Happy New Year, and welcome 2011! I have to say, 2010 was pretty good to us, I'm not sure 2011 can top it - although, this will most likely be the year we say ADIOS to diapers, so that in itself is a milestone! We had my sister and her family in to visit & say goodbye to the old and hello to the new, and a good time was had by all - I hope! I was really grateful for the fact that it was warm enough on New Year's Eve to play outside for a bit...
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| Sarah tossed the football with Aunt Becky! |
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| Anna, John and Emma |
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| William - not that he needs an introduction :) And doesn't he look older than 7? An old soul in a boy's body... |
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| Evie, whittling something |
...and also have a fire to sit around - otherwise it's a LOOONNNNGGG journey to midnight with 8 kids under 12 in one house. We toasted marshmallows - and set a few on fire - and made s'mores before everyone headed back inside...
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| William, Evie, Gary and Uncle Steve |
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| Jason with Aunt Becky, his new favorite person :) |
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| I made Gary stand here with me until I was sure we had a picture that would work :) |
...the kids got PJ'd & I gave them silly hats to wear...
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| Evie, Anna, Sarah, and Emma |
...we goofed around taking pictures - Becky wanted more Matt, less Jen....
...and we played Taboo! The game of Unspeakable Fun :)
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| Evie trying to guess a word while Becky is ready to BUZZ Matt... |
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| Evie and Steve arguing a point... |
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| Gary is ready to Buzz Steve |
After game time, I stuffed everyone with cookies and appetizers, and by 11:45 everyone was amazingly still awake - even the 3 year olds - and completely stuffed with junk food - what better way to ring out the old? Matt poured everyone either some champagne or sparkling grape juice, and we said 'Hello 2011!!!' right along with everyone in Times Square! Sarah promptly burst into tears - she was so tired, so overwhelmed, and so bewildered by all the noise that I rushed her right upstairs and then we quickly got all the other smaller people off to bed. It was really wonderful having family here again for New Year's Eve - the last few years it's fallen on a weeknight & I know that Matt and I haven't even bothered to stay up for it - last year we took the kids out for Mexican food and a movie- the Princess and the Frog - so it was super nice this year to have a reason to stay up and people to celebrate with - Happy New Year, indeed :)
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Resolutions
It wouldn't be the end of the old and the start of the new if we didn't make a list of things we'd like to change, right? So this year I'm going to keep it simple - and hopefully achievable! In 2011 I resolve to:
- Play with my kids more. I suck at this and they really are getting bigger faster than I can imagine.
- Drink more water. I drink too much coffee not to be drinking enough water, and it'd be nice to be able to take my rings off.
- Get to bed earlier. So I can get up earlier. Not having napping kids is wreaking havoc on my day.
- Let it go. Really. No more obsessing about things that are over and done with.
- Be sensible about eating, exercise, and the frigging scale. I'm 40, and I'm not a model - let alone the Super kind. Does 5 lbs really matter? Not in the grand scheme of things - it's just a pants tighter/pants looser thing. Maybe I'll just wear more skirts this year - they're more comfortable anyway!
So that's it! I'd also like to paint the main level of our house this year. My dream of an addition and new kitchen is on hold for the near future, and I'm wanting a change - plus we've run out of the paint we used 6 years ago and with four kids and no touch-up paint, Mama's not a happy camper. Kids love nothing better than to unintentionally destroy your stuff. I've got colors picked out and stuck to the walls, and I'm just trying to decide which room to start in - I'll let you know as soon as I've made a decision :) Happy New Year!!!
...and we played Taboo! The game of Unspeakable Fun :)
I think y'all celebrated in perfect style!! You and your sister look so much alike in these photos!!
ReplyDeleteSarah is so adorable in that photo.
Those are good resolutions and would work for me too.
I love #4 and will be adding it to my list!
ReplyDeleteYou and your sister look a lot alike, are you twins?
Happy New year!
How fun! I was wondering how it was warm enough to sit outside!
ReplyDeleteGreat goals! I'm still holding out hope that I"m going to be a super model.
I need to work on numbers 1 and 4 myself!
ReplyDeleteLooks like a great family time.
Happy New Year. :)
next time I come over, I am throwing your scale in the garbage.
ReplyDeletehappy new year
You're already doing better, because I thought the 5 lbs was actually 6 lbs. So you're already down a lb! :)
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to you! Your New Year's Eve sounds great. I can't remember the last Dec 31 that I made it to midnight...and you did it with kids! I love your list...particularly #4. That's on my list as well. Your last sentence of #5 made me laugh...I'm wearing a skirt today for that exact reason.
ReplyDeleteAh, we reached the year of no diapers in 2010...okay it was actually only the last 6 months of 2010, but who's counting. And now 2011 will bring us back to the diaper stage again, so I'm going to adopt your "Let it go" attitude :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a great way to spend NYE!!! It looks like you all had a blast! I love your resolutions too!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a perfect NYE - we did the same minus the outdoor fire (jealous) and Taboo (ours was Wii)!
ReplyDeleteToo much fun to handle!!
~Becca
Aunt Becky looks like so much fun... love the hat! You two look soooo much alike! NYE sounded perfect. That is pretty much exactly what we did with my family this year too. So fun having games & just being together. We let all our littles stay awake too. Mine had a breakdown right about the time yours did... we packed up from my sisters & headed home quick. So I think you stole your resolution list right out of my head. Perfect list really!
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