High Five for Friday (11.8.13)

1. I'm on vacation! Many years ago, back when I was a junior in college, my mom, sister, and I began an annual girls weekend tradition. Every late October or early November, we leave the boys and the babies behind and spend two-and-a-half days shopping, sight-seeing, theater-going, eating, drinking, and just catching up. It's mahhhhvelous. (If you know my husband or my sister's husband, perhaps you could check in on them this weekend? You know, to make sure the kids haven't taken over or driven their daddies mad? Thanks!)

The four little rugrats we left behind. They couldn't possibly drive anyone crazy, right?
(For the record, I have absolutely no idea how I created this photo montage.)

2. My husband, who holds down the fort and keeps the children alive, makes it possible for me to go on vacation every year. And my friends, who pick up my kids from school, take them to their dance lessons and baseball games, invite them over for playmates, and agree to be "on call" should Tom need help or have to go into the office unexpectedly, make me feel considerably less guilty about leaving my family for three-and-a-half days. Y'all rock, and I'm so very grateful for your love and support.

3. I think I may be in the minority here, but the departure of Daylight Savings Time excites me. I wake feeling more rested, thanks to the lightening sky on weekdays and the sunlight streaming through my windows on the weekends. The kids go to bed earlier and without complaining have fewer complaints because it's actually dark outside at bedtime, and when the kids go to bed earlier, I go to bed earlier. And we spend more evenings at home, together as a family, preparing for the holidays. I love it.

Oh, and there's something special about evening baseball games under the lights. Last week Will caught a fly-ball to tally the third out of the inning and end the game, and thanks to the spotlight that happened to illuminate him in that moment, I could see the look of amazement and then joy - pure joy - that spread across his face in the seconds after he made the play. Best night ever.

4. Middle school students and the adjectives "inclusive", "selfless", and "kind" don't always find their way into the same sentences. But these middle schoolers, all members of their school's football team, deserve every positive word being said and written about them. I hope my kids show such tremendous heart and humility when they reach the middle school battlefield.

5. I know I talked about Catching Fire last week, but I'll probably talk about it every week until the movie opens on November 21st. And I'll probably talk about it for a couple of weeks after the movie opens on November 21st as well. Then you'll get a break, until November 2014, when we start counting down to the release of Mockingjay Part 1.

So today, I'll leave you with the newest Catching Fire television spot featuring Christina Aguilera's "We Remain". All of the television and movie promos I've seen thus far have been fantastic, but this one is even better - we're talking chills, goosebumps, and tears, all in the span of one minute - thanks to the incredible musical accompaniment. 13 days!

Linking up with High Five for Friday!