New Year's Eve

Since 1975, Boston's First Night has been a New Year's Eve celebration of artistic performances, the wonders of the season, and the beginning of a new year.  Many years we have not partaken due to the weather and, more recently, due to the pandemic.  However this year, the weather was mild and so we ventured out to celebrate.  We headed to Boston Common where a large majority of the activities were occurring.  The celebrations are scattered all over the city however.

First up was watching the ice skaters from the various clubs in the area.  It was so hard to believe these kids were the ages of my own!

The atmosphere was positive and colorful everywhere you turned.

We stumbled onto the historic marching band from Concord and Miss Massachusetts.  Victoria was much more thrilled with the latter.

We hung out in Boston Commons while waiting for the fireworks celebration.  Everywhere we turned, there was something lite up with my favorite being the number 22 on the Prudential building.

After returning home, we enjoyed a charcutier board, cheesecake, and watched a movie waiting for the countdown to begin.

Here's to a new year filled with hope and happiness!

 

Winter Break Fun

After all the Christmas fan fare was over, we had two days of free time.  One morning the kids swam in the hotel pool.  Though the pool was on the small side, the temperature was perfect for a wintery day.

A late lunch (or early dinner) landed us at a teppanyaki grill which is always a crowd pleaser.

One of Opa's gifts was a kazoo game given to him by the grandkids.  We, of course, had to break this out and play before they returned home.

We originally broke up into two teams of three.  Eventually we made our own rules and had it be youth verses age.  The kids could hum a tune in 4 seconds and get it correct.  The adults on the other hand were laughing too hard to get the correct answer out in time.  This might have to be played with the cousins over the summer with a larger song selection pack.

 

Van Gogh Immersive Experience

The day after Christmas, we took in the Van Gogh Immersive Experience.  None of us knew exactly what we were walking into but thoroughly enjoy the experience when all was said and done.  The first part was learning about Van Gogh and his painting.  His five top selling painting went for $86,000,000 - $61,000,000!

Being part of the painting Bedroom in Arles.

But the best part was the immersive portion.  We experiences Van Gogh's life and work surrounded 360 degrees by his painting, music, and animation.  While the rest of the group sat in lounge chairs, Victoria and I enjoyed reclining on beanbags.

A few of us ended the experience in the virtual reality room where we saw the places that influence Van Gogh's work as we moved from his bedroom, to fields, to forest, and finally towns.

 Lunch was at Time Out Market where we all could pick from different venders.  Oma and Opa had the best choice.... lobster roll with butter.

Santa Came!

After opening family presents, the kids set out cookies and milk for Santa before heading to bed.

It was so hard for the kids to wait till all the adults were here to watch them open the presents (Oma and Opa stayed in a hotel this year).  But I was impressed that they didn't even dig in their stockings.

The kids headed to their father's for a bit on Christmas Day.  This meant Oma, Opa, and myself were on our own.  We walked up to Lamei - a Chinese hot pot restaurant.  We picked out one mild and one spicy broth and were glad our waitress guided us to something that we enjoyed rather than burned our mouths.  We had beef, lamb, shrimp, mushrooms, broccoli, and noodles.  The sweet buns were delightful as a treat.

After the kids returned, we pulled out Pictionary... an oldie yet goodie.