Happy New Year – 2026

Well, another year has come to a close, and 2025 was truly one of our best ever. We traveled to some amazing places, continued to invest in relationships with friends and family, and watched our little girl grow up. That last one is the most amazing thing of all. When we look back at pictures of Madeline at the start of the year, she was still a little baby. Now she’s a full-blown toddler, running all over the place and making her opinions very well known. We love it, even if Alison wishes she would slow down just a little.

Before we got into New Year’s Eve festivities, I had to squeeze in a quick work trip. I headed to Nashville to count inventory for Ancestry. Year-end is always a busy season in the life of an accountant. Originally, I was scheduled to leave Monday morning, but since I didn’t actually need to be in Nashville until Tuesday, I was able to switch to a late flight out of SLC and arrive just after midnight. It was worth it. That change meant I got almost a full extra day with Alison and Madeline.

They dropped me off at the airport and then headed to Caputo’s to grab some cheese. Turns out Madeline loves Caputo’s. No surprise there. Alison said she was running up and down the cheese case, inspecting everything. This baby loves cheese. It’s her favorite food right now, and she was absolutely in heaven. Alison had to chase her down more than once.

The work trip itself was uneventful in the best way. The inventory count went smoothly and we were done in just over an hour. I had booked a late flight home to give myself a cushion in case anything went sideways, which meant I suddenly had a full day to hang out in Nashville. My first stop was Parnassus Books. I had just arrived when I got a text from Delta telling me my 7pm flight was delayed by two hours. I didn’t like that one bit.

I texted Alison and we both immediately started looking at options. There was an earlier flight leaving at 1:30, but it was only 90 minutes away. I quickly grabbed four books, ran straight out the door, and headed to the airport. Everything went smoothly. I made it to the gate with food and time to spare, caught the earlier flight, and landed at 4pm instead of 10pm. Alison and Madeline were thrilled.

Seeing Madeline at the airport was the best part. Alison brought her in to greet me, and she was wearing her adorable lamb sweater that we bought in Ireland before she was even born.

We decided to make a night of it in Salt Lake City. Our first stop was the coffee shop at the Little America. It’s always solid, rarely has a wait, and it’s a hit with Madeline. After dinner, we squeezed in one last holiday activity and headed to ZooLights at the Hogle Zoo.

The zoo is a bit of a drive from our house, and Alison is morally opposed to zoos in general, so this usually isn’t on our radar. But since we were already downtown and had read that during ZooLights you mostly don’t see animals (they’re sleeping), we decided to give it a try. It was awesome. We saw very few animals, as expected, but the lights were classic and festive. Madeline loves lights. As soon as we stepped out of the car and she spotted them in the distance, she let out one of her signature “whoas.”

It was bitterly cold, so we kept her bundled in the stroller at first. When we looped back toward the entrance and took another path, we let her out to run around. She loved it. She got a little cold, but it didn’t seem to bother her at all. ZooLights was a huge success.

On New Year’s Eve, our first event of the day was Noon Year’s Eve with Daybreak. We had so much fun last year that we were excited to bring Madeline again. We knew there still might not be a ton of activities geared exactly to her age, so we arrived fashionably late to avoid too much waiting before the countdown.

Madeline’s favorite activity by far was the wiggle room. It was a gym filled with giant bouncy balls, and as soon as she saw it, she lit up. She spent the whole time running around, chasing balls, and laughing. As noon approached, we headed into the main gym for the countdown. Madeline danced along, fully committed. This year’s theme was K-pop demon hunters, and she was apparently very into it.

At noon, we counted down, and then came the balloon drop and confetti. Madeline grabbed a balloon and bounced up and down with pure joy. Afterward, we ran into one of my old mission buddies who now lives in Daybreak. It was fun to catch up and cross paths like that.

We kept the rest of New Year’s Eve low-key. We finished putting away the last of the Christmas decorations and made raclette for dinner. We served the cheese over sausage, potatoes, bread, and apples, and it was delicious. Blake and Debbie stopped by, and we reminisced about the year while watching our annual year-in-review video. They headed out just as we put Madeline down for the night.

Then it was just Alison and me. We stayed up, shared some champagne and chocolate, and watched Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery. It was a great film. We watched the ball drop at midnight, shared a kiss, and called it a night.

New Year’s Day was equally relaxed. Alison and Madeline slept in. I got up early and set up my new 3D printer after returning the first one due to some issues. The rest of the day was spent hanging out. Madeline played in the loft, ate her way through the day, and just generally did what she does best.

After her nap, we headed over to Blake and Debbie’s for a little New Year’s Day get-together. We had sandwiches and snacks, and all the kids had a great time playing together. Madeline and Goldie had fun chasing and playing with the cat. We also revived our annual New Year’s Day spelling bee, and this year Alison was crowned the champion.

As we head into a new year, we’re feeling incredibly grateful. Grateful for time together, for a little girl who fills our days with joy and motion, and for traditions that keep evolving as our family grows. If 2025 taught us anything, it’s that the best moments are often the simple ones, a bonus night together, a toddler chasing balloons, or a quiet evening at home after a full day. We can’t wait to see what 2026 brings