Happy New Year!
It's been a bit crazy around here at La Casa de Jenkins and yeah, I know, we are only two weeks in but that is just the way it goes in the life of a busy family.
We just finished our first full week back at soccer. With the New Year, Ryan has now taken on more coaching responsibility and is now coaching both our twins' U14 team and is assistant coaching Zack's U11 team. Ryan runs 4 practices a week, plays 1-2 pickup games a week, and we currently have games on Saturdays for our girls with upcoming tournaments until Zack's team begins the Spring season. Plus he is still busy with work and his church calling. It has been a bit of adjustment as we are now having to eat dinner at 4pm and we are having to be a bit more organized so homework and everything else goes smoothly. Madison will be back to 6-day practices on the track right after mid-terms next week.
We have had a slew of projects including notably this one Madison had to do for physics . . .
She had to build a balanced mobile out of stuff around the house with 4 levels with hanging objects at various distances. She had to build it based on a blueprint and calculations. Despite 3 semesters in college and taking it in high school, I still have to say I really am not a fan of Physics. While it is cool to understand the principles as to why things work, engineers we are not.
I also have been busy setting up databases, upgrading software, and organizing files on this . . .
Right before Christmas, my old computer had about had it. It was freezing in the midst of editing sessions and Photoshop would crash. The wireless card would go out in the middle of uploading stuff to my website. It would take 20 minutes to edit 1 image. Santa understood my plight and was very good to me this year.
Last Sunday, we went over to my parents' house for dinner and to say goodbyes to my cousin Cristina. She and her family were visiting the United States for the first time. They traveled all over the west for 3 weeks. It was nice to meet family I have never met. They live far far away in Qatar and I only have communicated with her via facebook.
I helped my mom cook up a feast and we also got to have lichon (roasted pig). I haven't had it in forever.
While at my parents' house, Zack challenged Grandpa on the PS3.
Typical boy, he smoked all of us.
On New Year's Day, we trekked over to Aunt Judi's for the traditional Honey Baked Ham and a little birthday celebration. Cousin Paula and her family were here visiting from Uzbekistan. It was good to see her and her family as we don't see them often with them living overseas.
New Year's Eve . . .
I am sad to say that I barely made it to midnight. I was so tired and couldn't wait to get to bed. Ryan and I stayed up until Madison got home from the New Year's dance and then trudged upstairs and collapsed immediately.
Per annual tradition, we stayed in (there are too many crazies out on the streets in Vegas) and hosted the festivities at our house. Everyone brought party food to snack on as the adults and the cousins played games throughout the evening as we waited for the ball to drop. The whole ball dropping thing really didn't happen because our local stations decided to pre-empt the rebroadcast of New York festivities and so we didn't get to see much. The local broadcast = extremely lame. We were watching the Carson Daly New Year's show (my BIL Davis works for him and was there in NYC) when it cut out to the local broadcast. He seriously has a cool job. One day we will have to venture to New York for the experience. Gotta cross that off the bucket list.
Bubbly was poured . . .
we did our toasts . . .
some of us chugged . . .
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and then it was over.
Earlier in the evening, the younger cousins hung out and played and danced "Party Rock"
and the teenagers left to parties . . .
Earlier in the day . . .
I took the teenagers to Town Square to do a little shopping with the gift cards they got from Christmas.
And that brings us back to December 31st.
I think the one thing that really has struck me with the commencement of the new year is how so very quickly time flies. I have 3 teenagers in my house (how did that happen?!) who are almost as tall as I am. My oldest will start her senior year of high school later this year. Wasn't it just yesterday that I graduated high school? Where does the time go? With this realization of time gone, I really feel that I need to take time to focus on the moments. We all do. Remember what we did. Remember what we felt. And cherish it. The good and the bad.
