Happy Holidays Family and Friends,
This year has been full of many highs and some lows, but we are finishing off the year with strong relationships and healthy family members, so we couldn’t ask for more. The stars aligned and we were able to travel more this year, which was great! In March we took a road trip to the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. Our timing just happened to work out to line up with a record snowfall of almost 18 inches. The trip didn’t go as planned, but it was nice to get away and be in the mountains. In July we were able to take a trip we’ve talked about many times before; the Badlands, Mt. Rushmore, and the Black Hills. After some nature focused trips, we decided to go on an epic trip to Disney World & Universal Studios. My parents joined us, and we did all.the.things! We opened and closed the parks each day, and got to ride and see almost everything. It was fun adventuring as a family, and we look forward to the travel adventures 2022 will bring.
Mason has been able to spend a lot of time with our family this year and has gone on several Cub Scout camping trips, kayaked down rivers and across lakes with the boys, and watched Theo and Woodrow get their first real taste of flying through the Young Eagles program. He has stuck with his fitness routines and was proud to set a new personal best this year when he completed a 20-mile run, taking advantage of the various neighborhood trails in Omaha. He continues to work on the Commanders Action Group at STRATCOM, where he gets to take advantage of his creative Powerpoint skills. He will be finishing up online Air War College next month, and we celebrated a great career milestone in October with his promotion to Lieutenant Colonel.
I have been continuing the full-time SAHM gig while also teaching 6th-12th grade English online. I recently became an English Content Coach and will be spending more time working directly with my colleagues. I’m a table leader and book club coordinator for my local MOPS group, and in September I got to travel to Nashville for MOMCON, the annual MOPS conference. It was an amazing few days away. Among planning our family vacations this year, I have been enjoying exceeding my goals for this year by listening to 52 different podcasts, and reading 88 books (so far).
Theodore turned ten in September and is turning into a big kid. He finished his Cub Scouts requirements and will transfer into Boy Scouts next year. This Spring, he gave basketball and flag football a try. He was doing a super job, and was a great teammate, but a broken arm took him out of the flag-football season early. Luckily, his cast was off before a summer of fun at the pool and adventuring. He played his second season of tackle football this Fall, and survived the season playing many different positions. Theo continues to have a fondness for bison and presidents, but has recently expanded his interests to include other areas of world/American history. He’s rocking fourth grade and his brain is learning a lot-we cannot keep up.
Woodrow turned eight in August. He had a strong finish in second grade and played flag football in the Spring. He even made a touchdown and was a great lineman. In August, he started playing tackle football on the 3rd grade team, practicing hard as center. Unfortunately a broken arm (on the third day of school) cut his season short and he was casted for 14 weeks. Woodrow is our little mathematician and just learned his multiplication facts 0-12. He continues to be in Cub Scouts, as a Bear this year where he earned his whittling chip. He also got to take two flights this year in a small plane. Woodrow is also a fellow night owl which makes for some interesting bedtimes during the school year.
Maximus turned five in October and is quite the character. We spend lots of time playing and adventuring during the day and he spends lots of time playing outside and wrestle-mania with “the boys” when they get home from school. Max is in preschool three mornings a week this year and loves school. He enjoys getting to do crafts and stations. We’re still working on those A-B-Cs. He’s also in gymnastics class once a week to keep that body in motion.
I took this past year off (was lazy) about writing on the blog, but I’m making it a priority for 2022, since I enjoy going back to see our documented adventures. Feel free to visit: http://ellenmason.blogspot.com. We hope that this upcoming year is a special one for you and that you can fulfill a dream you’ve had, travel to somewhere new, or find a small adventure close to home. Our doors are always open and our table always has an extra seat if you’re in the neighborhood.
Peace, Happiness, and Love,
Mason, Ellen, Theodore, Woodrow, and Maximus
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