Caleb Gets a Job!

Caleb had been wanting a job for a while and applied at a few places with no luck. One day, he and I went to Old Navy to pick up an online order he made and we saw a Now Hiring for the Holidays sign in the window. I told him he should apply and work for the holiday season and maybe they would keep him on as a part time employee. He then found out that employee's get a discount of 50% off which really enticed him. After applying and an interview in November, he got the job!! He worked Black Friday and a lot in December and recently found out they want him to stay as a part time employee! It's been fun to have people send me pictures of him working as they shop around and say hi. His girlfriend, Miley, has come a few times to say hi too which is cute. Overall he likes the job but says sometimes it can get slow and boring but he really loves the consistent paycheck and having money! So proud of him and his ambition to work to earn money!

Christmas Day

We had a wonderful Christmas. We started out with trying to get the boys up (especially Ethan) to start opening presents. Macie was first to wake up and then promptly woke up Dad and Mom. Then Caleb slugged out of bed, Asher was next and Ethan was last. Here's what everyone got for Christmas...

Ethan: Santa gave a ping pong table topper (both for Ethan and Caleb) & speaker. Mom and Dad gave him a bolo tie, cowboy boots, Grease vinyl, custom guitar pick that says 'Ethan & The Califournians, guitar pick holder, In N Out sweatshirt and Caleb gave him the Curious George vinyl. Macie gave him stickers & Asher gave him a shirt.

Caleb: Santa gave him a ping pong table topper & speaker. Mom & Dad gave him an AFI sweatshirt, an AFI Tshirt, a light projector for his room, 3D wooden puzzle, Joker Comic Book, bracelets, and fancy toiletries. Macie gave him a little mini puzzle, Ethan gave him D&D dice and Asher gave him a Pop Figure.

Asher: Santa gave him an electric scooter! Mom and Dad gave him a light up football, Imagine Dragons Mercury Vinyls 1 & 2, 3D art pen, cologne, Ravenclaw pants, a sweatshirt hoodie blanket, bath salts and cell phone holder. Macie gave him a shirt, Ethan gave him a musical toy and Caleb gave him Ramen PJ pants.

Macie: Santa gave her a new bike! Mom and Dad gave her a Magnetic Mini Tile Art kit, a crochet kit, bracelet making kit, jewelry case, make up mirror, Dog Man books and Narwhal books. Ethan gave her an ugly stuffed animal on purpose that made her cry because she hated it which was hilarious. He also got her a real gift of jewelry. Caleb got her a blanket and Asher got her a giant unicorn stuffy. 

Then we went to our annual IHOP breakfast which was delicious. We invited my parents out to dinner (since we hosted the day before) and my brother, Travis, came along. He's now separated from his wife and his son, Robert, doesn't want to be around him. Travis had spent some of Christmas Eve with them. He didn't have anywhere to go for Christmas so he joined us. It was lovely to see my brother! I hadn't seen him in at least a few years. His now separated wife, Jen, is very controlling and dictated what they did on holidays and I never saw him without his kids and wife. It was a little weird at first to be with him at first but then it turned out to be great. We had a nice family dinner even if we had dinner out at a restaurant. 

This holiday season was so great. It wasn't as stressful, I felt we did so many things to celebrate the season and I really enjoyed being in full holiday spirit all month long.

Christmas Eve

We hosted Christmas Eve at our house. We had Fred's parents, his sister Julie and her family, the Boyd's, Champion's & Rice's. We played games, listened to Ethan and Nama play some music, sang carols and ate more than we should have. It was such a fun night. I love hosting for Christmas Eve being surrounded by friends and family. I didn't get as many pictures as I wanted but we were all having too much fun.

Sticks

When Ethan was little, he could constantly be found outside playing with sticks. He'd also collect sticks he liked if we were out somewhere and bring them home to play with. He'd circle around our fire pit and talk to himself and imagine up some game or fantasy in his head. Even as he's grown, he's continued to do this and I find it incredibly endearing. So, when I went into his room to pick up his laundry and I saw this collection of sticks on his desk, I had to take a picture. Even at almost 18 years old, he's still doing it and I love it. I never want to forget what I found. 

 

Ethan's SCVYO Carnival of the Animals Performace

A few years ago, SCVYO did a performance of Carnival of the Animals. They were doing it again this year and opened up the audition to students to play the solo for The Swan. Ethan auditioned with 4 other cellist and got the solo!! He practiced for months in preparation for the day. The performance finally came and he did a beautiful job. The solo is one of the most famous cello solos ever written and happens to be my favorite. I cried watching him along with a concert hall full of people watching him too as the ballerina danced across the stage so gracefully. I'm just so proud of him. Both grandparents came to show their support and so did his friend, Izzie. Afterwards, Izzie and Ethan went to In N Out and decided to become boyfriend & girlfriend again. Caleb had to work at his new job at Old Navy so he missed it which was a bummer. Way to go, Ethan!! This was his last Winter season with SCVYO!

 

Winter Formal

We had our 2nd Annual (and last) Winter Formal put on by the Winter Formal Committee. We had far less people than we did last year for a few reasons. This year, it was on a Saturday vs. last years Friday and we had it during the second weekend in December vs. last years first weekend in December. It was still a lot of fun and I think we all agreed, this year was way more fun than last year but it's just a lot of work. The hardest part is the amount of money it costs to rent the clubhouse and pay for a cleaning lady for afterwards. We all decided we'd go back to the Christmas parties we used to have at people's houses and much smaller scale. 

This year, I did a lot of work for the party. I made the Sangria, all the giant snowflakes that hung from the ceiling (which took me 11 hours to do), made the playlist and helped with the set up and take down. Needless to say, I was glad when it was all over. The party planning committee had a good run.