New Years Eve

We rang in the new year with a party at home, just the 5 of us.  Nick shared his pizza making skills with us while Ben and Ruby got into the spirit of the night!  

Happy New Year! 

 

Christmas Break

We had planned to travel to Phoenix the week after Christmas while the kids were on break, but the airlines had different plans and cancelled our flight.  Oh well.  Instead we enjoyed a week at home, and Ruby rejoiced!  The kids enjoyed sleeping in and just taking it easy.  We went to a Pacers game, which is always a fun time for us.  The Pacers won, too!  Later in the week we traveled to Champaign to watch the Illini play, they also won!  On the way to the hotel we drove by our first home that Eric and I bought in Sidney.  The home and the neighborhood looked pretty much the same, 22 years later!  It was fun too reminisce with the kids about where we would take our dogs on walks, the small downtown strip of Sidney, and share a peak into our lives, before they were a part of our lives!  We stayed the night at the I Hotel next to the stadium and had dinner there before the game and walked over to the stadium just before tip off.  Watching basketball games seems to appeal to everyone in our family.  The fast action of the game is a good mix with the snack and souvenir stands!  The next morning we had breakfast at Merry Ann's Diner, a campus classic.  Eric and I spent many years living in the Champaign area and had never been there to eat. It was cozy and delicious.  Before leaving town and heading back home we stopped by the campus spirit store for some orange and blue wear!  It was the perfect quick trip.

Eric celebrated his birthday this week, too.  He and I escaped to downtown Indy for a night out on the town.  We saw a comedian and had a delicious dinner at a steakhouse. 

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! 

These 3 were up bright and early at 8, ready to see what Santa brought for them!

Favorites this year included:

Nick: new goalie gloves, sweatshirts, shoes and more.

Sam: a custom pitcher's glove, clothes and more.

Ben: a snuggly blanket, clothes and a new computer that he built!

A few days before Christmas Ben's buddy Jack came over to help him build his new gaming PC.

Ben was over the moon excited!

We also celebrated Ruby's 9th birthday on Christmas Day!

She's such a good girl and brings such joy to our lives!

We enjoyed a relaxing day at home in our pjs.  

Later on in the afternoon we had a lovely Italian themed dinner with lasagna, pasta, meatballs, salad and bread.  I love family dinners in the dining room with our Santa Christmas tree!  

It was a wonderful day!

Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve the boys always get one gift to open, new PJ's.  The same tradition I had as a kid. Then our night begins with the Basile's, we meet them at their church for a beautiful Christmas Eve mass, then head back to their home to overindulge in food and drinks!  It's always a favorite night of the year for Eric and I and the boys.  One we've shared together since we moved to the Indy area!  

Those boys are never too old for wrestling!

It looks like Santa came!

A night out on the circle

I think we've discovered a new family tradition!  We had a lovely night out in downtown Indy this week to kick off the winter break.  What started out as a night at the zoo for zoo lights, ended up instead being a night out to check out the lights on Monument Circle.  Zoo lights was overly crowded and had parking what seemed like a mile away!  It was a warmish night to be out walking around the circle admiring the lights.  Afterwards we had a delicious dinner at the Eagles Nest, the restaurant on top of the Hyatt Hotel.  The restaurant rotates, so we had a 360 degree view of the city throughout dinner.  It takes approximately 45 minutes for a full rotation.  It was such a fun night!

I'm enjoying this newer phase of parenting with 3 teenagers during the holidays. 

 

Go Thunder!

Our niece Grace was in town for a sled hockey tournament this past weekend with John.  I was able to watch her score a goal in the first game!  These kids are something else!  

 

Christmas Lunch with the Dan and Jill

The following day we met Grandpa Dan and Grandma Jill and their kids in Springfield for a Christmas Lunch.  We had such a lovely time visiting and catching up with everyone as well as playing with baby Lane!  He is so cute and entertained us all with his big smile.  

 

Schraufnagel Family Christmas

The Schraufnagel Family Christmas party looked a little different this year now that both of my parents have passed.  We met at a hotel in Bloomington and brought in all of our favorite appetizers, drinks, games, music, lights and a few decorations. Most of the family was able to come.  We ate, drank, opened presents and sang karaoke at the end of the night!  Some of us stayed at the hotel and enjoyed a late night glass of wine together, (Karen, Lisa and Alina!)

It was different, but we made it work and were able to be together!

  

 

Christmas with the Horns

We hosted the Horns for our family Christmas.  It was such an enjoyable night.  We roasted a huge prime rib and snacked on cheese, crackers and sweets all day while sipping a special whiskey punch.  We missed Aaron and Angela this year, they were sick with Covid unfortunately.