Mooserific!

Cumberland Island 2022 vs. 2016 was so much better! By visiting in March instead of August, we were already likely to have a nicer time, and we did! We hiked over four miles, saw all of the major sites, and had a blast in the ocean. Everyone loved hunting for (stinky) shells on the desolate ocean side, seeing wild horses on the beach, and exploring the ruins. We missed seeing manatees at the dock this time, but loved the ferry boat ride (esp. Gwen) and seeing dolphins.

Another fun spring break visiting Em and Chris! We had the full experience: visits to Cumberland Island, Skidaway Island, Tybee Island, and downtown Savannah. The girls tried lots of new foods - a favorite were street tacos at Tacos and Tequila, a restaurant we liked so much that we went twice! The girls also loved finding hermit crabs in the ocean at Cumberland Island, and rescuing sand dollars and starfish at Tybee Island. We didn’t love the thousands of jellyfish washed up on the beach at Tybee, but the girls did love poking them and later learned that they are a non-stinging variety washed up due to high winds. The hiking was especially great this time - many days of 4+ mile hikes!

Third grade biography fair: Serena Williams and Jane Goodall.

Abby’s Response to a project makes me smile.

Team-building tie dye success!

Just as much fun a second time - this time with friends and seasoned belayers! They were all fearless, but especially Gwen (who lit up when Clara mentioned that another facility has a kids climbing team).

Girl Scout rock climbing and team-building tie dye with the volleyball team. Our girls went to bed Sunday night with happy memories from a fun, adventurous, and laughter-filled weekend.

Abby played in her second club volleyball tournament today. She summed it up best in a text to John: “I reffed and did the book again and I thought I did pretty well. The teams we played were really tough, but some of the games we did a really good job talking.”

We rang in the new year with the Sammuts again, and this time the girls requested we all actually stay up past midnight!

The high on December 27 in Cincinnati was 67! Perfect weather to visit the Zoo!

Christmas morning! Santa brought wireless earbuds and 3D printer pens!

We had a good time celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve at our house this year. Tim was the one constant at both celebrations since the boys had Covid over Thanksgiving, Em had to work Christmas, and Clara was adventuring in the Grand Canyon.

We might be doing something right. Schoology showed this as Abby’s answer to a question: “My mom and dad display altruism every day. I’m sure many of your moms and dads do too! My parents put me and my sisters before them when they drive us to sports practices or get off work so they can take us somewhere or help us with something. Parents display altruism when they make dinner or eat early so we can go somewhere. They also buy us nice thing and take us on vacation. They try so hard to make our lives amazing! 3. The sixth grade should display altruism by helping people when they are struggling and being more inclusive.”

We celebrated Gwen and Josie’s birthday with their soccer friends and then had a soccer game followed by Halloween fun the next day. It was a big weekend! And a big Halloween for Abby. She experienced a milestone: trick-or-treating parent-free!

Another busy, but fun weekend! Abby played her final two regular season volleyball games. Unfortunately, the matches ended in losses, but Abby had some nice serves. Gwen and Josie’s soccer team competed in the Blue Chip Junior tournament and were bracket champs! Four wins!

Josie yanked out a loose tooth tonight. Like usual, she placed the tooth in a plastic bag and put it under her pillow. She then hugged me goodnight while saying “goodnight tooth fairy.” I did not confirm or deny. A few weeks ago, she and Gwen told me a story about a conversation they had with friends at school. They told me that they all agreed that the tooth fairy and Easter bunny are not real. They said their friend, Grace, said she didn’t think Santa was a real either. Josie and Gwen weren’t so sure about that though because “mom would never buy Abby a hoverboard!”