Happy 2016!

Happy New Year, blog readers! It's my first post of the new year, and while I don't have much to report, I figured we're already a week in to 2016,  and I should at least post something. Last year I posted 123 blogs, a feat I'm not likely to match. (I mean 43 of those are presidents!) 

When I last left you, I told you all about our big President's New Years Eve blow out. We spent our doing doing all things presidents, and we did all stay up to midnight. But, as you can see, nobody was all that interested in the ball dropping. I take the "just another day" approach to a new year, and so does Asa- and it's kind of rubbed off on everyone, I think. 

But, we did have some fake Wine in a nod to Chester Arthur, and Asa had some drinks left from True American, 

So, we celebrated that way. 

Then we went outside to check out some fireworks, and ended up playing basketball with the neighbors at midnight. 

So here we are in a new year. I did get to put up our new 2016 calendar I designed which was fun. 

And Asa has been a cooking machine- using his new cookbooks at ever meal. I LOVED the tater tot poutine. 

And we had our usual new years day cookout. 

The last Bucs game of the season was an away game (which they lost miserably to Carolina), but that meant we could have one last taco bar! The Bucs ended up firing their head coach, Lovie Smith, last night. And while that sucks, because he's a good guy and great for the community, I can totally see it. As a season ticket holder, I'd sure like to see more than 3 wins at home in two years. 

In other news, it FINALLY got cold around here. I could have gone for a cool down around 75- 80 degrees (I was just over the 90 degree high humidity days), but instead we've been in the 50's and 60's. But at least now we have an excuse to wear some hoodies ad bundle up a little. 

Ellie hates being cold, so when I saw the doggie Christmas sweaters were marked down to 75% off, I decided to give one a go to see if she liked it. She is a fan. 

And she looks adorable in it! 

We are still a bit Ellie obsessed over here. She is just the sweetest dog. I know it can take up to a couple months to see a rescue dog's true personality, but Ellie is just awesome. She's playful, but she listens, and she's a snuggler. She communicates really well for a dog, but her barking is almost non existent. She's found her favorite place on the couch- and we had to get her steps for Calib's bed since it was a little too difficult for her to get up them. 

She also refuses to believe she's a big dog, she crawls under the covers with me at night just like Porkchop, and tries to sit on your lap like Phenom. 

We kept saying she was 48 pounds, but she had her first appointment with our vet this week, and she weighs in at 63 pounds. They think 48 must have been her intake weight at the shelter (which is much too thin for her!) They also told us she definitely had puppies, and wasn't treated well. They confirmed she's probably about three and a half, and our Els-a-Bells was super well behaved even during her checkup. 

Oh, and they theorized she was a Boxer and an Australian Shepherd/Cattle Dog. (They were so sure they said she might just be a 50/50 combo.) And now I can't unsee it. That seems pretty spot on to me. 

We did take her out to Petco as a reward for being good at the vets, and the dog trainer there was pretty impressed with her. Ellie, meanwhile, was pretty impressed with the parakeets. Things are going a little better with the other dogs too. Everyone's been playing together and hanging out, and Phenom and Porkchop aren't being quite so mean to her anymore, so that's good. 

We've also had a return of Fancy Nooms, when Phenom got a hair cut. 

And Asa said Porkchop has been less annoying lately- and with Ellie in Calib's room, Porkchop is back in our room at night, which I love. (But Asa does not). 

I don't really have much else to report. We've been pretty low key over the last week, kind of by design. It was so crazy the last couple months, I really just needed a breather and some relaxation. Plus, with Ellie still adjusting to life here we haven't wanted to leave her. Hayden, Calib, and Asa went out again to see Star Wars with Justin, but other than that we've pretty much been home. 

With the president's project over, people have been asking me what's next. I have been working on some things. We can finally get back to some more theme weeks, so we'll have those upcoming. Plus, it's an election year, so we'll be seeing the return of the Candy Bar Election. The more people in that project, the better. This year we're going to do it as a more long term project with primaries and everything. Calib and Peyton need to have a good understanding of the process, because fun fact: this is the last time we'll elect a president where they can't vote. 

2016 also marks a decade since we moved to Florida, which is so hard for me to believe. Hayden being ten in a few weeks seems right on track, but for some reason it doesn't feel like I've lived here this long. Anyway, in an effort to celebrate, we're going to spend one "weekend" a month exploring our state. I've compiled a list of 102 things to do- from visiting the Keys, to free things to do right here in Tampa. We'll see how many we get accomplished by the end of the year, but I am really excited about it. 

We also have a Leap Day this year, and in addition to our Leap Day time capsule, we're keeping our figures crossed for another 24 hour Disney Day. 

And this year we will find a way to celebrate the Summer Olympics like we did two years ago for the Winter Olympics. 

We also are at least acknowledging some birthdays this year. We have a birthday board for some famous people's birthdays in our current month. Asa's taking on some and planning a few activities here and there. So not only will be seeing the return of some presidents (nothing too in depth), but we'll be getting some new guys in there too. 

 Today is Millard Fillmore's birthday and we watched the president in 60 seconds and had a pop quiz. Maybe now and again we'll have a dinner or something for some of our favorites. 

Other than that, I've just been doing some packing away of Christmas stuff, and some cleaning and organizing. Home school central got a makeover. And I put all my president's file folders on the top front and center. 

Asa is in the office this week on a brand spanking new schedule. It will be weird not have him here in the evenings, but we just couldn't pass up the shift differential. 

That's it from here. 

Up Next: Asa's in the office this week, and next week I'm headed back to Ohio for a quick trip. I'll see you when I see you!