Week 52

Welcome back and happy New Year's Eve!  I'm posting a little late so I could get this whole last week plus 2 days in. We're excited to ring in the New Year and see what 2020 will bring. Last week was a fun Christmas week with everyone home so we enjoyed our time together and look forward to more time this next week before the kids head back to school. I hope you all had a great Christmas or holiday season.

Here's what our last week in 2019 looked liked:

Day 357- Monday, 12/23/19

Signs the older boys are home-- extra car keys laying around, 3 gallons of milk every few days instead of 2 a week, intense study books being used, a lot more shoes and bags scattered about, plus extra loads of laundry.  Of course I wouldn't have it any other way, and while they are here we took the time to head to the movies and see the latest Star Wars flick together.  It would just be wrong to go without them.

Day 358- Tuesday, 12/24/19

It's Christmas Eve!  One of our favorite days rich in tradition.  We all pitched in to make 3 wonderful custom pizzas for dinner, and then, after touring the neighborhood to look at lights, opened one gift before bed.

Day 359- Wednesday, 12/25/19

Merry Christmas!  We ate eggnog French toast for brunch, had fun opening gifts together, enjoyed prime rib for dinner, and demolished a yummy red velvet cake for dessert.  It was a wonderful, blessed day.

Day 360- Thursday, 12/26/19

This bracelet is one of my favorite gifts and I wore it out while watching basketball today.  We're at game 1 of a 3-day tournament in Roseville and this is the bench squad.  Brandon is number 35 for the season.

Day 361- Friday, 12/27/19

Day 2 at a basketball game in Roseville.  We do a lot of waiting especially when we travel so I'm learning to bring things to do and am currently reading this very interesting book that I borrowed from Justin.  Back at home the pets are not too sure about the gifts they gave the boys for Christmas.  LOL! They are pillows made from pictures sent in of them, and we think they are great and perfect to take back to school and hug when you don't have the real thing.

Day 362- Saturday, 12/28/19

Yay for the last day of the tournament and thankfully it was an early game so we could head home and then head out across the river to watch college football with the Cepeda family in the afternoon.  Marcus goes to LSU and LSU won against Oklahoma where his grandparents live so big family rival game which was fun to watch.

Day 363- Sunday, 12/29/19

It's time to put away Christmas.  Each boy has his own box of ornaments filled with ones they received in their stocking every year starting from year 1 so they have quite a collection now and will someday take them to their own homes to put on their own trees.  Crazy to think that might not be too far off from now.  Later it's time to relax and enjoy more football.  John and Tyler are all suited up and excited about watching the 49er game together.  Thankfully they pulled off a win over Seattle at the very end to become the 2019 NFC West Champions.  Now on to the playoffs.

Day 364- Monday, 12/30/19

Justin and I went out shopping for NYE party food today and he just had to have this pineapple which seems like a good choice since it's supposed to attract prosperity and good luck for the New Year.  I'm all for that!

Day 365- Tuesday, 12/31/19

We're prepping for a fun night at home celebrating NYE with a yummy finger food dinner and chocolate fondue for dessert.  Hope you all have a great and safe night ringing in the New Year.

Wait!  One more:

December's Family Photo 

Another one with the whole gang and this time on Christmas morning.

That's a wrap for 2019!  See you next week in the next year.

Week 51

Happy Tuesday and Happy Christmas Eve!  I hope everyone has a blessed holiday.  We are looking forward to all the goodness these next couple days bring and will most certainly enjoy our time together.  Last week was a great week leading into our winter break ending school and work for a good bit.  It's wonderful to have everyone home again and for a much longer stay this time.

Here's a look at last week's pictures:

Day 350- Monday, 12/16/19

Don't let the blue winter sky fool you--it's cold out with near freezing temps.  The nice thing about the bare winter trees is that you can see where the birds have built their nests around the neighborhood.  We also have our lights up and got some new snowflake ones to replace the ones we had for years that finally died.  Thanks to John for getting this done.

Day 351- Tuesday, 12/17/19

You'll see me more and more with my reading glasses at work because of all the tiny labels I have to read on samples and all the computer work I do when I'm not at the bench.  Numbers are especially hard for me to make out these days.  Later at home I made a batch of Christmas Chex mix to take in for my lab crew this week.

Day 352- Wednesday, 12/18/19

This was the only basketball game all week which was much appreciated.  It was another away game which made for a long day with travel but at least it was one and done.  Once we got home I was able to put my feet up and relax by the fire with me new cat slipper-socks given to me earlier by my boss.  They are so cozy and cute.  She put them and a few other comfort items in a hand-woven grass tote she got on her travels to Africa.  Thank you Pat!

Day 353- Thursday, 12/19/19

All the days of bringing the boys into the kitchen to help are paying off.  Tyler made us his go-to-dish for dinner tonight.  It was a yummy and hearty mac and cheese that we all enjoyed with chicken strips.

Day 354- Friday, 12/20/19

The holidays can be exhausting and Rusty deals with it by napping a lot. Today was a short day at work so I finally was able to get around to wrapping some presents to put under the tree.  It bugs me to have a tree with no presents so now I feel better about heading into Christmas week.

Day 355- Saturday, 12/21/19

Tonight we were finally able to pick up Justin from the train station in Davis so he can start his winter break.  It's such a long 10 hr journey with little opportunity to eat that we really have no choice but to grab some food for him right away.  Of course no one minds and it's great to see the brothers three back together again.

Day 356- Sunday, 12/22/19

I have my baking elf back so all day we baked and baked and baked and tomorrow we will bake some more.

That's it for now.  See you next week just before the New Year and have a Merry Christmas all!

Week 50

Happy Tuesday! I apologize in advance for more basketball pictures but it really did consume our entire week last week. The good news is that this week we only have 1 game which is great so I can focus more on Christmas stuff and spending time with the family. Wow--Christmas is next week!!

Until then here are last week's pictures:

Day 343- Monday, 12/9/19

We're all the way in Lodi for basketball and being away later in the day means dinner on the road.  His fortune said something about meeting a new person today, and he said, "Maybe tomorrow because it's already too late for that."--true!

Day 344- Tuesday, 12/10/19

Near work this morning I saw these Christmas berries heavy with rain and thought they were very seasonally festive. Nature is great that way. Later I was waiting in another away gym for more basketball to start.  At least we're a bit closer to home today so we should be home earlier--maybe even in time for dinner.

Day 345- Wednesday, 12/11/19

No basketball today which will be the only day this week besides Sunday.  This meant I had time to find my missing holiday candy bowl and was able to fill it up with fun treats.

Day 346- Thursday, 12/12/19

John sitting in the chair where we all sit if we are prepping to walk the dog and it is that time so she is more than ready for him to step up.  Afterward we headed out to the first game in our home tournament.  It's a late game starting at 8 pm which is hard for me since I work so early the next day, but it was a good game with a great ending for Brandon that was fun to watch.

Day 347- Friday, 12/13/19

As a research scientist I love to see this--Justin at a poster session presenting for one of his finals.  It was a group project but how cool for them to get this experience so early on in their college journey as freshmen in their 1st semester.  Makes my heart sing.  Back at home John and I are sporting many game day stamps as we watch the game in day 2 of the tournament.  It's another late 8 pm start.  I'm clocking some seriously long days this week.  Oh and we picked Tyler up close to midnight from the airport today as well.  Yawn!  Thank goodness tomorrow is Saturday and we can sleep in a bit.

Day 348- Saturday, 12/14/19

It's the final day of the tournament and at least it ended much earlier than the past few days. River City came in at 2nd place fighting hard and making the other team really working for their 1st place title.  It was a physical and exciting game.  Later we finally got to relax in the evening at home.  It was clear and sunny today but still super cold so the cat was happy we turned on the fire.  This is his new favorite place even if it is the dog's bed.  Lucky for him she doesn't really like to be by the fire.

Day 349- Sunday, 12/15/19

There he is!  Like I said Tyler is home for the holidays and has settled in nicely.   He's enjoying watching a Niner's game with his dad, and while they do that I'm held up wrapping presents in Santa's workshop.  

That's all!  See you next week on Christmas Eve 🎄

Week 49

Welcome back and happy Tuesday.  Last week was all about rain, Christmas prep, and basketball.  This week it will be mostly about basketball with 5 games to look forward to and hopefully no rain but a little more Christmas prep. We're busy as usual or maybe even more than usual but that's the holidays for you.

Here are last week's pictures:

Day 336- Monday, 12/2/19

We started our week with rain and a lot of it for just one day.  Commuting to work was less than fun but slow and steady did the trick.  At home we have our advent wreath and advent calendar out to help us count down the weeks and days until Christmas.

Day 337- Tuesday, 12/3/19

Today was a home basketball game and the boys received their new warm-up shirts to use for the rest of the season.  I like the design.  It was also a sunny day with no rain but wait for it . . .

Day 338- Wednesday, 12/4/19

Yep--another very wet and wild day.  No basketball but lots of rain and a monthly Booster meeting that forced me out into it. 

Day 339- Thursday, 12/5/19

At work we banged out over 1800 antigen slides to freeze back for use later.  Our goal was to get them done before winter break.  They are all made but we are still working on fixing the last few sets so it's a good thing we still have a couple more weeks.  After work Brandon and I headed to Woodland (thankfully no rain) for day 1 of a 3-day tournament and here are the boys warming up in those new shirts.

Day 340- Friday, 12/6/19

As you can see through the car window it's pouring rain again and it's late.  We just got out of day 2 at the Woodland basketball tournament.  This car is where Brandon and I will spend most of our time together the next couple months driving to and from basketball games.  At least we were able to return to a nice, warm, cozy, and festive home.

Day 341- Saturday, 12/7/19

Today it was scattered showers with mostly angry skies.  No rain heading to Woodland for the last game of the week where the boys took 3rd place in the tournament but plenty of rain coming home.  It poured even harder just after we returned and then there was a good break with the sun popping out so Bella and I went for a walk and saw this beautiful rainbow.

Day 342- Sunday, 12/8/19

Today I was blessed with a peaceful, quiet, and slow morning where I could enjoy the lights of the tree just as the sun came up.  Later after a few loads of laundry I was able to work by the tree on Christmas cards and yep this year that requires reading glasses for my aging eyes. *sigh*

That's it!  See you next week although I'll mostly be in a gym again watching more basketball.