Ending 2019, Ready for 2020...
So… I usually enjoy Sunday’s! It is typically the day of the week that I look forward to the most! We cook breakfast and spend the day getting ready for the next week, but at a calm pace. BUT this Sunday- the one before the girls back to school after sixteen days out of school, there is a level of dread and anxiety taking away from one of my favorite family days! Never the less we are making the best of it! The girls and I ate breakfast; we started mated the MILLIONS of socks we have avoided all break (while watching the new Batwoman so not complete torcher), a recital meeting, we survived the worst trip to Walmart EVER and watched a movie together (Major League III). I guess we could not ask for much more for the last day of break!
After Christmas
The last blog covered the winter break, and this one will cover the rest. We had a pretty good second half of the Winter Break. We had a lot of good ole quality family time, which always is essential for going in the second half of the year prepared and in a good state of mind!
The day after Christmas, I picked up my camera for the first time in MONTHS!! I got the girls and my niece to snap a group picture of the “cousins” (grandkids) before they went back home! I also did a mini-session of just her! It is so hard when loved ones live hours away, but I am incredibly thankful for the time we got to love on her and spend with her (and her parents)!
We had a family dinner out complete with dessert (thanks to gift cards).
We rarely get to eat out between our schedules, our eating restrictions, and our budget.
We appreciate nights like this one sooo much more!
We also went to the Magical Nights of Lights at Lanier Islands with my Best friend! One of the only things I genuinely enjoy Christmas lights! The Nights of Lights is SEVEN MILES of colorful moving displays of lights with creating magical creates or tell part of classic stories. They are like magic- lighting up the darkest nights with the most amazing things! This year we didn’t go to the “park” area, just did a drive through the lights, but it still was so much fun!
Another night, one of the girl’s friends came over and spent the night with us (she is technically Sissy’s friend, but the whole family has claimed her at this point!) FINALLY got her to watch The Nightmare Before Christmas! We also did a photoshoot… that I will share with you for this week's Working Wednesday blog. (I AM SOOOOO EXCITED TO SHARE THIS WITH EVERYONE!)
The next day, Sissy and Lou had their Birthday party together. We did a “drop-in party for family and friends to come by and visit with them. It was a very peaceful- low-stress party! It did not really feel like a party at all, more like a day of visiting with most of your favorite people from the comfort of your living room. The only downside is I forgot to take any pictures! (oops)!
Lee had a whole afternoon where she got to play with all her cosplay stuff- isn’t she the CUTEST Elf you have EVER seen???? I will have to have her do a blog about all her new materials. She got a bunch of wigs, vamp teeth, purple color contacts, and some makeup pallets! She was pretty happy with it all- she still is working on the contacts, though! They were a lot harder to put in and get out than she thought! Thank goodness Daddy was willing to help her the first time.
New Years Eve
Last year was the first year that we had stayed home from New Year’s Eve. It was so much fun; we played board games, acted silly, and laughed together until we counted down to 2019. So I had pretty high hopes for this New Year’s eve to be the same or better but…. Sissy went to a friends house to ring in the new year ( since she is a teenager now and is tooooo cooool for us!!) Steve had to be at work at 3 AM so when he got home he was tired and ended up taking a nap during the time the rest of the family played games. (just in case anyone is curious, Lee is cut-throat while playing Sorry and Trouble!!!) We finished the games about 11:45 pm and then turned on the Boss Baby New Year count down. Poor Lou was so tired at this point she literally rang in 2020 with tears in her eyes! She is by no means a kid that goes to bed early, but midnight is a little too late for her. We tried to express to her it “was” time to count down now, but she was determined to finish the game first, so we just waited. We counted down, and two minutes later, Lou was asleep! Within 10 minutes, the other two went. Steve went to get Sissy (since we were uncool parents that did not let her stay all night)!
The next day we kind of just had a lazy day- a little cleaning, a little editing. We did venture out of the house and went to Nanas for a traditional New Year’s Day meal: black-eye peas for change (coins), greens for money or good fortune (we had spinach this year), cornbread for gold (not to mention it is must-have with black-eyed peas), and hog jowl for health, prosperity, and progress.
Lastly, Sissy went bowling, played Lasor tag, and even played a little bit in the arcade with her friends for her birthday. It was a wonderful afternoon with a awesome group of girls!
(The last picture is from the Bowling Alley- where I found a Bathroom I never even knew existed and it was PINK!!!!! It was to beautiful to not share! My dream bathrrom is pretty similar to this one! <3)
I’m so thankful for a wonderful Winter Break and a fantastic year. The two years leading up to 2019 were rough, and I had to learn a lot, but it was all worth every bit of it because I am going into 2020 with a clear direction for my future. As a family, we are all working hard to reach goals, and the best part is that we are doing together! I can’t wait to see the things we accomplish in 2020, and I get to share it all with y'all!
Until Next time! Thanks for being part of our crazy…