Lake George Winter Carnival, New York

Winter birthdays in New England mean you have to get a bit creative. You have to travel south for warmer weather, or travel north and embrace the cold. I usually do the later, involving the winter weather in my birthday plans. Last year I turned 36 and to celebrate, we headed north to Lake George, New York. Lake George has their famous winter carnival all through the month of February. My birthday landed on the weekend so we loaded the kids in the car and headed to the famous lake in the Adirondacks. 

Holiday lights downtown Lake George during the Winter Carnival

If you haven't heard of the winter carnival, it's a celebration of winter with the lake front stage and center. The Lake George Winter Carnival started in 1961 and has run ever since. There are a series of events hosted on the lake (or in alternate locations if it has been a warm year). The carnival runs every weekend (Friday to Sunday), typically through the month of February. This year, the carnival runs from January 31st through March 2nd. There is a schedule set for every weekend with a variety of activities. Most events happen in the area of Shepard Park, and if you head to the winter carnival (check the calendar first to see what events are on what days), you can expect to find free s'mores, an ATV poker run, motorcycle and ATV ice racing, dog talent shows, outhouse races, glacier golf tournaments, a chili cook-off, a parade, a polar plunge, karaoke, cocoa, fireworks, and so much more. Some events are free, and some events require advanced registration and purchased tickets. You can see the schedule here and buy tickets for the various events.

Here is an example schedule (starting this weekend)

A Year in Review - 2024

My Year in Review is truly my favorite post to write and usually one I have fired up on KW by New Years Eve.  You can read the last ten years here:
(2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014)

It's January 3rd and I'm just starting to write this post which paints the picture of how insane the year has been. Raising two toddlers (now almost 2 and almost 4) is not for the faint of heart. Throw in running my own company, and all the day to day basics of family life and trying to meet my personal needs and and I feel unhinged. Chaos aside, I hope I never let life get too busy to keep up with this blog. I hope to always have this creative outlet and diary of sorts to share with my kids one day. So let's get started wrapping up 2024. 

2024 was beautiful and hard. We had some amazing weekends away, an international trip to Italy, a successful year with my company, and a new dog we welcomed to the family. We watched our kids grow a year older, watching their bond build as they turn 2 and 4 in just a few weeks. We started to slowly find a groove in parenting young kids, even if it often felt like two steps forward one step back. It was the first year both kids were in daycare (Piper starting for the first time in August) and running my business became just a tiny bit easier. For all the beauty and growth 2024 had to offer, it also came with crushing losses and heartache as we said goodbye to both of our dogs within 1 month of each other. We did our best to navigate our overwhelming grief alongside our three year old who had to learn the tough lesson of death and loss. 

We've found a way forward through our sadness, eased by our new rescue dog Otto who distracts us and loves our kids endlessly. It was a year of highs and lows, highlighted month by month below.