New stuff and a welcome to 2014

Happy New Year everyone!

It's been a wonderful few weeks for our family.

And although my lack of blogging is apparent, I can't even say it's because

we've been busy!  Starting Christmas day, we had 5 days of relaxation and

glorious, much needed time together!  And even now, back at work ... it's

been mellow and relaxed at home.  I feel blessed and rejuvenated!

Now... if this ridiculous frigid weather would just stop... all would be well!!!

I took over a thousand (yes, you read that correctly) photos in the month of December.

Going through them all is a bit overwhelming.  I have decided that I'm not going to

post a ton.  Just a few, (ok, so a "few" is relative)
 a smattering of the last month, Christmas, and New Years, all kind of rolled into a
random wrap up of 2013!

~We played in the snow.  (This was also known affectionately as the "Zombie Pit")

~We made cookies.  Would you care for a cookie with your sprinkles?

~We celebrated Christmas at my Dad's~

It was lovely and always a treat to see family!

~The girls had a little Christmas program at Preschool.  Ok... so not little.  I was thinking
like 30-40 people.... eh eh... more like 150 or so!
Yoikes! Still super cute though!

~Christmas Eve day was spent at my mom's with just our immediate family.  It was relaxing

and fun and enjoyable.

~Christmas eve we went to Mass then home to make sure everything was just right for

Santa to come.  We opened gifts between and tucked our little ones into bed hoping that

Sugarplums would dance in their heads all night!

~Christmas morning was a surprising treat, as both girls slept in ( I'm talking 7am folks!!)

We had coffee and breakfast and listened to the girls ooh and aah over their loot from Santa!

It was so much fun watching them open their gifts!  Each year it just seems to get better!

We sat on the porch, tree lit up, with snow falling outside the window... it really was magical!

~That day we went outside and did some sledding.  We played with our new games, Legos, Easy Bake oven, and even a game of Go Fish!
We had nowhere to go and spent the day enjoying every second of it!

It was a wonderful day.  One of the more enjoyable Christmas's I've had!

~Papa Dave came for a visit!

~We took the girls skating for the first time!  Lila resembled Bambi the first time out, but made significant progress by her second time out!

~We celebrated Christmas with my mom's whole side of the family.
And I mean WHOLE family!
My uncle Pete and his family came home for Christmas for the first time in 20
years! He showed up at the front door and surprised EVERYONE! We were
missing a few cousins, but it was the largest Bongard family gathering in two decades!
Fun, crazy, chaotic... yep, that pretty much describes it!

My uncle came dressed as Santa... it was pretty fun!

~New Years was relatively quiet this year. Some sushi with friends, and home for some Scrabble and watching the ball drop!

The nice clothes were tossed for sweats within minutes of getting home.... Casual is cool people!

~The next day was spent helping Ryan's folks tear up carpet. I know you're jealous!

As I look ahead to the coming year, we've got some pretty exciting stuff ahead. 

Here's hoping 2014 brings time to achieve our new goals, love and blessings as we celebrate

with family, and maybe a move that will bring us closer to our family and friends!

Stay tuned.  It should be a pretty great year!