Happy New Year 2023!

Welcome 2023! I can't believe we're already saying goodbye to 2022. It has been a really fun year - from Disneyland with the boys in January to NYC with Kate and Nichole in March back to Yellowstone with the boys in October then to TN with my parents in November. Our summer was full of days on the boat at Yuba, Flaming Gorge, Starvation, and Lake Powell. We finished building the little house and Jeff's parents moved in. We had to say goodbye to Gma T in June, but we welcomed little Everly in August. There are so many memories that we will carry with us into 2023...and there are some things I'm willing to leave behind. However, the lessons I learned from those heart-stretching moments and the person I've become will carry over into 2023. So how did we welcome 2023?! With a party! The Tanner kids spent the night last night so I guess that's really when the party started, but I hosted a little New Years party for my parents, the Tanners, Jeff, and Jonas the following evening too. (All the older kids were doing their own thing.) Nichole and Kate were still here for part of the morning before flying home so we grabbed a few pictures with our photo booth before they left. That evening, the festivities began. I hid several "timed" bags around the house. Once the kids found the bag, we started with 6:00 and opened each bag sequentially after that to reveal a couple fun games we would play leading up to "midnight" (which was actually more like 8:00 p.m.). We only paused for our yummy chimichanga dinner. The games ranged from bouncing ping pong balls into muffin tins to balancing a marshmallow on a spoon as they raced around the kitchen. There were some games/activities that we buzzed through pretty quickly and others that they enjoyed playing a few times. The final bag we opened had poppers, sparklers, and noise makers. After our little celebration, we toasted the New Year and indulged in some cupcakes before Krystle and Jordan took their kids home. Jonas was asleep by 9:30, but Jeff and I stayed up until 10:00 to watch the ball drop live in Times Square before we wished each other a happy new year and went to bed. Haha! I kind of like that Jonas hasn't yet had the desire to stay up until midnight. I'm sure those days are coming! But for now, we quietly welcomed in the new year after celebrating with family. I hope 2023 brings many more fun memories with family and friends. I would love for it to be void of any heartache or trials, but I know that's not possible. I can only hope that those moments inspire positive change and greater compassion. Here's to another year of incredible possibilities!