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!