Days with the Dorans

So many years of this big game. Sadly, Papa's team hasn't won in years. This picture was taken pre-game but he was right about the outcome! Yup~ I come from a mixed marriage. We survived many a football season together! Go Bucks! Go Blue!

 This year it was just Papa, Joey, and I who ran the Turkey Trot and so we did just the 10k. The nice thing about that is we get to sleep in a bit which is something this mama likes. A friend asked if I was running so I had my dad take this picture of me so she could see what I looked like (same outfit as last year). Some of Joey's cross friends were running it too so it was fun to be able to meet up with them. I think Joey was relieved to find them since there were a few people downtown... (so much fun to see so many people). The parents had to get a picture too! David (the guy in the blue) and I ran together once at one of the XC meets and it was fun. I have a feeling we'll be doing that more next season. It's more fun to run with others. I have no idea how I did it, but I actually ran into Joe and his friends before we got to our normal meeting place. Joey started in the first heat and my dad and I started in the second. I actually wish I had started ...

How weird to have only these pictures from Thanksgiving on my phone. Clearly someone else had it. The morning was a bit chaotic as Jeff chose to go disc golfing while we were running (and his stuff takes A LOT longer). He got one of the wrong ingredients for what I make even though I put CRUSHED pineapple in all-caps. Oh well~ he eventually got it and we got there. Hopefully next year no disc golf though- too crazy of a day. So having run and not eaten, when I got to the Drapals and had a nice relaxing glass of red, I felt it quite soon. Steph and I got on Amazon and started Christmas shopping and I think I got most everyone done! (BONUS!!) The food was amazing as always and we had fun playing games. The cousins (humans and pups) also had a great day. Thankful for everyone! **I must mention that the next day we headed north to Grandma's where we had a great time but I didn't take any pictures (and clearly no one else grabbed my phone to take pictures like they did her...

It's official!! Norbert has been with us for a year! I'd say he's grown a bit. Happy Gotcha Day, Norbert!

 Our "Date Night" often falls on Tuesdays so we can get tacos at one of our favorite Breweries! Each week there are two new tacos and they're always so good! We also get a Groupon for "A Pint and a Flight" and Jeff gets the Pint, while I get the flight. And there it is... the secret to an amazing marriage! See you Tuesday!

 Joey having his license has been a game changer! Not only do we not need to drive him (thanks Nana and Papa for giving up the 2004 Honda CRV!), but he also has started being our grocery shopper! Thanks to Kroger Clicklist, I "shop" for groceries, Joey picks them up, and all the kids unload and put them away. I think I can get used to this!!

So the Bigs had to make something to bring to their first "Friendsgiving" with friends. I laughed and posted the following pictures of what they chose to bring. So typical! Ali's little mug cookies were a big hit and I liked them so much I decided to make some for the cookie exchange I'll do next month. While they were out, we decided to go out too. We headed to downtown Milford with the Littles. We had a great meal and wonderful conversation. It felt a little weird just being the four of us but it was also neat. We walked a bit downtown since the lights are up and so pretty! It was a great night and Joey made it to and from the party safely. I still get a little nervous when he drives but love having the 'Life 360' app on Ali so I can see where they are and how fast they're going!

So a while back I was telling Maddy about how awesome "The Witches" is by Roald Dahl but how I had to be the one to read it to her- so I did just that. I read her the book~ chapter by chapter~ and uploaded it to 'YouTube' so she could read along. She sent me the sweetest note thanking me so I had to, of course, read her more. I actually made a new blog HERE where I'm going to house all the books. It's kind of cool to think that perhaps one day my grandchildren and great-grandchildren could fall in love with books and that maybe I'd have a small part in it. Now, back to read that girl more of our current story. I called it Mrs. Doran Reads a Story thinking that maybe my students may enjoy a read aloud too!

We were looking forward to the XC Banquet! We obviously knew that Joey would be getting his second varsity letter, but we also knew that we were going to get some yummy food! I had been thinking about it for days and it didn't disappoint.  Joey wanted to recreate this picture from last year (weird but I figured he may want to see it here again). I loved listening to the coach talk about all the boys. HERE is what he had to say about Joey. Just like last year when we were surprised by the Varsity letter, this year we were surprised to learn Joey was a scholar athlete (I guess I didn't know what Scholar Athlete entailed but super proud of Joey). Now all we have to do is get this kid to train and there's no telling how fast he'll be! So proud of him!!

After the snow day, the concert was rescheduled and we were smart to get there early so we'd have a good seat. Nana brought her camera too so that we could get some good pics of the Dorans! HERE is a video of Zach playing! I love how good they are!!! The 7th and 8th grade always have a concert at WLN which ends up including the high school Marching Band. I remember when Joey was in middle school loving the concert, but it was even cooler now that all three of my kids were in it! Ali didn't have the best time in the pit (despite how happy she looks in these pictures) mostly due to social stuff. She is thinking about learning the horn though and the director has offered to teach her which is exciting! She's started hanging out with a lot of Joey's friends from the band and is hoping to get another of her best friends to join next year. That, with the addition of the 8th graders next year (the reason she's laughing in these pics), will make it more e...

 It's a little bit crazy that last weekend we were doing yard work and raking leaves and now we'd shoveling out from a mess. We had our first snowfall of the season and it was a doozy! The ride home was awful and they actually let the high schools and middle schools out early so the elementary schools could get out on time.  It just didn't seem to stop and went long into the night which I thought was a good sign (as in MAYBE we'd get a snow day). When we started to see cars sliding down our hill the chances looked better! We all got our snow day (including Jeff). The Littles got outside but the Bigs stayed in and slept. All of the after school activities were cancelled which included a concert for the Bigs. That's what happens sometimes when you live in a crazy weather area. It does sometimes feel like we see four seasons in one day. I do love it when it comes on a day I feel like I could use a little break. Thank you Mother Nature for the almost ten ...