Cheers to 2017!

It's been years since we've been in my hometown to celebrate a holiday at "home", so we were excited about our plans to spend New Year's together at Papa's house. We started the party early with Hibachi.

It's crazy to think about, but the last time we were at this Hibachi restaurant, it was for my 8th birthday (i think), which means Cory was about Juliet's age!

The girls were stylin' in their 2017 headbands.

Trying to decide what she should order... 😆

The ladies! 💜

We were thoroughly entertained all evening, both by our chef and the people at the table next to us.

They don't look alike or anything...

I don't know whose face is better....Mama's or Juliet's?

After dinner, we headed back to the house for a night of games and dessert. The girls were hilarious while we were playing Hedbandz, both because they were up way past their bedtime and because Nagymama couldn't figure out that she was a tractor! At about ten, we realized the girls weren't going to make it to midnight, so we decided it was probably a good idea (and necessary) to get the girls to bed. Thanks to the geniuses at Netflix who created kids New Year's Eve countdowns, we pulled out the glow sticks, noisemakers, sparkling grape juice and fancy glasses two hours early and cheered in the new year together. The joy on their faces was the best! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SjPwax_CRc

After the "cheers" and on their way to bed, we headed outside with confetti poppers and let loose on Papa's driveway! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qniGYmdzUiM

It was the perfect way to end the night. The girls were so tired, but so overtired that we knew either daddy or mommy were going to have to get in the middle or they would never go to bed. Joe laid down and the girls were asleep in two minutes. They were excited to have a sleepover with Nagymama in her room. Joe and I were down the hall with Juliet. My dad was downstairs. We told the girls to come to us if they woke up in the night. Ella woke up coughing and Mama woke up to help her, but Ella said she was fine and closed her eyes, so Mama went back to sleep. My favorite was learning in the morning that after Ella couldn't fall back to sleep, she just went downstairs to Papa and snuggled with him for a while. Eventually she ended up in bed with us until the morning, but I love knowing she went to Papa first. 

The next morning, the girls watched cartoons in their favorite chair. We ate a special Papa's house breakfast and then went to play in the park for a bit. Nagymama cooked a Hungarian New Year's Day lunch before we loaded up and headed home. It was a really special way to start the new year!

I'm always sad to see the holiday season go, but once I get over my weepy nostalgia and pack up all the decorations, I'm all about New Year's Day. I'm just a sucker for fresh starts! January 1, 2017: New year, new beginning! Looking into the new year with purpose, hope and gratitude.