Ringing in the New Year at Amate

Well, my promises to be more active on blogging has failed miserably.

Chicago is not much different than before but I will try and highlight a few fun events that have made life more enjoyable.

First off, not related to Chi, at Christmas time all the Krantz's were able to make it to Dallas to meet our new cousin, Collin! I also got to meet Amanda, the cutest 3 year old since Riley. It was wonderful spending time with them and the rest of the Krantz clan, we always have a good time together, no matter what we do. Our 30 empty wine bottles were proof of the fun; and memories of spoons, ice skating, family pics, and lots of eating and mojitos solidified it. Time in MN over Christmas break was wonderful as well and getting to see friends and the Schatzlein side of the fam. I also got to get in my fix of cross country skiing since I didn't bring my skis to Chicago.

Back to Chicago news, the Teen Center has been going well, we are now averaging 50-60 kids every single day, our highest was 72 kids with 4 young adult volunteers and 3 staff members!! Crazy day!
We took the kids to a UIC men's basketball game and they enjoyed getting out of McKinley Park and seeing a college sports center.
The middle schoolers from Evergreen are deep in their own basketball season and the boys team has a close to undefeated season. The girls are fighting hard for the wins they do get but enjoying every game. And of course, the basketball court at the Teen Center is occupied all 4 hours we are open. Volleyball is a daily activity as is pool and air hockey. With the cold weather kids are staying longer and have more energy, providing for some crazy times upstairs. A former Amate volunteer and Teen Center staff member, Rebecca, has been stopping by and we had a fun jump rope contest on Thursday. The most consecutive jumps was 300!!
We have been having a lot of planning meetings with Christ the King parish for our upcoming retreat in February. A lot of our kids and young adult volunteers have been attending the meetings and it should be a success!
Our Superbowl adult party fundraiser is this weekend and we are working hard to get the place ready for it. It should be fun and I hear it goes late into the morning with lots of eating, drinking, and football watching.

My house just got done with Simplicity Boot Camp week and had an urban plunge group from St. Norbert College stay with us. We also had a Dirtiest Person Contest to see who could conserve the most water by going the longest without showering. I lasted from Monday afternoon to Friday morning and had a couple workouts in there, pretty gross. Jessie won going from Sunday night to Saturday afternoon!
We had Cardinal George at our house for a community night dinner and that was a fun and educational evening, it felt like we had a celebrity over!
Weekends are usually spent relaxing and catching up on sleep and our to-do lists after busy work weeks. Last weekend however, I made a spontaneous trip home to see Sista's swim meet at St. Cloud. I also got to go to the cross country ski meet at Theodore Wirth Saturday and Sunday and it felt like old times cheering on the Johnnies and Blazers in the Minnesota cold. Watched a heartbreaking Vikings loss at KK and Dick's but was glad to be in the presence of fellow Vikes fans and family.

Well, that's all for now, as always, I will try and blog more often!
Peace, love, and Chicago winds!
-Megg1