Our 2019, one second at a time

I managed to stick with my One Second Everyday videos for the entire year! I can hardly believe it. If you have about 6 minutes, please feel free to take a look.

And if you'd like to just see December, here is that month by itself.

New Year's Eve

It's the end of 2019! How is that even possible? It's really amazing how quickly these years are flying by. We were invited to a few New Years parties, but the only party we ever really want to have on NYE is at home on our couch. We told the kids they could have Matt and Lacy come over, but turns out Matt had a rough ending to 2019. He was riding a go-cart at a friends house and lost control of it, driving straight into a cholla cactus. If you know anything about the desert, you know that this is every hiker or outdoors-person's worst nightmare. He had cholla embedded in his chest, arm and leg, and would be spending the afternoon in the ER having them removed. Needless to say, he wouldn't be staying over tonight. Ouch!

As for the rest of us, we hung out on the couch and watched movies, played games on the VR and stayed cozy. We lit off some fireworks at the end of the night, and toasted the new year. It was NYE just the way we like it!

Cheers to 2020!

May this new year bring happiness, good health, and a year full of happy memories. 

Tyler's turn for company

Tyler has a couple of good friends at school, but it's not very often that he gets together with them. The thing about going to a school that's not in the neighborhood is that it's always convenient to have friends over. Tyler is good about making arrangements with his friends, even if it means calling their moms to make the plan (before they had their own phones). Since we're still off for winter break, he found a day that would work and invited Ethan and Peyton over for the day. He was excited to share his VR with them, and they had other games to play too. As much as I wanted to send them all outside or to the park, I know this is what they wanted to do. Since they don't get to do it often, and since Tyler has such a cool new gadget to share, I let them do what they wanted. They even played some good old fashioned Wii games too, and let Ava join them. They're nice kids, it's too bad they'll all be split up at different high schools next year.

Table Fort

We have a new table, which means we have a new fort! Ava and Lacy turned our kitchen table into a cozy tent to spend their night. They covered it completely, brought in all the pillows and blankets they needed, and slept forever. I had to wake them up around 10 am when Joe said he was on his way to pick up Lacy. I peeked in before they went to bed, while they were playing card games, and they looked pretty cozy!

A late gift

The first gift I bought for Ava was the last one to arrive--and it arrived the day after Christmas. Remember when Ava wanted to try making French macarons? Every time we see them in a bakery or a store, she asks if she can get one. I always tell her no because they're so expensive for one little cookie. When we tried making them, we couldn't even tell you if they tasted right because we'd never tasted one. I saw an ad on one of my social media platforms sometime before the holidays for a company that would send fresh macarons to you in the mail. I thought it would be a fun treat to open up on Christmas, since it's something I've never before let her get. The company had a $10 shipping fee to have it delivered on Christmas Eve, so that made them even more expensive--but, what's Christmas for if not to get something fun and unique? The shipping indicated they were in Phoenix on Christmas Eve, but sadly, they spent a couple days at the post office. I'd imagine this had some effect on the quality, as they're supposed to be eaten and/or refrigerated within a few days. Nevertheless, they finally arrived and I think Ava was surprised! I also don't think they were nearly as delicious as she imagined they'd be. Luckily, the company gave me my $10 back for the shipping. Voila!

Horihan family Christmas

After the excitement of our Christmas morning, it was time to head to Grandma and Grandpa's house for the annual Horihan family party. Each of our celebrations has it's own special traditions and things about them that make it great. For the party with Dave's family, it's definitely all of the kids. Over the years, these cousins have grown up so quickly, and we've been able to celebrate together for pretty much every Christmas along the way. We still have some little ones in the family, but for the most part, there are more older kids than young ones. We still have Theresa, Siler, and Brecken, who are all under the age of about 7, but it's still fun, even at 17 (the oldest). It's pretty great to see all of the cousins together, although we were missing Josh and Matt this year. 

We all gathered downstairs for the cousin gift exchange, which is usually a chaotic few moments of frantic unwrapping and noise and mess. This year, we invoked what my family would call the "Marv rule, where they had to wait their turn to open their cousin gift. We started with the youngest, and then whoever gave that gift would open next. It seemed to work pretty well, or at least, it was better than the usual madness. Ava had Lacy's name this year, which she was excited about. She got her a soft blanket and soft slippers. You know Ava and her love of soft things....Lacy is the same way.

Sweet little Theresa is such a good girl! Everyone is amazed at how advanced she is in her communication at not even two years old. She speaks in these full, adult-like sentences. She sort of reminds me of how Tyler was at that age.

Her parents must read to her. Amazing what a difference that makes! They also talk to her like she's an adult--explain things clearly, ask her questions....very great parents!

I'm not sure what Hailey is so excited about here, but apparently it's her boots. Or perhaps its that she knew what she was getting and was trying to pretend to be surprised? Either way, great expression Hailey!

It really is amazing to me to think that these kids are sophomores in high school. I remember how big of a deal it was in the family when all three of Dave's sisters had kids at the same time....those babies are now nearly 16. Crazy.

So now for a photographic record of the gifts Ava got (I didn't get any of Tyler, I think he mostly got cash, which is not nearly as exciting). Ava had one thing in particular on her wish list that I thought was a little.....creepy. Her cousin Gavin had her name, and when I sent the list to his mom, I realized that that creepy gift was going to be coming home with us. No, it's not this cool book teaching her how to braid.....

It's THIS doll head that she can use to practice those cool braids! Her friend Natalie has this, and she has learned how to braid so well using this prop head. Now this head is mounted on Ava's desk in her room. She was very excited!

 She also got a sketch pad, pencils and books from Grandma and Grandpa.

She's read the first three books of this series (Land of Stories), and now she has the next three. Good thing too, she's just about to finish her third book. Of our two kids, Ava is definitely our reader. Tyler only reads if it's related to film making, and even then, he'd prefer to learn via video or podcast. Ava will take a book with her in the car everywhere we go.

Again, no idea wha is so funny, but this face is pretty great.

Throwing this in here just to prove that Tyler was there. He was sitting next to our weekend daughter. Hey Ty!

It didn't take long before Ava was trying out her new gift. I guess it's not that creepy, but it does make you take a second look when you see it sitting there. It makes you think there's another person at the table. She'll be able to learn how to do various kinds of braids, and supposedly you can also use heat to curl it.

Tyler was really good about letting all of his cousins try out his Oculus. It's one of those things that you just have to experience to really know what it's like. It's unlike any other video game you've played. Grandpa Ed even got in on a little Beat Saber action. 

As we wrap up our 2019 Christmas celebrations, I'm reminded of all of our great fortune. We are able to give our kids the things they want, we are able to spend time with our loved ones on both sides of our families making more memories together, we have jobs that allow us time off during these few weeks to rest, relax, and regroup, we live someplace with pleasant weather and can usually (not this year) count on a sunny warm Christmas day, and we are able to spend this time together. Despite the stress and anxiety that I tend to feel over the holidays, and the amount of complaining I do about some of the aspects, it really is a great time of the year and I love the smiles that I see on my kids' faces. I am grateful for this life and the people that are in it. Wherever you are, I hope your holidays have been special. Love going out to all of my people who are reading this from afar. Happy Holidays from the Horihans!

For an album of photos from our Christmas festivities, you can click this link. 

PS: In that photo above, I'm wearing the new faux leather jacket I got from the kids, and awesome scarf that I got from Karen. Thank you!

Christmas morning is here!

Christmas morning with my kids is one of my favorite parts of the holiday season. I know how excited they are, and it's always so fun to see their excitement when they open their gifts. We usually start by checking out what is in our gigantic stockings while we wait for Grandma and Grandpa to come over. 

Here is Ava with her loot so far. She loves her new. super soft socks! If you don't know it already, Ava loves all things soft--the softer the better.

They opened their gifts from each other at the same time. Ava got Tyler a new hooded sweatshirt for school.

Tyler got Ava this super comfy, super soft, super huge hoodie. I got one for my coworker for Christmas, and Ava was super jealous. I knew it would be huge on her, but she doesn't seem to mind. It'll literally fit her for the rest of her life.

The kids got Grandma a few scarves. Ava remembered her saying "you can never have too many scarves." Well, you do live in Arizona during scarf season, so I'm not sure that is so true out here.

Ava got a really great cookbook from Grandma.

Grandma gave Tyler this camera monitor that was so conveniently linked to his google Christmas list. He was really excited about this one! He even stole my camera for a little while so he could try it out. He couldn't stop talking about how great this was, how it was going to make filming so much easier, and how he couldn't believe it wasn't way more expensive. Looks like a winner, Grandma!

Ava got a pair of Vans from Grandma, and she also got checkered Vans from us. She shouldn't need shoes for awhile--then again, her feet grow so fast! I'm looking forward to her having the same size as me so I can share her cute shoes.

Ava was surprised to see her gift from Grandpa Jon. He bought the bedding for her new full sized bed, which she didn't know she was getting until she opened this from Grandpa. It was the one "big" gift on her list, and we didn't decide to get it until the last minute--which is why we don't have it for her just yet.

This was another big surprise for Ava. Grandma Jean gave Ava her old iPhone 6S. It doesn't have phone service, and she won't be able to get that for awhile longer, but she sure is excited to have a newer phone to use on wifi.

Dave got a weighted softball and a squeegee (for his car) from the kids, and a massager and a pressure washer from me. I see there are no pictures of me from this morning, but just for historical record, Dave got me a "coozie" to hold my White Claw cans, headlights for my car, and helped the kids get me a nice faux leather jacket I was eyeing. His main gift to me was a massage gun. It's really cool, but since I got him a back massager as well, we might just keep that one. The massage gun was pretty expensive, and we both prefer the other option. The one I just linked to this post is one I would highly recommend. Everyone who tries it is pretty shocked at how great it works.

Another overly generous gift from Grandpa Jon--Tyler got a Samsung smart watch. Talk about unnecessary, but unsurprisingly, he's very excited!

Grandma brought over a delicious brunch for us to enjoy after we opened presents. We had mimosas with fresh squeezed OJ, fruit, bagels, and my mom's cherry almond bread, which was a tradition she made every year when I was younger.

Tyler had one main thing he wanted for Christmas, and he actually knew he was getting it, so it wasn't much of a surprise. I've written about how much he enjoys playing games at the VR arcade, and he's been wanting his own VR headset. Dave bought it pretty early in the holiday buying season, and they actually sold out everywhere just before Christmas. We could have sold it for about double what we paid, which is why we asked Tyler if he wanted to do that. He chose to keep it because he was so excited to have it for winter break. I don't blame him--he definitely gets that from me. When I want something, or when I know I'll be getting something new soon, I can't wait. We waited to give it to him last. If we hadn't told him he was getting it, we would have totally pulled out the move from the dad in the Christmas Story, who didn't give his kid the Red Rider BB gun until after he thought all the presents were opened.

This is a happy--and very fortunate kid. Both of our kids are! They were totally spoiled again this year, which we say every year we aren't going to do. Grandma and Grandpa are so generous with their only grand kids, and really help make their holidays special. Honestly, we're all pretty excited play some VR games!

We also got Grandpa Jon one of these things--it's called a Comfy. We figured he could wear it out on his patio or walking to and from the pool. Don't they look cute in their matching Comfys?!

You would think that the first photo I posted of anyone playing VR would be of Tyler, but it's not. I couldn't help but get some pictures of Ava in her giant Comfy and fluffy socks, playing Job Simulator on her brother's new VR. Tyler has been so good about sharing!

I think we could have stayed here all day to play with all our new stuff, but time always goes so quickly on Christmas morning, and we are usually rushing to get to the Horihan party in time. The rain has finally let up, and it looks like it'll be a cool but rain-free Christmas Day. More to come from our Christmas....stay tuned.