I told someone the other day that this was likely the best winter break I’ve had in a long time. I felt like it had a nice balance of time at home with nothing scheduled, outings and fun activities, family events, and friends. Sometimes we get to the end of break and wonder what just happened! This year it felt like we did a lot and yet were rested and ready to start the new decade.
It started with the NASA Gymnastics team holiday party and gift exchange.
Then we had a two-day tournament for basketball.
Surprise! Cousins who flew in for Christmas showed up at JT’s game – so fun!
Day two, JT and his friends ended up getting matching hats at the local outlet shopping center.
Monday we went skiing and brought Preston along.
Tuesday was Christmas Eve, and I served flank steak, steamed baby red potatoes, and Brussels sprouts.
Then we went to candlelight service at our church, a highlight of the year for me!
For dessert I made my annual crumb-topped apple pie (a la mode) and we watched the new Grinch by Pixar before bed.
JT and Haley get new jammies in their stockings every year. I told them maybe they were getting too old for such things, and they vehemently disagreed!
Christmas morning, we always spend at home. We opened stocking and gifts and enjoyed orange chocolate scones and berry bowls together.
Then we celebrated a wonderful Christmas day with brunch with the Coles and dinner with the Keenes.
The day after, we went to see Little Women as a family – and brought along Haley’s friend Emma.
A trip to Gig Harbor on a girls’ day calls for Menchies froyo too! Haley brought her own gift card and paid for our foursome.
The next day, JT and I went to iFly (one of his Christmas gifts) and brought along the Drew kids, who hadn’t done it yet either.
On Saturday, JT and I went skiing together. It was a gorgeous day on the moutain!
Jim stayed home healing from a terrible cold and took the girls to see Frozen 2 in the afternoon!
Monday I took a little time to get out of the house and work on my ISTE Certification. I am working on my portfolio now and it was good to get a little focused time on that over the break.
Then Madi and Ali came over for Movies-n-Masks! We watched A League of Their Own and had snacks and did face masks and foot scrubs together.
On New Year’s Eve, we took the kids to Rise of Skywalker with the Drews. They loved it, of course. It’s the first Star Wars movie they’ve ever seen in the theater!
We came home and played Settlers of Catan (one of my birthday gifts) and loved getting to know the game. I’d play all the time if I could!
Later that night, we headed over to the Drew house for New Year’s Eve. Jim got a call-out scare but ended up being able to stay with us. We had snacks and laughed and enjoyed the night… until we went home at 10:30 pm and went to bed, like the adults we are. Ha!
The Keene Family 