Yuletide twins

Sometimes even we forget which one is which. 
 

10 days of Christmas

When you're been as good as we have, one Christmas isn't enough. You have to have one big day at home ...

... and another Christmas with Grandmom Linda ...

... and another one with Grandmom and Pop and everyboy in Warminster! 

Plus, with that many Christmases, you get to open up surprises like this: 

Seven fishes festival

So many Christmas parties, we can barely keep up! Our annual fish fest at Aunt Rose's was a huge blast again (I guess Uncle Brett gets credit too) and we all stuffed outselves silly. 

Some of us sillier than others. That Aunt Jul kept stealing all the cookies. I mean, all three of us girls swear it was her and not someone else...

This is a pretty great crew to hang out with. We should have holidays more often. 

Choir Christmas concert

After months of practicing, third graders got to make their big debut with the school choir this week. The songs were all a blast, but this one was my favorite: 

And here are the stars of the show, at least according to the cool kids in third grade... 

Santa seat

I did not expect the big guy to stop by school multiple times this week, but I made sure to say hi every time. That extra bit of friendliness can move you from the maybe-naughty list back to the good side of the ledger. 

 

Festive photo

Sometimes you've got to get all the Christmas cheer out of your body before the actual Christmas photo. Otherwise, it's got a little too much energy. 
 

Attack of the workout superstars

Sometimes when we're getting our indoor exercise, we get a little carried away. But the workout did say to stomp like a dinosaur, so I feel like my actions were justified. 
 

Moon with the minnows

I wasn't expecting to see the moon rising in the lake when we visited our favorite nearby park. But then again, nature is always surprising us with something. 
 

Naughty elf

I see a lot of coal in someone's future...
 

It's beginning to look...

The Christmas village is up...

The Christmas train is up ... 

And the tree is all decorated. Now the only thing missing is presents!
 

A hairy situation

Yeah, we should probably think about that haircut soon. 
 

Christmas card outtakes

I think the idea was solid here but Dad said two floating heads might scare people instead of making them festive. 
 

Hanging up the lights

Dad always says getting all these Christmas lights up is tough, but he never talks about how much fun it is to climb up and down off the roof. I though about charging him for the help but honestly I'm having too much fun to pretend to complain. 
 

Surprise Thanksgiving

We didn't expect to be home for Thanksgiving this year, but a cold changed some of our plans. But Mom still pulled together a tremendous feast, and as long as we've got each other and some corny jokes, we've still got plenty to be thankful for. 
 

Warm and cozy

 

The best way to keep the cold out is with hot, fashionable sweatshirts, I've always said. 

Second Class Scout

Got my next Boy Scout rank and five merit badges that I earned over the summer -- First Class up next! 
 

Grandparents Day

Christmas and Thanksgiving are great, but they come every year. You only get Grandparents Day at school once, and it's the greatest school day ever.  

I was lucky enough to get Grandmom Doyle, Grandmom Shane and Pop Shane to come and celebrate the day with me. It couldn't have been better. All three grandparents to myself! And instead of math class! Too awesome.  

We read poems to our grandparents and sang songs and just thanked them for being awesome. We really should do that more often, but I'm glad to have the chance to do it today. 

A dear new friend

OK, actually he is a stag. But, still, I think he'd made a good pet. 
 

Autumn magic

One of the teachers at school snapped this photo -- sometimes, all you need to have fun is just some leaves. 
 

Selfie story

Looking over the photo books from the last few years, I can't help but think just how good we look...
 

Summer vibes

I thought all the bright colors might bring spring back, but the leaves all over are hurting that vibe. 
 

5K around the neighborhood

What do you do to keep in shape after cross country season ends? How about running a 5K for fun!
 

Dad and I ran the annual school 5K last weekend. Our time was a little slower than last year, but it was still a good feeling to show that I can get through three miles without falling over. But I may wait on a marathon for a few more years...

Sports, sports everywhere

What do you do when the Phillies and Eagles are both playing the same night? You bring a second TV into the family room, of course! Let's go everybody!
 

3rd Grade Halloween parade

Our school hosts a costume parade every year for kindergarten through third grade. That means this is my last time to dance around outside during the school day in my costume, so I made the most of it. I was a little sad that I won't get to go again next year, but Jonathan reminded me that the older kids get to watch and clap for the younger ones, so that's a pretty awesome option too. 

Halloween 2022

Mal from Descendants and a low-key skeleton wish you a Happy Halloween!

We had to decorate our car for Trunk or Treat at school, and Dad may have gone a little overboard. The fake arms and gravestone were fine but that eyeball was ... creepy. 

But the decorations outside our front door were a little more appropriate. Now let's go grab some candy! 
 

Navy football!

After the tour, we got to head over to the Navy stadium to watch a real college football game! Navy wasn't very good, but the whole event was a blast. We even got to see all the midshipmen do push-ups after every touchdown, which was crazy. 
 

Naval Academy tour

My Boy Scout troop got a chance to tour the Naval Academy campus this weekend, seeing what life is like for the midshipmen there. It's huge!

Dahlgren Hall is where the students go for wrestling practice, boxing practice and ... ballroom dancing practice. Not sure how they all go together, but OK. 

The area around Memorial Hall is wide open, but the first-year students are only allowed to walk on certain paths. That's just weird. With as huge as this campus is, you'd think they wouldn't need extra steps. 

This was a typical dorm room for academy students. I thought the bed was made perfectly, but our guide said it was really sloppy because you could see some wrinkles in the sheets. That was when I knew I would never go to school here. 

Still, it is an awesome place to visit. Next time I need to rent a scooter to get around!
 

Invisible girl

You can't see me in this picture because my new pastel camoflauge sweatshirt is sooooo cool. 
 

Cross country pizza

After a season where we ran more than 25 miles in races and practice, it's time for a pizza party to get our energy back!

We got certificates and medals for all of our hard work too. I had a personal best time in my last meet of 10:08 in the mile race. 

And Jonathan had a personal best of 22:43 in the two-mile race. Lots of improvement for both of us this year!

 

Into the Woods

Not sure I understand why there are fake trees among the real trees in the neighborhood, but somebody has to climb them all. 
 

Cold snap

It feels like winter all of the sudden. If we're not going to get warm air, can we get snow already? 
 

Don't have a cow, man

It's not a hamburger, I promise!