Greeting the New Year

It was a very slow and mellow winter break in our household. We didn't travel, Sarah only worked one day, and the girls had no sport commitments. Also, with the increased scare of the covid variant we chose to be more tied to the house than we typically would be. It was very nice, and it also led to an activity that Reese had wanted to do for a while. So we broke out Nana Banana's family sugar cookie recipe and got baking.

New Year's Eve became a day full of rolling out dough, baking cookies, and getting our introduction to royal icing. The rolling and baking were relatively smooth, but the royal icing process created a little anxiety.

All of it was also quite time consuming. Baking cookies is not something you just do for an hour and then move on to something else. We also baked a lot of cookies, so the decorating took time.  But the end product was definitely worth the time invested.

We are also happy to report that they tasted as good as they looked. We couldn't believe it, but the new year was about to dawn. 2021 went by in a flash, though we got to relive the whole year as we spent the break updating our blog with posts from the end of 2020 to the end of 2021. It was an impressive and proud feat to get us back on track.

For the first time, Callie had plans of her own for New Year's Eve. It was a sleepover with two of her friends, and she was excited even as we knew her sister was going to require a lot of attention to keep her spirits up in Callie's absence.

We did our best to keep Reese entertained, and even stayed up past midnight to finish the movie we were watching. We took our first selfie of 2022 to send to Callie when the ball dropped, and prepared for another year of who knows what.

New Year's Day brought another great tradition, watching the UK football team at a bowl game with the Johnsons. This year UK was playing in the Citrus Bowl, so we figured it was fitting to get a picture with our own bowl of Florida fruit. Thanks, Sharon and Chris! Yes, we know Seth is looking away in this picture, but he didn't want to miss any great plays from the game during the photo shoot. It was a great day with lots of appetizers, UK touchdowns, and of course, happy new year cookies. Bring it on, 2022!

Some Traditions You Just Can't Shake - Christmas 2021

Eight years ago we started a tradition with the Abrahams called Tape Ball. Over the years even as we have had different travel plans for the holidays we always made sure to carve out a night for this family fun. The last couple of years that night has been on Christmas Eve. It provides the right balance of the reason for the season - church service - with some competitiveness over silly gifts. Reese is now older than Ella was when we started this. Boy does time fly!

We are also happy to report that tears are no longer associated with the evening. However, sassy and manipulative moves are still a part of the game. 

The Abrahams hosted the event this year, which means a good meal, lots of treats, and the need to protect the gifts, food, and tape ball from their lovable dog, Scout.

Reese has no problems with these added responsibilities if she gets extra time with the cuddly guy. It doesn't matter how many times she leaves their house sniffling or with puffy eyes. She wants to get right in there and give Scout as much love as he can handle. And she is willing to pay the price. It was another great evening with the Abrahams, especially because we got to welcome Ella back from her first semester of college. 

Every year brings some new decorations to our Christmas array. Last year, Sarah bought the light up PEACE sign. (It was technically after Christmas Day, but still counts) This year we bought batteries so that we actually had them lit up for Christmas morning.

As you can see, Santa was good to all members of the Bowes family. We are not sure we all deserved it, but we're not going to question the jolly guy.

We are fortunate in that Christmas morning continues to be relatively mellow around here. The girls didn't wake up until around 8am, and Callie would have slept longer if not for Reese. This allowed us plenty of time to prepare the quiches for the oven so we could eat after we unwrapped.

And there were certainly a few things to unwrap. Reese in particular had a year where her gifts could be piled higher than she stands. She didn't know it when we took this picture, but at the very bottom of the pile was a snow-cone making machine, which we thought would be a big hit.

On the other hand, Callie is getting taller and her gifts seem to be getting smaller. For Callie, the big gift this year was a pair of AirPods. She was pretty happy to say the least.

What we have really enjoyed seeing over the years, however, is the joy each girl takes in the other's happiness. We are at a magical place where the girls look to open their gifts together and pay attention to what each person has opened. They are curious of course, but more than anything excited to share in the happiness of the person opening the gift. In fact, this year Reese spent several days after school making crafts for each one of us, wrapping them up all on her own, and putting them under the tree. She was as excited to watch us open her creations as she was to open her own gifts. And her crafts were quite impressive. The rest of our Christmas Day was mellow. We enjoyed eating some snow cones and spent a few hours watching a great documentary series on Planet Earth. The Abrahams came over for dessert later in the evening with Kelly's mom and stepdad, which led to some entertaining conversation.

Reese Turns 11, or Does She?

For Reese's birthday this year, it took us a little while to figure out a theme that would adequately allow for the celebration a party year deserves. When Callie turned 11 we did the Amazing Race, so we wanted a similar caliber but less outdoors time in December. For better or worse, we came up with a whodunit murder mystery theme. Officially it was called a Christmas Catastrophe, and Reese and her party guests would each have a specific role. To get everyone primed for the night, we sent out individual videos explaining the role they were to play and the background story. Reese was Dasher, the head reindeer. She was excited for the evening and what she would get to do.

The pressure was on when a couple of Reese's friends rsvp'd and said they couldn't wait because Reese always has the best parties. We knew we needed all the help we could get, so Callie was on call all night to assist.

Callie did a fantastic job and helped make the evening a success. Reese was especially excited to have Callie be part of it all.

Here we see the cast of characters invited to Mrs. Claus's holiday party. Starting on the top row going left to right we have Meredith as the Gingerbread Woman, head cookie. Then Mary as Icy the Snowman, a frontrunner for the Christmas Icon award. Next is Emerson as Eddie the Elf, Santa's Bag Engineer. Callie is next as Fiona the Christmas Fairy. Last on the top row is Ella, Mrs. Claus herself. On the bottom row from left to right we start with Zoe, Mitzi the Elf, head of toy production. You've already met Reese as Dasher. And last, but certainly not least, is Shelby as Candy Cane, the Christmas guru.

We did not make up this mystery game but instead purchased the story and all the materials to make it happen. Each round the characters received clues that helped reveal different elements of the story. No one knew, including the victim herself, who was going to have a rough night at the party.

It was fun to watch them jump into character and try and figure out what was going on. Some girls showed up in character and others took a little while to warm up. But in the end they were all having fun with it.

This is Mr. and Mrs. Claus handing out the Christmas Icon of the Year award to Icy the Snowman. Rumor has it that Icy may have paid some people for their votes. You'll also note that Icy has a pretty hip look and that might be because her backstory includes the desire to be a pop star. We cast Mary well, because she played Icy to the hilt.

Truth be told, we also cast Mary in this role because we knew she had the disposition to melt without holding a grudge. Yes, it's true, Icy was the victim. Everyone found out, including Icy, during the second round of the clues and from that point onward it was a matter of trying to figure out who had melted Icy.

Based on the clues each girl received and shared, there were definitely some shady suspects. Mitzi was definitely not a fan of Icy, and the hair dryer used to melt Icy belonged to Mrs. Claus. (Ella was very concerned about her potential guilt)

In the end, however, the guilty party was none other than Dasher, the head reindeer who was concerned that Icy was going to undermine her role in making Christmas special. No one, including Reese, saw it coming. The girls had a lot of fun and continued to talk about the different clues into the next morning. Once the mystery was over, they settled in for ice cream sundaes and a movie. Fortunately for us, they went to bed relatively easily, slept well, woke up with smiles, and left the house having enjoyed another successful birthday. Reese was certainly happy with it all, and that's what really matters to us.

It's only fitting that Icy lived on in spirit in front of our house this Christmas season. One of Reese's favorite birthday presents was a long awaited inflatable Christmas decoration. She has been asking for something like this for years, and her family finally came through for her. This snowman is ten feet tall and lights up at night, so it was just what she wanted.

It should be noted that the snowman got his own name, Rocky, for the way he rocked back and forth in the wind. We didn't necessarily think we wanted such a decoration, hence how long Reese had to wait, but it turns out that we kind of liked it. Happy Birthday, Reese!

The Spirit of Christmas is Alive

This is the eighth straight year that Sarah and Kelly have taken a day to dip chocolate. It is crazy to think we have been doing it for this long. Although the day itself is beyond enjoyable we might need to pick a different activity since now you can buy almost every single thing we once thought was a rarity. Regardless, it was another wonderful day for the two of us and our families certainly appreciate the product.

As a special treat, Sarah surprised Callie with a pedicure before her second Coto dance of the year. The color choice was Holly Jolly Red, which was a perfect pick for the Peppermint Ball.

Callie wasn't sure what to think about all of the scrubbing and massaging of the feet, but appreciated the fact that her feet were much smoother in the aftermath. For a girl who has played non-stop sports, this was probably more necessary than her mom wanted to admit.

Callie tried one outfit on for the dance and it was a perfect fit. She was very comfortable in it which made her first attempt at wearing heels that much more forgiving. And while we didn't want to admit it, the whole look also made her appear older. She also soon found out that her attire was also perfect in relation to her friends who had purchased dresses that were less forgiving in terms of her length. Callie was prepared to assist with picking up dropped items and was more flexible with positioning for photo ops.

For this dance, one mom hosted a dinner for her son, his friends. It was a very generous move since this meant she had twenty eighth graders around the table. 

We do have to say that from our experience this is a good group of kids. Yes, they are middle schoolers, but they are not too crazy. The dance itself sounded like it was fun, though from Callie's report there was not necessarily a whole bunch of dancing went on. 

This year Reese was asked to assist with lighting the advent candles at the beginning of our church service the day after her birthday. As part of that activity she along with two other children led the congregation in the welcome to worship. She was very good at her task and clearly feels comfortable at our church, which is important to us.

As the preparations for Christmas continued, Reese was especially interested in decorating gingerbread houses this year. Indeed, she had been bitten by the crafting bug for much of December, and by this time had already made and wrapped a number of presents that were underneath our tree. 

However, when we went to go and get our gingerbread houses, we couldn't find the prefabricated ones we typically use. This meant we had to get the "some assembly required" kit, which brought back some memories of Christmases past when the activity went awry.

Fortunately, the girls are older and more crafty. We were able to put them together and still get gobs of candy on the gingerbread structures. On our outing to find gingerbread houses we also found matching pajamas for all four of us. Since the Grinch is one of our favorite Christmas movies it seemed only fitting that we now all have PJs suited for watching that film.

With everything going on in our lives, it is sometimes difficult to stop and take a breath. In part because of Reese's desires, however, by the second week of December we were all starting to feel the spirit just a little bit more than usual.

And truth be told, the Grinch pajamas are pretty comfortable. We look forward to a Christmas movie night in Christmas PJs being added to our Christmas traditions. 

A Short (for us) Thanksgiving Post

This was a bit of an unorthodox Thanksgiving week for us. We decided not to travel, but Sarah still took the week off. Then at the end of September we learned that the Fayette County Schools were going to give the kids that whole week off as well. The year we decide not to travel they give us the whole week - really?!?! John still had to teach, but Sarah and the girls now had some time to do something fun. In somewhat of a spontaneous move Sarah arranged one of Callie's friend's mom to spend a couple of nights down in Gatlinburg at the beginning of the week. It turned out to be a great idea.

We had no real plans except to hike in the Great Smokies. Gatlinburg can be a little overwhelming, so it seemed best to get out of town for our activities.

Callie and Molly have certainly become closer over the last year and both played for Henry Clay this fall. They were happy to get more time together, and what's great is how good Molly is with Reese. The trip was quick but fun.

In another unexpected Thanksgiving twist, it turns out that Aunt Suzy, Uncle Brian, Zoey, and Abby were in Cincinnati for the holidays staying with Brian's sister. When we found that out we made last minute plans to meet up for a hike at the California Woods Nature Preserve. We were fortunate to have a good weather day and loved that we got to spend even just a couple of hours with the Colorado crew. The four girls loved running around, hanging out, and just having fun. Hopefully we will get to see them again soon.

On Thanksgiving Day itself, we were invited to Cissy and Kenny's house to be a part of their family gathering. They are incredibly generous and kind, and we loved getting to be a part of their circle for the day. 

Because of timing this also meant that the girls got to hang out with Libby and Lucy, which always makes a good day even better. 

Halloween and Football

Although Reese had already done some trunk or treating with her soccer team the night before, we were all able to make it back to Lexington on Sunday for another round in the neighborhood. She switched up her costume for a more glamorous vision and prepared for more candy.

She was looking forward to going around with some friends in their neighborhood and John and Sarah were happy to walk around with the crew. But when we showed up to the house, her friend's mom told us she had it handled and would text us when they were done.

Meanwhile, Callie and her friends were not planning on trick or treating. Instead, they were dressing up just to hang out at one house and hand out candy. This obviously marks a big transition for her and while we knew it was coming, it still seemed strange that she is too old to trick or treat.

The bigger issue, however, was that now we were without any kid responsibilities on Halloween night. And we hardly ever get trick or treaters at our house, so there was no reason to stay home. So we decided to get out of the house, walk around, and enjoy our neighborhood. We chose very well.

In the hour and a half before we had to pick up Reese we traveled exactly one block because we kept running into people. One neighbor had the above display ready for the adults making the rounds with their kids. The one perk with not having kids in tow is that we didn't have to explain what a jello shot was. We ended up having a great conversation with some other friends down this block for a good 45 minutes, which made it one of the best Halloweens ever.

We still had to take the requisite Halloween costume photo with the girls, but it was certainly a different kind of trick or treating experience for all of us. Fear not, despite the changes our household still had far more candy than it should have, reflecting the fact that the more things change the more things stay the same.

Halloween also typically marks the time the Chrismans head to Florida for 3-4 weeks in the lead up to Thanksgiving. While we always miss them being around, we now appreciate that their absence in the fall means that we might be offered their football tickets. This year John and Reese were the beneficiaries, and they got to head to Kroger Field to see the Cats take on Tennessee. Hopes were high, and while the game didn't end the way we wanted it to, John and Reese had a great time. 

Reese did a good job taking advantage of the free food options that come with the Chrisman seats. They both had fun with Chris's sister and her husband who sit right next to the Chrismans. And even though the Cats lost it wasn't because Reese didn't cheer loud enough. She is definitely someone you want on your side in the cheering department. John also appreciated getting to watch another Madison, CT product, UK quarterback Will Levis, do his thing on the field. 

Morton Mustangs

Tryouts for Morton basketball took place in late September right as Callie's soccer season wrapped up at Henry Clay. Callie would not have wanted it any other way, and she was very excited to be an 8th grader helping to lead the team. We were interested to see how the season would go since she hadn't played basketball since the end of the last season in January 2021. Coach K likes to have his girls prepared, however, and they were having practices 6 days a week right from the get go. Callie loved it, and now that school was in person she just stayed two hours after the last bell and didn't get home until after 6pm. We loved it because there was limited driving responsibilities and if push came to shove she could actually walk home.

Before the regular season began Morton played in a tournament against many county schools who were just wrapping up their seasons. They came in as well oiled machines (and some pretty tall girls) and it was a shock to the system for the city girls who lost by some large margins.

When the regular season began, however, it was a different story. The Mustangs got off to a strong start and went 5-0, which had both parents and players dreaming big dreams.

Callie was one of five 8th graders on the team, and as a group they were a great influence on the 6th and 7th graders. All five older girls played hard, worked together, and encouraged their teammates. We were excited to see how Callie had developed as a player. She was more confident, more invested, and overall had a newfound passion for the sport. She looked for her shots, rebounded, and hustled on defense. She seemed to only get better as the season went on and was one of the few players who played almost every minute of each game.

This group of girls were also goofy and fun-loving when they weren't in the heat of the moment on the court. One evening Coach K encouraged them to support the Morton football team as a sign of school spirit. Even in the rain they were happy to be together and support their school.

Because of covid, last year only family members could attend basketball games. This year the games had cheerleaders, students, and all sorts of folks. It made the games a lot louder, among other things. Callie commented on the volume in particular, which took her some time to adjust to.

However, she definitely enjoyed it when friends came out to support her and her teammates, which happened more often than we would have expected. Many of the games we went to we saw dozens of Morton students cheering on their team. It was a fun atmosphere.

Before we could blink, the end of the season was upon us. Following that 5-0 start, the Mustangs lost five in a row. It was a tough road for the girls, but we were so proud to see how Callie especially kept fighting and led by example with her effort every night. And before we knew it, 8th grade night had arrived. This was our first experience with such an event, and we didn't know what to expect.

But as we walked out with Callie to stand at center court, we couldn't have been prouder. And we were and are also very thankful for the two coaches, Coach K and Coach Combs, who made it such an incredibly positive experience for Callie.

8th grade was made even more special, and fun, by the handiwork of the Fletchers, who took some of Jon's photos and turned them into Big Heads of the 8th graders. The parents and siblings loved waving around the huge heads in the stands throughout the game. The players themselves tried to avoid looking at them during the game.

These photos will definitely be keepsakes for years to come. If nothing else, they created one of the best team photos we could have ever dreamed of. Seriously, how funny is this picture?

And just like that, the six day a week practices, team dinners, and loud gymnasiums came to an end. One more sports season in the books for Callie and her family. It was a completely unexpected and enjoyable ride all the way around. And now she is actually talking about trying out for the high school team. Stay tuned.

Birthday Trip to Oregon

 This year marked Callie's 14th rotation around the sun, and nothing says happy birthday like a package of Hot Pockets and some cookies. Both gifts were from the Abrahams, and the Hot Pockets were an inside joke that keeps coming up.

The main gift from Callie's parents was a trip, since even year birthdays are travel birthdays in the Bowes household. We had been talking about this one for a while, and we were all united in the choice. So in the second weekend of October we headed out to Oregon with the Abrahams. The focal point of the trip was watching Ella play soccer, but we had plans to pack a lot more around those two games.

The girls headed out first since the boys still had to teach. This meant that Kelly, Claire, Sarah, Callie, and Reese had some time to explore before the first game. They headed to Multnomah Falls as one of their initial stops. They followed that up with a visit to Kirk's parents house. They live in Portland, and Ella's game that night was against Lewis and Clark right nearby. After a warm meal and great company, we headed to the field.

It was so fun to see Ella on a bigger stage and playing hard for the Willamette University Bearcats. The girls did their best to be as loud as possible whenever Ella was on the field.

And when the game was over they even got to go down and snag a few pictures with her. It was pretty cool all around.

The next day, while waiting for Kirk and John to fly in, Ella took her visitors to see the facilities on campus. Reese and Callie thought it was pretty amazing that the girls soccer team have their own locker room and that each player had personal keys not only to the locker room but also to the field where they could go and play any time. And Ella was a good sport to take us around to all of the different places, not once but twice since she had to repeat the tour for her dad and John.

As soon as John and Kirk arrived, we all headed out for another hike. This time we hit the trails at Silver Falls State Park. Everything was so incredibly green, and it was great to have the band back together, walking and talking.

Nothing builds up an appetite like hiking, and the girls were ready to finally go to In N' Out for a meal, having waited for the two guys to arrive. Meanwhile, Kirk and John had already indulged at said establishment for lunch. This did not stop the plans for dinner, however. It took very little to convince the two dads to have a second round for dinner.

After a great meal, the true treat followed. The girls had driven by a local Mexican market and had taken advantage of the numerous fascinating candy options available. Reese was fired up to do a taste test of all the different sweets, and so after dinner we shared a variety of fruiteria delights. There were some winners in the mix, but also a few duds. Regardless, it was fun.

Day 3 brought, you guessed, another hike. This time, however, we had driven to the coast so that we could check out a trail Kirk had recommended. This trail was at Cascade Head Preserve, right outside of Lincoln City. A short hike through the woods brought us out to some grasslands along the ocean bluffs.

It was a pretty stunning view and we all agreed it was our favorite hike. In fact, it was so good that Reese actually got upset when we stopped to turn around. She wanted to keep going and Sarah had to go a little farther with her just to keep her happy. This might be an unprecedented moment in family history.

After the hike we headed into Lincoln City to check out the beach and have some dinner. The Oregon coastline is absolutely gorgeous. Windy on that day, but gorgeous. We walked around downtown a bit, had a great meal, and then headed back to our rental house near Salem.

The day after Lincoln City was Ella's next game against George Fox. Because it was also Kirk's dad's birthday, the whole family organized a tailgate brunch to enjoy prior to kickoff. We had already met Kirk's parents and one of his sisters before, but this gave us the chance to meet the rest of the gang. We had some great food, great conversation, and then got to watch Ella play. And our day wasn't even over after that. Next up was some wine tasting.

Our first of two stops was Winderlea Vineyard, which is one of Kirk and Kelly's favorites. The setting was beautiful, the wine was very tasty, and the girls were tolerably patient during the whole process. After Winderlea we stopped at Evesham Wood Vineyard. This was a smaller spot with another scenic view and good wine. A good time was had by all.

Monday marked the final day of our trip and we wanted to make sure we got a little more time in with Ella on campus. One cool spot is a creek that runs through the center of campus. It is shallow enough at spots that they have chairs in the middle that you can sit on. Most people do it in warmer weather, but Reese accepted a bribe of ten dollars to pose on the chair. 

This picture sums up the reason we traveled to Oregon and had such a wonderful time. We love both of the girls in this picture and feel fortunate to be part of their lives. Of course the 14 year-old has a pretty special place in our heart. It is hard to believe she is as old as she is.

The travel birthday tradition began in part as a way to avoid throwing a party every year, but it also fits a motto that Sarah and John have adopted over the years, "Experiences, Not Things." Callie won't remember the various trinkets we have purchased her, but hopefully she will always hold trips like these close to her heart. We know we do.