Days with the Dorans

 I love this tradition of going to Kurt and Eric's to ring in the New Year! I hope they keep it up (or at least don't turn us away when we show up at their door next year). We were a bit late (no surprise there) because Jeff was making a horse racing game- I'm serious- He was hard at work for hours and out getting supplies early in the day! The game turned out super fun and while it is a game where you throw in some coin, it doesn't break your bank! Everyone had fun I think. The food was great, games were fun and the company was the best! Of course I haven't been taking lots of pictures- I'm out of the habit since my phone cracked (I REALLY need to get that fixed but WHEN?! HOW!?!). We need to do more group shots, but the regular players were there- Kurt and Eric, Cosmans, Gordons, Gearys and even Melanie came and it was fun to see her! Here's to another great year making memories with these awesome people! 2018 was a wonderful year- can't...

Just because I know I will forget these little moments. Sean is in need of deodorant now and does have his own (oddly enough, Zach doesn't stink yet but we got him some anyway). Sean stopped me and said that next year for his birthday he wanted some Old Spice deodorant. I of course got it on tape. I'm sure we can make that happen! Tee hee hee. Love that kid!

Somehow I messed up on my math! I was thinking I could take off today but I wasn't able to. I did do it though! 1200 miles (and not a tenth more). I still can't believe I did this. I'm planning on doing it again! Bring it on, 2019!!

 So just like our gift to Grandma was an experience, we wanted to give an experience to Nana and Papa too, so they got a trip to the D to see Aladdin with all of us Dorans. I asked Danny if they wanted to join us, but they were out this year. Maybe next year... In the morning, Nana came over to get 2 tickets since it was cold and we weren't driving together and that's when I realized I PURCHASED THE WRONG NUMBER OF TICKETS!! I have no idea how I did not realize this, but thank God she came over. I quickly hopped on line and got two more tickets. That was a close one! With two seats not with the pack- Jeff and I almost felt like we were on a date (I'd like to go on more dates like this). We could see the others and they weren't far. There were some kids in front of us who were bouncing and switching seats which was super annoying. Amazingly, there were two open seats with our crew (what are the chances??) so we headed over there for the second act. The sho...

We started out celebrating my favorite girl at the movies! We all went to see Mary Poppins Returns (Joey went too, but he went with Ella) and then came back home for food and fun. This has become a tradition the last few years and it seems a perfect "easy" way to celebrate in a laid-back way after all the craziness of the holidays! There's not a girl on earth I love more than this one! Happy Birthday my sweet Ali Jane! Love you soooooooooooo much!!!

 We had a great trip to Grandma's to celebrate Christmas with the Dorans, and JD was there too! YAY!! We had a wonderful visit with fun and food, but my favorite was Grandma's reaction to our gift! We decided this year to give the gift of time (and experiences) so we gave her (and us) tickets to see The Sound of Music at a theatre up there. We're so excited and so was she! Here are some more pictures from our day! We even managed some big group pictures! Loved having everyone together! Merry Christmas!!

 After I ran (yes... it was on the treadmill and only a few miles but I had to try out my new running stuff), Joey drove us over to Nana and Papa's! The Drapals were coming this year so Marty was also super excited (he loves his cousin, Gordie)! We had a wonderful time! The camera in my phone broke (without being dropped grrr...) so I got most of these pictures from Nana. It was a great day, but the most memorable moment (for me) will be that Joey got his Varsity Jacket. He was so excited and wore it inside for quite a while which was cute! I think he'll get a lot of wear out of it! You can see a video of him opening it HERE and other pictures from the day below!