Celebrating 2022

Happy New Year!

It was so fun to have a houseful!

Matt & Bekah and kids, Soren, Bob & Rhonda, Courtney & Christian and kids, 

Grandma & Dimitrios, Marty, Lizzie and their friends. Emi!

(Chris and Nick had plans elsewhere with their friends.)

Asian Star takeout (ordered a month ahead of time!)

Left, Center, Right

Telepathy (this game was a blast)

Other games Michael & Courtney taught us which were fun for young and old.

 Left Center Right -- way to go Ilana!

(Remember how Kory's kids are so fun because they're such good sports? 

Nugent kids and Soren were equally good sports.)

Countdown:

Escaping

I've been sleeping in and it feels so good! Especially when I've been staying up soooo late!

I say goodnight to all the late birds around midnight, 

but then I surf and catch up on e-mails until 1 or 1:30. 

(sitting in my closet so I don't disturb Dan who is disciplined enough to get to bed several hours earlier)

  I always need some alone time to detox before bed.

Woke up to a text from the kids asking who wanted to go to another escape room.

Marty and Michael have been dying to try another one ever since we didn't "get out" 

the other night. 

Jaxon and Kingston came with us which was super fun to spend some time with the teenagers.

Our group was thinking through all the clues and numbers and patterns so fast

I felt like I was just bouncing up and down on my toes looking for something to do.

I made a couple decent discoveries making a couple of tiny contributions,

but mostly I loved seeing how fast this group thinks.

Today we won with 20 minutes to spare!

My problem-solving forte is puzzles. Lizzie and Courtney are also fans.

(Dare I say, addicts, like me?)

Courtney hosted a 30th birthday party for Carine and lots of their friends,

so the rest of us made ourselves scarce.

Dan and I, Grandma & Dimitrios, Marty, Lizzie & Emi and Jaxon & Kingston

all went to Fav bistro for Thai food and great conversation.

Afterward, the teens got in the hot tub and the rest of us played Gnoming Around

in the playroom while the party raged in the living areas.

Karaoke - Stay Tuned

I'm going to keep adding karaoke videos to this post... keep checking back!

Our second family day started with everyone working in different rooms.

We wanted to go to another Escape Room, but couldn't find any with availability.

Intended to get brunch at Ruth's, but the wait was over an hour.

Found a cafe near Liberty Park Dan and Chris have been wanting to try where the wait was shorter.

I'm kinda in the "we should just make breakfast at home" camp,

but can't say we're not making memories squeezing nine of us into the Lexus 

and driving around town for an hour looking for good food to eat.

Sometime in all the conversation, we discovered Lizzie and Michael

hadn't seen Madagascar ten million times, (constantly on repeat in the car for years).

Snuggled in the basement on the mega-couch set-up to enjoy the blast from the past.

("You're on the Jersey side of the island!")

And before we knew it, it was time for the annual Adair family holiday karaoke party!

Thankfully, Rebekah said the Nugent kids were really looking forward to it, or I might not have 

resurrected the tradition. We must NEVER let this die out. It's such a blast!

 

Family Days

A big snowstorm hit Colorado so our two-day trip to Pagosa got cancelled.

We chose new activities closer to home and had a lot of fun.

Morning yoga in the guest room:

Sibling gifts for 2nd Christmas

Snowy hike up Millcreek at the snowgate.

We squished all nine of us, plus Kershaw in the Lexus.

Emi made snow angels!

Mine and Dan's first escape room.

Fun time and a lot of good solvers in this group!

Verdict from the experienced was there are funner rooms and we should go to another one tomorrow.

An old favorite restaurant for dinner that Michael had never been to -- Bonsai. 

To end the day, basement movie night: Glass Onion

Christmas Day

Christmas on a Sunday with afternoon church and teenagers:

Sleep in until 9:30. Fruit and Norwegian waffles for brunch.

Filling a whole row at 11:30 church Christmas program.

Change from church clothes back into pajamas.

Marty & Lizzie (and Emi!) visit Lizzie's family for a baby blessing,

Lunch.

THEN, at 3:30 p.m., we started opening presents!

Pictures of Christmas Day...

(or alternate title: Pictures of Emi on Christmas Day)

New Traditions - Christmas Eve

I've been asking around,

mainly Kate (Nick's girlfriend) and Lizzie,

what their family traditions are for Christmas Eve.

We used to act out the Nativity then watch a Christmas movie,

but with just five adults for our Eve festivities, a change was needed.

I wanted something that focused on the Savior's birth,

something with active participation and something that was not only 

spiritual, but also fun. Not too long, but not something "we sat through" (the nativity reading)

until we got to "the fun part" (Christmas Movie).

And, something that could become a new tradition.

I spent a couple hours creating the plan

while Dan got potato casserole and green bean casseroles

prepped for tomorrow's dinner.

Aunt Marge arrived in the late afternoon. 

We haven't seen her in a long time and everyone was so happy she came.

We had Christmas Eve dinner at Tuscany with a Prix Fixe menu.

I liked that it was close and we were seated right away.

Also that it was easier to talk without the crowds of Asian Star.

Salad or clam chowder to start.

prime rib, lobster ravioli or duck as entrees.

black velvet cake or figgy bread pudding for dessert.

Back at home we stayed in our dinner clothes for the program,

then changed into comfy clothes afterward for the movie.

Each person drew a Star and a Christmas tree.

The star showed you what figurine you placed in the Nativity,

and what part you read from the scriptures. (Luke 2:1-16; Matthew 1:23, 2:1-11)

After you read five verses,

we did the activity that corresponded to the number on your Christmas tree.

The whole thing took about 45 minutes.

Testimonies of Christ was an 18 minute video.

Names of Christ--everyone shared a name that Christ was to them this year

and the name that they needed him to be in the coming year and why.

(I quickly made the word cloud with an online app, WordArt).

For 2023: 

Angela -- Creator (new phase of life, also writing)
Dan -- Deliverer (focus on service)

Marge -- Creator (so much beauty in the world)

Chris -- Rabbi/Teacher (in school and studies)

Nick -- The Way (preparing for college and mission)

Amy Grant sing-along to Emmanuel -- Oh, yes I did.

Everyone participated and it made all my Christmas dreams come true.

Handbells to Christmas Bells

A wonderful celebration of our Savior and his birth, 

and I was so grateful everyone willingly took part.

We changed into comfy pajamas to watch The Muppets Christmas Carol. 

Just as the movie ended, Marty and Lizzie got home from Rosen's celebration.

Before we knew it, the boys had a game of 21 going while

Lizzie and I worked on the puzzle.

They brought the box of change hoping to bet with quarters,

but honestly, sorting through the coins brought more joy than anything else!

Loving Marty's, "Hey Lizzie! Check this out, here's a coin from Mexico!"

"Hey Lizzie, this one's from Australia!"

"Hey Lizzie, have you ever seen 20 pounds from England?"

We also found part of a molar.

And we stayed up way, way, way too late!

Merry Christmas Eve!