Week 1 - 2018 - Picture-A-Day

Time defiantly marches on!  2018!  New year, clean slate. 

Monday, Jan. 1st

We wrapped up the boys' hockey tournaments in Marlborough.  The little guys came in 3rd!

 Pop and Kiki came back up. 

 Just for extra fun, Maddy found a dance workshop she really wanted to take with a well-respected choreographer.  Ironically it happened to be minutes from where we were in Mass.  However, Maddy was home.  So I had her drive to Sturbridge on her own and timed it for the rest of us to be driving home from hockey.  I jumped out of the van and into the car and drove her back to where I had just come from.

We made it back home for a late Daddy's dinner and our annual family goal setting.  I can't even tell you how much we laughed as we read through each person's 2017 goals and assessed 'how we did' and then shared our new goals for this year.  It was such a sweet, sweet, special evening.  So much love, so much laughter.  I cherish nights like this and hope I can always remember it.

Wednesday, Jan. 3rd

Case Mountain all froze up after a week of single digits.

 We got Juju for the night.

Thursday, Jan. 4th

Blizzard Brody- stay in, stay cozy, stay warm and enjoy a day of everything being cancelled.

 Juliet had spent the night to get snowed in.  Mid afternoon the girls ventured out.

Saturday, Jan. 6th

Floor hockey's been a daily thing since Christmas and new nets.

After church we went to see Kelly's gymnastics meet.  We got to see her on beam and her floor routine.  She's pretty spectacular to watch!

Sunday, Jan. 7th

I took Nathanael to his game.  Every time we are on a prep school campus, I feel like I'm on the set of Dead Poet's Society.  While it's so lovely to be on some of the loveliest grounds and it feels like old New England, it just makes me think of the silly wealth and some people's disposable income and why there are kids around the world literally starving.

  Post Daddy's Dinner game.

Week 52

Wednesday, Dec. 27th

The "pause" button after Christmas!  Phew.  A time to dig through the boxes of loot and start playing!   Renna got a new Lego set and sat IN ONE PLACE for two hours.

 Chit-chatting the whole time!

 A little help from Daddy.

Photographing her masterpiece.

The boys took turns crashing learning to fly the drone.  No surprise, Nathanael currently wears the crown for best pilot with the most tricks.

Thursday, Dec. 28th
Maddy sent me some pix from a shoot she did for a friend back when the weather was nicer.

 Rocco spent two nights with Milo.

 Nathanael went down to Charter Oak, where they flood the field.  It was bitterly cold, single digits.  He had fun, but he got about as cold as he's ever gotten.

Friday, Dec. 29th

Saturday, Dec. 30th
The start to a crazy weekend.  Both Nathanael and Rocco were playing in hockey tournaments in Marlborough, MA all weekend and we also had our family Christmas party in Portland, Maine.  So Saturday morning we left in two cars.  Colombo took the two boys to check into the hotel and play Rocco's first game.  I went straight to Portland with the rest of the gang, plus Kelly.  Colombo and Rocco eventually joined us.  We had a fun, fun day of family time and then eventually all caravanned back to the hotel in Mass- all the girls in one room, all the boys in another.

Ashley and Jeff brought their little two week old, Kinsley, and she is just the sweetest!  We all loved our snuggle time.

Uncle Bruce always good for some tricks and juggling.

Sara and Jay's newest acquisition from their trip to Greece.  Jay carried it all the way home and the story that comes with the purchase, transport, and installation is just hilarious.

Sunday, Dec. 31st
Hockey, hockey, hockey.  All weekend.

The tournament was at a crazy big complex- 8 rinks, 2 cafes, and a game room.  Conveniently, the little bros and sisters all were able to play where I could see them and watch the games.

C4, Kelly, and Maddy drove one of the cars home so they could spend NYE with friends and Kelly had to work.

First swim of the day.

More hockey!  I think we ended up doing about 10 games in the 3 days of tournament.  Pop and Kiki came for this one and we all enjoyed watching a full-on showdown between two hockey moms and another scuffle between a coach and the refs.  Wow, wow, wow!  All the stereotypes!

Nathanael was so disappointed that his team didn't advance to the finals.  Especially since they won this tournament last year.  Except Nathanael didn't participate.  Last year, we put our foot down that we wanted him with us for Maine and New Year's.  For a year, I wished we'd made a different choice.  I was crossing my fingers they'd do just as well this year so he could have that experience.  Not so.  He did a good job of holding back the tears after this tough loss that eliminated them.

My poor, unsocialized homeschool children made instant friends at the pool and they all played for nearly an hour.  The girls huddled while Trevor played the part of the villain.

Being at the hotel with a t.v. made it easy and fun to sit and watch the NYE festivities, even though this year looked very different than how we usually ring in the New Year.  Half the kids made it to the ball drop.  .....and that's it for 2017!