.
When I asked Shane to drive with Carrie and I instead of Nana and Pop, he threw a fit. I had to block him from running out the door. Carrie demanded an apology and when Shane wouldn't give it she ended up upset, as well.
Ironically, I'd seen the possibility of all this in advance. Not that it changed anything. I told Shane the night before that Carrie and I wanted him to drive with us. "You've gone all over with Nana and we miss you!" I said. He agreed and I hoped it prepped him.
It didn't.
What happened was Nana and Pop left, Carrie sat in one room, and Shane ran off to sulk and refuse to apologize in another. He decided to hole up next to the laptop.
I tried to talk Shane through some of it, give process time, and eventually Nana called to say, "Where are you guys?"
Shane eventually processed things and realized he needed to say he was sorry. By then, the window to go to the Children's museum had slammed shut.
A work situation emerged for Carrie, so Shane and I went on a little adventure to give us time to talk and her time to de-escalate. I'm hoping this becomes one of those not-fun-but-necessary empathy building lessons for my son.
The library wasn't open, but I found a grocery store with a built in brewery. That was new.
Shane, ever effusive, went on and on about how he loved the store because of the Wild West decorations.
Things had returned to normal when we got home. Nana and Pop returned, Carrie and I discovered Maple Street Biscuit company for lunch, and there was a gingerbread house decorating event.
I like the gingerbread better than any of the decorations.
Carrie resisted at first, but when she got involved she elevated our game-play as usual.
It was a quiet morning. There was no company, so Shane and I started to work on one of his presents.
Kathleen and Stu bought Shane a Lego Ninjago fort for Christmas.
I turned pages and assembled pieces while Shane did the majority of the work. I'd occasionally error check, but it was all him! I'd much rather play with Legos or read than have him watch TV.
Honestly, I'd have loved to have built the fort myself.
Cole appeared halfway past nine. Evelyn stayed home. She felt a little sick yesterday and took a three hour nap! Nana didn't want her to come over on Jama's last day just in case Evelyn was contagious (Jama was scheduled to go on a cruise at the beginning of Janurary and couldn't afford to get sick at sea!).
Nana and Pop took Jama to the airport, so I watched the boys for the morning. They enjoyed Nana's beans and things.
Not to say there weren't wild moments.
Evelyn started to miss Cole too much, so he had to return home.
Carrie and I would have been home all day, but Nana and Pop took over Shane duty and we got to go on a date night! We haven't used a babysitter outside of family since we moved to Charlottesville! Tonight, we went into downtown Greenville (the interstate becomes a normal road!), ate sushi, sampled flavored vinegars, and got ice cream.
Carrie was gracious enough to go with me to the local board game store on the way home. It had a wider selection than the store in Charlottesville. I had hoped to find a used section or some sort of deal. I didn't. The best deal they had (and it was a good one!) was for a game I'd already bought.
The big drama for the night was the "cancer sores" in Shane's mouth. Nana sent us a message as we sat down to order. "Cancer" was a clear typo or autocorrect mishap. Nana's text included a link to canker-sores. Shane said his mouth hurt and he didn't want to eat any food.
Nana and I traded texts for a minute until I sent a, "Wooing my wife. He can eat eggs."
When we got home, we looked in Shane's mouth and there weren't any canker sores. Instead, it was clear he had inherited Carrie's ability to lower his jaw and stick his tongue out longer than usual (He could join a KISS cover band when he's older. His tongue can go past his chin!). The 'canker sores' that freaked out Nana and Pop were his vallate papillae. Carrie recognized them right away. She'd known what they were since she grew up seeing her own.
Honestly, I had no idea what they were until I googled them. I knew the bumps weren't canker sores (I get those), but I've never seen vallate papillae before. My tongue doesn't stick out that far (and I have a very strong gag reflex whenever a doctor tries to peek around back there).
Cat update: They're getting braver. The kittens mainly stay in their sanctuary room until Indy beds down for the night. However, they are venturing out more and more. Bucket surprised us. She's the brave one. She started by bolting to the top of the stairs outside our room. Now, she samples Indy's water bowl whenever she's on walkabout.
Kathleen and Cru came to visit as expected.
There were plenty of rides for everyone.
Evelyn likes to chase after the boys.
Carrie spent the whole morning and afternoon in research and phone acquisition mode. Jama has trouble with her phone, so Carrie took it upon herself to 'fix it.'
She managed to get a new, double-the-size android phone for only $2.60 more a month on Jama's plan! Carrie changed the phone into easy mode, jacked up the size of all the icons, and then worked to teach Jama what she'd need to know.
The project kept Carrie busy all day. I was amazed at what she accomplished!
I don't know if I've mentioned it yet, but Nana has had a thing for puzzles this week. She and Shane worked on a bunch of smaller ones earlier in the week. Then she set up a big 300 piece Cinderella puzzle she hoped would become a 'community project.'
The kids worked on it off and on over several days as Nana or I would coax them into it.
I decided to do the dress today, because it looked like it would be too difficult for the boys. I wanted them to finish and momentum is motivational.
There was a 'vent incident,' but the boys recovered (with help) and finished the puzzle! I may have mentioned there would be a reward at the end.......and the boys may have assumed that reward was Nana's phone and Pokemon Go (I didn't correct them either).
Suddenly, a two-headed monster appeared! Nana played a game at the women's retreat and wanted to recreate the magic.
Which we didn't. However, Kathleen wasn't the first person to find herself playing Siamese twin. Nana had roped me into it the day before.
It was worth a few laughs both times. It never took off from there.
Tenley impressed me with her ability to walk around.
It was a smaller, less raucous gather than yesterday. Evelyn wasn't feeling well, so she stayed home after she disappeared for nap. It was Jama's last night with everyone before she headed back for Virginia, as well.
We had stew for dinner. Jama had made a comment about sweet potatoes not belonging in stew and Carrie said, "Challenge accepted!"
And so it begins.....the great family get together! Kathleen, Stu, and Crew were back in town.
Cole and Shane were ecstatic to see each other.
Evelyn was a lot more brave and social than she was at the beach!
And Tenley.....Tenley has grown! She can walk now.
It got loud, fast. Carrie wisely set up shop in the cat room. She had travel agent work to accomplish and prefers a less raucous environment.
My uncles and cousins started to arrive next. Kevin, Cindy, Kerry, and Dr. Matt were the first wave.
I took the first shift with the over-stimulated boys. They ran wild trying to chase me all over the house with Evelyn trailing behind.
After everyone wore down (aka: Me), the kids were calm enough to build a fort with Dr. Matt.
A massive fort.
Dr Matt may have minored in architecture for his undergrad. He really got into it and the kids followed suit.
I helped gather materials at the end to push it to the next level. Shane said the fort was his favorite thing about the whole day.
More people started to arrive. Caitlin and Alex walked through the door. Then there was Dennis, Cathie, Kyle, and Little Matt. There was food to be had and stories galore. I wish we all got together more often.
The boys retreated for a Ninjago movie break.
Tenley ate with the big folks and Evelyn floated in between.
Tenley took a nap not long after.
The cousins and I settled in for a game (it's not like I hadn't brought a whole stack). I taught everyone how to play 5-Minute Dungeon and then played clean-up.
Instant hit. They cleared the first several bosses with ease. I made them switch roles to up the difficulty.
Carrie came out to fill in for Kathleen for Rounds 4 and 5 when Tenley woke up. I may have emptied a Nerf gun into everyone while they were trying to take out the final boss. Those few seconds of shock nearly cost them the match. They paused time with Kyle's wizard ability at 3 seconds with two cards remaining. They counted cards, got in sync, and then threw everything down in succession. Kyle had a brain fart and sat still for a crucial second. Dr Matt grabbed his hand and threw it on the table.
I ruled that it counted. The group won the game 5 and 0. We retired to talk and play with the kids (now awake and done with their movie).
Uncle Kevin gave Shane a dose of what we all got growing up.
He crawled through the fort and the children roused to oust him from their manor.
Uncle Dennis gave Kevin some needed reinforcement.
Carrie wowed them all by breaking out Shane's drone.
She even attempted to land it on Kyle's head.
It's a shame that batteries on that sucker only last for a hot second.
Dr Matt's big sister came by to meet some of the family somewhere in there. Kerry introduced me as, "This is my cousin, Mike. He's trouble. Don't believe anything he says."
Which is like begging for trouble.
I immediately replied, "Nice to meet you! How do you like the fort *I* made with all the kids?"
I introduced some other family as Crimson Tide fans to her and then ducked out to the sound of boo's and hisses (They were Clemson fans and the Tide was their school's first opponent in the playoffs).
All good things must come to an end, though. People started to filter out. Kevin's clan were the first to go.
The fort was still a big hit with all the kids.
Dennis' family stayed for a while longer, so that he could rough-house with the kids.
Or was it the kids rough-housed him?
Finally, only the local branch of my clan remained.
There were leftovers and still stories to tell.
Everyone was wiped when the party finally ended. I wish we could have a large gathering like that monthly instead of bi-annually. It'd be even better if everyone could come, too. The Nebraska branch, Jim, Sean, and the rest of my siblings weren't in attendance.
