Happy New Year! 2023 was a year of celebration for our family, and we stayed up til midnight on New Year's Eve to say good-bye to this very special year. Millie's expression captures how we felt right after the ball dropped, and we were all asleep by 12:05 a.m. (with the exception of Leah, who was at her annual NYE sleepover).
The first week of 2024 meant that we now have 2 teenagers! What?! Leah celebrated her 13th birthday with friends at an Escape Room on the last day of Winter Break, followed by ice cream at Coldstone Creamery. It was the easiest "party" that we've ever done, and I'm thankful for that perk of having older kids, who are self-sufficient and basically just need you to drive them and fund their activities.
Leah requested Fire and Sticks (hibachi) for dinner on her birthday and Mimi joined us for the evening:
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| This is 13! |
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| Oreo Cookies & Cream Ice Cream Cake this year for birthday dessert. |
We cheered the Demon Deacons on to an overtime win the first weekend of January. Wake Forest basketball games are always fun for our family. (Luke was there, too, but refused pictures.)
Our first NIL merch arrived for Maya's biggest fan. So, so cool, and we even snuck in a visit with our "famous" cousin when she came to Greensboro in January:
Leah was recognized at January's Spotlight Breakfast for the character trait of the month: Leadership. This girl is a born leader, and we are proud of her every single day!
Leah and I flew to Park City, UT for a long weekend to go skiing in January. This is a post of its own, but we had an epic time and loved our winter adventure!
January also included the release of Kate Bowler's newest book, and she came to our local Barnes & Noble for an author meet & greet/book signing. We turned this into a girls' night and were total fan girls meeting our favorite author!
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| 3 mighty cancer survivors in this photo! |
This was a bucket list item for me. I told Kate how she literally walked me through cancer, as I listened to her podcast on my daily walks. I thanked her for the community that she has created and for the work that she does. These smiles say it all:
We wrapped up the month with both kids participating in All-District Band. North Carolina is made up of 7 districts, and our school is in the Central District. Similar to November's all-county audition process (but more competitive, as they are competing against students from many counties), students audition for spots in All-District Band, and perform scales, a solo, and sight reading in front of judges. They are ranked and musicians with top scores are selected to be a part of the All-District ensemble, which meets for a two-day clinic/rehearsal and concert at the end of January. Luke was named the 9/10 First Chair Tuba (which means that he is eligible to audition for All-State Band in March), and Leah was selected for the middle school all-district band. His clinic/concert was in Chapel Hill, and hers was in Durham, so it took a bit of juggling on our part to get everyone where they needed to be and attend both concerts, but we did it! I spent a Friday in Durham while Leah's group rehearsed and walked through the beautiful Sarah P. Duke gardens and Duke University campus.
Even though we don't bleed Duke blue in this family, I still adore and appreciate the Gothic architecture on campus and majestic Duke Chapel:
The kids' Saturday concerts were lovely, and we are grateful that they both had the opportunity to participate in these special groups this month!
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