November Shenanigans!

Matt's birthday month! 

Lots of baking happened in November. From savory to sweet, the kids like helping out when we do meal prep. 

Our friend Lexi came over to be our photographer for our holiday cards. We have so many photos that did not make the cut! I appreciate that Savvy is always camera ready...

No holiday card photo shoot is complete without real cookies!

Here are two of my staff members from our student leadership retreat in Tacoma! 

We had a great turnout for our retreat this year. We made some good changes based on years of feedback while staying true to the overall goals of the day. These students are inspiring...

These students were so in to their conversation before lunch, they didn't make the group shot!

Shorty pushed his bed over to the heater! Silly dog. He seems to be accelerating in age. We are pretty sure he almost completely bind, though he navigates the house really well.  Unfortunately, he does not travel well. We wish we could bring him with us on trips, but it's in his best interest to stay home with a friend or at a dog boarding place. Which is a real bummer. Overall, he is doing pretty well. Hasn't needed much medication, still likes to snuggle, doesn't run around too much, hardly ever barks. Don't sleep on Shorty though...he is scrappy when another dog is nearby! 

I will say, all of the rain we get presents many opportunities for rainbows. This beauty stretched over the entire campus.

Heeyyy Pat! So nice to see a Nevada face on campus. Pat was part of our accreditation team site visit for our 7 year review :-) We got to have lunch with her and Robert. 

Students protesting things. They were so calm and lovely! Had all of their talking points. A few chants and cheers. One letter delivered to the administration. Then they dispersed. 

Celebrating first gen day with Felix! 

The girls wished Matt a happy birthday! He was overnight somewhere for work and we weren't able to wish him a happy bday in person till dinnertime. This video worked in the meantime. The Hampton Trip was Matt's bday and Christmas presents rolled into one epic experience. For the actual day, we invited some friends over and cooked dinner. 

I just love these candles!! You can find some real gems at the dollar tree. I may have gone overboard with the birthday decorations from the dollar store. Balloons, streamers, place mats, table cloths, napkins, a tiara....on second thought nope, it wasn't too much. It was just right! 

The girls made a scarf for Shorty. 

Most often, I do all of our grocery shopping on Saturday or Sunday around 7am. It's so quiet in the stores. If a child happens to be awake, that lucky kid gets to accompany me to the store and get a treat! 

We loved the movie, even though we were disappointed by how little Misty Copeland appeared. If you go see it, make sure to stay through the credits. She has a lovely extended dance scene! 

More holiday photo shoot pics! 

I made cupcakes for my staff. We were celebrating two birthdays at staff meeting, so the cupcakes needed to be extra. 

SUN! Oh glorious sunshine, how we missed your warm sweet rays!!! 

This sign made us all cheer! It was the first time we saw Reno on a sign. 

First stop cruising into sunny NV was at Heather's house! Our kids are so big. 

We got to spend a night with Aunt Kitty and cousin Gracie. 

Me, enjoying the sun. That is all. 

Jessi and I were college roommates freshmen year and her sister would play tricks on her :-) So much fun! We had a grand time catching up at the spa. 

I love me some TMCC! It was a delight to see all of YeVonne's hard work in person!  They have the best chairs and tables by the way, if you are in the market for new office, open space type furniture. 

We were invited to crash the annual Turkey lunch at the childcare center on campus. 

How lucky were we to be at a childcare center with student staff who loved our kids so much!!!  It is because of them Savvy continues to excel in school. 

Heeyyy Ms. Diane!!! 

Hello Officer Barry!! 

Eric has the BEST nicknames for the girls. They make no sense to me, but the girls crack up every time they get to see him :-) 

Teacher Rene teaching the art of selfies (LOL) ! 

I miss doing equity, recruitment, and retention work with these folks! We were so excited to run into Miguel, Karen, and Angela. 

It's Sharon!! Best FA director on earth. I'm pretty certain. Any good habits I have as a supervisor can be attributed to her (and Heather and Christina!) 

There are many things we love about living in Olympia. Good restaurants is not one of those things. We visited all of our favorite places to eat in Reno during this Thanksgiving trip! 

Fun visit to our alma mater! The girls have been strongly encouraged to attend UNR or Hampton for their undergrad degrees should they wish to go to a four year school. ;-)

And we all got new Nevada gear! 

The clouds, sun, and mountains of NV are still some of our favorite sights. 

We were lucky to stay with the Jolles for several days and the Johal Marins for a night during the week. So much fun to re-connect with friends and for our kids to play together again. 

Adri and Serj had the best turkeys! 

And the food....good gracious it was a feast!!! 

BFFs

We were super excited to join some of the friends from Cass' school (Mt Rose E) for a kickball tourney the day after Thanksgiving. What a neat tradition!! Huge thanks to Amy for the invite and Nicole for organizing.  

Someone was grumpy for about 10 minutes....

Then she had some hot chocolate and her whole attitude changed. 

Cass got to first base!

Final lunch in NV at buenos grill. Their fish tacos are mouthwatering. 

Storms followed us back. 

and lots of rainbows...

On our way down to NV and on our way back we stayed with Staci and Charlotte. Those girls had the best time together! The singing and dancing was nonstop. 

On our way back home we stopped at Emily's house and saw the grandparents for a bit. 

We didn't get to see everyone in Nevada, but we'll be back to visit over the summer! It was a quick trip, a beautiful drive, and an awesome visit.

Back in Washington, work and school began to fly by the moment we returned. Where did November go? December is feeling the same way: a blur of events, days, meetings, playdates, errands, house work, and decorating as Christmas comes. I think we are all looking forward to our next road trip and break to be together :-)