Goodbye to 2013

It was great to have Josh home for a week but he left last Saturday and headed back to Pennsylvania and his life there. He managed to take back some more of his stuff. Robin is still mourning the loss of his big screen TV.

There he goes. He had a good trip back and made it in one long day. 

Gaëlle is loving the fancy purple dress Grammy found for her. She would wear it every day if she could.

We managed to take down the Christmas decorations last Sunday. I love to have them out, but I also love to put them away. It actually didn't take much time. Altho, note to self; it seemed to put Peter and Gaëlle in a funk. And I wasn't even at them to help. They were just a bit moody.

We debated New Years Eve plans and then decided to just have a quiet night at home. Emily and Kaylin were here for our traditional meal.

I didn't have too many snacks but enough for the kids to feel like it was a party.

We all chose paninis instead of a cold sub sandwich.

The older girls left and we had a game marathon. Each one of us chose one game to play. We were not at all surprised when Gaëlle chose "JUST FOR FUN". She loves that game. We got points for each game based on our standing.

Peter chose LIFE. Robin chose UNO.

 

And I chose QUIRKLE CUBE. 

Robin ended up the big winner of the night. And so he chose the prize he wanted first. Peter was second and so he chose next. Then Gaëlle chose. Somehow they all ended up with what they would have chosen if they won. Funny how that works out.

I ended up last with no prize. 

Then we made ice cream sundaes. 

There are times that we make huge efforts and make huge plans either because we want to or because we want to create a memory or if I'm honest, because I think it's expected of me. New Year's Eve is one of those nights where I think a lot of us place huge expectations on being a part of some HUGE event. I've had very little energy this Christmas and have loved just being home surrounded by family. When Robin and I decided to keep New Year's Eve a quiet time for the younger kids and ourselves, I made a small effort to make it fun for all of us. And honestly, we all had a blast. We laughed. We enjoyed the games. We enjoyed the food. And the kids commented on how much fun it was. 

My reflections are not meant to criticize anybody who chooses larger than life experiences or to say that small family moments are better. It's just nice to be able to sit back and say that for this year at this time, we had a nice quiet family New Years Eve and I'm thankful. I don't want to take those moments for granted.