Hoppy New Years

New Years is a pretty big holiday around our house.  For the past several years Zac has taken days off between Christmas and New Years and stays home and knocks out home "betterification" projects.  This year my favorite betterification project came because my washer and dryer both decided that they had done enough laundry to last a lifetime and they went kerput.  We debated about buying new ones and we also scanned used ones in the classifieds.  Having a family of 8 now brings my time spent doing laundry in a week to about 20 hours, no lie!  So we talked and we priced and we found a guy that would bring us TWO sets of refurbished washers and dryers for the cost of one new appliance had we gone with a new one.  Therefore, Zac spent the break wiring, dry-walling, shelf building, and appliance hooking upping in a storage room in the basement and now I have TWO laundry rooms.  Hip Hip Hooray.  I have cut my laundry time in half and I am doing a happy dance!!!

So that is what we do during Christmas break.  We work, we clean, we organize.  Our kids love us.  We also have fun.  If the kids have been especially good during the year, Santa sends them a letter with a clue that kicks off a scavenger hunt that leads them to a few extra gifts to celebrate New Years.  Usually a game, Nintendo game, and a movie. (Note this is the one and only time all year that we buy any movies, games,or Nintendo games, so that makes it pretty special).  This year the kids got Apples to Apples, the Harry Potter series of movies, and a Nintendo Wii game called Guilty Party (super fun!)  We spent all New Years Eve playing games, watching movies, and eating ourselves silly, and then Charlotte dragged us all upstairs and led us in some raucous pots and pans banging.  It was wonderful.  And all but Bronson and Whitlee made it to midnight this year.  Our kids are getting so old!  And so are Zac and I because we barely made it to midnight :)

The next day we were able to meet up with some cousins at I-Jump, where our super Aunt Lyndsay got us in free through her work.  I-Jump is this amazing magical place that is wall to wall trampolines and foam pits and the kids were in Heaven.

But of course you could put my kids anywhere and as long as cousins are going to be there, life is good. We feel so blessed to live close to family.  I wish we could un-busy ourselves a little more so that we can get together more often.  Perhaps this shall be one of my New Years Resolution.  That and to also eat more brownies... that one I know I can keep!