The week of Christmas was everything we looked forward to and more! We began family celebrations with Jeff’s mom in Grandville along with his siblings Brent, Stephanie and their families. We gathered at Brent and Jen’s house and had our traditional pizza pies and cheesecakes. It was a nice way to ease into the week of festivities and celebrate with Grandma Barb.
The next morning Jeff headed to Detroit for an overnight work trip which freed me up to host some of my girlfriends from grade-school/college for cocktails and a dip in the hot tub. Cassie (my maid-of-honor) came in from Chicago and stayed overnight which made for a fun morning of coffee and chit-chat.
Once Jeff was back in town we headed down to Schoolcraft for the night to celebrate with our Smith Family. This year my Grandma and Grandpa Smith joined us for dinner and they brought the kids bags full of goodies including silly puddy and coloring books – things I remember getting from them when I was their age. The next morning was Christmas Eve and we woke to jam packed stockings hung by the chimney with care (thanks Mom), Bloody Marys + BLTs and cinnamon monkey bread. The entire day was relaxing and so much fun.
That night we headed home to Grand Rapids just the four of us for a quiet Christmas Eve night spent at home. My parents got us a legit popcorn machine for our garage bar so we fired that sucker up and watched the Christmas Chronicles. It was the sweetest. The kids were very worried about getting to bed on time because Santa was coming – no joke, they turned in at 7p and fell straight to sleep.
The next morning, I awoke to a quiet house and fresh coffee. The kids weren’t far behind me with Thomas waking first. He found me sitting in the living room with my cup of coffee and I got to watch his eyes light up when he saw that the cookies and milk were gone, noticed the stockings were filled and that gifts had appeared under the tree. Natalie joined us after hearing the commotion and together they ran to wake up Jeff. This year, Natalie asked Santa for a polaroid camera while Thomas requested a surprise – Santa decided on a strategic board game. Thomas was pleased.
Later that morning we packed up and headed north to the Lake where the Kladder crew greeted us with hugs and mimosas. The kids disappeared downstairs to play with their cousins… only to reappear when there was mention of food or presents. Celebrations continued late into the night with board games and more family time the following morning. We stuck around late Sunday night along with Matt and Sandy and their girls for pizza together before closing the book on Kladder Christmas 2021.
New Years Eve was a riot filled with one fun thing after another. We kicked off the day with a neighborhood bowling party at Clique Lanes on the westside – so fun! Thomas LOVED bowling and outside of pausing to eat a slice of pizza he never took a break. Between parties the ladies made a pit stop in Eastown to say farewell to Eastown Antiques - their last day open after closing for good – and then found our way down the street to Terra GR for a cocktail.
The babysitter arrived around 7p and then party continued at our neighbors house for an ‘extra’ themed event where we all rang in the new year together. Hostess with the mostess thought of everything: champagne with cotton candy, party hats, cake, candid polaroid pics… you name it! It was the perfect way to welcome 2022!
And now for the ‘2021 Kladder Resolution Report’: In 2021 we set out with a list of four resolutions. Here’s the recap of what they were and how we did:
1. Master A New Morning Routine – Routines basically fell apart (for everyone) in 2020 so our first resolution for 2021 was to master a new morning routine. With the introduction of two vital pieces of equipment early on (a programmable coffee maker and the Peloton) our mornings throughout 2021 have become very efficient. This might seem simple or silly enough, but these two things have been game changers and it’s turned our mornings into smooth sailing.
2. Reconnect With Church – Like many, we disconnected from our church in 2020 after services went virtual. We were thrilled when our church opened its doors again to in-person services last Spring but it wasn’t long before we realized that the break had taken its toll and we decided it was time for (yet another) change. Most recently we’ve been attending Ada Bible on East Paris and have quickly fallen into a new Sunday morning groove.
3. Volunteer With Grace’s Table – This time last year I had just completed volunteer training for Grace’s Table when the director asked if I would be willing to serve on the Board of Directors instead. It’s been 12 months of ‘awesome’ with the highlight for me being the Annual Fundraising Gala this past fall – an event I chaired on behalf of the BOD. It felt great to give my time and talent towards such a meaningful cause.
4. More Music! Specifically Piano – I am very pleased to say that the Kladder house now has a piano thanks to my Grandma DeKoekkoek. For years she’s been wanting to gift us one (of her three!) pianos for our kids to begin lessons with and 2021 was the year to finally make it happen. Natalie has weekly lessons with her instructor Miss Haley and it’s been fun to watch her excitement over the songs she’s learning to play. Thomas will join Natalie in lessons in a few years assuming he, too, is interested.
And, after a lot of thought and consideration, here are our Resolutions for 2022:
1. Learn to Drive the Boats – We’re at the lake and on the boats a lot during summertime but I have to admit that I’ve never once driven them. My kids have more time behind the wheel (with Grandpa’s assistance) than I do and 2022 is the year we change that. Mari, my mother-in-law, who’s an expert boat driver has agreed to be my teacher… watch out Lake Bella Vista!
2. Weekly Family Game Nights – The Kladder Family plays games and this is the year we’ll start introducing some of our favorites to the kids. 2021 Christmas gifts included the beginner versions of Ticket to Ride, Settlers and Sorry. This week will begin our first of hopefully many family dinner + game nights. We’re looking forward to spending more quality time around the dinner table together.
3. Floss More – It’s very possible our dentist reads our blog so this resolution could get us into trouble… but we should floss more. The kids do a pretty great job which I might attribute to those colorful animal shaped floss picks, but Jeff and I are the sort that floss twice a year – once before each bi-annual dentist appointment. We’ll start with once a week and see how that goes.
We are locked and loaded for a kick’n 2022. January is all about skiing: the kids begin lessons through the Y at Cannonsburg and Jeff and I will join friends in a few weeks for our annual ski trip out west - this year we conquer Big Sky, Montana!
Happy New Year, everyone!
POSTSCRIPT – Things worth mentioning…
Sing 2 – Over break the kids and I went to see Sing 2 at StudioPark downtown and man-oh-man was it out of this world! We laughed, we cried and we danced our way through the entire movie.
Stickyfingers – There’s a brand new candy shop in Eastown and it’s adorable! There’s no website or yelp page (that I can find) but it exists in real life located right on Lake Dr.
