Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!! :) I hope you all had fun, whatever you did. My family got together with some other families and had a blast! When we came home, my brother and I went outside and tried to take pictures of the stars.

But it was cold, so we came inside and had a nice cup of tea. :)

My little brother Joe turned 11! It's been such a joy having him as a sibling - he brings

so much energy and life to our family.

It was a little hard getting up to have a birthday breakfast right after New Year's Eve, though. ;)

But it was worth it! We had scrambled eggs and yummy homemade cheese danishes with frosting.

Joe was SUPER excited as he opened one of his presents.

He's been wanting a chemistry set for a while, and he finally got one!

He and my dad spent some time working on a couple of the experiements today.

The afternoon was very relaxing, and included a bunch of experimental self-portraits inspired by Jenna.

Around dinner time, my cousins came to visit!! They work as missionaries, so we hardly ever see them. It was great to have them here, and they brought a pinata so Joe could have a proper birthday fiesta. :)

First, you were blindfolded...

...given a stick and spun around lots of times...

...then you were expected to smash the pinata that was moving all around the place. :)

When it finally broke, lots of peanuts and granola bars fell all over the floor.

Mmm, yummy!

What a great start to a new year. Hopefully I will be posting more often now...we'll see. :) Take care guys!