Happy 2013

Posted by kara

For Christmas, we got the kids (and ourselves) their first snowsuits, snow boots, snow gloves, and sled. After Christmas, we went on a quick overnight stay in Leavenworth. I had been wanting to visit, since it seems like a charming little German town. We loved the Christmas lights (but got annoyed with the signage– it was all in a hard-to-read partially script font) (also the waffles were awfuls). There was snow galore. On our walk into town, Toshi stopped every 5 feet to play with the snow plowed to the side.

We went to the nutcracker museum. The lady informed us that they were closing in 15 mins and we assured her it was enough time. They had a TON of nutcrackers (some were really cool), but it was the perfect amount of time. After I took this photo, Paul pointed to the sign that said do not take any pics of the nutcrackers. What’s the meaning of this, Keroppi?

There was also a super icy bumpy small sledding hill in the town square. Toshi went down by herself once and got the wind knocked out of her. Paul got pretty skilled at steering and weaving around people.

Prior to Leavenworth, we stopped at a sno-park. It’s a park that you have to buy a permit to park there. Kind of a bummer that you have to pay, but the snow was perfect, the hill was groomed, and there were heated bathrooms. (Plus you can buy a season pass, but we didn’t do that.) It was pretty awesome and the scenery was gorgeous! I was glad we gave it a try. We arrived at 10:30 (I was hoping to get there around 9) and left at 12:30. By noon it was PACKED. Toshi LOVED it. Marf thought it was cool, but liked to be carried around. She did like the small hill sledding at the end.

We hung out with Bob, Betsy, and Charlie. That was fun, although it ended in tears (we toed the line of Marf’s nap a little too close). We also got to see Mandy and Luke. Toshi immediately started telling Luke what they were playing and he was very gracious about it. Granted, by the end of the night, they were going back and forth, making up things to out-do the other, and it ended with Luke telling her he was Santa Claus. It was pretty awesome.

For New Year’s Eve, we did a couple of “Cheers!” Then Toshi wanted us to all put in our hands and say, “Gooooooo Team!” Then we did, “Goooooo Elephants!” and “Gooooooo Gorillas!” etc. My family texted each other and toasted to Grandma Toshi. After the kids went to bed, we noshed on Polish mistakes and PJT’s delicious salmon dinner and fresh beet salad. Then we played Mario on Wii U and got addicted. We played past 1 am….yikes.

New Year’s = Good Luck Soup. My brother generously gave me two of his mochi.

UB performed his usual awesomeness. [See those Rice Krispies treats? I brought those to the table.]

The girls performed their own awesomeness inspired by the Backyardigan’s Break Out episode. (You can probably get the idea from the first video, but I want to record both for the future.)

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And we finished Mario Wii U. Now to get all the coins and open up the Star World…

Whew, this is a long one!

Toshi had her friend, Ava, over today! It was nice to see them have so much fun together. They played nicely and were easy to watch. Plus, her visit really helped break up the long school break.

Well, 2012 was overall good because it’s always fun to watch the girls grow. Martha is really able to do so much now– it’s a great age. We have been healthy enough and blessed. Toshi’s surgery seemed to go fine, we celebrated two beautiful happy weddings, and welcomed a few wonderful babies. My grandma has influenced most of this year, making it a heavier year than usual, but it isn’t all heavy-bad. It’s also heavy-good. I can’t explain it that well and this blog is long enough!

As 2013 begins, I hope for continued goodness, safety, and health for my family and yours. I miss my peeps but I’m thinking of you.