Winter break is slowly winding down, but we've had a great week together. We've played a lot of new games together...

And had some fun low-key nights with friends. Wendy & I love to twin these days!

The girls have been sledding with friends & enjoying the snow as well.  Thankfully, it's been pretty nice outside but it's about to get really cold. Just in time for NYE weekend & Marg's birthday. She is so not happy with the forecast.

I even forced the girls to go on a walk with Gary & I one afternoon. It felt so good to get some fresh air & exercise together. Margaux hitched a ride for a bit on Gary's back. Not so little anymore....

And more sledding fun in Katie & Mike's back yard. They've put so much work in back there & it has definitely paid off! Beautiful & so fun for everyone. We can't wait for many sledding/bonfire nights back there!

Tonight we are resting up for our NYE celebrations tomorrow evening. And I am wrapping up what will probably be my last blog post of the year. It's been another crazy one, but we have so much to be thankful for. Even with all the gloom & unknown of covid, we've managed to create some amazing memories again this year. Looking forward to good things ahead in 2022! xoxo

With the kids being off school this week Maeve + Sloane have worked in some quality time together. They've been sledding... (Maeve STILL in her Christmas pj's)

And hot-tubbing...

Living their best life together.

Love that they enjoy being together. That's not to say that they don't argue like sisters sometimes, but for the most part they are the closest of all the kiddos. Maeve still has such a playfulness that pairs well with Sloane yet. I am sad when I think about her losing that & becoming more like the big girls sooner than later. They grow up too fast!!! So nice to have this time off. Wish we could extend this winter break longer, like everything else it always goes by so fast! xoxo

 Merry Christmas! A snapshot of our 2021 Christmas card. We really did not plan well this year & this was thrown together last minute. AND my cards did not arrive until late so I was horrible at getting them out on time or at all for some. This working full-time stuff really put a damper on my cards getting out on time, haha. These girls are looking so grown up!

 As the girls get older, Christmas morning has gotten easier. For a few years now, we've been telling them no one is up before 8:00. If you wake up (Maeve) you go back to sleep for a bit & it is soooooo nice! This morning all three slept in a bit & we got to presents right on time. 

Presents galore! Marin got a bunch of clothes, slippers she had been waiting for, perfume, makeup, earrings, an M necklace, etc. Margaux was about the same. Her pile was full of clothes, wide-leg leggings, Justin Bieber perfume, Gilmore Girls (her favorite show) things, a buddha board, earrings, necklace, etc. And Maeve was thrilled to receive a few Funko Pop figurines, an Apple pencil (her big wish), a Nintendo switch game, a tiny science kit & much more. As always, spoiled girls.

After presents the crew came here for breakfast. Everyone is always excited for grandma Jean's pumpkin scones. We always have so much food.

Once we finished breakfast & cleaned up a bit everyone was ready to head to Veraghen's. The kids are always so darn excited to show each other their gifts. Katie prepared a holiday Family Feud game last year that we never got to play, so they were all pretty hyped for that. 

Our only family pic from this Christmas. Love our matching pj's this year so much they may have to be next year's pj's too!

The Christmas Crew. Each family wore their own matching pj's this year. They all looked pretty darn cute.

The Veraghen kiddos got virtual reality glasses. It was so funny watching the kids play. Swinging their arms around not knowing which way they were facing. 

We all had a really relaxing & enjoyable day. Always so nice not to have to travel & just enjoy some time together. Steak dinner tonight was enjoyed by all. Now we are stuffed & ready for bed again! These have been our earliest Christmas nights ever & I am not complaining. All this time at home has aged us! haha We did get the Brown vs Veraghen Family Feud game in too! Proud to say the Brown Family + Mike won the game. It was super fun & definitely worth the wait. Merry Christmas!!! xoxo

 Merry Christmas Eve, our favorite holiday is here & we kicked it off with our traditional Christmas Eve morning movie in our pj's. It's been almost 2 years since we've last been in a movie theater. Crazy times when you think of that. Needless to say, our crew was excited to be back. We saw Sing 2 and it was great! 

When we got home we decided to give the girls the family gift. We bought them a Soda Stream... a fun device that carbonates water & you can make your own soda/bubbly drinks. I was so darn excited to surprise the girls. The UPS man had other plans. Left the package in its original box in front of the garage door & the big girls saw it a week or so ago when they got home from school. Ugh! I was so mad, ruined the surprise. They did keep it a secret from Maeve, so she was super excited & surprised.

Tonight we attended/watched church online in the comfort of Katie & Mike's kitchen. We also made a delicious sweet charcuterie board of holiday goodness & the adults enjoyed our favorite holiday slush.

We were all so happy to have my grandma & grandpa with us as well. The threat of covid has kept them from so many of our gatherings. We all took the precautions & even tested to make sure that we were all safe to be by them. Makes me smile when I see these pictures of them with the snapchat filter. Really fun to see their reaction with the filters on! Marin found an old Story School sweatshirt at Katie's from when I taught in MKE. That will be a new staple in her wardrobe.

The best guys in town...

And a picture of my favorite gals...

So thankful to have us all together. Our group was MUCH smaller than usual because of a few cousins/family members having covid or being exposed, but it all worked out in the end. We missed them all, but were happy to have a few of us together especially after no gathering at all last year.

Look at these kids & how nice they smile when they know presents are involved! 

Love them all to pieces. We had a great night together. Home & ready for bed by 9:30pm! How great is that? Merry Christmas to all! xoxo

 Merry found herself the perfect spot to watch the neighbors light show tonight. Maeve even turned on the radio for her so she could see the lights to the music. 

Christmas is only 2 days away. I am not ready to say goodbye to the holiday season just yet. It always goes by so darn fast... even with us decorating right after Halloween. Maybe next year we put the tree up in Sept! haha xoxo

 Last night the big girls had their friend exchange. Marin & her friends started off going to the high school hockey game. Once they got home they changed into their pj's and exchanged gifts. They had a great time together.

Margaux & her friends also had a sleepover together. Hayden made matching blankets for all the girls. They all looked so darn cute & snuggly together. All three of our kids have such great groups of friends. Thankful for that.

This afternoon we celebrated Aadi's 16th birthday. Wendy & Travis surprised her with a car. The girls were all so darn excited. They've been waiting for her to drive them to Starbucks! 

Scary to think these kids are going to be driving already. Quite a few of Marin's friends already have their temps. Ugh! Not ready for Marin behind the wheel!!! xoxo

 Luminary night in the neighborhood today. We've lucked out for years with pretty great weather. Tonight was cold, but still absolutely beautiful. Gary & I drove around this morning collecting the neighborhood canned/non-perishable food donations from our side of the neighborhood. We also distributed luminaries to the houses that were participating. I would say 95% did, so that was great! Tonight, our neighbor with the amazing light display even added some angel wings to pose near. Maeve was excited to take a picture.

Our house looked so pretty all lit up & the sky was so blue. We were all wishing for a little more snow but so much of it melted this week.

Maeve touring the neighborhood...

She was the only one out walking with us tonight. Marin is with her friends doing their Christmas exchange & Margaux was walking around the neighborhood with her friends. No pics of course! It really did look great. Hopefully we raised a lot of money & gathered a large food donation too. It's all done for a great local cause.

Luminaries 2021 was a success!

Gingerbread decorating tonight. We bought an Oreo gingerbread kit a few weeks ago. The girls have been waiting to decorate. With everyone home tonight, it was a great night to check it off the list.

I don't even remember the order of who's was who's. They all turned out pretty great though. Gary decorated the 4th.

All three of them were very into their decorating. It was a stiff competition. Margaux posted them in Instagram to get the official votes to see who's was the best. I believe Margaux was the big winner.

 Maeve & Marg also decorated a few gingerbread this weekend. They also turned out pretty cute! Little bakers in this house, they taste great too. xoxo

Bhodi got Gary an early Christmas gift tonight. He couldn't wait until Christmas to gift it to him.

Matching PlayStation sweaters. 

Child's size XL for Gary. He and all the kids playing Fortnite. He'll fit right in now with his children's sweater! haha Thanks for feeding his hobby Bhodi! xoxo

 St. Nick arrived & Maeve was up early to check out what was in her stocking.

They were all happy with their stocking gifts. Grinch pajamas for Marg, finger pianos for Maeve & a fuzzy robe for Marin. 

Maeve also got twinning hats with Eva this week. Holly & Jolly!

Such a fun time of the year. Off to school/work! Mondays are hard! xoxo

 Welcome to our favorite holiday month of the year! We've all welcomed December even though it brings colder weather, we'll take the favorite holiday festivities in exchange. One of the first new 2021 ornaments on the tree is a Diet Coke can, courtesy of my friend Emily who hates that I drink so much soda. I love it! Second is a new Peloton ornament from my sister. Peloton & Diet Coke, two of my most favorite things. 

Tonight was the girls holiday piano recital. Margaux is lucky to have both Marin (friend) and Naina with her to celebrate. All three of them take lessons from Ms. Ronda.

The piano sisters...the two best in our opinion. 

Both of the girls did so great! Ronda recently told us that Margaux has made three years growth in one year since starting piano lessons. She is definitely ready for a real piano. Our digital, weighted key piano is just not cutting it anymore. We're working on it Marg!

So proud of them both for all their hard work & hours practicing. I am loving their new hobbies! The constant Christmas music playing is music to my ears. xoxo

 Merry is back and she's been busy in our house already in the few days since arriving. Maeve just loves her & has been working hard on a letter for Santa that she'll leave with Merry in hopes that she'll deliver it to Santa. 

Two nights ago she was swinging across the living room, which made us all laugh.

And yesterday she landed right by Maeve's Christmas bracelet making station set up. Maeve was happy to have her so close watching.

The girls have started opening their advent calendars & we are officially counting down the days until Christmas. Margaux is watching the Grinch on repeat and Maeve & I are loving all the new Hallmark movies. Love this season so much! 

xoxo

 Happy 1/2 Birthday to Marin. She felt we needed to celebrate so Margaux made her a cake...

Guess we celebrate Marin's half birthday now. haha The cake was delicious, so I'll let it continue to happen if there is always cake involved. xoxo

 Thanksgiving has come & gone... and I didn't take any pictures! I hate when that happens! Here's what I've got from the day. This morning, the girls & Katie's boys made cornucopia treats to share with everyone. They turned out pretty cute. We also attempted some acorn looking treats made of donut holes & those were delicious but a bit of a fail. 

We hosted a smaller than usual Thanksgiving dinner here at our house, complete with this amazing charcuterie board that I assembled. Linda's marble tray has held a few now & I smile every time I use it thinking about her. She would have loved to see the charcuterie! 

Another snap filter... Marin & Mom turkeys. Happy Thanksgiving to all. Again, thankful for our friends, family & good health this year. xoxo

 Margaux was in the baking mood tonight. Made cookies for all & they were so good. Both she & Maeve really enjoy cooking/baking. Soon they'll make us dinner? 

Then we all snuggled in to watch a movie. Clifford the Big Red Dog. This was Margaux about 1/2 way through the movie. Lost her!

Maeve & Gary were not far behind. I think it was a mixture of the movie & the toasty living room with the fireplace going. Made everyone sleepy.

I love the chill, snuggled in time. We don't get it as much as I'd like, but I really soak it in when it does. Still not as crazy as it would be without Covid in the picture. But for now, things seem to be okay. There is news of another wave coming. We're keeping our fingers crossed it isn't too bad. Still such an odd world right now. Thankful for our health, that's for sure. xoxo