Stearns'

Another wonderful, full day: Cinnamon rolls for breakfast dessert. Playing "Guess who?"

We went to the gym--we shot some hoops. My sister and I played two-on-two against her husband and Q. It's the first time in absolutely years that Stearns and I have played basketball together, and it was ridiculously fun (also: I am ridiculously old). The whole families went into the room with balls and weights and kettlebells and aerobic steps and the kids made obstacle courses and wore exercise bands as crowns and stood on balancing things while lifting weight sticks (?). They did some races around the track. They played various forms of tag on the basketball court. I taught Q to use some different mechanized weight machines. A perfect day to get our energy out when it's -6 wind chill outside.  

In the afternoon, there was reading and audiobooks and playing the game, Race for the treasure. 

Mass--it's wonderful to celebrate the first Sunday of advent together. We sang O Come, O Come Emanuel before bed. (The other days we got to join Stearns's family before bed for Evening Prayers, which are a mystery to us heathens. The oldest niece does the reading; the oldest nephew leads a response. Q asked if he could get in on the excitement.)

Before dinner we played some Apples to Apples. 

We had spaghetti and meatballs for dinner--real spaghetti sauce from the garden. And nice wine. Q asked for a story from our childhood and Stearns and I got going--recounting in detail our adventures in Europe in our late teens and early 20s. Such memories--and so foggy--it was nice to remember together. Then we let the kids in a couple of silly songs. Then more visiting and ice cream till we'd let the kids stay up too late. So very happy. So very grateful.