Marching on

 More fun in March! Our week was full of fun little things - Mario Day, Pi Day, and a long weekend for Records Day. We also had exam week (Nellie), parent-teacher conferences, and State Solo and Ensemble. So we used our day on Friday to catch up on some things (lesson planning, hair cuts) and have fun together.

Kevin and I have been planning weekly Toads dates to catch up on work and just enjoy some quiet.

All ready for pizza dinner on Mario (Mar-10) Day!

Another Saturday, another successful Solo and Ensemble! Despite two "original music" mishaps...

It was cold but beautiful Saturday morning. Since we were the only two up, Eddie and I enjoyed breakfast together on the porch.

Impression 5! I had a great time with these wild kids. I have so many memories of taking the girls when they were little...it's a little different now but still fun.

No school, but Mary's still thinking about it!

The Scooby-Doo exhibit was pretty fun!

Go State! Such an exciting game!

Fun at the library

Happy Pi Day!

Outdoor fun waiting for Annie to get out of rehearsal

Family Mario Kart tournament on Mario Day. DJ and Nellie tied for 1st!

Winter living

The title of this post might suggest it's going to be about enduring winter weather, but it's been so oddly moderate this year. We've basically had four months of  Michigan March. But we've had fun anyway. Work and school are in full swing in that long stretch from Christmas to Spring Break, and basketball dominated a lot of our time. But we have had more time for family fun as the season came to a close, and we made the most of any weekend downtime we could find!

We loooooved watching the Lions go so far in the playoffs! It got pretty intense at the Wernet house. 

Big news! Ira came two weeks early! What a snuggly little joy he is.

I took my second-to-last :( trip to Massachusetts and had another great visit with a partner school there.

Eddie was sick with the flu for days and days. I thought a little fresh air would do him some good. Not sure it did, but we had a nice time enjoying the sun at the park.

He got better just in time for the basketball tournament, where he made it far enough to play against Otto! What an experience!

Annie and Mary were tireless supporters.

Our 3rd Battle of the Books together! We did our best and made it to the finals where we "took it," so to speak...but we had lots of fun.

Nellie's guest conductor was MY band conductor! Love this photo that Nellie was just thrilled to take, I'm sure. :)

Full life, full heart

I heard somewhere that we should reframe "being busy" as life being "full." Well, life has been full this year. But my heart has been full as well! January and February were full of new experiences for our kids and it's been very cool to spend time with them as they do what they love.

It's concert season for Nellie, with solo and ensemble, District Band Festival, SYWS rehearsals, lessons, and auditions. She's going to have an opportunity to play in with the Lansing Concert Band in April and we couldn't be more excited for her!

Nellie and Alyssa after their flute/clarinet duet

Just a good reminder :)

Annie got to go to her first homecoming dance, and was honored to be a freshman homecoming representative! We had several friends over for dinner before the dance because it was held in GL this year and it was fun getting to know them better outside of school.

Post dress shopping smoothies, because let me tell you, dress shopping is hard work!

Such a great night!

Lots of pasta, garlic bread, salad, and fun was had by all

DJ loves all things sports, but he's also getting into the competitive math scene. He participated in the middle school math club and had an opportunity to compete with the LCS team at MathCounts at MSU. I joined the group for lunch and the afternoon competition and loved every minute I got to spend with this group of middle schoolers!

Figuring out some systems of linear equations patterns together at lunch.

The whole crew

Meanwhile, we started a math enrichment program for 3rd-5th grades called Math Challenge on Fridays. So I also get to spend time teaching and learning with Eddie and several of his buddies each week. It's been a learning experience mostly for me. :) My first time teaching an elementary class! Eddie also had a chance to participate (last minute) in the Grand Ledge Musical Theater Workshop. It was totally new for him and we weren't sure how he'd like it. It was a long, tiring weekend for him, but he loved it and wants to go again!

Math Challenge

Big stage, bright lights!

And finally, Mary started piano lessons last summer and got to play in her first recital! She takes it very seriously and really likes playing piano. I was a little nervous for her...but she was confident and excited.

Snow Day - January '24

We weren't back in school long after break before we had a snow day! They called it Thursday night, so we got to stay up late. It was a funny little snow day because the snow - which had held off well into January - didn't start in force until mid-afternoon. So we spent the morning running errands before hunkering down for the long, cold weekend.

Stocking up on snacks

My errands dates - quick stop at The Brew

Ready for the cold snap!

Here comes the snow

Trying out her new tennis shoes

It was cold enough to perform the frozen hot water trick!

The kids walked to Beagle hill to sled

The Incident

2024 started with a bang! That is, a curtain rod banged into Annie and broke her front tooth. 

Before

It was not my finest mom moment...I basically panicked. I mean, breaking and losing teeth are my MOST recurring nightmare! Luckily:

• Kevin was there to take charge and keep the mood light.
• We signed up for dental insurance for the first time in our adult lives at the 11th hour before the deadline. It went into effect on January 1, and Annie had the good sense to get injured on January 2.
• After a long night without a lot of sleep, we were able to get in with a great new dentist office first thing in the morning.
• It was fixed up good as new!

Though we liked her "Dumb and Dumber" look, as Kevin called it, I think she's happy to have her old look back.

Journeying into 2024

O Unchanging God, let us pass through this new year with faithful hearts, that we might in all things please your loving eyes. - Mozarabic Prayer from Prayers Ancient and Modern (1900)

Then let us again clasp hands as allies and 
fellow pilgrims journeying in faithful company 

toward those blessed ends to which our eternal hungers compel us. 

- Douglas McKelvey, Every Moment Holy Vol. III

I had to think hard about the title for this post. "Ringing in" the new year didn't sound quite right. It has been a year, with high highs and low lows, and a million normal Wernet moments in between. The image of journeying together out of the old year and into the new year seems to fit. 

There was talk of heading up north again for New Years Eve or inviting Nellie's friends over, but in the end I remembered that we have (had) exactly two more celebrations before Nellie is off on her own and insisted on a family party at home. I've grown rather attached to our traditions! And we had a lot of fun with games, football, appetizers, Back to the Future, dancing to Taylor Swift (select family members only), and sparklers, sparkling juice, poppers, and general revelry at midnight.

Annie set a pretty table for our "fancy" lunch

Showing off their "convertible shorts"

Annie destroyed us

Spoons and Back to the Future

Things started winding down toward midnight...

...then picked right back up!

Happy New Year!

To reflect on the year, I asked everyone for their highlight moments from 2023. It was challenging to pinpoint a moment, and it morphed into the most memorable and less fortunate moments.

Kevin, Eddie, and Mary: The trip to Florida/Disney World. When pressed for a specific part, they just said all of it. :)

Annie: Our first time in the ocean. When the lady from Muskegon brought Nellie her purse (!) this summer and I was wearing my bird-catching outfit. Signing loud to Taylor Swift and Zombies music with Robynne on our way to the restaurant in Muskegon. Going to the LSSU hockey game this fall!

Nellie: Doing the blob with Annie and Robynne at fishing camp. Performing at Ford Field when I almost fell off the podium and a guy came out to quickly fix it. When I was at Jocelyn's and the power went out in the big storm. Breakfast pasties!

DJ: When we were camping up by Papa John's and it started raining in the night, so Eddie and I moved into the camper to sleep. Watching the Lions clinch the division and watching U of M beat Ohio State.

For me, a highlight moment was walking into our rooms in Disney and seeing the "Welcome Wernets" message on the TVs - it felt pretty magical.  

Heading into 2024, I'm filled with gratitude for God's faithfulness to us through this past year and that we are on this journey together. I love these people so much, and want to love them even better in the new year!