On Friday, December 29, we walked into Features Fieldhouse as your regular, everyday Mel-Min 4th graders, and we walked out of the gym as your new world champions. It wasn’t easy, but Team Gold (which consisted of Cullen, Parker, Ryder and myself) got the job done and we have free bowling coupons, basketball necklaces, and bragging rights to show for it.

Most importantly, we got featured on social media, so we are also officially Facebook Famous!

Thanks, Coach Dad, for transforming your Mustangs into the G.O.A.T.(s)! Winning looks good on us.

You may be a slacker if you don’t wake up at 3:45 a.m. on Christmas morning, like I did. Go big or go back to sleep, they say. So, I decided to go big. My parents weren’t thrilled, but they managed to find their Christmas spirit, too, in between several grunts and yawns.

Despite it being a snowless Christmas, the day was exactly what Genesee and I waited all year for: family, joy, and good food! In fact, besides our traditional meatballs and cheesy potatoes, we added Grinch Punch to the menu this year! Watching Home Sweet Home Alone and playing a competitive tournament of ping pong were definitely some of the highlights.

As for Santa gifts, Genesee was thrilled with her foot bath spa, $100 bill, and swinging chair, and I was most excited about my VR headset….

…until the next morning, when I discovered I was allergic to it! Apparently, I am part of the .01% of people who have a skin reaction to the headset. Luckily, after my parents conducted some research, we believe we found a cure. Christmas tragedy averted!

Christmas Eve is for meatball assembly lines, begging the parents for permission to open a couple presents early, heading over to Grandma & Grandpas in our matching holiday pajamas, devouring a deliciously homemade lasagna dinner, more gift opening, celebrating fall and winter birthdays, and putting out treats to lure Santa and his reindeers into visiting our house!

It was a Christmas miracle: We somehow managed to arrive early to Rotary Lights, beating all of the crowds on a seasonably warm Friday evening, and we were even first in line to see Santa and Mrs. Claus! But that’s where the magic ended because once I was staring face to face with Santa, some unexpected stage fright caused my mind to go blank when he asked what I wanted for Christmas. How embarrassing!

Still, it was a perfect night to kick off the final weekend before Christmas. We met up with Dad’s best friend from high school (Travis) and his family, and after our eyes were dazzled by the magnificent light show, we took an evening stroll to Big Al’s Pizzeria so our bellies could experience happiness too!

You know what the cutest season of the year is? Awwwtumn.

So of course we had to document all of our adorable adventures that fell between the turn of a new leaf and the rebirth of the sun (also known as Winter Solstice):

This year, it was Genesee’s time to shine, so on December 11th, the family and I filled the gymnasium to cheer on my little sister. Of course mom was out here taking pictures and videos like Genesee might be the next Beyoncé, but I was a much tougher crowd and felt less enthusiastic. I mean, I do think Genesee might be a performer someday, but for now, her biggest shining moment was wearing that sequin-covered skirt.

Welp, Dad headed west again for another hunting trip in Arizona, and to avoid any more letters from the principal, he left us behind this time.

It never feels like home when Dad is not here, but one benefit of his absence is that mom feels a deep responsibility to keep us happy, distracted, and not missing Dad too much. So, to make the days go by quicker, we packed in lots of fun adventures like, Culver’s dinners, visiting stores with 4-legged employees of the year, perusing Sparta’s Kriskindlmarkt, witnessing the lighting of the park, checking out Holmen’s Jingle Fest parade, ordering virgin daiquiris at the local Mexican restaurant, shooting hoops at the Lunda Center, and cheering on Cortney and Ashlee at their respective basketball games.

We stayed B.U.S.Y.

By day 5, however, Dad ended up cutting his hunting trip short because Grandpa got rushed to the emergency room, due to pneumonia, just as he was recovering from Covid. My eyes welled up with tears when I heard the news, but luckily, Grandpa made a quick recovery, Dad made it home early and safe, and all was right in the world again.

All she

wants for

Christmas is

her two front teeth!