2023: The Album (Live)

If you’re reading this, you know us well enough to be included in our annual Christmas/New Year’s letter. Congratulations! This year, we’re going audio. Please enjoy this playlist summing up the highlights of 2023. And yes, most of the songs are at least 25 years old, so you know they’re good.

Track 1: Brooks Gets Potty Trained – No more babies in diapers in our house, and now Brooks is a big guy going to pre-school.

Track 2: Evie Starting Kindergarten – Both girls at the same school now, which is nice having two places to drop off kids instead of three.

Track 3: Emily Goes Back for Her Masters – Working private practice, teaching at the community college, and now going back for her masters. Emily has been stressed…busy.

Track 4: Trip to North Carolina – Visited Emily’s sister Becky and gave the kids another (much better) experience with air travel.

Track 5: Backyard Remodel – Tore out our old deck and replaced it with a patio. A lovely place to sit and relax now.

Track 6: Mice In the House – Apparently there were mice living under the deck who made their way inside the house…if it bleeds, we can kill it.

Track 7: Ten Year Anniversary – Pat and Emily celebrated being married for ten years by staying home and eating barbeque on the couch.

Track 8: Ghostbusters – This Halloween sparked Brooks’ obsession with the Ghostbusters theme song. Little fella would scream at Alexa, “LEXA! PLAY GHOSTBUSTERS!” She almost never understood him.

Track 9: Smooth Criminal – All year the kids have been into Michael Jackson, especially the Smooth Criminal music video.

Track 10: Muppets Most Wanted Soundtrack – The kids really got into the Muppets this year, Muppets Most Wanted to be precise. Again, Brooks took to screaming, “LEXA! PLAY KERMIT ON SOUNDTRACK.” Shockingly, she almost never understood him.

Track 11: Swim Lessons – Evie and Lucy took swim lessons this Summer, furthering Evie’s desire to grow up to be a Mermaid. Or a princess. Or a princess mermaid.

Track 12: Family Trip to Ohio – Spent a week in Norton, Ohio (you’ll have to look it up, we didn’t know where it was either) with all of Emily’s family. It was both the longest the kids have ever been in the car, and the longest time they’ve ever been on a vacation.

Track 13: Lucy Riding a Bike Without Training Wheels – Pat tried to teach her. She wasn’t having it. She figured it out on her own.

Track 14: Bruce Springsteen Concert – Pat went to see The Boss. High energy show for an old guy, didn’t look a day over 60.

Track 15: Lauren Daigle Concert – Emily took Lucy to her first concert. It started around Lucy’s usual bedtime so she struggled to stay awake, but had a good time.

Track 16: Emily Gets a Tattoo – Some might call it a mid-life crisis. Some might call it doing something fun. Who’s to say?

Track 17: Storm Damage – Big storm came through in August and sent several large sections of our tree crashing through our back fence. A pain to clean up, but no damage to the house and free firewood.

Track 18: GVSU Fooball Games – Pat got season tickets and took everybody to a game. The kids liked the snacks and the music, maybe next year they’ll notice the football game going on.

Track 19: Kid’s First Camping Trips – Went camping twice this year. Were able to swim in Lake Michigan, pick apples, and experience frigid overnight temperatures, all in the same trip. Gotta love Michigan.

Track 20: Song of the Year – 2023 summed up in a song that actually came out in 2023.