Happy New Year!

We didn’t have big plans for New Year’s Eve. We were invited to a friend’s house, but opted to stay home and make fondue instead. We dipped apples, carrots, french bread, broccoli, and carrots in a cheddar-blue cheese mix, and steak, shrimp, mushrooms, and red potatoes in a broth, filling ourselves full of yumminess to say goodbye to 2017.

Michaela insisted she be allowed to stay up until midnight for New Year’s Eve. She was close to giving up and going to sleep at about 11:30, but she managed to stay awake (we played about a million games of Uno and Old Maid) and as the ball dropped, we toasted with sparkling apple cider and counted down to midnight.

The next morning, she slept until 10:30!

We puttered around the house before Michaela and I headed to the beach. It was 70 when we left, but ended up being a bit more chilly at the beach, so Michaela contented herself making sandcastles. She even made friends with another girl who was there and they built a long moat together.

After coming home from the beach and rinsing off, Mike joined us and we all went for a long walk. It wasn’t quite “take a hike,” as many people advocate on New Year’s Day, but I ended up hitting (actually exceeding!) my 10k steps goal for the day.

We had extra steak shrimp from fondue, and I decided I’d make them myself on the grill. I don’t eat seafood so never cook it, but it seemed simple enough (thanks to the internet) to do. I threaded the shrimp onto skewers, seasoned my steak, and threw them on the grill. The steak was delicious and Michaela enjoyed the shrimp; it was fun to start the new year by doing something I’ve never done before!