Celebrating the New Year with confetti

We brought in the New Year in Iowa and as usual Baba supplied the confetti, balloons and special drinks. The kids all had a blast and were delighted to find some cash hidden in some of the balloons. Jude and Anna wanted to stay up until midnight so I stayed up with them. We watched some Curious George and then the Dick Clark New Year’s Eve special. Anna stayed up to watch the ball drop in New York and then decided it was time for bed. Jude stayed up until midnight and then went to bed immediately.

Anna enjoying the New Year’s celebration

The twins and Anna had been working on a surprise for us for weeks. On New Year’s Eve we found out what the surprise was all about. They were not just making us all one meal, they were making us breakfast, lunch and dinner. They printed a menu, Anna took food orders like a real waitress with Ella and Chloe hard at work in kitchen with an assist from Anna. They did a great job and everyone complimented them on their hard work.

Hard at work making lunch on New Year’s Eve

We left on New Year’s morning much to the chagrin of Anna and especially Jude. He really didn’t want to “ruin” his New Year’s Day by driving back home. But after a late start we made it home in good time.

Snuggling on the couch with Grandpa

Marcy had Ridhwan on the weekend starting on Friday afternoon. So, Jude, Anna and I decided to see the new Star Wars movie on Friday night which we all enjoyed. I thought it was much better than the reviews suggested. On Saturday we had a quiet day then on Saturday we drove to Keystone for our first ski day of the season.

Anna racing down the mountain

We had a full day of skiing from 10am until 4pm, although we did have a long break for lunch. Anna did a couple of extra runs during our break while Jude and I watched the end of the Saints-Vikings game. Both kids skied really well and despite some of the typical bickering the kids enjoyed their first day on the slopes.

Selfie on top of Keystone mountain