Mauri catch up.

Gosh, I've got a lot to catch up on. I was hoping have more time to work on git'n 'er done today, but decided to take down Christmas trees/lights/decorations instead. Of course, after everything was carefully taken down and neatly tucked away, Taylor spotted {at least} 3 Christmas items we had missed. AAAUUUGGGHHH. It happens every time. 

Before I jump into Lo's wedding and our Christmas/New Year's festivities, I thought I would catch up a little on Mar. She started the swim season with the CV/DC Co-op team, and, in the few meets she has participated in, has done quite well. She, however, has not necessarily LOVED it, and still deals with some anxiety over competition (she says she likes the practices, though).

 (She's in lane 6 on the right in all pics)

Mar is super close to an A League time in her 50 and 100 Free, so we hope her coach will let her swim them a few more times before the season is over. I am proud of her pushing through and sticking with it.

As part of Christmas for Mar, I purchased tickets to go see Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. She has never seen a live performance of it, and I thought it would be something she would really like (since we wore out the soundtrack on countless road trips to CA when she was a wee babe). 

 We both LOVED it. Neither of us could stop smiling during the intermission, we were enjoying it so much. It was at a smaller theater over an hour away (with traffic) from our home, but it was stadium seating, and on the 4th row, we felt like the actors were literally right in front of us. It was so fun to see so much of the details that get missed in a large theater, and to see the acting skills of the performers... since we were up close and personal.

Bill is taking her to The King and I for her birthday next week. She's super excited for that, too.

A big thank you to my friend Marci for recommending "experiences" over "things" for Christmas.

One of Mar's choirs (she's in THREE) got to ride the light rail downtown to participate in a chorus in the pit of a production of The Nutcracker. Bill kindly volunteered to chaperone, so he snapped a couple pics of their warmup. She had a few pictures, too, but has yet to share them with me ;-)

Aaaaannnnd she still spends a lot o' time with (or texting) her boyfriend, Gavin.
They even occasionally work together. How nice.

Goodness, we've had so many discussions about to boyfriend or not to boyfriend, but for now, she's boyfriending it. They are quite the serious couple, which leads to a constant stream of conversations about guidelines, boundaries, and rules. (So stressful for the mamas and the papas.) I'm grateful she's willing to be open about things, and that she's a pretty darn good girl. I still have to warn her about being youngdumb on occasion, though.

I missed Mar's Christmas concert because I was in UT, but Billy-my-hero kindly recorded it for me.
Here's a couple of the songs she performed:

(Mar is on the top, second from the right)

That's about it for now.

Mar's a busy girl who is almost SEVENTEEN. Wow.

I love her and think she is talented and amazing. That's all.