This was a crazy weekend. By the way, Happy 1st day of Winter. On Sunday the 21st we celebrated the shortest day of the year by shopping. My parents wanted to go Christmas shopping and Sunday was the only day we all had free. I was supposed to be singing with the Girl Scout choir at the Charlestown Retirement Community(my old work place). Unfortunately, the facility was on lock down for respiratory diseases and they had to shut down the nursing home and assisted living facility. So no one could go out or come in. So I had the day free and decided to take my parents shopping and out to dinner. They mall was absolutely packed, but we had a good time shopping and then stopped to get some dinner. Tom and the kids joined us. Everyone was too tired for a movie, so we headed back home. We did stop into the Bass Pro Shop to say hello to the fish and try our hand at the shooting range though(big kid video game). Tom stopped into my parent's apt afterwards to reset their tv(mom keeps pushing the wrong channels). I think we wore mom and dad out by walking the entire mall(it is quite large since it is an outlet mall). Plus I had to park far away-even the handicap spots were all taken. My parents were already pooped out before we left. INstead of going to church in the morning, they stayed back at the apt for an in house service. Their facility has had some type of Christmas entertainment every day. I think Mom and Dad are going to be worn out with Christmas activities. They were having a sing a long when we stopped in. And someone had dropped off a huge box of chocolates, cupcakes and cookies for everyone to share at the front desk.

It was nice not to have to rush on Sunday. I had some extra time this weekend in my wrapping, packing and card filling out schedule. I had planned on having all the neighbors over for our traditional White Elephant Gift exchange party Saturday night. I spent Friday shopping, cooking and cleaning. On Saturday morning, Tom informed me that he  had a fever and did not feel well. We decided to cancel the party. WE will reschedule in January. Tom had been in Chicago this past week. He was very cold and miserable. He had to sit on the plane waiting for them to de-ice. I don't think Northrop should let him travel right before the holidays.

I also spent an hour sitting in the church parking lot SAturday morning waiting for some info on a scheduled ski trip for Scott with the Teen Church group. We were waiting for everyone to meet to car pool to ski in Pennsylvania. We were not alone. We also waited with a friend of SCott's and her Dad. After an hour I was able to speak to the priest who was in the office after morning mass. He was able to contact the teen program director via telephone. We only had the office phone number and the office was closed. Turns out they had cancelled the trip the night before. We however never got the phone message. The ski trip was rescheduled for February. Apparently the snow tubing was closed and they wanted to wait for the opportunity for the younger kids to attend. So Scotty was bummed(again) but he has something to look forward to.

So a whole lot of nothing going on during the busiest time of the year!  Instead, I took the kids down to the Inner Harbor with me on SAturday afternoon. OUr Girl SCout troop was invited to sing at a German festival downtown. They set up a german village with small shops including German bakeries, beer garten and holiday decorations. I picked up a few German Christmas tree decorations. It was a lot of fun to get up on a small stage and sing too. Allison and Scott enjoyed munching on german treats and shopping while I sang on stage.

On Friday, besides all the running around I had done for our party, I had time to get Cookie over to the pet store for a hair cut. I also had to meet with my parents broker to take care of some end of the year finances.

Allison managed to get out and get her hair cut. She also took herself to the doctor for a flu shot and to have her foot xrayed. It was still bothering her. They thought she may have a stress fracture, but it looks to be fine. Just sore and she can't really run on it. The doctor told her she should rest it up for another 8 weeks. At least Allison will be taking it easy while attending school this winter break. It is just difficult to walk around campus. She did well this term-all As and Bs.

Scott was very busy this past week. The teacher's crammed in lots of papers, tests and assignments for school. His little brain was fried.  He also finished his last confirmation class. He has  finished his volunteer hours too. He continues to altar serve which counts for volunteer hours.  Now he just has to complete a retreat in the spring and a few more Sunday night religious classes. He is almost there. He and Tom also got their hair cut this weekend. Everyone is ready for the holidays.

Now just a few more Christmas cards and gift wrapping. Plus packing for our trip to Florida!

Scott enjoys some type of Apple dessert at the German Holiday village

We are getting so much closer to Christmas! Our family keeps up with the holiday festivities. I started mailing out Christmas cards. The Christmas decorations keep going up, including the tree.  My parent's enjoyed a Christmas luncheon with their Sr Center group at Olive Garden on Weds. On Friday, Tom and I stopped by their apt to assemble a new power lift chair we bought for my mom over the Thanksgiving holiday. Sam's club had their power lift recliner chairs on sale. Dad has been enjoying his chair, so we thought mom could use one too. Especially since I took her to the orthopedic MD last week and he told her that her knee looked pretty worn out. She can use all the help she can get. I also kept Tom busy hanging some of their paintings and photos as well as repairing some plugs and bulb sockets on a few of their lamps. Their apt looks very festive!

We took them both over to our house Friday night for dinner. I planned on taking my mom to a Cookie Exchange party at our neighbor's house. Instead, she got comfortable watching a movie with my Dad and Tom. So while they enjoyed watching "The Conspirator", a movie about Lincoln's assassination, I headed down to the neighbors to enjoy a cookie swap. I had more than enough to share with my parents when I was done. On the way back to drop them off at their apt that evening, we swung by a few "over the top" decorated homes. I had to dodge a deer in the road during the tour! Glad I missed it!

Allison came home on Weds after surviving her finals week. She drove home by herself since her roommate had another final scheduled on Thursday. Before she left, the two girls dropped by a nearby townhouse complex to scope out housing for next school year. As a junior, the kids are no longer allowed to stay in the dorms and have to use college apts or off campus. We certainly were spoiled at MSU, living in the dorms for all 5 years! Allison is certainly happy to be home again(and done with classes). I quickly put her to work though. She is helping to put up Christmas decorations. She was also my busy little baker. She made up lots of Hershey pb kisses cookies and chocolate turtles with rollo candies and pretzels. I also made no bake, chocolate peppermint schnapp cookie balls. This way there were lots of cookies available for my Cookie exchange on Friday night with the neighbor ladies.

We even had enough left over for Scott to take some cookies to his friend's Cookie exchange on Sunday afternoon. He enjoyed visiting with his friends, playing video games and exchanging lots of goodies.  He brought home a generous supply of even more various holiday cookies! Plus his friend's mom gave all the kids Christmas socks, hand lotion, a huge container of hot cocoa mix complete with peppermint and marshmallows. Not to mention a small box of dog treats for Cookie. Crazy!  I think it made up for Scott's disappointment in missing out on a trip to New York City this Saturday. One of his friend's family asked him to take a bus trip up to NYC to see all the Christmas decorations and visit the zoo, museum, FAO toy store, whatever. But his friend Jason got very sick Friday night, so they cancelled their trip. Oh well. It stays on Scott's bucket list. Instead, he enjoyed our night having dinner at our friend's house, The Plunketts,  celebrating his and his friend Bryce's belated birthdays. Bryce and Scott share the same week in November. Plus we enjoyed catching up with their new puppy, Ripley.

I also took my parent's and Allison to listen to the Holiday concert with the US Army Jazz Ambassador band. Last weekend, Tom and I heard the US Army band and Chorus downtown at the symphony hall. This weekend it was the jazzy version of the holiday concert. Again, very good and very free. And very close as the concert was held at a local high school. My parents really seemed to enjoy the music(and Allison too).

 On Sunday I joined our Girl Scout choir at the B and O railroad for a Holiday concert. I really enjoy the train museum, especially when it is all decorated for the holidays. I would have brought my parents, but it is too hard to keep an eye on them while I am busy singing with the choir. Plus I get in for free, and they would have had to pay(it is a bit pricey too). It certainly was worth it to take the kids when they were little. Scott especially loved the trains.

So we are excited to have Allison home. Scott wishes he could spend more time with her, but he is still busy with his confirmation and religious classes, as well as school. They are both running together and squeezing in some video games though. And they even had a little time to do some Christmas shopping.

Tom was gone last week working in the San Francisco area. He even had time to stop into Paso Robles to pick up a few bottles of wine. (less crowded than Napa Valley). I was just glad he was able to fly out of San Fran before the big Pineapple Express rain storm hit. Except he came back home at the tail end of a Nor'Easter on our coast. It made for a bumpy plane ride.

Holidays at the B&O Railroad(oldest railroad in US). Original roundhouse now museum.

 Lots of train gardens

 and big decorations.

 Holiday lights at one Neighborhood house, complete with Santa and 8 tiny reindeer, plus Rudolph!

 Gpa and Gma Bozyk's apt and their Holiday decorations

 Cookie and Scott love to snuggle

 Scott and Allison take turns playing with the cavachon puppy, Ripley.

I also squeezed in my yearly medical check up on Friday. I even managed to get my shingles vaccination. They usually wait until you are in your 60s to give out the shot, but since I had shingles 3 years ago, I asked to get it early. This injection is supposed to last a lifetime, so I hope I never experience it again!

We also had a few Birthdays to celebrate this past week. Linda Seitz enjoyed her Birthday in Indiana this weekend. Happy Birthday Linda! And we enjoyed eating ice cream cake to celebrate Cookie's #6 Birthday! Wow time flies!

Time to fill out more Christmas cards! Kathleen

By the way, I failed to mention some other interesting news last week. First off, Tom was displaced from his office when 2 floors in his building caught fire! I could only think it was caused by all the computers since it is a building full of engineers and business managers. That seems to be the case. He says nothing serious was damaged-mostly everything got wet though when the sprinklers went off. So he is working out of his briefcase currently.

On a better note, I finally heard back from my lawyer over the lawsuit I have been fighting since June this year. I was being sued from the woman that hit me from behind in a car accident 3 years ago for a small amount of $750,000! I had to  take a day off work and give my account last month to the lawyers. I just heard that the case against me is finally being dismissed! Yeah! Now I have an extra $750,000 to spend on Christmas presents! I may however still be brought in next year as a witness. I sure hope not. K-

Happy St Nick's Day! Saturday we celebrated St Nick's Day by opening our Christmas stockings. Allison had to take most of her stocking to school last weekend(which was mostly filled with study snacks). She is busy studying for finals coming up next week so I sent her and her roommate some goodies to keep them awake and sharp(or just full).  We look forward to having her back home next week. She also enjoyed taking a break with a formal dance party with the Ultimate Frisbee Team.

Our weekend was again quite busy. I managed to type up my yearly Christmas letter and picked up our Christmas pictures. Now I just have to put the two together! I talked Tom and Scott into going out to dinner at The Red Robin Friday night while I picked up our photos. We wanted to stop in and pick up some Red Robin gift cards since they have a promotion and were giving out a free movie ticket to The Hobbit with every $25 gift card you buy. A good deal!  And a good meal!

On Saturday, Scott and I got up early to volunteer with the Boy Scouts at the Jingle Bell Run in our local park. It is a 5K around the lake. When we arrived in the morning, they already had more than enough help and were out of volunteer tshirts. The volunteer coordinator asked us to wait until the race was over and then we could help clean up. Instead of waiting, Scott asked if he could run the race! We quickly signed him up, changed his shirt, slapped on a timer and a number and away he went! It was his very first 5K race! He did pretty well considering he had started the race at the very end. Also the sidewalk they ran on was very wet and slippery and crowded. So it was hard to get around the walkers, strollers and dogs. But he managed to finish in 32 mins. And he didn't even have on the right shoes! So that was the end of our volunteering! We headed home so he could get busy studying and doing homework assignments. Tom helped him review his science homework since Tom was heading out of town on Sunday. In the evening, Tom and I invited our neighbor Dan and California friend, John D out to dinner and then to  The US Army Band and Choir Christmas program at the Meyerhoff Performing Arts Center in downtown Baltimore. The concert was free and once again, we were incredibly impressed with their performance. I was just surprised they did not fill up the auditorium. I don't think enough people know about them.

On Sunday, Tom headed off to California for work. Scott got busy on his homework. I headed out to participate in the Mayor's Christmas Parade in Hampden with the Girl Scout choir. It was quite a work out-a long, 2 mile uphill hike with us singing and doing hand gestures to match the words. They had 150 entries-we were #63! We tried to participate in this event last year and it was snowed out. At least the weather cooperated this year. A chilly but sunny 48 degrees. And I am definitely getting my fill of the holidays.

Tom and Scott hung lights outside last weekend, complete with a light show and music. So this weekend we started tackling the decorating inside the house by putting up the Christmas tree. Last weekend I helped my parents decorate their apt with a Christmas tree and manger scene. It looks like I tweaked my back hauling containers in and out of their storage unit. It made it difficult to sit at the computer all week at work and get much done around the house.

Unfortunately, work decided to switch to a whole new computer system(it is not fun). And unlike last time when we all started, there was no orientation to this new system. So I plan on spending a lot more time at the computer(and I hope my back starts to feel better so I can type more!). I also had to sign up for next year's benefits. What a pain. On top of that, I had a few teacher conferences to attend at Scott's school. I wanted to chat with a few of his new teachers to get an idea of what he should expect next year. They will be recommending next year's classes by Christmas! I just wanted to make sure Scott was on the right track. We would have loved to move him to another Spanish class since I found out his current class is full of sophomores and juniors that failed Spanish 1 and were retaking the course. Great. They really don't care about studying now.

Scott is also continuing with his Weds night Confirmation classes. He had to skip his Sunday night catechism class this week because of all his homework.

I also took some time off work to take my mom to an orthopedic MD to check out her knee. She had a left knee replaced about 10 + yrs ago. She decided it did not hurt enough to go through surgery again(but it is pretty worn out).  I was just happy that my Dad decided to attend the Sr Center Swim program on his own this week while mom was at the doctor's office. A big step in both of their new lives. I just wish I also could have enjoyed the family Holiday brunch with them on Sunday.

Can't be in two places at the same time(don't know if I want to either!). Now I have to go work on cookie making for the cookie exchange next weekend. Fun never stops! K-

Scott runs his first 5K!

 Run, Run as Fast as You Can!

 Even Santa is on the Move!

 Mayor's Christmas Parade -Go Ravens

 Even Darth Vader showed up!

 Our GS choir

 Cafe Hon in Hampden(as seen on Kitchen Nightmares)

Happy Thanksgiving! What an amazing Holiday break! Allison came home on Tuesday night from school. Scott was in heaven. He finally had a real person to play video games with instead of linking up on the computer with all his friends.

On Weds, Tom, Allison and Scott were all home during the day. I took advantage of the kids being off school to have them go to the dentist. Afterwards, Tom took the kids and our friend John up to Hershey to see a hockey game. They all had a great time(even though the weather was not so great). We had our first real snow that day. Much too early in the year for us. I had to work that day, so I was home busy cooking and cleaning Weds night and getting ready for Turkey Day. I had a full, long weekend scheduled for everyone.

On Thursday morning we skipped the 5K walk/run at the YMCA. Allison was still recuperating from her ankle sprain/strain(it looked pretty bad last week). We had hoped to participate in our neighborhood canned food drive and fun walk/run, but for some reason it was cancelled. Instead, everyone slept in while I continued cooking. When the kids got up, I put them to work in the kitchen. Allison made several batches of cookies-pumpkin spice and maple bacon sugar cookies(those were incredible-tasted like pancakes). Scott made the sweet potatoe casserole. Tom cooked the turkey on the grill. I had all the stuffings, mashed potatoes, jello, asparagus and a special pumpkin spice pie for Scott's Birthday. Yes, he had another Thanksgiving Birthday(two so far in his lifetime). He is a big 15 year old. I cannot believe it!

I then sent Allison off to pick up my parents from their apartment. We all enjoyed watching the Lions football game and then talking to my brother Dan and brother Mike via Skype on the computer. After dinner I sat with my mom and helped her fill out her Christmas cards as well as "We've Moved" cards. We were all pretty exhausted and quite stuffed ourselves! We never even made it to dessert as we were all so full. Scott did get to open his birthday gifts too. Tom set him up with a new computer system and he had several new video games to keep him busy over the weekend.

On Friday morning we headed over to the Target portrait studio for our annual Holiday Family photo shoot. The worst part is the waiting. Even though we have an appointment, they always run behind at the holidays. While we were waiting, one of the customers in front of us recognized Tom from a class he was teaching at Morgan State University(small world). We were just impressed that they had squeezed so many people in their party into such a small studio(about 12 or more people!). And we just had our little group of 4. We seem to have started a tradition of wearing our favorite team shirts(you will have to wait for the Christmas card to see whose team we went with this year).
After our photo shoot, we headed out to lunch at our new Buffalo Wild Wings and then hit the movie theaters. Allison had been waiting to see Big Hero 6. We all really enjoyed it. Especially the initial cartoon before the movie. It reminded us of our Cookie dog. After that movie, we had dinner, dropped Scott off at his exercise class, and then I picked him up with his friend and we all went to see another movie "The Hunger Games" Sequel. I think the boys were a bit disappointed in this movie, but I have sat through all the Twilight movies and dealt with it(a whole lot of build up to the next movie). I decided to ask Scott's friend to spend the night so he could have a Video game partner. Allison was busy working on a school project online with a classmate. Plus Scott did not really do much for his birthday this year. They boys had a great time staying up late and playing video games.

On Saturday morning we were busy putting away Thanksgiving decorations and pulling out Christmas decorations. Scott and his friend had one last video battle before his friend headed home. In the afternoon I decided to take the kids down to the National Zoo for Zoolights. Our family tried to go down there last year, and it was literally "a zoo". We never found parking and it was solid people. So Tom skipped this year's attempt. However, I planned ahead this year and found close parking, prepaid and Allison drove us in her little Honda Fit. We got there just before the sunset and lights were already on. The parking was at a nearby hotel garage, just a few blocks walk from the zoo. It was not crowded and we had a great time walking around the animal displays and seeing all the lights. Plus as members we got a special snack including cupcakes, salted choc.chunk caramel brownies and real hot chocolate with melted chocolate. Yum(we went back for seconds). And Tom missed out. But he was happy with his football(lots of football). Yeah MSU, sorry UofM.

On Sunday, Scott served mass and we checked out the Church Holiday gift bazaar. Allison was packing up to head back to school along with her St Nick's day bag and some holiday decorations.This year she does not have much time to spend at school before the holiday break, so we kept the decorations small. Scott got busy on his homework, and I spent the afternoon at my parent's apt singing Holiday songs with the Girl Scout choir(I got us a spot on their entertainment list). We did not have a huge group, but we did a terrific job(I thought) and had all the residents singing along. Including my parents. Afterwards I got busy helping them decorate their apt for Christmas including putting up a tree and their manger. I also dropped off items to decorate their door with the staff.

So overall, quite a jam packed weekend of activities! Lots of fun!

And another Happy Birthday goes out to Sheila Bozyk who celebrated her special day on Friday, Nov 28th!

Now starts all the fun!  Kathleen

One of my favorite Bday gifts!

 Scott studies WWI in his homemade German uniform(my mixing bowl and duct tape!)

 Happy Thanksgiving!

National Zoo and Zoolights(Scott and Allison)

We were celebrating at the Seitz house this past weekend as Scott made the Track Team at his High School! After working very hard all last week, he finally received the good news on Saturday after they had cut kids from the team. Unfortunately, it seems they did not cut enough kids. The High School Athletic Director made an announcement on Monday before practice that more kids would have to be cut. About a dozen more. And unfortunately, Scott was one of the kids. He really had worked hard. And it was not  an easy week to try out as they had to run outside. We  had temps in the 20s and 30s during the day so it was not an easy try out.  He certainly gave it his best and we are very proud of him for his efforts. The track coach recommended he try out for the Spring Track team(I think he will like that better). Wish him luck.

On Saturday night we enjoyed one of my early Christmas gifts from Tom with our neighbors, Phil and Carol. We went out for dinner and a show. Tom was able to get me tickets to one of our favorite singing bands, Straight No Chaser. They are an Acapella group from Indiana that has been together now for 5 yrs. We have seen them in concert for the past 3 yrs. here in Baltimore. They only show up in most towns for a 1 night sold out concert(although they skipped Buffalo last Friday night. Imagine that!) And once again, we loved the concert which included some Pop songs, 50s music, Christmas music, Odes to Michael Jackson and Motown, as well as a very fun spoof on Broadway musicals. They like to make up their own words to famous theme songs. So we turned our neighbors into new Straight No Chaser fans too. They were quite impressed with the guys.

On Friday night I enjoyed spending my Birthday money at the High School Bingo Fundraiser. Sadly I walked away without a win this year. I think it was because neither one of my kids were there to give me good luck. Allison usually worked the snack bar for Honor Society volunteer hours. Scott is not there yet. He is busy working on confirmation service hours. So I did not win anything, but I still had a lot of fun playing Bingo with all the neighbor moms.

As I mentioned, Scott has been busy working towards his Confirmation requirements. He started his second set of evening classes at church, attended catechism class on Sunday night and altar served on Sunday morning. And he managed to squeeze in one more lawn mow for Tom. I keep trying to rake up the leaves, but they just keep blowing back onto our yard from the neighbors. Poop.

I also ran some errands this past week for my parents. I took my Mom to the hairdresser on Friday afternoon so she could get a perm and be ready for the holidays. They are coming up fast. I managed to get my dentist appointment in after work. And I spent the entire day on Sunday grocery and Christmas shopping(multi tasking). I am just amazed at how many of our neighbors have already put up their Christmas decorations. I am still holding out with the pumpkins and scarecrows for Thanksgiving.

We are looking forward to having Allison visit this coming week for the holidays and to hosting my parents for Turkey dinner this year. Plus we are looking forward to celebrating Scott's 15th Birthday(is that right?). He can't be that old. More to come!

So it looks like I survived my first 50 years! Now only 50 years to go! I got off to a good start when Tom and Scott took me out to dinner for my 51st Birthday last week and showered me with gifts. Some of my favorite things-flowers, a Walking Dead tshirt and Mug, gold earrings and my 2015 Mary Engelbreit calendar(have to keep track of all our activities), plus my favorite-a Santa toilet seat cover.

Bday present

 Spartan Spirit

 Go Sparty!

 Uof Maryland Stadium

 Pre game warm up

 Scoreboard Baby!

. And of course chocolate cake to top off the evening. Plus I talked Tom into taking me to an MSU vs Uof Maryland football game on Saturday night.

Since Uof Maryland has joined the Top 10, we now get to host MSU and UofM sporting events here in Maryland. Naturally we sat in the Visitors section at the Uof Maryland stadium to watch the game. I was surprised how small the Uof Maryland stadium is-that may change. Unfortunately,  the college games have been pushed to night time for better tv ratings. Not my favorite. I would prefer the afternoon, sitting in the sunshine football game. But that was not to be. And naturally it was one of the coldest nights we have had all year here in Maryland. But what fun sitting among so many MSU fans like us yelling "Go Green/Go White". Although the Uof Maryland fans thought we were simple minded. We may have been simple, but MSU did win the game. The MSU football team did not play their best-our quarterback got lots of sacks and threw horrible passes. But they still managed to win. After 4 hrs. The game ended at midnight. Lots of flags thrown on the plays which dragged it out with time for review. Tom and I drank lots of hot cocoa to stay warm. It was also fun visiting campus. I wish we could have tailgated, but the MSU fan club was charging too much for their entry fee. I think I enjoyed our bus trip back and forth from the parking garage as well. It was full of mostly MSU fans and I loved listening to all the conversations about Michigan. I especially enjoyed the few Uof Maryland fans scattered amongst our group telling us to all go home. I don't think they realized that most of us were home in Maryland. We did get one compliment. The Uof Marylanders thought we MSU fans were so much nicer than the Ohio State fans. We naturally wished them Good Luck in their upcoming game against Uof Michigan next weekend in Ann Arbor!

So we definitely slept in on Sunday.  I had a very long Birthday weekend celebration. On Friday night my parents joined us for dinner at a Japanese Steak House where they cook your meal at your table. It is basically dinner and a show-the chefs enjoy lots of knife tossing and flame throwing while cooking the meat and veggies. My Dad thought it was one of the best meals he'd had in a long time. Afterwards, my parents joined me to watch the Mt Hebron High School musical "The King and I". I discovered my parents get Sr passes for discounts on local High School performances. The show was very good(for a high school musical) and we certainly got our money's worth for a 2.5hr performance. Mom and Dad enjoyed listening to favorite old songs. I think my parents appreciated sleeping in on Sunday morning too.

They had a busy week as well as they enjoyed a Thanksgiving Luncheon and entertainment with their group from the Senior Center at a local Ballroom.

I was busy at Scott's school as well with an Open House for Freshman parents(just a little late). And sign up for Winter Sports. On Saturday morning Scott tried out for the Indoor Track Team at school. It is a misnomer as they practice outside(in the cold and snow and rain and wind). Just the events are held inside usually on the weekends. It is a whole new experience for Scott. We'll see if he makes it (or likes it). At least we know the coach-Allison's previous teacher for the Teaching program. Maybe he has an "in". We'll keep our fingers crossed.

Scott was also busy this weekend completing volunteer work with his Boy Scout Troop. ON Sunday afternoon, he went with Tom to the Robotics lab in downtown Baltimore. The boys joined with a large group of scouts to produce prosthetic hands on 3D printers to be sent to children with amputation injuries in Somalia from bombings. Tom thought the group could have done a more efficient job of producing the prostheses, but overall he was glad Scott had the chance to participate in an activity that affected so many people so far away. And that made such a huge difference.

Tom was also busy volunteering with the Boy Scout troop on Saturday morning helping to rebuild the Troops storage shed. Again, a project Tom would have preferred to do by himself(and with better wood). But they did get the project finished over the weekend. And Tom only lost one drill bit to damage!

While the boys were busy volunteering their time, I was busy trying to get some yard work done. I had to quit when it started sleeting on Sunday afternoon. Maybe the strong winds will just blow all our leaves away! (But it also seems to blow a new batch onto our yard from the neighbor's trees).

Allison was also in our neck of the woods this weekend as she joined her Ultimate Frisbee Team on a road trip to George Mason University for a tournament. Unfortunately she injured her ankle during practice last week, so she really did not get to play very much. She had volunteered to drive however, so she really needed to attend. She had a long drive on Friday night as George Mason U is on the other side of DC from Salisbury near Fairfax. They stay overnight at one of the team member's houses-Friday to Sunday. Sounds like Allison had a great time even though her play time was limited. And their team is made up of mostly inexperienced freshman, so the team has some growing to do in skill level. But still fun per Allison.

Finally a relaxing weekend(sort of). Time to get caught up with housework and yardwork. I spent Saturday sorting out Scott's old winter clothes that he outgrew and running containers over to the resale shop. It was also time to pull out my parents heavy winter coats from their storage unit and put away the summer clothes. Boy did it get cold quick.

It was still nice enough to get outside and get some yardwork done though. There are always plenty of leaves to rake up and bushes to trim. Just not enough sunlight during the day. I also started putting away the Halloween decorations and pulling out the Thanksgiving decorations. Although I noticed some of the neighbors decided to start putting up the Christmas lights(and turning them on). Too much. But it is time to start picking up Christmas gifts. Although there are a few Birthdays in between to take care of too.

Tom and I got a little shopping in together on Friday. Tom had the day off so we decided to have a lunch and movie date. Tom had wanted to see the new Keanu Reeves movie, John Wicke. Our friend John Dutton joined us in the afternoon. I had to wake John up during the middle of the movie. Tom said it felt like watching 2 hours of a video shooting game. The only good thing about the movie was the puppy. And the puppy did not make it. But it was fun to get out and see a movie in a non crowded movie theatre.

Scott had a pretty easy weekend too. Since they just finished their 1st semester, he did not have quite as much studying or homework over the weekend. He was able to attend his Robotics meeting this past week, as well as the Video Club. And he had time to get in some volunteer work for his Confirmation as well as attending catechism class on Sunday night.  And Allison is all signed up for her Winter and Spring class schedule. Now she is just enjoying some Ultimate Frisbee and is looking forward to a break from tests and projects(but not until Thanksgiving weekend!).

Fall in Maryland(more leaves to rake)

I was also happy to hear that my parents made it to their first swim class. I signed them up to attend a half day program at our local Sr Center. They usually have lunch, do some exercise, enjoy some entertainment and try their hand at a group game. But 1x/month they started taking the group to our local pool. The center is brand new with a walk in ramp and rail. It is covered by a glass roof that opens up in the summer. Mom and Dad were a bit skeptical about the whole ordeal. I even had to buy mom a new suit. So they finally got to the program, also known as the Silver Dolphins. From what I heard through the director of the program(a fellow OT), mom and dad had a great time. Mom was resistant to get in the pool, but they told her she looked cute in her new suit and she had to give it a try. Dad would have loved to have stayed in longer. So I think they will look forward to their pool program once a month. They also continue to attend mass on Sundays. I set up a car ride for them for both programs which they prefer over a shuttle bus. So far so good.

So I need to rest up for next week since I will be a whole year older!

Another exciting Halloween. This year we opted not to have our big fall party. Instead, Scott requested to have his first sleep over party. Since he was looking at a 4 day weekend, we decided it would be a great idea. Especially since Halloween was on a Friday night. So I did not want to have a house full of adults as well as teenagers. Aghhh!

Instead, we had my parents visit along with several adult neighbors. Scott invited about 8 friends. Girls and Guys. Scott worked very hard decorating the house and cleaning for his friends visit. He asked for a sleepover, but Tom and I nixed the idea of the girls spending the night. So we compromised and had them stay until about 1130pm. They were all in the basement watching scary movies and pigging out on snacks. Then the girls went home and watched the rest of the movies via Skype. It doesn't look like the guys got much sleep anyway. After the movies came the video games and more eating.

The rest of us spent the evening passing out candy. Not as many trick or treaters this year, but I still did go through 2 big bags of candy. It was a beautiful evening though. Lots of cute kids. One of our neighbor's son passed out the candy at our house while I was putting out dinner for our guests. Tom and my father went for a walk down the street to check out the trick or treaters and house decorations. Scott even took Cookie out in her Star Wars costume. Luke Skywalker riding on a Ton Ton. Cookie did not like her costume much. She ran back down the street until it fell off. Mostly she stayed busy entertaining our friend's cavachon puppy, Ripley. The two of them ran around our house. Then I put my Dad to work playing tug of war with the puppy. They both kept themselves pretty busy. While dropping off my parents back to their apt. that night, we drove through the neighborhood to check out more decorations. One of the neighbors carves several 150lb pumpkins each year and sets them up in the front yard. The theme this year was "Sitting around the Campfire Telling Ghost Stories"  And we caught an incredible laser light show at another house nearby complete with a dancing skeleton and Jack o Lanterns.

On Saturday morning, Scott's friends headed home. I headed to work. We had quite a few new patients admitted over the weekend that needed evaluations. Allison actually came home this past weekend as well. Her Field Hockey team did not make it to the Finals which were being held in Virginia Beach this past weekend. So instead, Allison and her roommate headed to Uof Maryland to attend a few Halloween parties with her Ultimate Frisbee friends. She also ran into many Mt Hebron High School grads so they had lots to chat about. And everyone dressed in costumes. Allison has discovered the wonders of GoodWill as she put together a cute witches costume for under 6 bucks.

We were all pretty worn out Saturday night so we stayed home. Allison and I considered attending the Bingo night at church with my parents, but the place was packed and ran late. Instead I dropped Scott off to volunteer to help run the Bingo and earn hours towards his Confirmation. He was busy serving food all night. And he got to spend more time with his friends.

Sunday morning I was up early(thank goodness for an extra hour of sleep). I participated in a 5K Fun Run/Walk for the Maryland Brain Injury Association with my fellow Nursing Home staff. We actually brought one of our patients to the event and pushed her around the course in her wheelchair. Several therapists helped her walk across the finish line. It was a terrific event, but that was enough time spent outside as the weather had really changed and was very cold and windy.  Allison headed back to school. I spent the afternoon with SCott and Tom cleaning up our Halloween decorations and finishing up some yard work. Scott also spent a few more hours at church volunteering with the Beading for Hearts program. He was busy assembling bracelets for confirmation volunteer hours. He opted out of the evening Teen Life Tailgate party at church though. Tom and I ended up at our neighbor's house to watch the miserable Ravens football game. Yuck.

So again we packed a whole lot of activity into a short weekend. On Monday night I had the pleasure of dining with my parents. The facility had a family night dinner and meeting afterwards. It was very helpful to speak with the staff and fun to eat with mom and dad. They plan on more family events. I even scheduled our Girl Scout choir to sing at the facility at the end of the month. Before you know it, we will be celebrating Christmas!

Cookie gives Luke Skywalker a Ride

 Halloween at the Seitz House

 We've got Big Bugs!

 What to do with 150LB Pumpkins!

A busy end to a busy week. This weekend was Homecoming for Mt Hebron High School. Scott had been enjoying his entire week at school leading up to the parade on Saturday morning. Each day the high school students enjoyed a different theme and got to dress up-Pajama day, Red/White/Blue day, School colors day, Costume day(Scott dressed as Sonic) and then the students dressed up as a different time period. The Freshman were supposed to dress as a theme for the year 2000s. I told Scott he was in it and could just dress normal. But after a very little bit of research, we discovered that most of his favorite video games came out in the 2000s. So he strapped on a belt covered with video game cartridges. The other classes dressed as the 70s, 80s and 90s. So all the Homecoming Parade floats had a theme from those decades. Like Footloose and ET. I thought it was clever. Tom didn't get it.

Besides the school spirit stuff, Scott was looking forward to enjoying the Robotics Float in the parade. His group met last week to wrap up the finishing touches on the robot. Apparently it is mobile with 4 wheels and can run with a remote control. I thought they were going to put it on a trailer behind a pick up truck. I even offered our van if necessary to pull the team and the robot but they had one. Instead the boys started out driving the thing down the road, until the boy with the controls ran it into a tree and broke off its wheel! The next thing I saw at the start of the parade was several boys, including Scott running down the street carrying this monstrosity! I did not realize how big it was. I guess they finally caught up to the trailer, and were able to shoot candy into the crowds  lining the streets of our neighborhood off the back of the trailer. I was glad I donated an extra large bag of candy because they ran out even though the adults in charge thought they had enough. (engineers). Anyway, Scott loved the whole thing and got to be a part of the 50th Anniversary Homecoming Parade.

I even picked up my parents to experience this amazing event. They had a great time picking up all the candy that the kids were tossing into the crowd. I tried to talk them into going to the football game, but Dad B wanted to enjoy the college games on tv. We certainly enjoyed the MSU win over Uof M. After the parade, we had Mom and Dad B over for some Koegel Vienna chili hot dogs.  After lunch, I took them to run some shopping errands and then we headed to the local Sr Center to vote early. Mom and Dad registered to vote this summer, so they had their Voters Registration cards already. We checked out all the candidates and amendments ahead of time, and then I was able to help mom and dad with the computerized voting system. And of course I got to vote too. How easy that was. We are currently looking for a new governor here in Maryland.  I think.

Saturday evening, our family enjoyed dinner at our friends, Beth and Barry's house. We brought along Cookie so she could spend some time with their cavachon puppy, Ripley. Poor Cookie just wanted to relax and keep an eye on the people. Instead she had to keep an eye on Ripley who loved sneaking up on her and biting her tail and ears, trying to get her to play. It was a whole weekend of dog abuse. I also dragged Cookie off to the parade and embarrassed her with a Viking Helmet on her head in honor of our 50th Anniversary and to show off her school spirit. Everyone loved her look and took lots of photos, including the HS principal. Cookie couldn't wait to get that hat off(and she did). She did not mind visiting Mom and Dad B and all the residents at Sunrise though. She came with me to pick them up on Saturday morning and we could barely get through the lobby as Cookie had to say hello to everyone sitting by the front door. She makes a great therapy dog. Another reason why our friends bought a cavachon(Beth takes her puppy to her psychiatry office to visit with the patients). Everyone fell in love with Cookie this summer at her office while they were dog sitting for us. So they had to get one for themselves.

We spent Sat. evening talking about how quickly the kids are growing. Our friends Phil and Carol announced that their HS Senior daughter, Hannah was chosen as Homecoming Queen that evening. We mainly talked kids and college. Allison even made it home this weekend, but we did not see much of her. Her Field Hockey team was playing in the semi finals at Uof Maryland near our house. She drove home on Friday night so she would not have a long drive on Saturday morning. Her first game was at 8am. They had games all day long. They won 2(against Loyola) and lost 2(against Uof Pitt), so it does not look like they will be in the Finals next weekend. But you never know. Allison spent the entire day playing field hockey and then drove home at night. She had time Sunday morning to go vote early with Tom and had an early dinner with us before heading back to campus. She spent last  week finishing up midterms and looking at her Spring classes. She has to register this week. Apparently she qualifies for Business school next semester, except that she does not have enough credits. So she will wait until next Fall to start the program. She also decided to retake one of her Accounting classes during winter break. She wants to make sure she gets a good grade in it, and has a better understanding of the course content since she has many more Accounting classes to come. (It is not her favorite subject). She actually likes Economics better. So I think she is feeling a bit less pressured with one less class to deal with. As it is, she was taking  5 courses. And her Accounting Professor told her she could still sit in on the class to help keep up on the subject before retaking it in the Winter. Now we probably won't see her until Thanksgiving. (It is almost here).

But first we have Halloween to look forward to! We decided not to host a big party this year. Scott wants to have friends over for a Fright Night Movie and Video Game Fest/Sleepover. So a house full of teenagers is enough for me to handle. Of course we still plan on having some neighbors over and my parents(for the trick or treating). And Scott and I have gotten busy on the decorations. We started on Thursday and have been busy ever since. And still not done. Plus Scott had to stop for the Homecoming parade, as well as Altar serving at mass Sunday morning and participating in Religious Ed on Sunday night. They were involved in some volunteer work towards his Confirmation service hours. And then there was grass cutting. And homework. And visiting with our friends Saturday night.

I was also busy decorating for the holidays inside the house and out this past week. But I had some errands to run for my parents on Friday(back to the broker and the bank). Plus I needed a hair cut this weekend.  And I did have a shorter work week. I had to spend Tuesday at Court all day answering questions to a lawyer concerning the car accident I was in 3 yrs ago. The woman that hit me directly from behind is sueing me! I was hoping I would be excused, but no word yet. I may end up as a witness for her. The guy behind her is no where to be found and involved in drug dealing. So that leaves me to pick on. What fun. They actually thought I was another lawyer when I showed up in black dress pants and a briefcase. Maybe I am in the wrong profession.
 More fun to come.

Cookie supports the Mt Hebron HS Vikings

Happy Preakness Weekend! Baltimore was celebrating the second Horse Racing Event of the Triple Crown this weekend. The first race(or jewel) was the Kentucky Derby, then our Preakness here in Baltimore and the third race will be in New York at Belmont. So far the winner of both races has been California Chrome. If he wins the 3rd race he will be braking a 36yo record set by Affirm who took the Triple Crown.

Scott and I did our part to help prepare for the Preakness by volunteering with the boy scouts at the Hot Air Balloon festival down the road at our local golf club resort. We volunteered for the early morning news media shots on Thursday. We had to arrive by 5:30am, set up and put down 3 hot air balloons and be interviewed and photographed all before Scott went to school at 9:00am. It was very foggy that morning, and hard to actually see the balloons. Especially the big grey elephant balloon. Scott was even interviewed for a special videotape project by the Coast Guard and Navy.  We returned to the event on Friday evening to help set up more balloons and assist with the small fair. We took advantage of getting Scott a free haircut at one of the Sportsclips booths. And he returned with his bottomless cup for free root beer-all you can drink-that he bought last year. I thought he was going to explode.  He also enjoyed assisting with the mini race cars, besides setting up and packing up the Hot Air Balloons. I especially enjoy volunteering on Friday night when they light up all the balloons on the field. No balloons took off this year however since it was a bit windy. We have had quite a bit of rain too. They were looking for early Saturday morning volunteers as well. That is when the balloons actually take off-at 6:30am. Scott and I decided we had enough getting up early for one week.

On Saturday night, we enjoyed watching the race at our neighbors house while having a cookout. I had spent the entire day running errands. Scott needed new dress shoes and a suit for his upcoming graduation and Eric and Sarah's wedding. I am also getting ready for my upcoming trip to Michigan to start the process of moving my parents to Maryland. Besides making lots of phone calls and sending out lots of emails to prepare for the move, I am also trying to keep up with our own families schedule.

Scott and Allison have been very busy studying for their upcoming finals week. Allison has started her college finals and finished attending her classes this past week. Scott will have finals next week as he wraps up 8th grade. Both kids spent the weekend studying and writing papers.

Allison has secured her summer job at Girl Scout camp with an online Skype interview this past week. She was amazed at all the paperwork she now has to fill out since getting the job. Lots of security checks.  I was amazed that the GS camp not only hires local girls, but girls to work as counselors from all over the world. I think Allison is going to enjoy camp as much as the little girls! It will also be nice that she can travel home over the weekends for a break, or if she chooses, she can join the other counselors on weekend trips. Sometimes they travel up to New York, or down to Ocean City over the weekend on their time off. Sounds wonderful. We are just excited that she will be coming home this coming week. Scott is looking forward to seeing Allison too. Even if it is just for a short time. We are all going to be traveling in different directions soon.

We are also planning on visiting Busch Gardens this coming weekend for the Food and Wine Festival. We opted out of the Wine Festival this past weekend in the nearby town of Columbia. We have too much to do, and Tom brought enough wine back from California recently to host our own wine festival!

Scott and I were busy baking again this past week to provide goodies for SCott's school band and choir concert last Tuesday. The kids did a terrific job.

He was also busy at his boy scout meeting this past week, trying to get in all his paperwork for upcoming camping and rafting trips. At least he had a day off school for a Professional Teacher's day to get caught up.

I was busy at work last week assisting with National Nursing Home week. We rehab girls participated in a tug of war but lost to an all male team from dietary. I guess we held our own though for a bit before going over the line. The nursing home staff was impressed. And we also assisted the residents in making a record breaking banana split. The dining staff had residents assemble it in a gutter laid out on several long tables. It sure tasted good! And the local newspaper was there to cover the event. I especially enjoyed our free lunches. Now back to a regular work schedule.

Scott enjoys the mini race cars at the Balloon Festival

 Setting up and packing up Hot Air Balloons with the scouts

 The Glow

 What 5:30am looks like

 The Dela Bear from Delaware

 Horton the Elephant blends in

 Scott's interview

 Snoopy flying high

A Big Shout out to Stacey Seitz who celebrated another Birthday this week! Congrats on your second mini marathon! More power to you!

Enjoy the photos! Kathleen