January Highlights So Far

My feelings about 2017 are a bit mixed so far but we've managed to have some fun mixed in with the chaos. First, Jon and I made a getaway to San Francisco for a few days while the boys stayed with Grandma and Grandpa. We had a great time in the city, met up with some friends, took the ferry to Sausalito, did a little shopping, and ate lots and lots of yummy food. G-Momma even came into the city on Sunday to meet us for lunch. We had a wonderful meal and it was really nice to spend time with her without the kiddos interrupting. Unfortunately I failed to take any pictures when we were with her.

A few days after we got back from our San Francisco trip Blingy came to town to visit. We were so excited to see her, especially since she wasn't able to visit during the holidays. Uncle Mark and Aunt Penny hosted a barbecue and we had so much fun spending time with everyone. Blingy came with lots of gifts so the boys were, of course, in heaven. The kiddos decided they should give everyone back massages which was pretty funny and they were super sweet with Ben.

Play Dates

Over Reed's winter break we took advantage of some of my friends and their kids having time off too and set up a couple of play dates. First were Heidi and her three kids. All five kids did great playing together and we Moms even were able to chat and catch-up which was awesome. All the kids ended up working on legos and it was fun to see the different skill levels in action. It was also neat to see how independent Reed and Drake have become.

After the first of the year Auntie Amanda took some time off with Vivienne and we planned a get together at their house. The kids haven't spent much time together before but they played really well  and we had such a fun morning. Amanda made a snack tray they devoured and we played playdoh treasure hunt forever. I'm so glad we got to spend time with Viv and the kiddo hugs when we were leaving were adorable!!!

Welcoming 2017

We kind of debated if we should host a New Year's party this year, but in the end decided we really did want to ring in 2017 with some of our friends. We kept it smaller this year with just our Kingsburg friends coming over. Jon smoked meat all day and I made some side dishes and desserts. We had seven families over and really did have a wonderful time with everyone. The kids all got along great and had a blast chasing Deric around the house, playing with toys in the bedrooms, watching the Dads slot car race, blowing on horns, and then calming down with a movie. Reed, Kieran, Lyla, Clara, Jeffrey, and Emma all made it until midnight and loved drinking sparkling cider and giving out New Years kisses.

 

Papa's Birthday Celebration

Last week we had a lunchtime celebration for Papa's Birthday. Since it was just a few days after Christmas Aunt Di Di and TJ were able to stay in town so the whole family was able to attend. Before we headed over to Nonna and Pepe's for the party Reed started playing with one of his Christmas gifts - a camera. This camera is made for kids but it is a real/legitimate camera. He loved it immediately and begged to take it along. He was adorable at the get-together, trying to document everything and to take pictures of everyone. He deleted shots that had bad light, were blurry, or had people's eyes closed. So below are a couple of my pictures from the celebration followed by all of Reed's. I think he did a great job capturing the day and hope he continues to get a lot of use out of his camera. Papa had a great Birthday being surrounded by his family and cracking-up over his great-grand kids' shenanigans!!!

Sarah's Pictures:

Reed's Pictures: