{"id":10710,"date":"2024-12-31T23:59:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-01T07:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jshox.com\/jay\/?p=10710"},"modified":"2025-11-06T09:37:39","modified_gmt":"2025-11-06T17:37:39","slug":"the-end-of-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jshox.com\/jay\/2024\/12\/31\/the-end-of-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"The end of 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We are almost done with this year. It’s unbelievable. Many things have changed this year, and who knows what next year will bring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since we were in Southern California, we decided to take Luca and the kids to the Back to the Future filming locations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We took him to the location where the DeLorean was destroyed and to Doc’s house. Each time we would get out, I’d play the scene so he could see it himself. Everything still pretty much looks the same, so it makes it easy for them to see it. Luca begged to go inside Doc’s house, but sadly, we couldn’t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We also rented an Elantra for the trip (so we can put the miles on that vehicle instead). A non-hybrid was getting between 40 and 50 MPG. I was verrrryyy impressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The very next day, we went to Universal Studios. It’s unbelievable that it’s been nearly 9 years since we arrived. Arabella was two, and we didn’t have any other kids then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All the kids have grown up knowing the Grinch as “Uncle Grinch,” so we stopped by and said hello (yes, they loved being decked out in Grinch gear).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We could go on some rides and stay around for a fireworks show that started around Midnight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elijah LOVED the Jurassic Park ride, but Ara thought the drop was a bit much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elijah didn’t so much love the Mummy ride (due to the dark), but Ara liked that one. So it’s been a good trade-off of different rides they each prefer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luca and Ezra were able to ride some in the Despicable Me land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All the kids have enjoyed this experience, especially sharing it with my parents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was something about watching the fireworks go off over Hogwarts\u2014a pretty cool experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s to 2025!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We are almost done with this year. It’s unbelievable. Many things have changed this year, and who knows what next year will bring. Since we were in Southern California, we decided to take Luca and the kids to the Back to the Future filming locations. We took him to the location where the DeLorean was…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10717,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10710","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/dec31-eve.jpg?fit=1085%2C814&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8240,"url":"https:\/\/jshox.com\/jay\/2023\/01\/31\/2023-january-part-4\/","url_meta":{"origin":10710,"position":0},"title":"2023 – January part 4","author":"me@jshox.com","date":"January 31, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Hey again, After the chaos that the last part of this month brought, we took a trip to Black Angus to have a birthday dinner (also because the steaks were a special price of 25 vs normally 35). The food was very good and worth paying a little bit of\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/jan29.jpg?fit=685%2C913&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/jan29.jpg?fit=685%2C913&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/jan29.jpg?fit=685%2C913&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11187,"url":"https:\/\/jshox.com\/jay\/2025\/05\/13\/may-day\/","url_meta":{"origin":10710,"position":1},"title":"May Day","author":"me@jshox.com","date":"May 13, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Hey there,It's gonna be May! Well, no, hold that thought. It IS May! Sorry, Justin.Here is a fun tidbit: I saw a clip of Justin talking about that meme. He said that at the time, he was instructed to pronounce \"Me\" more like \"May,\" which is why it is how\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/may7-treeplant.jpg?fit=1075%2C806&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/may7-treeplant.jpg?fit=1075%2C806&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/may7-treeplant.jpg?fit=1075%2C806&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/may7-treeplant.jpg?fit=1075%2C806&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/may7-treeplant.jpg?fit=1075%2C806&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10158,"url":"https:\/\/jshox.com\/jay\/2024\/08\/17\/2024-august-part-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":10710,"position":2},"title":"2024 – August part 2","author":"me@jshox.com","date":"August 17, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Hey So it's been quiet around the house. Why? Arabella has been gone. She left to go to her friend's house for a sleepover for something like 9 days. Nuts, but she wanted to. We have been cleaning which ironically has been a little easier to do. Here are some\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/aug12-caught.jpg?fit=902%2C677&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/aug12-caught.jpg?fit=902%2C677&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/aug12-caught.jpg?fit=902%2C677&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/aug12-caught.jpg?fit=902%2C677&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5654,"url":"https:\/\/jshox.com\/jay\/2021\/03\/31\/2021-march\/","url_meta":{"origin":10710,"position":3},"title":"2021 – March","author":"me@jshox.com","date":"March 31, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"March! Springtime is nearly upon us. Arabella has a thing where she just loves getting Luca dry and getting a diaper on him. She has also been rapping to NF lately. I got a really cute video of her and me going back and forth on his \"Lost\" song. Check\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/mar15-falls.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/mar15-falls.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/mar15-falls.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/mar15-falls.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/mar15-falls.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9123,"url":"https:\/\/jshox.com\/jay\/2023\/06\/30\/2023-june-part-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":10710,"position":4},"title":"2023 – June part 3","author":"me@jshox.com","date":"June 30, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Hey, Since Elijah is gone, we decided to try and make the time that we have with Ara and Luca as special as it can be. We gathered up some wood and had a smores cookout. Took her out to dinner at a restaurant of her choice. (Bannings Restaurant &\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/june28.jpg?fit=710%2C947&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/june28.jpg?fit=710%2C947&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/june28.jpg?fit=710%2C947&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/june28.jpg?fit=710%2C947&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11143,"url":"https:\/\/jshox.com\/jay\/2025\/04\/08\/woodenshoes\/","url_meta":{"origin":10710,"position":5},"title":"Wooden shoes","author":"me@jshox.com","date":"April 8, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Hey everyone Is it April?! It's wild that this little marble keeps spinning faster and faster. I was in the backyard, and Ara asked if she could mow. Why certainly. She did a pretty good job overall. The next few days were relatively warm, and so we had a cookout.\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/april7-colors.jpg?fit=1043%2C782&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/april7-colors.jpg?fit=1043%2C782&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/april7-colors.jpg?fit=1043%2C782&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/april7-colors.jpg?fit=1043%2C782&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10710","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10710"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10710\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11391,"href":"https:\/\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10710\/revisions\/11391"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10717"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10710"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10710"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10710"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}