It's A New Year!

Happy New Year! We celebrated "Noon Years Eve " with the kiddos since they still go to bed at their usual time. Cupcakes and "adult drinks" (they were so tickled by this idea, it was cute!)

The hubby and I had a nice date dinner out- something we haven't done in years!  A lot of fun. As with most years lately, we didn't make it to midnight ourselves - in fact we slept through any midnight hoopla in the neighborhood even!

As usual, we hope 2015 is a fun, safe, happy and healthy year.

 I realized last year that while it was nice having a break from training for any sort of race (I only ran one official race), I missed the challenge of getting ready for one. So...I am signed up for my first (small) triathlon the end of March!

I have been toying with the idea of one for a little over a year now. As I did with running, I'm starting off small - 400 meter swim (a full 8 laps in a lap pool), 8 mile bike and 2.4 mile run. Feeling confident about the run, but I haven't ridden a bike in years as well as done any "serious" swimming.
I just started going to the lap pool last week...one thing about training for a spring triathlon - the yucky winter swim hours! Very limited. However, next week  I will begin swim lessons - purposely for someone like me training for a triathlon, who needs help with my stroke and distance (those lanes are longer than they appear once you're trying to swim them!) I'm looking forward to the extra guidance, I think I'll need it to feel more comfortable. Already eight weeks away!

Can't believe that as I write this we are already halfway through January. We have a very busy (and fun) first part of February coming up!

Christmas Festivities!

Another fun holiday with our families! Christmas Eve we spent with Josh's family, as we normally do. This year we trekked over to his brother's house and mingled, had a glorious meal (he had smoked turkey that was to die for), homemade stuffing, yummy potatoes...and cherry pie to top it off! All so good. Then we opened gifts. This was the first year we drew names on his family side, which was great. We then headed back to our side of town so that we could attend evening church service at our home church. We actually haven't been to our home church in years for Christmas Eve service, so nice to have gone.

Pleasantly surprised that the boys slept Christmas morning until Nate's alarm went off! (7:30am for winter break!) Mom and Dad actually got to wake fairly refreshed ;)

Most years after we open gifts we usually go to my parents house to celebrate with my siblings, but this year I hosted Christmas at our home. It was nice not having to leave the house!

Nate was the "elf" this year - meaning he got to pick/hand out everyone's gifts

The Christmas highlight - a battery operated car to drive! Nate has already just about reached the max size for it, but I figured Aaron would at least get a few years out of it.

The adults then played games and ate dessert goodies while the kids played with their new toys.We are so blessed to have such wonderful families to spend the holidays with!

And oops...yes...I did forget to mention my birthday, which happened shortly before Christmas. Our tree was looking a little frumpy (though better than I thought it'd look after such a journey to our house) so the boys decorated it a bit better - the Christmas tree turned into the Birthday tree!

We left it the way it was ;)

Lots of birthday celebrations with friends and family. I went with all my boys to see The Nutcracker- first time we've all gone as a family.

The evening we celebrated my birthday with my parents and siblings we ordered a cool birthday cake - or I should say, a "hot chocolate mug" cake!

So yummy! Chocolate cake with raspberry cream filling.

I may or may not have finished cake leftovers the following day...as in entirely. Oops.