The days are long, but the years are short! - December with the Rahns

Its almost midnight and we begin 2016 with all of the excitement and adventure that will come with it! Before we head into 2016, I wanted to take a moment to remember everything that we did in December. This was a crazy month and FLEW by!

One of my favorite authors, Gretchen Rubin, says, "The days are long, but the years are short!" I totally agree, 2015 flew by and December was gone in a blink!

December was a busy month for us, but lots of fun!! Looking back, we definitely kept busy...here are our highlights.....

Early Santa picture - love that the girls still do this!

1. A hightlight was that we took the girls to see Eric Hutchinson in concert at Wolftrap. We paid a bit more for the VIP package and got a personal meet and greet before the concert. Carleigh has been a big fan for a few years now, and was SO excited!! It was a great night!

2. Carleigh had her Volleyball banquet - finishing out a great JV season!

3. Katie had a beautiful Chorus concert - one of our last concerts for either girl - no chorus in high school!

4. The Purcellville Christmas Parade was a lot of fun this year as Katie was in it with the BRMS cast of The Lion King Jr.

5. Carleigh had a "formal" Christmas party for 20 of her closest friends - lots of fun for all that attended!

Katie invited two of her friends!!

Junior had a good time being on the leash all night, the food was just too tempting for him!

6. Don celebrated his birthday with his plate of Birthday Wings!

7. Our Christmas Village was put up and I came down the next morning and a group of dinosaurs had attacked!

8. We cut down our Christmas tree on a balmy 60 degree day - Carleigh was very upset that she couldn't dress for the photo ops in her fuzzy winter clothes.

9. Carleigh got her Learner's Permit near the beginning of December.

10. The Star Wars Countdown was on and it was a major event in our house! Dec. 17 couldn't come fast enough for Don!

We saw it as a family a week later.

Had the countdown calendar and everything!

11. Our Elf on the Shelf - Needlenose - was busy this year protecting himself from the Dark Side!

12. Junior got into the fun, as did we all while enjoying the warm weather!

13. We decorated the outside tree, but first had to decorate Don!

14. Christmas Eve came and we had to follow tradition and have matching pajamas! So glad that the girls still play along!

our annual reading of Twas the Night Before Christmas

15. Christmas day was lots of fun at Patty's house - a highlight was Virtual Reality glasses - everyone got into the fun!

mom having fun with her brother and his wife, my aunt and uncle - Pam and Dave

16. We ended the Christmas season with a trip to Erie to see our Pennsylvania family. Though it rained the whole time we were there, we managed to get to the peninsula and walk on the beach and see Lake Erie.

Here we are, ready for 2016 and looking ahead to what will be coming up! 
    - 78 days till we sail the Caribbean on a Disney Cruise with a special Star Wars Day at Sea
    - Carleigh will be driving by summer - don't know if I'm ready for that one yet!
    - Katie will finish middle school and prepare to enter High School - not ready for that one either!

Remember...  "The days are long, but the years are short!"

Happy New Year!! Enjoy every moment!