The week after Christmas continues to bring lots of fun celebrations-- including our wedding anniversary on the 30th. Can you believe we've been married 12 years??
It's fun to pull out old photographs of when we were dating-- the kids think it's hilarious that Jon once had hair, and of course that I was young and beautiful, without the current bags under my eyes and fly-away gray hairs, ha, ha. We sure had some good times back in Provo!
Lucy and Zach were so sweet, they made us a special anniversary breakfast of an egg and cheese bagel sandwich, and leftover Christmas fudge. Don't forget the mayonnaise and applesauce on the side!
After Lizzie's ordeal on Christmas Eve, the poor little baby came down with a really nasty cold. She had a mild fever for about 3 days straight, lots of congestion, and just felt really yucky. We wanted her to get lots of rest, so we had to forgo most of our plans for that week so we could stay home and let her recuperate. By Friday night though, cabin fever was in full force so we got a babysitter for the older three kids (I still wasn't ready to leave Lizzie just yet), and Jon and I headed to Casa Mariachi for our anniversary dinner. Nothing says "I love you" like chips and salsa!
Saturday night was New Year's Eve, so we invited Jeremy and Kylene + cousins over to help us celebrate. We did a potluck dinner-- I made Kings Hawaiian sliders, spinach dip, pina coladas, and an Oreo cheesecake (done in 45 minutes, thank you very much) in my new Instantpot which was a huge success.
The kids ran wild downstairs in the basement, while the adults played Settlers of Catan for old time's sake. At about 8:30 we caught the London NYE recorded celebration and toasted 2017's arrival!
And thus ensued an epic dance party! Woohoo! Happy New Year! These cousins have so much fun together.
Jon's office was closed on Monday, January 2nd (New Year's Day observed) and it was also the kids' last day of winter break. We knew we had to do something pretty big to celebrate the last day of true freedom before spring break-- which is still months away. We decided to check out the Denver Children's Museum--which incidentally, Jon's dental staff had all chipped in on to give our a family a pass for Christmas this year.
They had a really fun baby area just right for Lizzie (and Leah apparently) to crawl around and explore.
Leah loved playing "dentist" to this little monkey, just like daddy does at work. The museum was super busy due to the holiday, so we didn't stay as long as we would have liked, but with our new pass we can go back any time we want!
We got lunch at a new pizzeria that was highly recommended by a friend, in downtown Denver called Pizzeria Locale. It was really good! Jon got a spicy Sicilian pizza all to himself.
I got the Maize pizza which had white sauce, ham, and fresh corn and it was really yummy. It's a similar pizza concept to places like Mod Pizza, but the dough is lighter and fresher and makes a huge difference in the taste. I couldn't keep Elizabeth's hands off it!
And then school started back up, just like that... Christmas is officially over and January with all its windy and cold weather is well underway. I signed the kids up for basketball starting this month, and it's been a great success so far. They had their first games on Saturday morning, and lo and behold, they each scored a basket or two and LOVED learning the great game of b-ball.
I thought it was a pretty crazy coincidence that they both ended up pulling jersey number 10!
While I headed home after their games so Lizzie could nap, Jon took Lucy, Zach, and Leah ice skating (plus Lucy's friend Collette) at the new discovery trail right by the new library near our house. We're so excited to have ice skating so close to us! Yay! One more family-friendly thing to do here in Parker.
That night we decided to try a new place in Aurora that featured Australian food called the Great Australian Bite. They had meat pies, sausage rolls, and other authentic "tucker" and it truly felt like a meal the hobbits would have eaten and enjoyed on Lord of the Rings.
Jon is brave. He got the kangaroo pie, which was really weird tasting if you ask me. The kids shared a beef and cheese one, and I got the curry chicken pie which was super homey and flavorful. It was fun to be eating like those down "unda"!
Well, at least I thought it was... Leah obviously thought otherwise. She just wanted Chick fil A. We also tried a custard pie and Lamington which was a piece of vanilla cake dipped in chocolate and shredded coconut for dessert.
Mmmmm! Lizzie loved the custard pie, and I think that little face says it all. Cheers to 2017, mates!
