Happy Thanksgiving 2025!

We spent Thanksgiving in Detroit with the Bolton's and Hutson's - It was lovely to not have to cook/clean/host and spend time with our best friends. We drove in Wednesday and had dinner at Blue Nile - My favorite Ethiopian restaurant. It was a little too exotic for Tay so her spent the night at Linde's and played with Cooper and Frankie. Thursday G and Alicia arrived and we planned to eat at Linde's but her sink broke and they didn't have water....So we pivoted and moved everything to Rebecca's. The kids had so much fun playing with the Sim, Ping Pong and Trampoline - and bingeing Season 5 of Stranger Things. We also did a kid and adult Gift Exchange which everyone enjoyed. On Friday, we ventured to Somerset Mall where Avery, Luke and Ella attempted Black Friday shopping. Tay and Coop decided to hang back and not go out in the madness! Tay was LOVING some cool games on the Sim and also get really into doing flips on the trampoline. Avery and I also went with G and watched Bonner play Hockey and caught up with Mike, Diana, Robin, Brian and Shannon. 

On Saturday, G treated Avery, Luke and me to Michigan/OSU tickets so we headed to Ann Arbor where the kids made signs and got on Gameday. We also got to tailgate with Jenny, Billy, Blain and their boys. While it wasn't the outcome we wanted, we had a GREAT time. By the 4th quarter we were freezing so we headed back to the car. It was a long drive (3 hours) home with tons of traffic and some snow but we made it back to Rebecca's for dinner and one more night to all hang together. The kids just LOVED being with each other - Avery, Luke and Ella are the perfect trio and Tay loves playing with Coop and had a blast bouncing on the trampoline with Franks. We were sad to say goodbye on Sunday, but luckily the roads were clear and we had a smooth trip home. 

We know we have so much to be thankful for and being with the best friends and family was the perfect way to spend the holiday. Time to bring on Christmas!

Avery Continuing to Shine in Speech & Debate

 Avery competed in her second invitational and took 2nd in both Prose and Oratory. She should have taken first in Prose but had a stupid judge who gave her a 4 in addition to her perfect 1's from everyone else. SO proud and love watching her have fun and see her confidence grow!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas....

 We decorated for Christmas today. Avery was so excited she actually brought the whole tree up from the basement on her own and got it set up while I was out walking Maizey and Hung was doing yard work. It was such a nice surprise to come to! Claire came over and the girls decorated the tree with me - I forced Tay to also hang a few ornaments but he was exhausted from a birthday sleepover where he got less than 4 hours of sleep. It's so cozy to have the house ready for the holidays!! Thanks to Aves for getting it going :)

Avery is a Trailblazer!

 Avery received her formal acceptance to UHS on Friday - Ashley hand delivered her acceptance box. Lots of smiles and cheers!! Ashley wrote the absolute best acceptance letter - It's a bit incredible that we are here. She has been a Trailblazer since birth and we can't wait to see what she will accomplish at UHS!

Avery takes on Speech and Debate

 Avery is my mini-me and decided to take on Speech and Debate (aka Forensics) this year at her Middle School. For her first tournament she compete in Original Oratory where she wrote a speech on Beauty Standard over the decades and how it impacts girls/teens. This one had to be memorized. She also competed in Prose where you have a script and she performed All Summer in a Day by Ray Bradbury. She placed 4th in Oratory out of 9 competitors - She felt less confident after these rounds as she forgot her place sometimes and had more nerves. In Prose she placed 1st out of 33 competitors. It was the most competitive event in the WHOLE tournament and she took straight 1's!! It was SOOOO exciting and I was beaming with pride. Not only did she kill her categories, she had a blast competing, chatting with friends in the cafeteria, cheering on her friends in their categories and just being a part of it all. G and I both judged the tournament which took us back in time to our Roeper days. It was exhausting and amazing. Couldn't be prouder of this talented and brave girl of mine!

Happy Halloween 2025!

 We had a fun Halloween season - Avery did a great job decorating the yard with our remaining Halloween decorations (we need an overhaul!). We snuck in carving pumpkins with G and Grandpa and I roasted the seeds. Halloween was perfect Fall Weather! Hung and I were able to attend Tay's class party and it was fun to see him having a good time with his buddies. Avery had her friend Maggie over and they both dressed up as Dinosaurs and Taylor kept up the Ranch costume and "ranched" the houses he visited - everyone loves his costume. Hung and I followed suit and dressed up as Siracha and Relish and the dogs were Ketchup and Mustard. TOO CUTE! Tay trick-or-treated with his buddies Nolan and Colin. Adults stayed home and passed out candy. I made chili and cornbread and ordered pizza and we had G over along with some neighbors. Cullen, KJ and Benny Boo stopped by and it was fun to see him dressed up as the Very Hungry Caterpillar. And the kids organized and traded candy late into the evening :) It was a great day!