We are racing into Christmas time before December even began. I got in clinic on Monday then spent the rest of the day cramming for book club, suffering through Cartel Wives. I do not recommend it. The conversation is always good and I got quality time in the car with Regan.  I wanted to get good sleep for my San Jose match on Tuesday. Kerri and I fought hard and ended up loosing the third set. It was a long morning of dueling tennis with a 2-6 loss, 7-5 tie breaker win and then a 6-4 loss. That evening we went to the Inaugural Friends of James Weldon party. It was so wonderful to finally get that up and running. I also loved meeting some new middle school friends. Wednesday was an early release day. Right when I got all my wreaths up, the wind took over and blew them all down, along with a crazy down pour while the younger two rode home in the rain. My sister, Katie, Uncle Steve and their two boys popped in for a quick visit on their way into town. Uncle Steve had a convention in Orlando and drove up for a visit. It was so fun to see them back in Jax and snuggle the boys. Ellie went to babysit a new family while Phil and I headed to TCC for the Open House party. They did it again with a gorgeous event. Delicious food and fabulous conversations. I even made it to the photo booth. Thursday, I finally got into the PTSA lockbox (thanks to a locksmith) and was able to enter in a few more members for the November membership drive. I went to snuggle my nephews then headed to MOPS. Ashley did a great job with a toy swap and guided meditation. I got our Christmas cards printed and have been working on getting into the spirit with Hallmark movies and writing on the backs of the cards. Katie walked the boys over for a visit. I brought them to the park with us that night so Katie and Steve could go on a date. Conrad cried the whole time. Tracy, Laurie and I played pass the baby. Henry got beat up by cousins. It was a great night. Later, Phil and I went over for a nightcap. That was supposed to be our night off to rest up but we stayed way too late partying with my parents. Friday, I worked on getting out JWJ car magnets then mom took me for a mani & pedi for an early Birthday gift. The Kissing Kuklas and my dad met us for lunch at the Loop. I took Henry back to play for a while to give them a break. He loved having Voss' toys to himself. Voss had a baseball game that night. I wonder if everyone coming was too much pressure on him. It wasn't a great game but it was still fun to be out there together cheering him on. We met up with the ole Friday night gang over a firepit at the Bentons. Another late night. Ellie went to a CISV party. She still loves that crew. Saturday morning was the last studio Nutcracker rehearsal. My turn for carpool. I wrote out Christmas cards while waiting then went in to get costumes. We met the fam for a Firehouse lunch. Then we all went to Christmas in Avondale. I wish the weather had been a little cooler. Still fun getting into the festive spirit seeing friends, visiting the shops and hearing the music. Voss ended up getting lost and found some police to hang with. Too bad I had left my phone at home. Ellie and I read, Marly and Abby altar served and Phil, Ellie, Voss and I brought up the gifts. We took over the 2nd week of Advent mass. We had religion class then met my sisters at TCC for breakfast with Santa. I loved getting a Voss grandchild photo with Santa. We said farewell to the Kissing Kuklas as they drove to Orlando to catch a flight back to San Diego. We had a quiet afternoon watching Noel, having Sammy over to play and running a few card errands. We did a Birthday Eve dinner for me at High Tide. I was the only one who enjoyed it. Oh well. We ended with a family rosary in front of the advent wreath. Here are our photos of the week.

I got to go to tennis clinic on Monday then to Walmart to do some Thanksgiving shopping. Ellie had a dance class that night and then the studio was closed for the rest of the week. Tuesday we had a SAC meeting at the middle school talking about train traffic and road closures. I'm not seeing any big changes on the horizon. Vanessa finally beat me in singles that afternoon. I got her in the second set, but wow. Phil and I and the younger two walked two holes of golf before the sun went down. Wednesday the kids were off of school. Phil took them bowling. I took my parents to my dad's long awaited neurology appointment. It's nice to finally have a plan. The neurologist is not sure he has vascular dementia. She's thinking more like frontotemporal dementia. She ordered more tests to see. We'll go back in January. She also has him headed to Brooks rehab, SQ's old stomping grounds. I am very grateful I was there to participate in his appointment, be there for my parents and relay the info back to my siblings. We were together for the whole day. Awesome that the doc spent over an hour with my dad. We celebrated Mark's Birthday at TCC with a family dinner that night. Thanksgiving morning we got up and did the 4th Annual Turkey Triathalon. After a bit of bike drama we got everyone up and moving, helmets on, tires pumped. We rode over the bridge and parked at Timuquana (2 miles) then ran through the Venetia neighborhood (about 2 miles) then swam in the thankfully heated pool (your age in laps...I made it to 22). Anne Maria brought us a basket breakfast to enjoy poolside after the swim. Then we rode bikes back to the house. It was a fabulous morning. The family napped and watched the Macy's Day parade. Ellie and Marly put together a turkey veggie platter. I made a fruit salad. Marly and I did some baking. We used the rest of our pumpkin to make a pie and also a cherry pie. We headed to my parents for a Thanksgiving lunch. There was lots of laughter, which was so nice. We watched Elf then headed home. Our elf, Snowball was stuck in a snow storm and didn't make an appearance until Saturday. Casserole coma got us over the weekend. We watched the world cup games, took family photos and then the FSU game on Friday. Suzanne came out to join us. So awesome watching the seminoles beat the gators! Saturday we had friendsgiving with the McArthurs. What a fun day playing in the yard! Ax throwing, bow and arrows, ATV riding, zip lining and clay pigeon shooting. Lots of delicious leftovers, too. That night we celebrated Anne Marie's Birthday by being IN the boat parade! The Block & Tackle placed 2nd in the contest. It was a perfect night on the water downtown. We watched the best fireworks show in town with the bridges firework waterfall. It's my favorite! We stopped by Mark's oyster roast on the way home. Sunday morning all the girls altar served for the first week of Advent. We put up Christmas decorations. It was very frustrating. It's one of those years where lights are out, I lost the timers, we need new stocking holders. It's so much. I snuck out for some tennis and quick grocery shopping before the rain. That night we went to see Jack's Lights. A fun night kicking off Christmas with friends. Here are our photos of the week.

I started a new gig assessing 4th graders in reading. That's what I did with all my free time this week. My friend, Kathleen needed help getting kids assed this month so I hopped in. It was pretty neat getting to see the wide range of reading levels. I'd like to asses my 4th grader but she melted down when I attempted it this week. My mom saved me on Monday by picking me up and driving me to get my car in for an oil change. We won our tennis match on Tuesday. I got to play with Betsy. I was sore after the tennis weekend then clinic and the match. It was good to keep going. We are now moved up to 2nd place for the league! We had a Friends of Stockton party and I met lots of 2nd grade parents. It turned into a rager with Lillians and then an after party at the Cummings playing ping pong. For MOPS I held babies while the moms crafted ornaments. Meghan had the farms girls over for a sourdough starter lesson. I still feel clueless. I thought Voss had a UTI and got him in for an appointment on Friday morning. Luckily it was just a cut. We had Thanksgiving lunch at school. That evening Phil and I left for an engaged encounter weekend. It was nice to be with the old crew again and catch up- Venturas and Perez'. We also got to meet Fr. Philip. It was super neat to see Elle, a girl I babysat for make the weekend. Lots of laughs, shared stories and heavy convos. It really is a remarkable weekend every time. I'm proud of the kids who held their own. They are all so independent. They cooked, cleaned, organized and did chores. Neighbors and friends helped transport and entertain them. Awesome! We did a family dinner at Panera. Broccoli cheddar soup sounded so good on this cold, rainy November night. Here are our pics from the week.

Hurricane season was supposed to be over. But no, here we go again. We spent the first half of the week watching the tropical storm turn into a hurricane. I was just going day by day because the days are filling up as the holidays approach. 96.1 is already playing Christmas music. We had tennis clinic on Monday and a match in Green Cove springs on Tuesday. My partner, Sam tore her hamstring and we had to forfeit the match. Such a bummer but luckily, we won all the other lines. I went to Tracy's that night and watched the election results roll in. Ugh. Not much blue...but thankful the Senate ended up with that lean. It was still fun to get the left gaggle back together again as it had been a while. I volunteered in Ellie's French class for their party then met April for a sushi lunch. They announced school closures for the rest of the week. They were already off on Friday for Veterans Day. We went to Lillians for dinner to celebrate a hurricane party (and keep the anxiety at bay), the wind was already pretty strong and we had a loose gutter that was freaking Phil out. It rained all day on Thursday and the water came up, higher than we were thinking....but not as high as Irma (thank God!) I listened to Marjorie Post and organized kids clothes. There was already too much happening at the same time that day so it worked out for me to have a down day (middle school movie night + dance + tennis). We met the Hogans, Nixons and Bentons at LaNap for dinner...the forest lost power most of the day. Friday turned out to be a dry day. I put together a last minute practice for my member guest partner, Amy against Laurie and her partner Bonnie. The luau kick off was that night. Since it wasn't linked to Gourmet on the Green, it wasn't a huge party. The food was still good as was the music and company. We ended up in the mancave of a neighbor's after party. Amy and I had an 8am match the next morning (happening the same time as our appointment for family photos). Renee saved me by taking the girls to Nutcracker. Voss had a play date with a bunch of friends in the tree house. I tried to go get him at lunch but he wanted to stay. Amy and I won our first match (vs 2 B players) and the afternoon one against Robin and her friend, Cheryl. I loved watching Phil play against pros...although he didn't pull out a win, it was so fun to watch. Lots of great tennis and fun conversations. We went to the VanWies for pizza then to Hempy's to watch the FSU game. I pulled us out of there early because I had another 8am match Sunday morning. I luckily got a sub for reading and serving and CCD class. We had an awesome match against more B teamers (this was the best one of all), close and so fun...even if they did have to cram 4 days of play into 2 with 8 game sets. The kids had a ball running the club. Ellie made a killing babysitting. Amy and I ended up winning our bracket. Suzanne came out to cheer us on. Such a fun weekend! We concluded with dinner at High Tide as an after party. Family rosary in the car waiting on Ellie to finish her confirmation class. 'Tis the season to overcommit and be many places at the same time. Here are our photos of the week.

Monday was Halloween. I went to flag raising and saw all the cute characters dressed up for the character book day. Then, I went to tennis clinic. I hustled to get finger printed for my new gig. I have been watching a lot of Walking Dead this week and am a few episodes away from finishing the whole thing. The kids all came home and Phil came home early, too. We got dressed up and went trick-or-treating. We were Marvel characters this year. Ironman was the inspiration, of course. Ellie was Lady Thor, Marly was super girl (and then Thing 2 with Addy), Abby was Catwoman (I know she's technically not a Marvel character, but we went with it), Phil was Hulk and I was the Black Widow. It was a hot Halloween this year. Our neighbors were generous as always. We visited my parents and then went to the Johnson Hardison's for pizza and then did the forest. Ellie and Marly went off with friends. We stayed with Abby and Voss. Lots of fun and sugar! Attitudes were ripe on Tuesday. I let them have it for 24 hours and eat all they could and then I took it all. We did a 'switch witch' where they traded candy for a toy at Walmart. I drove middle school carpool this week. I dropped them at school on Tuesday then went to mass for All Saints Day. Total mom guilt at the childrens mass with all my kids in public school. Gotta do better next year. I got to do a fun match with Vanessa, Lauren and Katie then singles with Vanessa after. I had a PTSA zoom call to roll out the membership drive (gotta up our numbers) and move some budget items around. Then, I took Marly to this county workshop with the FBI to talk about internet safety with children. I don't think I learned anything new, but it was nice to have Marly there to hear it all. Scary stuff for sure! Wednesday I spent the day getting the house back together. I made pumpkin bread and split pea soup for a soup swap. Worked in the yard a bit and watched more WD. That night I got together with the farms gals and drank wine and talked soup. The kids loved Lori Anne's tortalini soup the next day. I'm excited about Meghan's sourdough starter. We had a yoga meeting for MOPS on Thursday. Phil and I met for Cuban sandwiches for lunch then I did a Memberhub zoom training. Friday I spent the day on the flower bed in the front of the middle school. The beautification team had a small group out there planting azaleas. Whew! Voss got to have a sleepover with Zachary that night. They even got a tour of the destroyer parked downtown after. That night was Gourmet on the Green. Ellie babysat. Such a fun party with wine tasting and dancing by the river on a gorgeous night. Saturday was rough. Beth drove all the girls to Nutcracker. Phil and I actually had the morning to ourselves...can't remember the last time that happened! I drank a coke and watched WD. That afternoon we went to Gather & Give. It was so neat to get to finally go to such an awesome event! On the way home the kids picked out their Walmart toys- a skateboard, makeup vanity, journals and a Starwars jet. Ellie went to a friendsgiving at Cora's. Phil and I met the Hogans for pizza then ended up in the Agresti's hot tub. We fell back an hour, which was so wonderful. We were still a bit late to 8:30 mass. Religion class was rambunctious...candy wrappers everywhere! Ugh! I'm ready to get rid of it all! We watched the Jags game with my parents. I went to Kathleen's brother's funeral. Very sad but nice to hang out with the old gang. Early bedtime for all, especially with the new time. Here are our pics of the week.

And just like that, November is upon us! We had a make up tennis match on Monday and then another one on Tuesday. Sam and I won our line both days and also we won 3-1 both days. Hoping that moves us up in the lineup. Monday was busy with a Read USA assesor training and then book club at Kim's house. I should have spent the night because the next day was a match in St. Augustine near her. Luckily, Vanessa drove us. Wednesday we did a teacher appreciation caffeine cart pepping teachers up with treats. It was a huge hit. I met Cassie at the bank to make a deposit. The kids had early release. They all went to the dentist for a check up. Gotta go back in a month for Voss' cavity. Phil had his mens group that night. Ellie picked up a Wednesday evening babysitting gig. Voss had baseball practice. Thursday I hosted a principal coffee chat where Mr. Stuckey discussed testing. I brought the boat in for a check up (my new fav chore). Lots of dance and walking in the park. Friday I took my mom to a cognitive study at UNF. It was an overcast fall morning. I walked and started listening to The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post. She didn't qualify for the study so we came back early, picked up my dad and went to adoration and lunch. I worked on Halloween and book parade costumes. We met the VanWies at Ale Pie house for dinner. I totally messed up on a babysitting gig for Ellie. I had one of Voss' friends that we saw at dinner take Ellie to her babysitting gig since they live in the same hood. Well, she was there a day early! She was so embarrassed and mad at me. The next day I drove to Nutcracker and passed out apparel (and walked and listened). Ellie babysat for the VanWies, Marly stepped up and had her first babysitting gig. The neighbors across from the VanWies had their babysitter bail last minute so Marly covered. She did great! Abby went to Sammy's Birthday party. We went on the boat with the VanWies to the Hook & Tackle and enjoyed an awesome GA-FL tailgate! We watched the end of the game back at the VanWies then took Ellie to her next babysitting gig (this time on time) then went to a BBQ party at one of Phil's tennis friends house. There was live music and Mojos...a really nice party! We were late to mass this morning then I had to cover Phil's CCD class. I took Voss to Rowan's game truck Birthday. Then played a practice match with my member guest partner, Amy. It was good! I picked up chicken for dinner then we did a rosary walk. Working on an early bedtime to prepare for tomorrow. Here are our photos of the week.

No school on Monday for a teacher planning day. I sorta forgot and went on with my usual day. I went to tennis clinic then Mittens and I went to her annual check up. Ellie had an ortho appointment, Abby and Ellie had dance and Voss had a baseball game. I was lucky to have Phil around to help with the afternoon shuffle. It was homecoming week at the middle school, which means extra things for me to do behind the scenes. Sam and I lost our first match at San Jose (same girl I lost to there last season! Ugh!). I went to a girls night out with MOPS. Sam and I got to sub in for the B team and have a re-match on Wednesday. We played against two friends and won, which felt so good! A group of us went to the Van Gogh experience which was pretty neat. Also fun to get a random group of friends together! That night Phil and I went to dinner with the Rosses at La Cena. It was so good and I loved the leftovers the next day. We took it to the base ending at the Bierhalle. We had a Halloween brunch at MOPS on Thursday. I finally finished listening to the Dolly Parten podcast. Ugh. It was a big day on Friday with lots of things happening at the same time. It was the homecoming dance right after school. I bought over $400 worth of snacks to sell at the dance. That morning I was hustling bringing it all in and icing down the drinks. I went to adoration and lunch with my parents. Then, I worked Abby and Voss' class booths at the elementary school fall festival. The air show was also happening this weekend so it was neat to see the Blue Angels fly over the festival. Then, I went to the homecoming dance to sell pizza slices. It was double the number they were expecting...we had to have a bouncer for the snack sales! Wow! We met up with the families of a bunch of ballroom dancing kids (because that too was happening at the same time) and had a pizza party at the Bakers. Beth saved me and drove the Nutcracker carpool. Airshow traffic was insane. We had a lazy morning with Voss, making breakfast and a quick grocery trip. I took the weekend (and then some) to finish my book club book...perfect for October- Misery by Stephen King. We took the boat out to see the Blue Angels. It was neat from the water. We dropped Ellie off at the Bentons for a sleepover. We had a low key evening. I made more pumpkin break. I got rid of our melted pumpkin (after just one week). Phil and I got take out from Fast Wok. Marly and Abby were very upset with me that I didn't let them go to a sleepover across the street at 9pm. We got up and went to mass (Marly served) then CCD class. Then, I got to go to the Jags game with my mom and her childhood friends. It was neat to see them all together after all these years. Too bad the Jags lost at the very end. It was still fun to go and sit in awesome seats! Here are our photos of the week.

It was a week of last minute assignments, reading logs and extra credit to get in everything we could for the first quarter. Abby worked on the experiment part of her science project. I took the older two for another pair of pointe shoe$$$. At Julian's they spent an hour with us trying on all sorts of shoes for the perfect fit. Ellie was late to dance and I was late to pick up poor Abby. Luckily, she had a fun play date in the park with the Suter sisters the following day. I did clinic on Monday, Sam and I won quickly on Tuesday and then I made it just in time for a board meeting lunch for PTSA. Lots of fun fall plans and events. I got to go with Voss on his first field trip (and bus ride) to Diamond D farm. I subbed in for the B team on Friday morning way up in Ameila Island. Diane and I won! I made it in time to have lunch with my parents. That night we went to the Bentons for happy hour during Marly's ballroom dancing class. Then we all went to High Tide for dinner. I love that place. Saturday morning I took the girls to Nutcracker rehearsal. This time I had a charged phone and my book. I walked back and forth in the back alley while listening to the end of Pride and Prejudice. That night Phil and I went to dinner at TCC with the Camps. We ended up at Lillians! The Bentons took the older two to Rise Up. Sam and I played in a round robin at FYC on Sunday morning. I went to mass at Sacred Heart. We did a family outing to the Ortega Pumpkin Patch. Phil and I watched the Jags game with the Nixons at Extreme Wings. We spent the evening carving the pumpkin, cooking pumpkin and making pumpkin bread. The rain brought cooler temps. It actually feels like a chilly fall. It's so nice! Here are our pics of the week.

Due to the tournament, TCC was closed all week. I had to get creative with tennis play. Monday, I spent the day getting things back to whatever normal is. Spot was happy to have me back to go running. I played with a hodge podge of folks on Tuesday at Boone Park. Sam and I were challenged by Jane and Catherine on Wednesday then singles with Vanessa on Thursday at FYC. Phil and I had a few wine dates in the living room. I tried to watch Dahmer on Netflix but was so horrified and pushed through 3 episodes before I quit and watched a season of Bridgerton to get back into a happy place. Why don't we do more ballroom dancing to Lady Gaga and Madonna?! More whack a mole with the kids and all of their activities and lives. It's no joke. I volunteered for a bit on Friday for the health screening at JW then rode my bike to meet Phil and some bank friends at the tournament. It was so neat to see Timuquana transformed. We watched some amazing golf and ran into all sorts of friends. We got home in time to take Ellie to a babysitting gig at the VanWies and pick up Marly and Addy from their 3rd ballroom dance class. That night was the Festival of Flight to support Angels for Allison. AM did such a great job with the event. We danced the night away ending in Hempy's living room eating leftovers. I was all out of sorts for Nutcracker on Saturday morning. I forgot my book and my phone was dead. I spent the wait time walking to fellow dance moms in the lobby. That afternoon we headed out as a family to the tournament. I found a wonderful spot in the shade in a comfy chair watching the tee off of the 18th hole and talking about gardening. We stayed after in the Grove relaxing and enjoying the river breeze. Sunday, Ellie and I read in mass then had a good religion class. Phil, Marly and I headed out for the final day of the tournament. We got to enjoy a chalet along the 17th hole. We had an after pizza party in the Agresti's hot tub to close out another fun weekend. Whew! Here are our photos of the week.

It was a crazy week with the approaching storm. I got into tennis clinic then went to check on my parents and convinced my mom not to drive to Pensacola...which maybe was a bad idea. Voss had a baseball game that night and won. I brought my dad after Abby's dance class. Tuesday I took over the JWJ Instagram account (which is kina funny bc I'm usually managing it anyway). It was a good day to do so because I went to the SAC meeting then to the school board office for a PTSA council meeting. I took a quick walk on the beach for the last hurrah at Sawgrass (our reciprocal ended). Turns out that school was canceled for the rest of the week due to Hurricane Ian. We spent Wednesday preparing the yard and house, taking everything out the yard and off the porch. Mom and I went shopping for our book summit weekend (praying it could still happen). That night we went to TCC with the Van Wies and Nixons for a Hurricane party. The wind and rain started. We had a hotel reservation for Thursday night but ended up canceling it as the storm seemed to narrowly miss us, heading across the state south and then further into the Atlantic. We got lucky. The tide did come up into the yard maybe 3 feet over the bulkhead. Scary but not bad. Marly had ballroom dance on Friday night. We went out for pizza with a bunch of parents and families from the class. It ended in an after party in the Agrestis hot tub. Wow! The next morning I took the girls to Nutcracker practice then packed up for the book summit. The weekend in St. Simons Island was canceled but April worked some magic and made a mini-weekend happen with an over night in Jax Beach. It was perfect. With a smaller group it felt like one of the first weekends. My mom and I got some quality time together. Suzanne stayed back with dad. We had a marvelous weekend discussing books. Rachael and I even did a little night swimming in the Atlantic. I didn't want to come home but we did. Phil, Marly and I watched the Jags loose at Extreme Wings, picked up Ellie from a movie date with a friend. Renee took them to their costume fittings for Nutcracker while my mom and I went to mass. I tried to watch the Dahmer series on Netflix. It was so awful I switched to Bridgerton to watch again. I read the amazing book, the Personal Librarian over the storm weekend. And now I have lots of TBR books from the summit. Here are the pics of the week.