Scene 75 Family Fun!

The kids have been begging to go back to Scene 75, ever since their reward field trip there from the magazine fundraiser. And thanks to Aunt Rose and Uncle Brad- we had gift cards to spend there! So we took advantage of another day off for Daddy after New Year's and headed to Scene 75 for an afternoon of fun! 

Daniel played some arcade games, Daddy and Annabel went on the go-karts, we all played glow-in-the-dark mini-golf, we all played many rounds of air hockey (an air hockey table is high on our list for our own house!), and of course we played lots of other games, too. We had a good time and we were really glad it wasn't busy at all, even with the day off and the winter break in session. We had fun spending our gift card money, that's for sure! 

It was nice to do something fun together as a family and get out of the house a little over our winter break.

 

An End and a Beginning

2022 has wrapped up and 2023 is beginning. The change of the calendar year isn't one I often strongly react to, but this one got me thinking.

It's funny because sometimes it doesn't feel like we do a lot with our lives. We lead pretty quiet, simple lives, by choice. And yet, things are changing ever so subtly. I think I'll remember 2022 as the year my kids really became teenagers, the year they really came into their own just a little bit more. They are developing their tastes, their looks, their interests, their friend groups, their relationships with us, and their place in our home and within our family group. They are developing their personalities, their humor, their wit, their very essence. Some weeks it about-faces in the blink of an eye and you can't even hazard a guess at things, but other changes are subtle. I saw so much growth this year, I can't help but marvel at the human beings I'm raising and putting out into the world. Life is made in the small moments, the quiet moments, the small changes that can feel big, the love that is big.

With that, we welcome 2023 and all the moments it will bring, big and small.

Because we certainly have some bigger things on the horizon... Annabel will delve further into tween/teen-hood, including her first "dorm-life" experience at a band summer camp. Daniel will enter high school, which is a big deal; we've already started registering for high school classes- it's crazy!

Anyway, Happy New Year!! We celebrated with delicious creme brulee and sparkling juice. 3 out of 4 of us made it to midnight! (Ben wasn't feeling well, he was the one in bed early.)

I loved this image I saw on Instagram...each day a new page in a year-long book. This will be an interesting year for us and I can't wait to get started!

Our Life: December 2022

December is always a busy month, but I love the festivities and the fun! Here's what we were up to this month...

My mom and I enjoyed our annual Cup of Cheer Tea & Holiday House Walk. We toured some interesting homes, including this one that was nearly 20,000 square feet, complete with its own bowling alley. That house was something else!

 Our kitties are always so cute. We can never get enough of them!

Rose gave me this pretty pillow she'd made (Annabel got one, too) and it made me laugh how Ziggy literally pushed it off to sit on the rocker in my room. Mind you, he never sits on the rocker, so that made this even more funny! Go figure.

Annabel baked sugar cookies for her Mystery Gift Exchange party with friends. We had a lot of fun finding cute shapes all the tween girls would like!

My friend Esra's birthday is in December and she invited me to join her at JoJo's Shake Bar for lunch and loaded hot chocolate. It was so fun to celebrate with her! My kids were very jealous I was going!

These two melt my heart- Cosmo and Daniel, best buddies.

Daniel is covered with cats! Cosmo up top, Ziggy by his feet.

 Cosmo LOVES a good blanket pile. I love his sweet face here!

I went to an author Zoom featuring Fredrik Backman. Yes, I'd already done one event with him in person in September- and that was amazing. But this session was SO good, too. The moderator was fantastic and he's just SO amazing to listen to. I take something away every time I see him. My book club was reading Anxious People for December and I was happy he'd talked a little about that as well, so I could share with my book club. It was perfect timing!

Annabel's Jazz "tux" shirt arrived! It's so stinking cute!

Ben helped a friend, Baris (Esra's husband, Annabel's friend Zeynep's dad) build a ramp for their front walkway. Their son, Mehmet, is newly in a wheelchair, after suffering strokes as a result of COVID and his compromised immune system from his mitochondrial disease. It's been a very rough road for them and I'm so glad we could do something for them, as they're just the nicest people. It was a good weekend project for the guys.

My Wesleyan days came to mind one night and I Googled various haunts to see if they were still around...Avanti's Italian restaurant (amazing bread) and Tobin's Pizza (the BEST pizza!). We actually took baby Daniel there once, way back in 2009 on our way home from Colorado. And yes- they're still around! Fun trip down memory lane.

This picture is from my book club's gift exchange party...the host's adorable cat jumped into a giant gift bag, as cats do. She was so sweet and so cute! I just had to share.

Ziggy LOVES when the laundry basket is available for sitting on. Thankfuly this is mainly just socks and pajamas and the like.

We had to scramble one night to get Annabel a Santa hat for some upcoming band performances. (We couldn't find ours anywhere!) So glad we found some in stock that fit! (4th store for the win.) I bought two! I didn't want to do this again next year, haha. (Of course Ben found ours just after I checked out with these two new ones. Though it worked out because those didn't fit anymore.) Annabel looks adorable!

Time for a little Christmas baking! 8 Layer Bars!

Fun Christmas puzzles!

Ziggy on the cat tower. So cute all curled up.

We finally got snow!! And it was so cold that it stayed all week through Christmas. So we had a white Christmas, which was lovely!

We took the kids to see Elf the Musical at Drury Lane the day before Christmas Eve. It was a fun family outing. (Nevermind the extreme blizzard-like weather, high winds, blowing snow, and extreme cold, that meant we really shouldn't leave the house...but the show went on and I wasn't passing up these tickets!) The show was cute enough and it was the perfect thing to do in the days just before Christmas.

Memories from Christmas past. Look how small and cute these kiddos were!

My favorite is Annabel's homemade headband with stockings drawn all over it! Love it!!

Google collage- I love these!

I got a new stained glass window for my library from my parents for Christmas. It's so cute!

Ben gave me a Chai sampler for Christmas. Delicious fun!! My favorites so far have been Chocolate Comfort and Hugs & Kisses. Raspberry was yummy, too. It's been fun to try these out! Thanks to my friend Christin for sharing this new chai company, Kataluma Chai, with me.

Ziggy worked it out with the pillows apparently. They got to stay this time.

Annabel cleaned out her closet and got ready to give away her Rainbow Loom materials, but not before making a really looooong chain of them! The process of making these came back to her instantly, even though it's been ages since she tinkered with these. Sweet memories for us.

That's December all done! On to 2023!