I cannot believe how fast time goes! This year Jillian started 9th grade! She is going to the same high school Adrian and I did, so walking her through the school during registration was strange. It was even wilder attending back-to-school night sitting in some of the same classrooms!
We took our family photos recently. It was a fun little park, but with lots of hills! Our favorite memory is Alice introducing herself to the photographer saying, “I’m the funny one.” haha she’s not wrong.
This year was fun with Alice understanding a little more about Santa. Santa brought Alice a shop front with some new play food, Claire a vet/animal care set, Olivia a cotton candy machine, and Jillian some Mario legos.
These were delicious! Here is the recipe we used https://www.sugarhero.com/meringue-cookies/
This year wasn’t one big party. It was a series of smaller ones… so exhausting! I also forgot to take photos of all the finished houses this year.
So this was supposed to be a small gathering and it ended up growing. Thankful for our family being able to gather, but also super thankful that no one had COVID! Also, Alice stripped naked within the first 15 minutes of arriving at my mom’s house.
What a whirlwind of a season! Thanksgiving was at the end of November so it felt like the Christmas season was totally rushed. Well we made it to Christmas and it was a success… well, mostly. The household came down with a cold. It started with Alice two weeks prior and spread its way around. Olivia missed out on a trip to Carmel with her friend because it was really bad. This wasn’t as bad as the flu during Christmas a couple years ago, but certainly a more subdued Christmas. The girls were excited for their gifts and the magic of Christmas but just a lot of coughing and sore throats.
Santa went big this year and brought Jillian and Olivia VR headsets and Claire a new computer so she can keep up with her sisters online. Alice got a frozen playset.
Had to wake this one up, the flash ruined the moment but she looked like an angel while sleeping
Slime is always a hit
Uncle Jason doing some magic
This year I wanted to connect to my ancestors so I thought a fun way to do that would be to have my mom teach us how to make gnocchis. The girls lasted about 10 minutes then were over it. I was super excited that I actually remembered how to make them. I also found they weren’t as much work as my mom and aunt always made it out to be. Yes making a TON for a family to eat would be a pain in the butt, but every once in a while for myself for some comfort food, totally manageable! Also we found that the gluten free versions were just as good as the regular ones.
The Harbor loves to go all out with lights at Christmas time. We happened to randomly drive home by the harbor and realized we hadn’t checked them out this year. Christmas lights are so magical to me and I love seeing them. Adrian had me and the girls hop out so we could see them while he circled the crazy parking lot. He was super lucky and found a spot faster than any of us thought! Alice loved it! We even got to see a skateboarding santa.
