NYE 2018

We had such a great time at the Livonia Rec Center last year for New Year's Eve, that we bought tickets to do it again inviting even more people this time.  Our neighbors, Shelley, Jay, and Nevaeh, came, as well as our friends, Ashley, Corey, and Kellan.  It starts at 4pm and you have access to swim, use the water slide, climb the rock-wall, play in the tree fort, open gym, a bounce house, and face painting.  They serve pizza, salad, sno-cones, and cotton candy too.  We had a blast!

They did a balloon drop at 6:45pm right before the party ended and it was fun to count down and pretend it was midnight. 

We picked up some chinese food from Dale Yee's before heading home to have everyone over at our house for cards and the countdown.  There were 6 kids running around, lots of drinks flowing, and aside from Evan, everyone made it up until midnight to ring in the new year!  Poor Evan couldn't hang this year...

I woke up a little hungover, oops!  We grabbed breakfast out at Leo's in our pajamas and came back home to clean up the house, put away all the Christmas decorations and tree, and to watch movies all afternoon.  We are excited for 2019 and all that's in store!

Christmas Eve and Day!

Merry Christmas from the Ferstle family!  We had a great two days celebrating with family.  Christmas Eve we decorated gingerbread cookies in the morning and did some food prep for later that afternoon at the in-law's and for Christmas Day at our house with my family. 

Around 2pm we left for Troy in Scott's new Jeep and did our gift exchange with Scott's immediate family before his extended family arrived. 

Shortly after, the rest of the family arrived and it was a full house with 28 people and 3 dogs.  Some of Scott's cousins flew in from California and Baltimore, so that was exciting to see them!  We played a fun game with oven mitts and super-wrapped gifts to do our annual gift card exchange and Scott got in a quick game of poker with some family members before it was time to head home and get ready for Santa.

Christmas morning came quick and the boys were excited to run downstairs and see what Santa brought them.  I think Sean was legitimately worried Santa wasn't going to come. 

We had a pretty calm breakfast before we needed to get ready for church.  After church, my parents came over in the afternoon and my uncle shortly after that.  Dinner was amazing!  My mom brought a beef tenderloin that was incredible.  After dinner, we watched the Christmas Chronicles since my parents and uncle hadn't seen it yet.  It was a very relaxing evening after two full days.

It's incredible the amount of work and preparation that go into the holidays as an adult and a mom.  It's exhausting, but I find that the homemade gifts from the boys from school and Sean reading the prayer at Christmas dinner were my favorite moments.  Seeing their excitement to find that Santa came and brought what they wanted.  Watching them build new Lego sets and rip into all their new loot is so rewarding.  The tree is down today and all our Christmas decorations have been put away.  I'm sad the season is over, but I look forward to the start of a new year and the calmness that January brings.