Much of North America is under an arctic cold outbreak with record lows for the past few days and will be for the next few days as well. And Tennessee is included. Our warmest day was on Saturday when the high reached 36F/ 2C. But despite the cold weather, we enjoyed the last few days of 2017 and had a relaxing start to 2018.
Because December was very hectic and there was not much downtime, I was looking forward to having a couple of days off after Christmas. While I worked on Wednesday, I was able to take Thursday and Friday off and spent time with the kids. Since it was freezing outside, we decided to go to the movie theater on Thursday morning to watch "Ferdinand". At 11am, we were the only 3 people in the entire theater but that didn't bother us. We had popcorn, gummibears, blankets and were ready to enjoy the movie. It was such a cute movie and the kids did very well.
On Saturday, the warmest day of the week, we took the kids to the park for a 1.5 mile walk to let them run wild for a bit. After being inside for most of the time, they definitely needed to stretch their legs.
And since then, we are staying warm indoors, sitting by the fire and drinking hot cocoa (Gluehwein for the adults), playing games, reading and watching all the Bowl games while snacking on delicious foods. I also finished all of my past due post from Europe (they are under the October tab if anyone is interested in reading them), which makes me feel quite accomplished.
For New Year's Eve, we did not had any plans of venturing out. We only wanted to be together and do a kids' friendly celebration. So at 6pm, we went outside for a few minutes because with temperatures in the low teens (-14C) no one wanted to be outside longer than necessary. We had purchased a few sparklers and a little fountain firework.
We were actually pleasantly surprised what $3.75 can buy you. This little fountain lasted much longer than expected and the kids really enjoyed it.
Last family picture of 2017:
And then we quickly went inside for a dinner spread of finger foods. There was something for everyone, including kids' champagne and adult version too.
A couple more pictures before bed and that concluded our New Year's Eve celebration. The way we did was perfect for us. No big party, no staying up late or getting all dressed up but being with the people we love the most.
Derrick and I watched the ball drop in New York and then called it an early night and crawled in to our bed (thanks to the hour time difference form the East Coast, we were able to say Happy New Year twice). Today, we woke up to the lowest temps I have ever endured. It felt like -3F/ -20C at 7:30am and it warmed up to barely 19F/ -6C. Tomorrow morning when Elliot and I have to leave the house at 7:15am, it might be even colder. This arctic blast for sure is no joke. But I do not mind it too much as long as we don't have to be outside a lot since it also forces to slow down and relax and not think too far ahead. Just what we needed after a full year. So the first day of 2018 was mostly spent watching the parade and football and relaxing.
Happy New Year! And cheers to great 2018!
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