Five Brown Kids

We went bowling with some favorite friends on Boxing Day. Every single kid and 2 of 3 moms had natural curly hair. Such a beautiful sight.  Kids were super fun and silly bowling. 

Made it to the end of an exhausting year. Still in one piece - everyone is still moving forward. We had some friends over for Christmas Eve and Tyrone cooked plantains and arepas to go with our burrito bar and that made dinner amazing!  Kids woke up Christmas morning and had breakfast on the table by the time Tyrone and I ventured down.   Kids and parents enjoyed unwrapping gifts - and they should! The boys all got fancy earphones and clothes.  Scotia got a tablet and Blythe got a new blanky and a big horse. I got new pots (I've had my last set for 24 years!) Tyrone got a fancy Patigonia travel bag to carry back and forth to work when he is on call. Went bowling with some favorite friends on Boxing Day. So much fun! So many afros! 

Jaxon turned 14!  He had a basketball game on his birthday. They won.  Dad delivered donuts to the locker room after the game and the team sang happy birthday.  At home we had ice cream cake after supper. Jaxon got some combination of new basketball shoes, Christmas presents and new clothes spread out over a few paychecks. Teenage birthdays and Christmas in the same week are tough. 

Blythe turned four. We baked a pink cake and sang happy birthday and she opened a doll that had pigtails just like her. She was so super excited! 

The coach awarded Jaxon MVP for the season. That’s my boy! 

Jaxon made the middle school basketball team.  Forty kids tried out, 14 made it.  Jaxon had a few years of city league basketball and then four years of competitive AAU basketball and he was still worried about making the team.  It is so sad that even in middle school you need years of focused experience to make the team. Jaxon is a starter and plays the whole game. It's so fun to watch him play.  He is serious on the court.