Christmas Ski and Baltimore

Christmas Eve Mass

Kids enjoyed a contemporary mass in Hagerstown

Wake Up in Whitetail

The day got off to a great start with presents under the tree. RJ was anxious to get to the no-crowd, good conditions skiing.

Kids with presents, Christmas tree, and chair lifts in the background

Julia was super-excited about all her gifts - drone, camera, Legos, barking dog

RJ got a lot of hockey stuff (pucks, goal, shooting mat) and a signed Alex Ovechkin card

Sourdough tools ... the gift that keeps on giving!

Sara was Santa, Ms. Clause, and a few other things for this Christmas ... THANKS!!!

Doug skied with the Grinch. Julia did not want her reputation tarnished by being in this picture.

Baltimore for Dinner

After a few hours of skiing we headed to Baltimore to see Grandad, Aunt Debbie, Great Aunt Rita, and Uncle-Cousin John. 

Dinner at Blakehurst

Pre-Christmas Skiing

A cold December provided an opportunity to ski.

Doug gets the skis ready

Julia is getting a bit more gutsy ... she started working on some jumps.

Cold weather + snow making = iceman

Santa at St. Luke

Santa visited St. Luke after the 11am mass. Brooke joined us and Emmitt was there by chance ... so RJ had someone to hang out with as well. This is the first year we did not win any prizes.

We were 5 minutes late to Julia's second basketball game .. but the pic below was worth it!

Julia and Brooke with Santa

Julia starts Basketball

Julia started playing basketball games this weekend. Beginners luck held up for the first game ... a 18-1 win - Julia scored 12 pts while being the 5th person for the 'other' St. Agnes team. The second game was closer ... 14-12 ... Julia scored 2. 

Girls hanging out after the first game

 

Whitetail Check In

Prior to ski season, we decided to make a quick trip to Whitetail. House was in great shape, so we decided to go for a hike.

There was lots of snow. Several runs were already covered.

We didn't make it to the top of Limelight before time ran out. Mostly because we spent a lot of time body-sledding.

RJ basically slid down the entire mountain. Here is one of the shorter and bumpier slides.

Sunday Brunch

Sara prepared an excellent Sunday brunch that was fit for guests. No guests appeared ... but maybe Sara made up the story about the guests so we would clean up, dress up, and skip church donuts.

Awesome Spread

 

NYC Thanksgiving

Sara got super cheap train tickets and a free hotel, so we headed to NYC for the Macy's Day Parade.

Activity: Skating in Bryant Park

We did two super-fun sessions (RJ was 'that kid' who weaved around everybody)

On-Ice

Activity: Blowing up Parade Floats

Sara got tickets for the parade prep where they inflate the floats. They literally blue-up Bluey!

Kids at Parade Prep

Activity: Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

We awoke at 5:45am and arrived to the parade route around 6:15am. You would have thought that would have been early enough to get a good spot. No such luck.

Weather Report: 40 degrees and raining

Sara was super excited for the parade to start

When parade started, people crowded Doug out

Doug's new view

Scaffolding under cover made things a bit easier

Activity: Radio City Music Hall

Christmas Show at Radio City was warm, dry, and comfortable (and entertaining)

Activity: Hotel

Hotel was super convenient to everything from the office where Doug worked, to the parade route, to 99 cent pizza. The issue - it was in a continuous HONK zone. From 6am to 6am people were laying on their horns.

Recycling business outside the hotel - just like when Doug was there for work

Activity: Thanksgiving Dinner

Dinner in Penn Station NY: blueberries, peanuts, and cheap Gatorade

Back in VA, kids had cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving Dinner

NWSL Watch Party

Charlie's folks held a 4th grade girls watch party for the NWSL final. Inspired by folks who attended and witnessed the semi-final, the party was a success. Girls ate treats, played soccer in the basement, and were quite loud. Parents socialized. DC lost 1-0, nobody knew how much time was left at the end, players flopped and rolled around, limited substitutions ... the usual soccer stuff. Julia made a tired Doug stay until the end of the game.

Julia voluntarily shares her Sprite with Charlie

Grandad's Birthday

Aunt Debbie and Grandad came over for Grandad's 82nd birthday. 

Lemon cake and ice cream followed dinner featuring Moby Dick's Kabobs

 

16th Year Anniversary

The Anniversary pictures were delayed due to illness (Doug). Instead of October 11 we pushed the big celebration back a month to November 10.

Sixteen Years!

Family Photo - Doug was still slightly sick

Julia preparing to be sixteen

Last Supper before LAX

Doug had a Sunday business trip to Palm Springs, CA. Therefore RJ picked a nice easy dinner for the final night. This maximized the amount of cleanup effort required to ensure the time Doug spent travelling was with a maximum temperature.

A nice quiet dinner in the living room (Swiss Raclette)

 

Soccer Champs

Due to uncertainty with the skills of new players, the Golazos moved down a division in the rec league. Turns out that the new kids were really good additions ... so the team went undefeated.

Team picture after last game, including Giro ... the team mascot

Team celebration and awards

Halloween 2024

Halloween 2024 was about maximizing candy. And the kids had a lot of fun too. 

Trunk or Treat

A St. Agnes tradition. The most valuable prize was a potato. Upon arriving home Sara had to run to the store to get potatoes because one of the kids didn't get one.

Milo, RJ ... and it looks like James helped run the Kovak-Johnson trunk

Julia and Brooke were still young enough to get candy

Carving Pumpkins

With one night to go before Halloween we carved pumpkins.

Kids cleaning out the pumpkins

Kids did most of the carving. Doug helped Julia with "October"

Trick or Treating

Kids picked costumes to maximize mobility for the 4 hour sprint-marathon.

Charlie, Julia, RJ, and Bradley during a short break at the Grays

One of the hundreds of houses visited

Kids with their pile of candy ... WOW!

7th Grade Field Trip

Sara chaperoned the 7th grade field trip to Planet Word and the National Portrait Gallery.

RJs class on the steps of the National Portrait Gallery

 

Somebody convinced RJ to sing on 'stage'

Julia upgrades bike

Julia's 20" bike looked like it was ideal for a 6 year-old. So, we dusted off a bike from the shed, pumped up the tires, and headed out for a test ride. Julia stood on the scale holding both bicycles. Even though the new one was a 24" with a much bigger frame, it was 3 pounds lighter (27 lbs).

We needed some re-hydration 8 miles into the ride! Julia's is on the 'new to her' bike.

This cop was going to pull me over for speeding ... if he could catch me!

Route we followed, pace was 'relaxed'

Map key:

1. Metro stop. Recharged two metro cards for RJ's field trip with Sara as chaperone.
2. 7-Eleven. Critical stop.
3. Doug tries to outrun the Fairfax County cop.

Takeaways:

• Julia is a much better biker on a properly sized and lighter bike.
• Biking 11.2 miles with a flu was not a good idea for Doug. 

Selects - first tourney

RJ's "Selects" team played in an 8-team tournament over the weekend. The first 2 games were blowouts: 12-2 and 8-0. The third game ended in a 2-2 tie which means they qualified for one of the semi-final games. The semi-final game was tied after OT so it came down to a shootout ... and they won ... and RJ got a shootout goal.

Team Picture prior to Game 1 (7am in Ashburn, VA)       

During 4 hockey games Julia met some siblings, drew some pics, and played card games

Video of RJ scoring a goal during semi-final shootout.

Final game, 2-0.

Lined up for the final game

After the final game victory

RJ at 5:00pm in Leesburg on Monday ... it's going to be a long, short week

One incident ... in the first game a rather obvious boarding call would have led to a lot of fights if RJ's coach didn't convince the ref to give the King's jerk player a game misconduct. Even RJ was ready to jump into the fray.