Question of the Day

How do you say "I have teenage girls in my house" without saying I have teenage girls in my house?

I have been listening to the K Pop Demon Hunters soundtrack.  It's secretly addicting.

Happy Birthday, Staley!

 15!  She's 15!  How did this happen?  The years are flying by!!  She's in high school.  She'll be getting her driving permit.  She's texting with a boy.  She juggles her ever full calendar with school and all her extracurricular activities with grace and responsibility.  She is thinking about the future...what she might want to be and where she might want to go to college and where she might want to work.  She impresses me daily with her maturity and her faith and her confidence in who she is.

All the world is a stage, and Staley owns it!

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

2025

The years fly by, and I love that I have a front row seat to watching the woman that Staley is becoming.  This is 15.  I'm not sure how we got here so quickly, but my goal is to just soak it in and enjoy each and every step of the way.

Interview with a 15 Year Old

Favorite color:  Coral
Favorite food:  Hmmm...depends on the day.  Burgers.  Tacos.  Rice bowls when the meat is good.

Least favorite food:  Peas still.  And crunchy corn.

Favorite restaurant:  Ancho and Agave

Favorite stuffed animal:  Teddy

Favorite animal:  Sloths and bears

Favorite game:  Euchre and Mariokart

Favorite movie:  The Princess Bride

Favorite sport:  Cross country and track

Favorite activity:  NTA

Favorite thing to do at home: Listen to music

Favorite thing to do at school:  Hang out with my friends

Favorite subject:  Geometry

Favorite place to go locally:  The pool

Favorite place to go on vacation:  Pentwater

Favorite thing to do with Adelie:  Quizzing

Favorite thing to do with Briggs:  Mariokart

Favorite thing to do with Mom:  Running

Favorite thing to do with Dad:  Running

Favorite book:  I don't have a favorite.  I just like books.

Favorite princess:  Belle

Favorite outfit:  Sweatshirt, leggings, Uggs

Favorite PJs:  My Target ones

Favorite play that you've been in:  I don't know.

Favorite play that you've seen:  Wicked

What is something you are excited about now that you are 15?  Driving!

What are you afraid of?  Ordering at restaurants

What is the best thing about you?  I'm awesome!

What are you good at?  Theater, running, school

What is something you wish you could do or do better?  Whistle

Who is your best friend?  Miley

What do you want to be when you grow up?  Actuary

Where is one place you'd like to go that you've never been?  Hawaii, Europe, Tokyo Disney

What is one play you'd like to be in?  Chicago

Christmas

We had a wonderfully relaxing Christmas break and a truly enjoyable Christmas holiday.  The decorating, the shopping, the performances, the festivities, the baking, the cards all led up to a wonderful holiday full of family and fun.

Our Christmas traditions don't change much year to year.  We told the kids they couldn't wake us up until 8:00 on Christmas morning.  So, at 8:00, Briggs and Adelie were in our room, ready to go.  We read the Christmas story from Briggs' storybook Bible and then headed downstairs.  The obligatory Christmas morning picture in front of the tree is now quick and painless.

We always start with stockings.  New socks, loofahs, candy, and fun things like tiny Vaseline are always exciting.  Adding in stocking stuffers from Sephora doesn't add to the bulk of the stocking, but definitely levels up the spending game.

I love how the kids buy thoughtful gifts for each other with their allowance money.  Adelie bought Briggs a small Lego Star Wars set while Staley got him a Zelda figurine.  Briggs bought Adelie a lotion and Staley a body spray from Bath and Body works.  Adelie gave Staley a funny 'sisters' mug while Staley gave Adelie a make-up bag filled with tiny things...which was right up Adelie's alley.  So much thought went into each gift they gave each other.

They all went in together to get Zach this shirt.

We gave the kids some clothes and family games and they each got something they most wanted.  Briggs got this Harry Potter Lego set.

The girls got Uggs, as well as tickets to go see the musical 'Hamilton' in Chicago.

After present opening, 4/5 of us went on a festive Christmas morning run (while family member #5 built his new Legos) before coming back for Christmas brunch.  We then enjoyed a relaxing early afternoon and then headed over to my parent's house for Christmas dinner with them and Uncle Ethan followed by some game playing and watching a Christmas movie.  It was a great day!!

The weekend after Christmas rounded out our fun with family Christmas.

Good food, fun gifts,...

quality time with cousins,...

just a day filled with our favorite things!

And then we got to do it all again the next day with Zach's family.

We are so thankful and blessed!!

Oh my!!  What a wonderful Christmas!!

Descendants, the Musical

The girls finished off their fall Stage Kids session with their performances of 'Descendants, the Musical.'  Both girls were in the NTA Tuesday's cast.  They also helped out backstage and filled in as dancers in a few of the other casts, while Staley also helped out doing sound for one of the casts.  It kept them busy during the first few weeks of December with many nights spent at the theater.

Of course, nights spent at the theater with friends are always good nights.

Staley was cast as Jane, the fairy Godmother's daughter.  She had a number of lines and short solo in a song.

Adelie was an Isle kid/dancer as well as Aurodonean 2.  She had a couple of lines and short solo in a song.

The girls both did a great job creating their characters onstage.

There were some fun songs and dances, which the girls always enjoy.

Grammie and Grandpa were there to see the show...

as well as Uma and Papa.

A lot of the girls' NTA friends were in this cast, so they enjoyed sharing the stage with friends.

Spending time at the theater with friends is one of their favorite places to be.

Of course, post theater outings to Culvers or Taco Bell or ice cream are always fun too.

We are so thankful for the way NTA has become a family to us.

It wasn't their favorite show, but it was another fun show filled with good memories.

Thanks, Descendants, for the memories.  Now it's on to Annie!!

Remember December?

December came in a flurry of performances and Christmas preparations...and before we knew it, it was gone again.  Here is a glimpse of our December fun...

Of course, December was filled with more NTA performances.  Descendants will have its own post, but it filled many of our December evenings as the girls performed and worked backstage.

We have graduated as a family from the Davenport Christmas Concert (hooray!!), but there were still a few school and church Christmas performances to attend.  This was Briggs' last year in the church Christmas program.  He was one of the narrators and did a great job!

Staley and Adelie both performed in the Christmas chorus concert while Briggs displayed his percussion skills at the 5th grade band Christmas showcase.

The girls both performed at the NTA Christmas cabaret.

They performed with Rising Stars while Staley also performed with Singapella and Kickline.

Both girls had the chance to perform their Christmas solos with Staley singing "That's What Christmas Means to Me" and Adelie singing "My Favorite Things."  Most of the December NTA community performances were cancelled by a few big snowstorms, so the girls didn't have any other December NTA performances, which was a nice subtraction from the busy December schedule.

There were dress up days at school and fun school activities.

We had a house project completed the week before the kids got off for Christmas break.

We had the windows removed, an archway cut into the wall,...

and a cabinet installed.  Still waiting on the countertop to complete the project, but I love how it opens up the dining room...and now we have more storage and will have some additional seating once we have the counter in.

We LOVED our relaxing Christmas break.  Apart from Penguin rehearsals for Adelie, our calendar was pretty open.  We enjoyed time with friends and family...

played with our new Christmas gifts,...

watched Christmas movies and TV shows,...

enjoyed a girls' day out with Uma for Staley's birthday shopping,...

met baby Marley (and played with Kaysen),...

enjoyed the Christmas miracle of the Bears winning their division and making it to the playoffs,...

and slept in, read, played games, drove through the Festival of Lights, decorated Christmas cookies, went for runs, drank peppermint milkshakes, and took full advantage of a restful break with a mostly empty calendar.

We ended December with a fun evening with the Hostetlers on New Year's Eve!  It was a great month and a great year.  We're ready for you, 2026!!