A New Year Begins

As I begin to pick myself apart in a yearly attempt to develop New Years Resolutions, I decided that it would be beneficial to first reflect on some of the experiences, both good and bad, that we shared in the past year.

Grandma Liz and our trip to Iowa. Summer Fun. Tiny Town. Train Museum. Estes Park. Swimming and volleyball at KPP. BBQs with friends. Girls nights. Date nights. OUR NEW HOME and the adventures that followed. Grand Lake. Life with epilepsy. Continuation from Kindergarten into the 1st grade. Preschool. Elizabeth turned 7. Abigail turned 4. Soccer. Gymnastics. Social Work. Jewish Family Service. PTO. 6 years of marriage and going strong. Wedding. AHS tragedy. August John. Owen Bruce. Hosting our first Thanksgiving. Christmas Party.

We are very excited to begin a new year. We ended 2013 and began 2014 with friends! In years past, we have gone out to dinner with a couple of couples while the kids stayed at home with sitters. This year, we all decided that we wanted to share the holiday with our kids. We joined Dana at the Syers' house for a surf and turf dinner, a Whiskey tasting, games and good conversation. 

Nate and Wes decided that they are going to become whiskey aficionados! They picked up a couple of different whiskeys and had a blind tasting. Yes, they even took notes and voted on their favorites. 

We all brought sides to share and our own steaks. I found some lobster tail at the store and thought it would be a great addition to our dinner.

YUM! 

 I found a box of noise makers and party hats at Party City. The kids enjoyed them and likely shared germs with one another. 

 The kids played and watched The Croods while we enjoyed our adult dinner. Then we had a mini New Years celebration with the kids at 9:30 which allowed them to fall asleep (which my kids DID NOT do)! We had confetti poppers and glow sticks. 

Brrrrrr....

 We three and our fancy Happy New Year tiaras. 

 We cleaned up after dinner and played board games and this sneaky roulette game, which Elizabeth was strangely amused by!

 Then we played Ticket to Ride. The boys had a beer tasting in store but we had all eaten so much at dinner that we were tired and full! A relaxing game hit the spot as we killed the last hour before the countdown. 

I think that 2014 is going to be a great year. With the exception of the obvious "new beginnings" resolutions such as health, weight loss and organization, I plan to enjoy the year to its fullest. We are always so busy and I am guilty of overextending myself. I look toward a growing passion to strengthen relationships with friends, family members, and with God. I also look forward to graduation in May and the beginning of my career which is on the horizon. I will be turning 30 in November and am excited about that as well! I have accomplished so much, not only this year, but in the past few years. I am a blessed wife, mother, and individual and I look forward to moving into the new journeys that 2014 will bring! 

HAPPY NEW YEAR! MAY 2014 BRING YOU MANY BLESSINGS!