Nice to meet you, 2023!

I'm not sure how many more years the kids are going to want to spend New Year's Eve as a family, but we had a fun night full of games, football, Back to the Future, snacks, and celebration! And this year, everyone stayed awake through midnight and beyond. 

Spoons - I am not good so I was out early.

Legos...

More Legos...

And the best part, a little late-night pin the ball on the tower. We were in hysterics! Each person had to spin once for every three years of age, which meant Kevin and I were just about falling over.

This is a screenshot of a midnight sparklers routine. :)

And now here we are, 2023. Over a "fancy" dinner based around our new pasta-of-the-month (thanks to John!), we chatted about what we've learned over the past year, favorite memories, and what we're looking forward to.

Mary learned the entire Christmas story by memory! She is most looking forward to going to Disney World and Florida.

Eddie's favorite memory is covid (?) - wearing masks and stuff. He's most looking forward to being able to write "23" as the year. He likes the number 23.

DJ learned that the Lions aren't total losers (his words). His favorite experience from the last year was soccer and he's most looking forward to baseball in the new year.

Annie learned that time always passes, so whether you're looking forward to something or dreading something, it will eventually come and you'll get past it. Her favorite memories were any vacations we took and time we spent together.

Nellie learned this year how to balance her various responsibilities and relationships, and that sometimes you will let people down and that can be okay. Her favorite memories are encompassed within "band," and she's most looking forward to going to Disney World.

Kevin has a lot of memories of extra time spent at the lake this summer, and especially our last weekend of the summer with brats on the grill, multiple ice cream trips, and boat rides. Our trip up to the U.P. was another highlight, although Nellie couldn't be there. He's looking forward to the Florida trip as well!

I have learned that I have learned more from the people around me than I had previously realized, and that's part of how God has equipped me to do some things I didn't think I was capable of. I'll have to keep thinking about that one for awhile. My favorite memories from 2022 are mostly the things others already said, but I'd add our snowy spring break trip to Petoskey. Next year, I'm excited for Florida as well, but also for the kids' new adventures with DJ moving to middle school and Annie moving to high school - and who knows what else is in store?!