Spirit Celebration

In early December, the time had finally come for the official start of cheer competition season for Kaitlynn's Nighthawks team. We were kicking it off with a bang at Spirit Celebration in Dallas. This competition has always been one of our favorites because it's a Christmas theme with festive surroundings and décor in downtown Dallas. Kaitlynn and I arrived on Friday night and were up super early on Saturday morning, dressed and ready for a fun and full day of competition ahead!

It had been a long time since we were able to watch cheer teams compete, so we were excited for some down time before our official team meet time. We enjoyed watching some great performances, and we met up with some friends for photos in front of the Christmas tree. 

The Nighthawks, in all their glory with their unique gold bows, were soon ready to meet for warmups before their Day 1 performance. Excitement was in the air for their debut competition, and they were ready to hit that stage! At the end of Day 1, they had performed great and were ready to enjoy some down time around town. 

Kaitlynn and I were happy to be at a hotel within walking distance from the convention center, and she was all smiles after the fun first day of competition. However, the day wasn't over yet; it was time for our somewhat new tradition of meeting cheer friends for a fun Day 1 dinner with post-meal fun by goofing off in random hotel lobbies. We love our time with awesome cheer families and friends!

After a fun night, we were back up early the next morning for Day 2 of competition. The Nighthawks performed great and took home the win for their International Junior Level 2 division! It was so exciting for the girls to get that first taste of victory and bring home the championship backpack. What a way to kick off the new season! Congratulations Nighthawks!!

 

Courtright v. Courtright: The Final Challenge

As Kaitlynn was hitting her stride during her basketball season, she had some unfinished business to take care of with Jeff. It was the long-awaited challenge between Kaitlynn and Jeff - the final edition of Father versus Offspring in the challenger's sport of choice. Dating back to when Collin was a kid, Jeff has promised $100 to each of his kids when they challenged and beat their dear ole' dad in any sport. For Collin and Kevin, the sport was swimming and for Connor, it was basketball. Kaitlynn followed in Connor's footsteps and challenged her Sweet Daddy in a game of hoops, the best of 3 games for "around the world" basketball. The time felt right, since Kaitlynn was in top form during her 8th grade season of basketball - which was exactly the same age as Connor when he won his challenge as well. 

When Challenge Day arrived, Connor was home and ready to be the hype man for Kaitlynn to cheer her on to victory. Connor quickly assumed the role of reporter and commentator, and Kaitlynn and Jeff were ready for the match.

Once the challenge was underway, Connor and I watched the drama unfold from the end of the driveway. And drama it was... Kaitlynn was off on a hot streak, making many of her shots to kick off the game. Connor's commentating game was also strong - so strong, in fact, that Jeff soon asked him to "knock it off" or something to that effect, likely because Jeff wasn't making his shots and was highly irritated at Connor's snarky reporting on the matter. Connor responded by switching to "golf mode" where his commentary was understated and quiet to avoid upsetting the competitors. Ha!

After Kaitlynn easily took Game 1, however, the drama intensified when Kaitlynn began missing shot after shot in Game 2. Jeff was steadily progressing, but Kaitlynn couldn't find her comfort zone and was becoming visibly upset and frustrated. The tension was building in the commentary as well; the spectators were really feeling the pressure. Kaitlynn's only hope was in Jeff's Achilles Heel - the one shot close to the garage that he just couldn't seem to make. Try after try, he kept missing that shot. While he struggled, Kaitlynn stealthily recovered and began to creep in toward victory. The crowd (a.k.a. Connor and I) were on the edge of our seats as the tone of his commentary began to build in nervous anticipation and excitement.

Before we knew it, Kaitlynn had come from behind and hit the hottest of all hot streaks, making every shot around the world one by one as Jeff remained frustratingly stuck at the shot by the garage that could've won the game for him time after time. It all came down to the final shot, where either one of them could've taken the game. Kaitlynn's confidence was high and the spectators went silent. With a flick of her wrist, the ball went up and then... SWOOSH! She won the game, an incredibly shocking come from behind win to take the $100 challenge and defeat her old man!

Kaitlynn was elated but before she could celebrate, it was time for post-game interviews with our commentator extraordinaire. Kaitlynn was on Cloud 9 and Jeff's description of his defeat was, well, "defeated." He then revealed that he had hoped to make it to age 60 before losing to his 4th and final kiddo, but alas, age 59 it was. Our sideline reporter summed it up perfectly with his final remarks. "This just in: Jeffrey Courtright RETIRING! We didn't see this one coming!" Ha!

Thanksmas 2022

After a LONG wait, one of our favorite family traditions was finally back! Thanksmas 2023 was happening after a 2-year hiatus, and all 6 of the Courtright family were so excited to attend. It can be challenging to work around everyone's schedules, but we made it work and even managed to book our flights together. We hadn't even made it to the airport before the fun was already beginning. Anticipating the long nights of basement card games in the days ahead, Collin and Kevin downloaded an app to practice playing Jeff's midwestern family's favorite card game, euchre. Soon, they were teaching Connor and Kaitlynn how to play so that everyone could get in on the fun. I couldn't resist snapping these photos in the airport as I marveled at how much our family has grown over the years. In my mind's eye, I still see Connor as the little guy when now he towers over us all!

As excited as we were to get to our initial destination, Chicago, we were quickly sidelined when Connor began feeling bad on the plane. By the time we arrived at our hotel, it was obvious that he had come down with something and needed to be seen by a doctor. Thank goodness for the late night, urgent care clinic down the road from our Chicago hotel. Connor was given several tests and deemed to be suffering from an ear infection that could be treated with an antibiotic. What a huge relief that it was treatable and not contagious!

The next morning, we drove from Chicago to Saugatuck, MI where the fun would soon be underway. We were so excited to be reunited with our hostess, Aunt Patti, along with the entire Arndt extended family gang. The kids quickly settled into games of euchre and ping pong, and we didn't waste any time before diving into all the yummy eats and treats. It was hard to believe we hadn't seen each other in almost 3 years, but the Arndt cousins were there to remind us of how much time had passed. They had all grown so much taller and bigger since our last visit in 2019! 

The usual basement shenanigans commenced downstairs with boisterous games and pantry shots, along with no shortage of fun and laughter as we all enjoyed being back together. It was fun to see the Courtright boys all join in on the card games and ping pong. As always, the noisy and rowdy crew kept it up until the wee hours each morning, as evident by the woozy smiles from the packed pantry. Ha!

On Thanksgiving day, the family traditions continued with potato peeling by all the Courtright men. When it was time to eat, there was so much food to enjoy and barely enough spots to sit for the ever-growing family. Jeff's niece, Nicole, and her mom Tina were able to join us this year for the very first time, and it was so special to share the fun and chaos with them. With full bellies and hearts, the games continued, and it was such memorable family time that we cherish and were so thankful to be a part of again.

After our Thanksgiving feast, I made the kids step outside for a rare family photo of the 6 of us. It was a beautiful, chilly day and I was so thankful for these great pics. Hard to believe how much we've all changed over the years! 

Back inside, the card games continued but there was also a new event this year - the family ping pong tournament organized by Jeff. He drew up brackets for the kids and adults, and then the competitors spent Thanksgiving Day playing their assigned games in the bracket. They all really got into the competition! The games lasted all day and in the end, it was Ryan versus Jeff for the championship. After a hard fought battle where Jeff sweated through his nice shirt, he walked away victorious and celebrated with a pantry shot!

Upstairs, the kids enjoyed some cookie decorating and the ladies had the usual "girl gift" exchange, one of my personal favorite activities of every Thanksmas visit. Jeff's favorite time is always the Christmas songs, ending with "12 Days of Christmas" when we likely wake the neighbors from all the boisterous singing. It was such a special time of togetherness for all of us - truly heartwarming to finally be back together again and celebrating Thanksmas with our beloved traditions.

As always, the time flew by and before we were ready, it was time to say goodbye. We felt so blessed for our wonderful Thanksmas visit and were already planning next year's visit. Back to the airport for our flight home, the games of euchre commenced as we maneuvered from gate to gate to gate with the crazy flight changes. It was the perfect ending to our awesome week of family time for Thanksmas!