Ring out, Wild Bells

I've always loved the Tennyson poem, "Ring Out, Wild Bells," and the minor-keyed hymn that we only sing at the end of the year. I was rather sad that I had to skip out of sacrament meeting early last week so that I could set up for a combined sharing time, and missed this year's annual sing.

2015 was a good year for our family, but I'm not sad to see it go. I like the hopefulness of a new year--the promise of new goals and new opportunities.

We've enjoyed our last bit of vacation before heading back into the real world tomorrow.

On Monday, Andrew and Evelyn went to Bubby's house for her annual grandkids tea party. (Oliver was not invited, not being old enough to be trusted with fine china. He and I ran errands instead).

Oliver insisted on a picture even though he wasn't dressed up (and yes, I realize the shirt is seasonably inappropriate, but he's three!)

That afternoon, we'd planned to take everyone ice skating, but we got to the rink and found that the cheap skating only applied to non-winter break hours, so we went sledding instead. The kids had a great time, and I learned that Sarah abhors winter sports, though she was a great sport about coming to watch.

Tuesday, we drove up to my mom's house, where the kids got even *more* Christmas presents (here's Evelyn with her matching doll wolf ears). Tuesday evening, I went to SLC with some writer friends for Sara Larson's book launch for the final book of her trilogy, ENDURE. (She and I have the same literary agent). It was fun to be surrounded by other authors, to talk shop without being obnoxious, and to dream about my own launch in a little over a year. (Thanks to Dan and my parents for letting me run away for a night!)

 

Wednesday we hung out with the cousins--we met Jared and Justin and their kids at a sledding hill, and once we'd sufficiently worn out the kids, we retired to grandma's house for hot chocolate and pizza, and the kids spent the afternoon happily playing with each other.

Thursday we ventured up to SLC, the girls to the American Girl doll store and the boys to Trader Joe's, then to IKEA for lunch (and a few organizational items). Our New Year's celebration consisted of playing Exploding Kittens with the kids and drinking sparkling cider, before going to bed before midnight.

On Friday, my mom and I braved crowds at Dillard's for their annual New Year's sale. It was, as usual, insane--but I managed to find *two* pair of Born shoes for Dan for less than $40 each. In the afternoon, Dan and I took Evelyn and Andrew to the Force Awakens. Andrew thought it was "all right," but every time I looked at Evelyn, she was rapt. I think she might aspire to being Rey now.

We've spent the weekend getting our lives back in order for the new week, but it's been lovely to be with family and to recharge.