The week began nice and calm with my usual tennis clinic, WD shopping trip (I started writing the weekly dinner menu on the fridge so people will stop asking me 100 times, "what's for dinner?") and I tried this air compression therapy for my hip. Hoping to alleviate some of the inflamation. I got to go to April's that night to discuss All the Colors of the Dark, enjoy quesadillas and ice cream sandwiches. Such a great book with even better discussion! Marly went early to young life. I headed to middle school for SAC stakeholders then DCCPTA. The superintendent didn't show so the meeting went fast. We learned most schools are going back to 7 classes/ day. A few high schools were carved out and now fighting for our middle school to do a 3:3:skinny schedule. The drama continues! I took Spot for a run and a visit with my brother. Wednesday I went to HIIT then had some time before early release. My brother took Voss camping gear shopping for the weekend prep. I took Marly dance gear shopping for weekend prep. Voss had his one year check up and is looking great. Trombone and dance and walking in the park for the afternoon. Phil played tennis each night this week, which is so good but now he's so sore. Liz and I got to play in a match on Thursday morning. We had a team lunch (first one ever for the season, I believe). Later, Phil and I had two more matches to kick off the Mixed Doubles tournament. I was so nervous then so spent. We won both matches! Me hugging the net and Phil running everything down; it worked! Friday, HIIT, adoration and then a quiet afternoon. Once the kids came home it was a scramble. Ellie was in the French ballet portion of the Multicultural club's dance performance over the weekend. She's had lots of rehearsals and then shows Friday and Saturday. My brother took Voss on a cub scout camping trip to Fort Clinch. They were gone all weekend. Marly signed the paperwork to dance at the arts high school next year! Four kids in four different schools- woopie! Abby lived her best life in a quiet house alone. Phil and I headed up for our third match. Marly got a babysitting gig. We won our third match and crashed into bed early that night. Saturday we were up and at 'em. Phil played two matches with his member member partner. I dropped off Marly for another babysitting gig and then Ellie for her other dance class, watched Phil for a bit then Ellie to high school for a multi show. Phil and I lost our 4th match (he was toast!). I sat and watched some tennis then home to get ready for Ellie's show. It was a long concert but super neat to see all the different dance styles and costumes. We could have done without the MCs in my opinion. We went to dinner at TCC then home all exhausted! Sunday the girls made it to mass on time to serve. Phil rolled in a bit late. CCD then Phil and I had brunch while watching tennis, drinking prosecco in my new champions glass! The older two headed to their winter concert dress rehearsal. Voss came home then to Will's reptile Birthday party. I got in a quick WD run in between. Then we headed to the winter dance recital. We had quite the fan club with my sister, brother, GF and child. We all went out to a celebratory dinner for the concert, Matt's first day as a veteran, celebrating all the things! Here are the pics of the week.

Monday was Presidents Day. Thankfully sand was available to stick my head in and not think about our current situation. I do get sucked in that rabbit hole, but somewhere inside me is an off valve so after forwarding memes to friends I know how to walk upstairs and start Get Sleepy. I did finished another immersion reading experience with Jazz but I accidently bought the abridged version on audible and it didn't match the d/l'd copy from Hoopla. I still loved listening to Toni's voice and the music in the background. I spent the day driving kids: Marly's friend to the beach and to pick up Abby and Ellie and her friend to brunch. Tennis clinic and an ortho appointment in the afternoon. Tuesday, Maureen and I beat the Epping girls again. Not an easy one, but made us think and strategize. I had lunch on the balcony catching up with Steph. Wednesday HIIT, a SAC meeting, trombone, dance and then I split out and met the girls downtown for dinner and Peter Pan. I probably should have given the tickets to Rachael to take her kids but I was still happy to get out for a night on the town. Definitely a kids show...totally reminded me of the girls spring dance recital. It was the same soundtrack. Thursday back to the high school for a PTSA meeting then MomCo for CPR training and then another hour hanging around waiting for my oil change. Friday I went to HIIT, adoration then helped with the book fair. Voss is happy with his WWII and soccer books. I made headway with nominating committee talking to some potential PTA board members. Ellie drove us over to Aunt Suzanne's (So SQ could help me with the dance shuffle in the morning), picked up dinner for them and then for us on the way home. Abby spent the night with the Bertochs (she tends to disappear over there) then Phil and I watched When in Rome and eating Thai. Saturday morning I went to mass with Ann Marie and Charlotte then sat at a retreat ALL DAY discussing how we can better incorporate families into our church. It was fun to get to spend the day with AM, Steph and Meghan...but it was long. I was very happy to be invited out with the Hogans (AM and my brother) for a sunset cruise on the river. Sunday morning we had mass, CCD and then bfast at TCC. I played a pick up match with Julie, Anna and Sally then family soccer with the Fredlands and Brohinskys. The middles and I started reading Wicked together (eh, maybe not appropriate for middle school, but it's my requirement to see the movie). We had fish for dinner; one of Phil's work friends caught. Here are the pics of the week.

I relished the quiet of Monday. Flag raising, tennis clinic, WD and then the afternoon shuffle. I'm doing more afternoon driving to get these kids to stay after for extra tutoring (and before school for Ellie, too). I'm proud of the older two for locking in and bringing up their grades. We're in a good spot right now. I hope it sticks! Marly left super early on Tuesday with the 8th graders and amazing chaperones to spend the week in DC (and visiting the Naval Academy)! The house was much quieter without her and it looked like she had an awesome time. Stay tuned for that video on the video page. I drove the other JWJ kids on Tuesday to go to SAC and then DCCPTA. More doom and gloom conversations. The superintendent did refer to us as his friends...but maybe he was teasing us. Tiger moms unite! I had dinner with some ole Stanton pals, Jacy and Missy (two wicked smart women) that night at a fun Italian place. Loved catching up with them! Abby Cadabby turned TWELVE on Wednesday. She's so laid back and easy going, the Birthday was sweet as ever. She got an early release day for her Birthday. I volunteered at art day with Voss' class- tie dying shirts with powder dye and ice. Then, we went out for ice cream to celebrate Abby. Later we had Sushi Bear (they make Birthdays so much fun!). Abby is excited to sit in the front seat- yay! Brittany and I got to play in a match together on Tuesday at home. We killed it, 6-1 and then 6-0. It was easy peasy and felt great to finally have a win! I spent the afternoon eating chocolate, watching This Means War and trying to take the afternoon off. I ended up fighting with my brother and had two kids come home crying. Humph. Friday I got up early for my blood work then to middle school to surprise teachers with a caffeine cart. Steph had us over for a nice lunch. I dipped out for the literacy parade at the elementary school. Abby had her ole pal, Virginia over for a sleepover. Phil drove Ellie to Camp Weed for the Happenings retreat. I started immersion reading Beloved. Saturday morning I took Abby and her pal zip lining at the Alligator Farm then to CFA. Phil played tennis. Voss played soccer with his pal, Chris. That afternoon I broke the Dryanuary seal at Grace Note's Rock the Dock festival. I probably destroyed any good I just did in January with one day of debauchery. Way too much fun. Marly was mad we weren't rolling out the red carpet for her home coming. Sunday was rough but I took the littles to mass and CCD. Phil and I drove out to pick up Ellie and attend the closing ceremony for her retreat. Marly went to confirmation class. Phil and I zoomed to the Young Life banquet. It was a day church hopping! Late night dinner with the Strassers at Kickbacks. Should we get a locker? Here are the pics of the week.

It was a hard week. It was so cold and dark. The week began with MLK day on the same day as the inauguration. No, I did not watch it and changed the channel from NPR when it began. I went to tennis clinic, very grateful to be on the court not with my friend wearing the MAGA hat. That was the only tennis and basic exercise I did all week. That didn't help anything. It was so cold that the MLK parade was canceled. The best part of the day was book club at Heather's where we discussed a terrible book (only because it was a fiction that seemed a little too real), Chain Gang All Stars. Then Tuesday I spent the morning at the school board sharing views and listening to the options to save money- cutting busses, reducing electives and therefore cutting teachers. It's impossible to have this conversation when this is happening. Lunch with Jamie was a balm, along with that salmon rice bowl at the Brick. The best day of the week was Wednesday. Voss turned 10! The lucky duck did not have school due to a snow day. No kidding. We did not get snow but lots of North Florida did which is so crazy. It was still cold and rainy. We had donuts, watched Birthday videos and working on a really hard puzzle by the fire. Marly and Abby stayed up decorating and were so sweet to him that morning. We had lunch with Uncle Matt at Firehouse and later family dinner at TCC. Again, Marly surprised him with an ice cream treat at TCC and spent the afternoon baking him a Birthday cake (with homemade frosting). The kids getting along is enough to warm my cold heart. Phil got Voss (and totally himself) and XBox. So there goes life as we know it. I tried not to follow all of Trump's executive orders for the week, but I couldn't help but get sucked in. Thursday I volunteered at high school for a round table discussion (talking about going from 8 classes in a block schedule to 7 periods in one day). It was neat to have kids from other schools join in the discussion. More conversations with school board members that day, too. It doesn't help that I've been listening to Octavia Butler books this week on top of all this. Friday I finally made it to the gym for a HIIT class, adoration then lunch with my friend, Susie at a new taco place. My sister came to pick up Ellie and help me with driving for her dance class on Saturday morning. Hot chocolate and puzzle by the fire time. Phil and I ended up on a double date with Matt and his girlfriend, Tara. I tried a non-alcoholic Guinness and Riverside Liquors, NA white wine at Primi Piatti (that owner is the sweetest) and then some delicious chamomile tea with honey at TCC for a nightcap. Saturday we rolled out to Cecil Field to celebrate Voss' Birthday. One of my dad's friends gave us a tour of a new POW museum he is curating. Voss said it was the best Birthday yet...complete with party favors of army bags, helmets and toy planes. It was a sweet group of Voss' friends and then one stayed to play after. We had the Nutcracker board dinner that night. We raised $110K! I can't wait to see how we vote to give it away at our next meeting. We stopped in to Silver Cow for a kombucha and to hear some live music. Then home for an early night. Not Ellie. She was out at a friend's 16th Birthday that resembled more of a wedding! We all read and served at mass on Sunday then had CCD then breakfast at TCC. We played family soccer and had chicken and rice bowls at the Fredlands. It was a great way to kick off a better week! Here are the pics of the week,

A DJ on the radio said Monday was the day most people quit their new years resolutions. I see it. I'm still holding onto Dryanuary and cracking the whip with these kids. Picking up from after school tutor session and calling in for extra chemistry help. It was cold so they canceled flag raising which meant I was able to take Matt and Tara to the airport to fly up to get Matt's car. I was late to tennis clinic but snuck in. I had lunch with Steph at Modrum (enjoy that delicious lentil soup). We got the fireplace up and running with cozy fires each night along with a super hard puzzle. Maureen and I lost our match on Tuesday again in a third set. It was so close the whole time. Incredibly frustrating that this keeps happening to me. I never took my coat off. Heat pad on my hip and I took a spill in the garage this week that left two nasty bruises and some residual back pain. Just grateful it wasn't worse. I spent the morning at the middle school on Wednesday with a meeting for Marly's DC trip and then a PTSA board meeting. And then the afternoon at high school for a SAC meeting and then back the next morning for another PTSA board meeting. I did an almost 40 hour fast this week, too. Especially not fun. I didn't even have the second night of great dreams like I usually do thanks to Mr. Snores. At MOPS we had a white elephant gift exchange where I ended up with some 'merica leggings. Can't wait for an opportunity to wear those! The manatee rescue folks took the day to get a mom and her calf out of the cove due to the water being so cold. Fun to watch! Ann Marie had us over to discuss making our church better. Friday I went to HIIT, adoration then Voss' awards ceremony. He got a citizenship and honor roll ribbon. Looking for things to celebrate here. Phil and I took him out for ice cream after. Ellie went to a friend's house to practice her 16th Birthday dance (how fun is that?!) and Marly went to Marywood for her Confirmation retreat. Abby spent the night with Annabelle. So, we took Voss with us out for pizza with the Strassers. Trying all the NA beers and kombuchas! Saturday I took Ellie to dance (well, she took me) and did a run walk with SQ. Later I went back to pick up Marly and the carpool gang from Marywood. Turns out she had a great time and made new friends. We went out with a crew to see a 90s grunge band at Mustangs again. Sunday we went to mass and then fellowship (no CCD so I could finally go!) I had a sauna appointment to try it out. Basically I think it's a bunch of BS. Isn't being outside in the summertime enough to do the trick? We went out with the Strassers and younger two to Don Eduardos for dinner that night. The older two were at friend's. Here are the pics from the week.

We weren't quite back yet on Monday, the kids still had oooonnnneeee more day of holiday break. I hit the gym (since I was waitlisted for tennis) while whipping them into getting prepped for school on Tuesday. We took down the Christmas decorations. Abby got braces! She was in pain the first few days, but has adjusted now. Voss and Phil went to boy scouts, early bedtime for all! Tuesday was rough but everyone made it to school. Tennis was canceled due to cold weather. I did a barre and pilates class then met friends at a new bookstore for discussion on the 2025 Page Turner Challenge. I am waiting for the hype to die down a bit and start in a few more weeks maybe. We had a fire, burning pieces of the Christmas tree and did some DEAR time and sisters in dance. It was definitely cold all week. Que the seat warmer and blankets in the minivan! I drove the middle school carpool this week. I got to sub in for B on Wednesday and play at home with Anna, then a fun match with Sally, Maureen and Anna. Rachael, Katie and I met at Bellweather for our first show of the year, Mama Mia. It was so nice to have a fun thing in the middle of the week with this dark, cold. Tracy was able to join us for the show after running kids. Having the time of our lives dancing with ABBA. Thursday I went to daily mass in honor of my dad, dedicated by my MomCo group. I ran some errands then went for a cold run with Spot. I actually burnt my hip from the heating pad. We had a MomCo leadership meeting that night at Anne's to plan for the next semester. Friday morning, I met Jess for a walk to catch up on her life amidst the days of grief. I'm proud to know such a strong woman. I met Rachael and her mom for a WJCT lunch & learn. Fun to be with them but the speaker was a salesy chiropractor, not a discussion on stem cells like I thought we were doing. Marly and Ellie babysat, Abby and Voss went to sleepovers. Phil and I met my brother and sister at Tara's for happy hour (really SQ and I drinking soda water). We went to TCC for dinner after and met up with the Freemans and Cochrans then Matt and Tara came later. Fun night! Saturday morning, Ellie and I headed out to dance class. SQ and I went on a walk run. Later, SQ, Matt and I went to Mrs. Jannsson's funeral. It was a sweet service celebrating her life complete with awesome stories from her 3 children about what an awesome mother she was; the original free range parent. The wild brothers growing up in the farms, wrestling their mother in the yard and our old babysitters telling us stories about watching all of us. We left with smiles and warm hearts. That evening, Ellie and Marly went to a 16th Birthday. Abby and Voss had their first babysitting gig together. My siblings and I went out with the Strassers for pizza and live music. SQ, Jenny and I found a new coffee shop with great hot tea. This morning we went to mass and CCD. Now Ellie is at another friend's 16th tea party. Voss is at a friend's house. The middles are at Target with Phil. Marly has confirmation class this afternoon, family soccer and youth group. Here are the pics of the week.

Monday morning we tried to get a little something done. Phil went to work. I went to a HIIT class. Then we packed up and headed up to Jekyll Island to camp with friends and bring in the new year. We were the first in our group to arrive up there and get settled in. The gnats were awful at first but then it got cooler and they went away. We had great friends who brought all the camp gear and set up fires (Taylor with his axe!), JoHo trailered all of our bikes and we just sorta showed up and enjoyed it. It was a great way to bring in the new year! The weather was perfect. We did cheat the 2nd night and got a hotel room. On new years day, we took a polar plunge in the Atlantic then warmed up in the hot tub before heading back to town. I tried to make a pork roast but I didn't get it started early enough so we just had collards and black eyed peas to bring luck and prosperity in the new year. Abby babysat for the Kochs, Voss had Miles over to play. Ellie disappeared with Addison for at least a day. We met Matt, Tara and P down in St. Augustine for the Night of Lights. It was still very crowded despite it being a weekday after new years but I'm still glad we went. Phil scored a place right by the main park with no wait and live music. It was so cold but Kilwin's hot chocolate hit the spot! On Friday I was very busy with a Nutcracker PR recap meeting, adoration, run to the post office and then a steroid injection. It actually made my hip feel worse for a few days. The verdict is still out. I visited my pal, Tracy. Phil and I had a movie night in, watching The Town and eating General Tso's chicken. Ellie had her first dance class of the season back in Fruitcove on Saturday morning. We did a family movie day and saw Moana 2 that afternoon. I went to my friend, Cheryl's "We survived the holidays" party. Dryanuary is in full swing, boring as ever. Sunday we got up and went to 8:30 mass. It was not easy and we were late. Gone are our days of sleeping in! We celebrated the Epiphany and reflected on all the wonderful gifts we've received. We met SQ and the boys at the Timuquan Nature Preserve and got junior ranger badges and hiked to Ft. Caroline. Then, we picked up lunch and met Matt at the Hicks' for some cousin time. We played family soccer that afternoon then I took Ellie to a friend's 16th Birthday party on the Southside. Me sitting in my car in a parking lot listening to The Reading List and updating family videos. We have so much to be thankful for walking into 2025; I just hope we can figure out a way to come together in our country in the next month. Here are the photos from the last week.