Happy Thursday everyone! The kids are back off to school today and while the peace and quiet is nice, it’s so sad when they head back. We had a blast over break. It felt LONG, thinking back to their first day off, we spent so much fun time together and made many memories!

I figured I would kick off the new blogging year with a winter break recap! I LOVE blogging and always challenge myself to do better. Some way, some how, it always gets put on the back burner, whether I think the posts I share are pointless or I just physically don’t have the time or energy to write it out, I NEED to find a system that works for me here and I look forward to trying to achieve that in 2024!

With that being said, thank you so much for reading, supporting and sharing all your kind words on my blog over the past 5 and a half years! I am so blessed!

We kicked off winter break with playing in some snow! I mean, that screams winter break doesn’t it!

We kicked it off by going to see the Nutcracker! First off, make sure you read what the ballet is about, ha! There is no talking and Audrey was very confused, my Mom had read a brief summary about it, which was very helpful for us to explain to her and she loved it after knowing the story line! Super charming story!

It was a fun afternoon out with the girls! We had brunch before the show which was AMAZING and then headed over to the 2nd largest theater district behind New York City! Did you know that?! Playhouse Square in Cleveland is just so amazing!

We made cookies at Grandma’s!

And said Welcome Home and Happy Birthday to my sister-in-law! She’s been studying in Scotland and finally was home for break! We enjoyed a beautiful afternoon at a winery and all the details of the party were just so cute!

I was so happy to get my hands on flowers again!

Speaking of flowers…I made these teacher gifts! They were extremely cost effective using flowers from Trader Joes!

Then I said, HECK, why not make some arrangements for family members!

Christmas Eve was just fabulous. We had dinner at my in-laws house and then went to mass. After Mass we drive down the street to check out the luminaries!

The kids were so excited when we got home and got out EVERYTHING for Santa and his reindeer!

We said our goodbyes to the elves!

Our Christmas morning was so chill! We opened gifts and I prepared brunch for my in laws! They stopped over to eat, open and check out the kiddos gifts!

We had an amazing Christmas – it felt like Spring. We had the windows open and even went for a walk!

After relaxing a bit and enjoying the new toys, it was off to celebrate with my side of the family!

These kiddos were amped up to see each other, play and open!

While the guys just showed up (hahah!)

We spent time assembling gifts all break and also disassembling parts of the house that were out of control – including the BASEMENT!

I was beyond happy to complete this declutter and love that the kids can spend so much time down here now!

The winter views around the area we live never seize to amaze me! This river runs right down the hill from our house and it’s about the most beautiful view ever right in our backyard!

Then there’s the views right off the front porch!

Or on our family walks!

There’s so much beauty surrounding us – and I’m so grateful!

Part 2 of our winter break is coming next week – it features highlights of our favorite annual tradition – a winter break staycation! Have a great weekend and see you then!

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