Happy Monday! Happy 2026! Happy first Hello Monday of the year! I’m starting the week with Holly and all of you! I hope you’ll link up with us for Hello Monday! We have a new logo for 2026, feel free to save it and use it with us!

Last Monday I shared the first half of our break and today I am sharing what we did in the second half of our break.

My sister and niece came to town for a few days and we spent a bunch of time together. I did not take many pictures, but we had a great couple of days. Maggie came to spend the day with me on Monday because Annie had to go to a funeral. It was freezing so we didn’t spend much time outside. We went to the library and read and played. It was so windy that the power was blinking at the library and at home. We played at home for a bit and then made some cookies.

On Tuesday, I went to my parents’ for the afternoon and evening. We worked on a little vacation planning for this summer. Jeff and the boys joined us for dinner after swim practice. Maggie kept asking “where are Jack and Luke?” and by the end of their few days here she knew the answer was probably swim practice. They had two practices most days and the days they didn’t have two practices they had a three hour practice. It was a lot of swimming, but I am sure it will serve them well this spring!

Wednesday was New Year’s Eve. We had a slow start to the day and I wasn’t feeling very motivated to exercise. My friend Kerry advised me that I would be happy to end the year with exercise and she was right. I’ve been layering up with my weighted vest under my coat and braved the cold every day of break. I am pretty sure it looks ridiculous but I do not care. Jack went to a friend’s house for NYE and we had a game night at home with Luke. We tried a new tradition at midnight. In Spain they eat 12 grapes at midnight for 12 months of good luck in 2026. Here’s hoping it works!

I bundled up and took a New Year’s Day walk. We had a snow squall overnight so there were a few slippery spots but no good snow. I made our traditional New Year’s Day dinner – pork, mashed potatoes, and my mom’s homemade applesauce. I know we are supposed to have greens, black-eyed peas, and sauerkraut for more luck, but we do not.

On Friday, we went to a local venue for a little family fun. They run a lunch deal that is an hour of bowling, 30 minutes of arcade games and lucch for a set price. I was a little unsure about the arcade game time, but it was so fun! Jeff was our best bowler. Jack and I are our worst bowlers.

We had so many squares with two gutterballs that Luke made a celebratory facial expression for it. Haha!

I met some friends for happy hour and then spent the rest of the day watching Twelve Dates Til Christmas. I am so glad I recorded it because it is based on Jenny Bayliss’ book that I loved.

Luke had a chilly soccer game on Saturday morning and we got to cheer him on. I was roasty toasty in my new heated vest and heated gloves. Luke played well and then we headed home for the rest of the day. I was hoping to get Christmas completely packed up on Saturday, but it did not happen. In fact, it took me a good bit of Sunday to do it, too.

I left the lights and the tree for Sunday morning. I watched CBS Sunday Morning while taking the lights down and packing up the tree. I decided to leave the outside lights up for another day or two. We didn’t get to our Christmas village either, but it’s ok. The outside lights and the village don’t go in the attic so it will be easy to put them away when I am ready. Even though I hate packing up Christmas, I do love the reset in our house.

I ran a few errands dropping off returns and donations. I stopped by the pool to make sure everything was ok with all the wind we’ve had. Then I went for a nice, long walk and got started making dinner. We took it easy on Sunday night and had an egg bake and fruit for dinner. I did all the Sunday things – meal planning, grocery scheduling, straightening up, and writing my Hello Monday post. I was planning to go to bed a little early because today is back to work and school. However, the Steelers were playing the late game so I stayed up to watch a big with Jack.

We have a busy but regular week ahead of us. Everyone has swim practice every day. Luke has a meet on Thursday. I am hoping that a regular week will help us jump right back into a routine that feels good. Fingers crossed! I know that alarm is going to feel awfully early, but I can do it. And so can you! Have a great day full of sunshine and books!