Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve, after the stockings were hung:

We told the kids they could come down at 7 and I have a feeling this is our last year of having to say that.  Only Colin was up and had to wake up Alison and Eli.

Opening stockings on our bed:

Tea pasteries and egg casserole in the oven and then we started opening presents.

Alison took a nap after we finished and we spent the rest of the day playing and eating.

We finished the first puzzle and started the second one, while Eli and Colin built Legos.

Christmas dinner was perfecto pork, potatoes and peas...can you tell how tired Colin is?

Happy 20th anniversary to us!

We went to the city to celebrate our anniversary.  We took the train in and then an Uber to start the day at a Christmas market.  NYC is insane during the holidays, but there are a few things that are worth the crowds.  I needed a snack and a sign for gluten-free empanadas caught my eye.  I've missed out on several empanada occasions over the last couple of years, so I was excited for my chance.  It was amazing.  Like so amazing that we spent the rest of the evening debating whether we should go back and get more.

We tried to find the same hot cocoa as the circus night one, but it was a different market, with different choices.  This one, however, had toasted marshmallows on top and some cinnamon mixed in.  New York knows how to do their hot cocoa, that's for sure.

Then we went to a fancy bar and got fun cocktails and pretended that we were somebodies in NYC...like this was just our normal Wednesday evening and of course we're meeting after work for a drink.

We really went to the city for our first Michelin star restaurant experience.  It did not disappoint.  Perfect table, atmosphere, food and company.  I tried to soak up every moment.

This was definitely on our list of "never would we have thought"...never would these two Kansas kids think they would be celebrating 20 years in NYC, but also so thankful to be here.

 

Eli got his braces off!

It went by fast!  I was shocked when they said it was time and to come back in just a few days.

Before:

After!

We celebrated by going to get burgers at Choppers.  Nothing beats biting into a big burger without worrying about your braces being full of food.

The Big Apple Circus

Ben got tickets to the circus through work.  At first, we weren't sure about going because of all the traffic (it took us 2 hours to get there and Colin got carsick), but in the end, we were all glad we did.  We found sushi/poke bowls/boba for dinner and that hit the spot.  Then we walked to a Christmas market and got the.best.hot cocoa.  I'm not exaggerating.  It was actually caramel hot cocoa and there is no going back to regular.  Colin took a sip, closed his eyes and said, "It's like a little piece of heaven."

We got the worlds saltiest popcorn at the show and watched the circus of New Yorker's trying to claim seats for everyone and their mom. 

It was a phenomenal show and I'm so thankful for the experience...and the hot cocoa :)

 

Christmas time

This is as much snow as we've seen and it lasted all of 10 minutes.  This is the view from the attic, sitting at the puzzle table.  Made myself a nice cozy spot for the first puzzle.

Jordan and Amanda spoiled us with 2 of these puzzles that are the most fun thing ever.  So fun that we had to finish up our school at the kitchen table so we didn't get distracted.

{I'm starting to feel like we could make an eye spy book from the blog where you have to spot Maya in every picture}

Speaking of the dining room table, this is how Colin has eaten dinner for most of his life.  We always tell him to sit down and then he just naturally pops back up.  

Alison's went "caroling" with her fellow piano students.  They were supposed to be along the 'Wassail Crawl' route that the city of Sea Cliff hosted, but it was raining so they moved it inside the library, which is really an old church.  It was slightly comical seeing so many people crammed inside for caroling, but also fun to see the town come together.

The one activity Colin requested over Christmas break was to build gingerbread houses.  I ordered the kit weeks ago and we finally busted it out...and I immediately wondered why building gingerbread houses is supposed to be fun.  These things are SO frustrating!!!  Naturally, Eli walked over, easily constructed his in 2 minutes, decorated it, ate a piece of candy and was done.

The rest of us toiled for way too long and eventually gave up.

I have officially decided that we will just be decorating flat cookies from now on.

Maya's 8th birthday!

8 years with this pup!  Except she's now considered a senior and is getting neck rolls and takes a daily vitamin to keep her going strong.  But we're so thankful that Maya is part of our family!

Alison bought her a birthday hat :)

And we got her a new kitty!  

She stole kitty from one of the kids many, many years ago and has since, completely shredded the thing.  Only the skin is left, but it is the first thing she will grab to play with, especially if she is showing off to guests.

Old kitty vs. new kitty

Christmas tree decoration

We went down the street to pick out a tree.  It was SOO cold that it was a quick decision.

We have a lot of fun around here

and there's rarely a shortage of hugs

and if you weren't sure, Maya is very loved.

And it's still true: Eli is not a fan of putting up ornaments

While Colin could decorate all night.

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

We kicked off the morning with peppermint mochas.  We are thoroughly enjoying the perks of Alison working at Starbucks across the street!

Everyone chipped in to cook.  Ben made the turkey (smoked the dark meat and sous vide the white meat, which was a HUGE success) and smoked salmon dip, Alison made the pumpkin pie, Eli made the mashed potatoes and Colin made the green bean casserole.  I made the sweet potato casserole, sourdough bread, a festive punch and brownies (Alison's request for dessert).

We had a great day eating lots of delicious food and playing games.

Maya sure wasn't complaining about the day.

There was some after dinner dancing 😂 and this just shows that Eli is officially taller than Alison.