So, it is 2014. Thought I should finish with a few last photos from 2013.

Christmas is a multi-day, multi-home event for us. We start on Christmas Eve with Gramma and Grampa. Gizmo is also an important “host”, although he seems to enjoy spending his time right in front of a heat vent.

According to Kevin, the star attraction is the prime rib roast.

The rest of dinner is tasty too! And no – that ketchup did not go anywhere near the roast! It was there for the kids who had dino nuggets for dinner.

We opened presents, had dessert, and headed home. Christmas part 2 was just us. The girls started by opening stockings, then had some cinnamon rolls. We opened the rest of the presents after showers.

One present from Gramma took some assembly. Power tools were needed.

Christmas part 3 was later in the afternoon. All of Kevin’s family and Dad came over for more food and chaos.

More presents exchanged too! Christmas part 4 was a special trip. We took the girls’ cousins to Key Lime Cove water park for a full day/night the day after Christmas! We had some really tired girls by the time we got home.

Things have settled down a little now. We were invited to a friend’s house for New Year’s Eve, where the girls stayed up until after 11PM! That’s normal for so many kids their ages, but was super late for them. The big “surprise” for the New Year was a little snow. An actual full out, 12 inches plus of snow. We shoveled and used the thrower a couple of times. It just kept coming, and then the magical lake effect kicked in this morning to add another inch or two. Like it matters at that point! The sad part is that it is REALLY cold, with single digit wind chills. So the girls tried to play outside in the snow, but just got too cold too fast. The high temp this coming Monday is supposed to be -8 ish. HIGH TEMP!! It will be interesting to see how that affects the first day back to school.

A picture of our backyard, with the snow piled up so nice on the walls.

Don’t you all wish you could be here to help shovel?

This is more of a Kayla blog post. She had her winter band concert last week. Here is a picture of her in the band. She sits front row, 2nd chair in from the end.

The girl who should be in the chair on the end was absent for the concert, and the other clarinets had to make up for it. They had three numbers, and I think the first one was the best of the bunch. Hard to believe that these are 7th and 8th grade students! They sounded pretty good.

The first one is called Fire Dance. Kayla likes this one best.

The second song is called a Childhood Hymn. That’s because you can’t call it what it is in a school, I suppose. Division of church and state!

The final song is called Yuletide Festival. A medley of holiday faves.

Kayla has a Solo and Ensemble contest coming up in February. As soon as she chooses her piece, she will start working on it.

Last night, we got a fresh coat of snow, just a few inches, but really good packing stuff. The girls had to go out and play in it, then come in for hot chocolate. They are lazing about in their fluffy pajama pants and socks! The holidays are coming fast – just a few more packages to wrap and we’ll be good to go!

Ashley caught the cold that Kayla was fighting. It has set her back on this persistent cough. She still needs her inhalers and we see the doctor again next week.

We wish everyone a super wonderful Christmas! We have so many blessings to count, and you are all on that list!