Our Happy New Year

New Year's Eve Eve (Gaupo worked had his Friday/Saturday switcheroo, so he had to work New Year's Eve) was so great and it all stemmed from a small discussion Gaupo and I had the night before. When we went to bed the night before, I told Gaupo "We have to do something tomorrow we have wasted this entire break. Well, we have need the rest and the chill period, but we are well and this is our last chance to do something with just us before the break is over."

He replied, "You are right what do you want to do?"

I said, "Go ice skating."

That said we woke up the next morning, and got ourselves out of bed. We had breakfast which I think didn't end up being what I wanted it to be, but you know what it was still good and whatever we had made for a great rest of the day. So, we had breakfast and then we went to Roosevelt Park (home of both the ice rink and the most Pokemon Stops). We took the girls bike and they rode them to the playground where we played for awhile. They have a new slide there and it is really tall and twisty so the girls had tons of fun going up and down that. Then when they were finished with that, we continued around the park. When they got to the ice rink they wanted to go right then, but we made then finish the loop and put their bikes in the car and then we went. It was really pretty fun. Kylee did great. She did some with the walker and even tried a bit on her own. I was so proud of her because she tried new things, fell a few times, let me go around and then come back to her, and she didn't even cry it was awesome. Tia on the other hand wasn't that thrilled with it. She had a really hard time staying up, she really couldn't move that fast, and it was hard. However, she tried it and endured it for awhile and then Gaupo took her around the park some more while Kylee and I skated. The weather was so gorgeous that it really was the perfect day for this activity.

Kylee skating with the walker.

Kylee on her own, but with Dad close by just in case.

Gaupo and the girls.

Kylee, Tia and Me.

We left the park around noon and headed back home for lunch and naps. We all napped and it was so great. I woke up first which was great because I was able to get the crab dip started. Crab dip gets better with time, so it is really better if you can make it a day or two in advance. Then after naps, we went on a Pokemon walk around the high school. Then I am not sure what we did (that is why I should blog sooner about these things.) I actually think I made dinner because we decided on Pretzel dogs and I had to get the dough and stuff started, so while I was doing that I think the others watch Curious George. After the dough was made, everyone helped me finish making dinner. Then we enjoyed dinner together and then sent the girls to bed. Then we watch the movie Hoodwinked Too, and went to bed.

Like I said Gaupo had to work New Year's Eve until five, so most of the day was spent just doing our thing. Although I did get some sand toys from our neighbors donate pile, and right before I needed to make dinner for the missionaries, we dashed over to the volleyball sand pits by my house and played in the sand. Then we rushed home to make dinner.This year for New Years Eve night we were by ourselves. We thought about different people we could have over and we even got invited to our friend's New Years bash, but Gaupo had some plans and kind of wanted to do our own things, so I obliged.That said we didn't completely do it alone. We did have the missionaries over for dinner that night. We had pizza rolls, crab dip, seven layer dip, hummus, fresh pinapple, fudge, and brownies and ice cream. If I do say so myself, it was really good food. We had it for a few days after and it was so good I am so glad we had some help eating it, but I am so glad we had leftovers too. It was great to have the missionaries over. Sadly it had to be kind of rushed because they were suppose to be in by six, but Gaupo couldn't get home until about 5:30. However, they enjoyed the food and we enjoyed having them here. It was a great way to kick off New Years Eve.

After they left we cleaned up dinner quickly and then hoped in the car to go look at Christmas lights. It was so fun. We had fun pointing out all the lights to each other, taking the time to slow down and look around, and then just visiting and talking between places. It was so great. To be truthfully honest, Kylee did not want to do this particular activity, but finally consented since we said she could pick the next activity. So, she endured the light (thought she really did enjoy it) and then we came home. So, the next activity was of course Kylee's choice and she wanted to watch Picachu. I know it is kind of crazy how involved our little family is with Pokemon, but you know what the shows really are pretty good and the game gets us out together, so it is not all bad. The only part I don't like is that it is a lot of media (video game and TV). Oh well, you can't win them all. So, anyway we watched an episode of that and then it was Tia's turn for an activity. Tia wanted to play a game. She chose Life on the Farm. It is kind of a long game when you play by the rules, but we adapt it a little, so that our girls can play a whole game. We will teach them the real rules when they can sit a little longer. So we played that game, Find the Treasure (we call it the Ogre game), and Let's Go Fishing. After all those games, it was time for baths and the first ringing in of the New year. We had Powerade and taught the girls about clinking glasses, then cheered it in and sent them to bed at about 8:30. I actually really enjoyed spending some of New Years Eve actually doing New Year's Eve type stuff. It was fun to see how the girls kind of thrived on being part of the celebrations. My kids are growing and it so crazy to me that they can even do that kind of thing, but so fun.

The 'clinking' demo.

The group toast.

Kylee drinking in the New Year.

Tia drinking in her New Year.

After they were tucked into there hallway beds (yes, they still fall asleep at the top of the stairs) it was time for Gaupo and I to eat more food and play more games. However, first we got showered and everything, so that when it was midnight we could ring in the New Year and go to bed. This year we didn't really eat that much more food because we were stuffed from dinner; however, we did indulge in some more fudge and probably some dip. Then we played a couple of games. We played Pandemic, which is actually not too long of a game, but because we had to learn to set it up and how to play it took awhile. It was a really fun game. Pandemic is a cooperative game which means you either all win or you all lose. We have a few of these games now and I think Pandemic is one where you all have to work together because if you don't talk about what you are going to do disease spreads and before you know it you lose. So, it being late at night and having had an eventful day our cooperation was not as great as it should have been and we lost. However, we have learned from that fateful night and have since made much better decisions in the game. Also it has helped us in a lot of our games. Anyway, it finished a little after 11:30, so we watch Hogan Hero's and then we we toasted in the New Year with sparkling grape juice and then went to bed. It really was a great end to 2016.