The holidays are upon us! This officially began, as any follower of the Pig Party already knows, on October 23rd, when Riley turned 15. That signals the start of our Holiday Season because after October 23rd, it’s one celebration after another, all the way through January. This year, Riley got not just presents for his birthday, he also got his permit. He’s now behind the wheel, if only when an adult is present. But he’s doing a great job! Emmett doesn’t love driving. In fact, he hates it. Riley, on the other hand, sees it as a challenge, and he loves it. He’s sure to blow through those permit hours in no time.
Halloween followed hard on the heels of Riley’s birthday. It’s likely the last Halloween that Riley and Emmett will be trick or treating — but you never know, they both thought that they’d be too old to trick or treat this year and they both went together with a small group of friends. Tessa and Asher also trick or treated together this year with school friends. Everyone came home with a huge haul of candy. The sugar pick me up surely came in handy the next day when they stumbled through classes, tired from being up late.
After Halloween, came Emmett’s theater performance. It was his first play with his new school. He was in the play The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, and he was fantastic. His part wasn’t a huge one, but it got a huge laugh. He was an exasperated neighbor who spoke in a thick London accent, and he nailed his lines. After the performance, all of the actors hit up a local pancake joint. Emmett was stoked to join, and because he’s not yet driving by himself, his siblings got pancakes too. (They just sat far away from Emmett and his cast mates.)
Next, with Holiday Season in full swing, we landed at Thanksgiving. We leaned into family traditions this year, renting a private movie theater, getting yummy food from a local restaurant, and having a video game tournament. The week off school was restful for the kids and no one spoiled that by overcommitting to anything. It was fabulous.
Meanwhile, Riley joined the rock climbing team at school and entered into competitions. He wasn’t sure how he’d feel, but – just like mountain biking – turns out he loves it. He competed in all four school competitions, and he really improved his scoring over the short season. But, what’s more, he’s inspired two of his siblings to start climbing again, and Tessa’s going to join Riley’s new climbing gym over the winter holiday break.
Riley wasn’t the only Pig making waves. Asher was asked to form a Leadership Committee at school and was named the November student of the month! His dean said that he had been taking the initiative to propose changes in the 6th grade that would better support both the teachers and the students. As a result, the dean asked him to form a group that meets weekly to identify what’s working and what’s not and to come up with novel ideas to increase everyone’s satisfaction at school. Way to go, Asher!
Not long after Thanksgiving – drumroll please – Emmett turned 16! Wow. He spent the day, along with two other days, at ThesCon downtown where he and a group of his theater class mates spent 12-15 hours each day attending theater workshops and performances. His big present for the milestone birthday was a spring trip to NYC to see theater live on Broadway. He can’t wait. He chose Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club and Maybe Happy Ending. The trip will come the week after all 3 big kids go on the school experientials, a hallmark of their new school where they get to travel either locally, nationally, or internationally with class mates. Emmett is going to DC, Riley is mountain biking in the Rockies, and Tessa will be swimming with manatees in Florida.
Until then, we’re hitting up all of our regular holiday haunts for their light events, hanging with friends, and working extra hard to get into the holiday spirit because it’s so warm here it hardly feels like the holidays. We got a small tree that we can plant in the yard in January, we put up all of the lights, and we even went downtown for the holiday market yesterday. Although the crowds were thick, the chocolate purchased made it worth the trip.
Check back in in January when we have Giftavus, Hanukkah, New Year’s and another birthday to report.
For now, we wish everyone in Pig World very happy holidays and a bright New Year!
Leave a Reply