Cold Coffee and Warm Beer: 2016

Wednesday, December 28, 2016

Friday, December 16, 2016

Julia

"This is a good exercise, so when I raise my hand in school I won't get so tired from holding it up."

Did I mention you aren't that good at hiding or sneaking chocolate...

and you always do things to make us laugh!

Traditions

This year marks the last Thursday night of Christmas programs and ice sculpture hunts.

You told aunt la you weren't scared when singing because you could see your parents! Needless to say we were in the back of the church after arriving 5 minutes before they even opened the doors! Thankfully I could see you through the spaces of the people in front of us! You were on cue, happy and singing the joy of the season. "Have you heard?!" I have enjoyed listening to these sweet little tunes all week and anyone that gets you to sing the songs for them has the best seat in the house.

It was a cold one and we were initially going to "drive by the sculptures" and pick up treats at the grocery store on the way home. However, when we got down town, it just didn't feel right to admire from the car and made sense for dad to stay safe and keep the car close and warm. So we hopped out and seconds later dad was joining us.

Saturday, December 10, 2016

November

Can this still be November? I'd say it was a bonus adventure month

It pays to say hi to strangers...as long as your mom is with you! He was kind enough to get a kitten out of the rabbit pen for you and your friends to hold.

Thankfully we didn't move into a house equipped with annoying oak trees! Instead we have a neighbor with a tree that sheds beautiful red leaves! Perfect for family photos, and raking up piles and leaving them on the pine needles!

Not to mention it was perfect for a bike ride and a trip to the ice cream shop!

So our new adventure spot was more than perfect! You got to groom and feed the horses.

A day on the pond with Kayaks and friends. I can't believe Jacob was brave and skilled enough to walk from the Kayak to the paddle boat! The only thing that was wet were socks:)

Dad managed to go for a walk before surgery and we had to find the "creek" so Julia could walk across it!

Friday, December 9, 2016

Owl moon

Our new place is quite the hoot. Literally. For whatever reason, your dad and I were out on the deck at night, and I heard the noise. I think you guys enjoyed the new sound of our neighborhood, but I might have a little more. I enjoy reading you the book, Owl Moon, and thought that we might get to take an adventure in the still of the night, by the light of the moon, to find a treat in the woods.

Thanksgiving

Somehow the weather made the whole month of November a little more special. Each day gave even more reason to be thankful. The idea that family and cousins were coming to visit gave us something to look forward to as days grew a little bit colder and life was a little busier.

It's amazing how your mind works when you are in unfamiliar surroundings or new territories. I swear this same hike we took earlier this month seemed three times as long! Being in the woods is special. It reminds me of my childhood and playing in the woods with my friends. It reminds me of adventures I took with my Uncle Chuck and my sister.

Taking this same hike with your cousins and Aunts and Uncles will hopefully go down in the books for memories. I'm sure we will think of Mary each time we go past the down tree and hopefully have no desire to try and climb it. Just an added bonus to our day.

I wonder what you will remember from this day? I don't have any pictures of us all sitting around the same table or the 50lbs of turkey. I'm pretty sure the adults have this day figured out. The perfect day starts with Dessert for breakfast accompanied with coffee, stuffing for a post breakfast snack, and a sampler of good beverages to chase it all down. As for you and your cousins, well, you found your way to the candy jar, the bag of puppy chow and the leftover bubble gum from the birthday celebration. If your sugar tasted as good as my sugar did, well, I'm pretty sure you had a good day.

A blessed day full of many reasons to give thanks.

Birthdays

Your birthday was just what it should be full of...birthday cakes, cousins and lots of your favorite things! Thanks to your grandparents you are equipped with another hundred pokemon cards. However, a couple days ago an older friend of yours gave you a stash of football, baseball, and hockey cards. Now I need to send a memo to your Pittsburgh or Uncle that a Sydney Crosby card might need to make its way into your life!

Bowling. We were able to squeeze a family bowling night in. (Well, dad was missing) It sure was fun. Julia picked up her bowling speed and you were able to launch one into the other lane! Thank goodness it didn't interfere with Aunt Jen's STRIKE that was taking place. And lucky for us we didn't have to call the clerk to come and get it out because Uncle Agustin scooted it right on out with his gutter ball

As for the cake...it didn't quite look like the cakes my grandmother made for me. It served its purpose none the less.

I am thankful that we celebrate your birthday one month early because I'm' not quite ready for you to turn 7.

At the age of seven you crave time with your friends. You load your backpack until it is almost as heavy as you. It is full of over $100 in pokemon cards (and I'm not worried) and now your baseball and football cards. Oh wait, not to mention the pair of shoes, hat and gloves.
You laugh the entire time you play hockey with us in your room. (Even when I'm trying to beat you).
Your dad got us a used foosball table so we can have more activities to do, and you jump the entire time and are teaching your sister the annoying sport cheers when you score goals!
You are reading the world around you and not super confident in figuring out the long words. You are interested in your first family chapter book, The Littles, and I couldn't be happier.
You sing KIDS BOP songs and I wish I could record every minute of it.
At Hockey you are a true player...you work hard and are the first to try to score and recover any missed shot.
You can dress yourself for hockey and enjoy your time on the ice.
You are curious, and your curiosity got you and your friend throwing rocks on the ice at the first sign it froze.

As for seven years, I'm pretty sure it's the best seven years your dad and I have had. It's made us a family, it has given us purpose and fun. Love you more than you know.

Thursday, November 17, 2016

A Spasperiment

So. You are super proud of your experiment that turned into your first recipe of fruit salad.

You decided it was "so good" that you should save some for dad.

Two days later you were having your own little "Julia Childs" cooking demonstration for the neighbors...including orders on how thin to slice the bananas and all!