JAG School Festivities

Remember on the last post when I mentioned I was behind? Yeah, still there. I couldn't even remember what day it was earlier this week when I sent out a reminder for our family football pool. Just a little bit of the crazy going on. Anyhow...........................

December 6 was the annual Jingle JAG Jog and Children's Holiday Party. Back in August, Lisa and I divided these up. She organized the jog, and I did the Children's Party. We both worked together a lot though, and in the end it turned out to be great.

Saturday was cold! Initially all of our kids were going to jog with Trent in the Jingle JAG Jog, but the temperature combined with the fact that they were there for all of the set up (arriving at 8:00) and would be there until the very end, lead to just Ashley and Trent jogging. Well, there is that and the fact that even though it is only 2 miles, Trent questioned how the younger two would do once they got out there. Trent and Ashley had a great time on the jog, which is just a fun run. The only prizes are awarded for festive attire not for coming in first. A lot of people do it with strollers or with families. Everyone is issued jingle bells to tie onto their shoes, so all the JAG community jingles as they jog around the Univ. of Virginia campus.

Trent and Ashley finishing the jog

The children's party is right after the jog, and we had games and crafts and goodies and activities. It was a lot of work and stress leading up to it, but it turned out great. I was on anti-biotics for a sinus infection and look terrible in the picture, but Sami looks great, and the kids were so awesome about being there from 8:00 a.m. to almost 5:00 p.m. How could I help but show that off?

The party finishes with a visit from Santa, which is always a big hit. This year was so great. The LCS Club gets permission from Santa to have a visiting Santa (that is our running theory anyhow). This year Major Apple from the current Grad Course volunteered. He is too tall and broad to fit in the LCS Santa suit and wanted to be Santa so badly that he rented his own. He did a fantastic job, and we had a lot of happy kids, mine were three of them.

I was and am so relieved that it is over. It really was a lot of work. I admire my friend April, who put the children's party together last year, even more, and that is saying something. Still, I am proud of how well it turned out and that it came in $150 under budget. It was a really enjoyable day.