The boys did a downtown bingo scavenger hunt over the summer (I thought I posted about it but I can’t find it!), and Chase just found out he won a prize for completing it. $25 in free ice cream. Whoop whoop! It pays to get out there.
Our plans to go ice skating got sidetracked yesterday so we squeezed it in this afternoon. Look at us getting out!
We got all dressed up and hit the town for a gala at the brand new Children’s Museum tonight. We felt very fancy and had so much fun. I didn’t take any great photos, but this one will do. Such joy.
I always find it satisfying to reflect a little at the end of the year. Resolutions + goal-setting are great, but I tend to be more focused on looking forward all year long. Taking a second to look back, however, is something I don’t do very often. It sure does put things into perspective, though, doesn’t it?
Enough build-up! Here we go…
Read 30 (THIRTY!) books. I don’t know if you can tell, but I’m pretty proud of that. For a few minutes, I thought I finished at 29 but then remembered one that wasn’t on my log. Whew. Thirty is much more satisfying, don’t you agree?
Family life is about as good as it can be. The ages of 8 + 10 might be my favorite. They’re just so much fun. And hanging out with your best friend/husband all the time? Yeah, that’s pretty sweet, too.
Decided to start a new business (eek!) with the best partner a girl could ask for. More info on that to come.
Hosted 20 events to build community at the boys’ school as part of my role as Governance Board Vice President.
Helped to market a seven-day book festival with 16 events. It’s a ton of work, but more than worth all the effort.
Taught myself a brand-new piano song. I’m glad the piano and I are friends again.
Managed to substitute teach in every one of the Montessori classrooms. That was mostly last school year. This year I’m trying very hard to commit to only one day a week. There’s just so much need. Side note: you should become a sub so it’s easier on everyone!
Wrote 181 blog posts. I know I’ve slacked a bit more this year, but I feel ok about it. I’m still doing my best to capture our “small days” so that has to be enough.
Continued seeing my therapist. It’s a little more inconsistent than when I started, but I’m happy to report I still get a lot out of it.
Soaked in the sun and read a ton in Puerto Vallarta, made some lovely memories during an 8-day road trip across New York, and locked myself in a hotel room with a dear friend in Boston for a weekend filled with lots of working and an equal amount of laughter. It’s nice to be traveling again.
I’ve said it before. I’ll say it again. I LOVE holiday cards. It just brings me so much joy to have a wall filled with some of my favorite people. And who doesn’t love getting mail, you know?
We rang in the New Year by celebrating with just the four of us. We even all made it to midnight! Robbe was very proud of himself. Here’s to another year of being happy, healthy, and making lots of memories.
We finally made it to the indoor skating rink! And it was so fun. The boys did great. I’m hoping with a few more visits to the rink, we’ll have expert skaters by the end of the season.
Look at this! All five of us sitting around our original family table—in all of our assigned spots. And we ate a whole dinner like that. Crazy, right?
Sorry it’s been awhile…but Christmas will do that! We’ve had a lovely week of family celebrations, delicious food, and spoiling the boys. Happiest of holidays to you and yours!
Our annual cookie baking day was yesterday and we nailed it. I forgot to take a photo of the final assortment, but they sure look good. Although exhausting, we had a lovely afternoon of baking. Nothing beats a fun holiday tradition.
There’s a crazy amount of snow here at the lake. It’s the most snow I remember us having at Christmas in a long time. And it sure is pretty.
Robbe officially mailed his Santa letter today—and thank goodness because he was getting a little nervous about it arriving in time. We’ll see if Santa comes through this year!
It was candle crafting day with some of my favorite people. Act surprised if one shows up as a gift. :)
The last time we were ringing bells for the Salvation Army was pre-Covid. We were finally back at it tonight…woohoo! The boys even sang Christmas carols with me while we jingled—I was pleasantly surprised. With all the getting going on around here lately, it sure felt nice to take some time and give a little.
A 4-H meeting at an arcade? Yeah. We can get into that.
Weekends are the best, aren’t they? And, as far as Saturdays go, today was about as good as it gets. We had a low key morning with muffins. Went for a walk downtown where we witnessed a duck promenade in the river and enjoyed tasty warm beverages. The boys both had afternoon play dates while Chris supervised and put together a puzzle. Me? I enjoyed a holiday market with a friend. Then we walked back downtown for some delicious pizza before putting on a holiday movie after the boys went to bed. Oh, and Chris and Chase wore matching shirts, too. I mean…perfect, right?
I really love this time of year.
We stopped at the boys’ school tonight for a Students as Teachers event. They each got to show us around their classrooms and walk us through some of their typical works. They both seem so happy and engaged at school. As parents, is there anything better?
*Sorry I forgot to take a photo of Robbe in his classroom. Oops!
In case you were worried about Dungeons & Dragons being a passing trend at our house…it’s back! And it took up most of the afternoon, so that’s fun.
Fireworks + good friends. It doesn’t get much better than that. I guess less freezing rain in my face would have been appreciated.
There’s nothing better than this in my opinion. Lounging in our cozy house, reading a good book with one of my favorite people, with our beautiful Christmas tree keeping us company. I love warm weather, but there’s something really wonderful about the slower pace of the colder months.
small city | BIG DAYS
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