Christmas Tree Decorating

We decorated our Christmas tree the weekend Bella was home after Thanksgiving. The boys really couldn’t care less about decorating the tree, but it’s something I like for all of us to do together and they are willing to oblige me.

One boy in his winter coat and the other in a tank top. We all experience temperature differently! 

Curtis likes to put his homemade ornaments front and center. We refer to the one in his hand as an “onion ring” that he made in preschool. I believe Bella ended up moving his paper angel to the back of the tree some time later! They make me laugh.

I love it!

Bella's 20th Birthday

Bella’s birthday was the Sunday after Thanksgiving. It’s still so nice that, even though she’s away at college, we’ve been able to see her on her birthday. 

Since she’d have to go back to Ball State on her actual birthday, we decided to celebrate a few days early. The activity she wanted to do was explore the Bottleworks District of Indy. She and Sam are standing in from of the Bottleworks Hotel. The area used to be the home of the Coca-Cola Bottling Company. It has all been converted and updated to a hotel, restaurants, shopping, and office spaces. 

We explored inside the hotel a little as well.

We ate diner at The Garage, which is essentially a food court filled with a variety of food options. 

That was followed by some corn hole at Pins, a facility that housed duckpin bowling, various pinball machines, and other various activities. 

Afterward, we went for some cake at The Cake Bake Shop in Broad Ripple. 

We split three pieces of cake between the six of us and still had leftovers to take home. Cake here is like nothing else I’ve ever had before. 

On the actual day of her birthday, we went to Starbucks for her free birthday drink. 

Later that afternoon, we sang “Happy Birthday” and cut into a cheesecake. 

When she returned to school that evening, her friends had a little celebration for her. And, at 6:52pm, the exact minute she was born, she snapped this selfie for me so I could see her the moment she turned 20. 

Happy Birthday, Bella! Welcome to your twenties! 

Random Fall

 We bought our van in the fall of 2008 and sold it in the fall of 2025. Here is one last photo of our Silver Bell. I had so much emotion about selling this vehicle - most of it sadness. I was pregnant with Graydon when we bought it. We took two of our kids home from the hospital in this van. Bella and Graydon learned to drive in it (and Curtis a little too). It’s taken us on countless road trips between NJ and WI as well as to places like Wyoming, Missouri, and Florida. It seems silly, but it kind of felt like another member of the family. I intended to keep it forever, but the truth is, we just don’t need it right now nor do we have the space to just park it. I will miss this van. We had so many good years with it. 

Andy was in the Muncie area, so he stopped to visit Bella at school. 

My favorite way to relax.

Beautiful moon spotted on an evening walk. 

Gorgeous sunset. 

Mabel sure loves to snuggle.

And her favorite game is still tug-of-war.

Mabel is hard to photograph because she blends into the furniture!

More relaxing and snuggling with Mabel.

I got my hair chopped! It ended up shorter than I expected, but I’m getting used to it. 

My winter cocktail: cranberry juice with a splash of cinnamon whiskey. 

Graydon playing in the school pep band.

Salty comes into the house every night after Mabel goes to bed.

Snow day!

This is what the kitchen island looks like when you’re prepping after-game meals for the entire basketball team! 

Thanksgiving

 Thanksgiving is a pretty chill day in our house. We make a nice meal, but don’t go anywhere since we’ll be heading up to WI for Christmas a few weeks later anyway. This year, Andy prepared the turkey. 

I put out some snacks.

And set the table. Since it’s just us, I still want to do something that sets it apart from a typical family meal.

I think we have an almost-identical phot from last year! 

Andy’s plate. Thanksgiving is just a plate full of comfort food! 

End of Tennis, Beginning of Basketball

Tennis season had come and gone and now was the time to celebrate the team’s accomplishments from the season and recognize each player.  

After the banquet, I was looking through the parent app and saw a missed notification about photos that our team mom uploaded. Here are some of the shots she took of Graydon and Curtis throughout the season. 

Here are the guys at the Sectional Draw team dinner at the Millers’ house. 

Now that tennis is over, basketball season is upon us! Curtis is playing on the JV team this year.