Sunrise

 Occasionally in the winter we can see a bit of a beautiful sunrise!

Hot Wheels

 Since it's winter and cold and Simon is not fishing, he's turned his attention to other things, like building hotwheels tracks with magnet bridges in the basement. I love that he still plays with real life toys!

Happy New Year!

 So somehow it's 2022 now.  This year is significant because it's going to be the 20-year anniversary of so many milestones in our lives. A lot happened back in 2002: We graduated college, got married, moved to Namibia for the Peace Corps. Hard to believe all that was already 20 years ago...half a lifetime. 

It was unseasonably warm on the first morning of the new year--nearly 70. So we ate our pumpkin pie for breakfast out on the deck. The best way to start the new year!

New Year's Eve

We went to our first New Year's Eve party since...I seriously have no idea when we last went to a NYE party...20 years ago? Never? Who knows.  Anyway, Robyn and Franklin had a little outdoor bonfire party. The Tottens couldn't come, so it was just us, the Hagnieres, Jess (minus Anna), Natasha, Erik, and Izzy. I personally love small parties and this was a good group. The funny thing was the party started at 5pm, so we were all tired and making jokes at 8pm about how it was bedtime. We all made it until just after 10 pm and decided to call it quits.

The only picture to commemorate the night is this one of a lizard Simon caught at the Hagnieres. First he found a flashlight in their woods. Then he quickly found this little creature. He's good at finding things.

 It kind of worked out, because by the time we drove home and got the kids ready for bed, it was nearly midnight. So we let them stay up to watch the ball drop on TV for the first time. Alice had the accurate comment for the evening, when she reflected: "This isn't nearly as exciting as I thought it would be." Here is the picture she drew while waiting for the ball to drop.

3-D Pen Creation

Alice asked for a 3-D pen for Christmas. I didn't even know such a thing existed, but apparently she saw videos about it on YouTube. She used it a lot the first week, and created this as a gift for Anna.

Chinese Lantern Festival

 On Wednesday night, after the big hike with Izzy and while we had a bonfire with the Weimers, Alice got invited to go with Anna and Jenn to the Chinese Lantern Festival in Cary. Jenn was kind enough to send these pictures. It looks awesome--we may need to go next year.

Hike to Eno Quarry

 We went on a hike along the Eno River from Pleasant Green to the Eno Quarry and back. It's just about 3-miles long, and it's one of my favorite hikes because the biomes change so much along the way. It's just a fun hike with lots of places to stop and play around. We took a ton of pictures. We also took Izzy for the day, so Natasha could get some work done. It was another unseasonably warm, beautiful day. Zac took the DSLR camera and took a lot of great photos.

Bike Rides & Paint Your Pot

Today, Anna came over for a playdate the whole day. This is my service to my working friends: I take their kid for the day so they can get stuff done. I can't imagine having to work through winter break with my kids off, so I try to share my good luck. Then, in the evening, we met Natasha and Izzy at "Paint Your Pot" to make a thing that they will glaze. I'll go pick them up later.

I didn't anticipate winter break being so busy, but I'm loving all the social opportunities since I know omicron is coming, and we'll probably have to be much more cautious and isolate soon. The pandemic has taught us to seize the day with new gusto. Plus, the weather this week has been incredibly warm and beautiful, and we have to seize that too, before the dreary January descends.