Celebrating

 Make a wish, kid!

We bought these cupcakes from a little girl and her grandmother on the street.  I was very concerned that they looked like they had already been licked, but whatever.  Who dies from licked cupcakes?  Tizzy and Tolly were happy, and the sweet little girl made two bucks.

 The street cupcakes weren't the only party in town!  December 30th was our 19th wedding anniversary.  We went to a local place called K Pasta, which was delicious and fun.  We were outside in a covered patio with a lively group of people.  The tables were chalk paint, so we did a little noodling before our noodles arrived.  It feels like 19 years has flown by in an instant, and it terrifies me that one day, I'll wake up and it will all be over...or I won't wake up and it will all be over.  In any case, I'm trying to live and love each day with Scott and all the precious spirits entrusted to our care.  I must say again, I love it all.  I got lucky.

 And plus, look at the darling new coat my mom gave me for Christmas!

 Next morning, we went for a walk to the pier and sat in the Marriott lobby, enjoying the ambiance.  A crew was setting up for New Years festivities.

 I love this tree

 More boogie boarding!  These kids are non-stop!

 We went to the outlets and got Xanthe a couple of new swimsuits.  Isn't she adorbs?  :)

 Ruby and Bentley, two of the sweetest girls you'll ever hang out with.

 Look what we found in the guest book at Katy's Cafe.  Wow.  Can we stop time, please?

 Another day, another delicous pizza.  Rose even made us a couple of chicken-bacon-garlic-ranch extra larges.  Happy new year indeed!

 Scott did a very out-of-character tuck and roll, taking pictures of Angela and me.  We were laughing so hard that the pictures turned out scary.  But Jameson looks great!

 Jason got some great shots of the kids in the ocean.

 Xanthe and Evie were fast friends, perfect for one another!

 Wow.  That's...quite a get-up.  I should be embarrassed.

 My happy place.

 All the girls were flocking around Angela when I got in the hot tub.  She truly connects with teens.  They can't get enough of her!  I can't either, really.  She is so fun.  By this time, we had lost the Whites.  Their trip was shorter than ours.  Booooo!

You'll notice our coats.  Yes, there was a cold front that brought record-breaking low temps and even snow inland.  That said, it was still in the 50's and 60's.  We dressed for the weather and, those of us who didn't spend their days in the ocean, we were toasty warm on the beach with the sun beating down on our leggins and jackets.  I kept admonishing people, "The key to happiness at the beach is socks."  It was true.  My feet were so warm!  Aside from one cloudy day, when we went to the tide pools and Old Town, the weather was even better than we've had in the spring.  No wind and no rain, no cloud cover, either.  It was nice to have that wide-open blue sky greet us in the morning.

 New Years Eve.  One of the reasons it was so great to leave home was that we didn't have to think of some lame, freezing cold activity to do for New Years.  We would miss all that!  Except January 31st still rolled around.  What do you know!  Angela pulled out sparklers and poppers, and at about, oh, 7:38, we did a ten-second countdown and partied like it was 1999 for about ten minutes.  Perfect amount of time to ring in the new year!  The above picture of Ptolemy just breaks my heart.  It is such a sweet moment in time, with his new Skylanders pajamas, wrapped in his new red blanket.his happy little face aglow, and his tiny hand holding the sparkler.  I love that little guy!

 Jameson, up for the action!

 Naomi

 Golda and Ruby had been talking to Victor, and Ruby really wanted to eat 12 grapes in the 12 seconds before midnight.  Except all the stores were out of grapes!  Everyone in I.B. does this tradition, apparently!  I ended up with three little fruit salads from 7-11, which yielded enough grapes.  I'm like Ruby (and Coco!)  We get on a kick and we can't let it go.  We had to have those grapes!  I have a video of Ruby eating them that is hilarious.  It's harder than it sounds!

 Especially when someone is hitting you in the face with streamers at midnight!

The Correas and Altieris didn't look like they were having any trouble with the grape tradition on new years!  Thanks for the pics, Juan.  Happy new year to all of you in Spain!  And France.  :)

 First biscotti of the new year.  And we're off to a pretty great start!

Here's to 2015.