You

 Remembering you.

Honoring you.

Missing you.

Loving you.

Happy Heart Day

Hoops!

It's basketball season!
Max is loving it.
Team Warriors is really working hard,
running plays and dominating games.
They are having fun and improving each week.
So fun to watch.

Note: this is the first time in his life

Max has made the back row. 

Middle School Dance

 Carmen's Middle School had their first dance of the year.
I had no idea what to expect. 

Except that it made me feel old.
My daughter is growing up...sigh.

Carmen and her friends each picked out little black dresses.

There were pictures and texts back and forth about who was wearing what,

what shoes, what accessories. Ah, to be 12 again....

The girls had a fabulous time.

They had fun and danced, danced, danced!

Back at it

 Max wasted no time getting back into the soccer swing.
January is tournament time for the Celtic boys.

First up, Pac NW Winter Classic.

The boys were in-sync and easily won out their group stage 

and advanced to the semifinals where the competition was challenging.

They squeaked by and advanced in PKs.

It was nerve wracking to watch.

They played smart in the final and walked away with a victory!

(and another trophy and medal)...

Go Green!

Next up, Vegas Cup.

The boys spent the long weekend in Vegas playing some talented teams.

The competition was tough and they played tough.

They won out their group stage and advanced to the quarterfinals,

where they were ousted out of a close 0-1 game.

What a fun weekend for the boys.

They did a lot of eating (pizza, crepes and burgers),

stayed on the Strip and got to see and do some fun things.

It's a great group of kids and parents too.

All in all, a success for soccer and fun!

Go Celtic!

Happy 2023

 Happy New Year!
Ringing in 2023 with our tradition
of washing in money.
Here's to a happy, healthy and prosperous new year.

AZ Christmas

 This year we did things a little differently.
Instead of heading to AZ after Christmas,
we celebrated the special day in AZ.
One of our best Christmases yet!

It was amazing to be together with my Mom.

While we celebrated Christmas,

we were also able to celebrate Carmen's 12th birthday.

We spent 11 heavenly days enjoying 

meals together, walks, swimming, several activities,

 movie nights, bike rides, the sunshine and the list goes on...

Here is our time in lots and lots of pictures!

Always fun to be at Grandma's house!

Surprises and goodies at every turn.

It's tradition to have ice cream sundaes

EVERY NIGHT! Usually accompanied by a movie too.

Celebrating Carmen.

We went to a dinner theatre show of 

The Christmas Carol.

It was a great venue with lots of amazing singing and dancing.

Max of course was mortified he had to sit through a musical

(but secretly he enjoyed it!)

It was a fun way to celebrate

 Carmen's Christmas birthday.

Prior to the show, 

Carmen opened some gifts.

Taylor Swift Tickets = 

one happy 12-year-old girl!

We took full advantage of the sunny weather.

We were lucky to have mid-60s most of the trip.

We played mini-golf 

(where several hole in ones were achieved).

And, we even had super warm weather a couple of days.

This allowed us to happily visit the pool.

One of my favorite things is looking at the different 

holiday decorations. So creative!

We got into the decorating spirit too

and participated in an annual Christmas Eve luminary fundraiser.

It was also the perfect way to alert Santa

that the Skurski kids were at Grandma's.

Christmas Eve dinner --

the classic Chinese takeout.

Of course Santa knew where to find Carmen and Max.

We took our annual trip to the 

World Wildlife Zoo.

This place never disappoints.

The kids fed the giraffes,

pet sting rays, and this trip Carmen was

quite the goat whisperer. She had a following.

We also went bowling and to the arcade.

Carmen and Max came up with a 

strategy to win as many tickets as possible.

Not sure if it worked, but they both came

away with prizes.

We also enjoyed just hanging out and relaxing.

I read a couple of books and the kids

were able to play outside, ride bikes and explore.

Carmen created an obstacle course,

we played countless rounds of 'shut the box' and the kids

were introduced to some old classics -- jacks and pick up sticks!

Thank you mom for our time together,

for your generosity and for being you.

We love you!

And, finally, 

annual turtle picture.

Until next time!