New Year's Eve....

Well, New Year's Eve certainly changes when you have a small child in the house :)

But, we don't mind....we'll take this guy any day over having wild New Year's Eve plans (and seeing how neither Marc nor I are real wild -- it truly doesn't matter).

This is a photo of Luke from during the day on New Year's Eve. I don't know if you can tell or not, but Luke has a red bump on his forehead. Marc was lying on the floor -- I think watching a football game. Luke became a bit hyper. He went over to Marc and took a dive toward him -- merely playing. Well, my two guys bumped heads. Luke immediately cried and came to me for comfort. Marc did refrain from crying, but he did wince in pain a bit.

Fortunately -- no goose egg for either one of them.



Back to our New Year's Eve....

Our good friends, Seth and Sarah, and their two kids, Collin and Natalie came over.

Sarah and I decided to just keep it simple and have "Make Your Own Taco Salads." However, both guys also wanted some additional snacks. So, earlier in the day, I did something traditional -- Little Smokies in BBQ sauce. Marc was in H.E.A.V.E.N. Nope, we didn't wrap them in bacon this time, in case you're wondering (for those of you who know Marc well).



So, we had a nice supper to start out with -- and stuffed ourselves :(





After eating, the three kids immediately headed for all of the toys and just as immediately after that created this....





While this mess was being created and being played with, the four of us adults decided to have a little "Blast from the Past." We played Pictionary.

Now, I realize you can get this game still, and I also realize that there are newer, more fun picture-type games. But, I still had this game from earlier in life, and all of the pieces were there. So, that's what we played.

It turned out to be quite fun and interesting -- especially since none of us are artists. We played men vs. women.

Here are a few drawings. Try and guess what they are.

Picture A -- Drawn by Seth....



Picture B -- Drawn by Marc....



Picture C -- Drawn by Me....



Picture D -- Also Drawn by Me....



O.K., for the answers....

A) Burnt
B) Mannequin
C) Soviet Union (remember -- this game is old)
D) University

So, I think I'll stick to my other talents and leave artwork to those gifted as artists.

But, it was extremely fun....The guys did win, but Sarah and I could probably be convinced of a rematch.

During the game, Luke started acting tired, and because he's such a scheduled individual, I decided to put him to bed.

But first, Natalie had to give him a hug goodnight.



After Luke went to bed, Collin and Natalie were still going strong. Collin had brought along a video game. Now, I will clarify something...

Normally, Seth and Sarah do not allow video games in their home, and neither do we....However, a few years back, I had purchased Marc some cheap Atari games that you hook up to the TV. He actually gave one of them away at a White Elephant Gift Exchange a couple of weeks ago. Collin actually received that gift.

So, it's actually our fault that Collin now has a video game. But, for New Year's Eve, it did turn out to be a tournament (sort of) with Collin, Marc, and Seth (keep in mind that Collin is 5 years old).



Sarah and I watched this video game process while Natalie kept playing -- going strong pretty late....

Around 10:30 or so, Collin and Natalie changed into their jammies.



Collin had been hearing about this "ball dropping." (referring to the one in Times Square). So, we did flip on the TV a few times to watch this ball falling -- while also flipping the channel a few times because of inappropriate "stuff" on TV. Wow! Why can't they just keep it clean?



Can you tell it was getting late at this point? In that photo, Collin was at the front, sticking his tongue out and generally being silly.

Collin and Natalie did GREAT despite the time. Since New York is in a time zone one hour ahead of our's, Collin did get to see the ball drop at 11:00 P.M. our time.

By 11:30, the kids (especially Natalie) were really starting to zone out a bit.

So, they left.

Marc and I did ring in the New Year together at midnight :) Then, we went to bed!

Happy 2010 Everybody!

Thanks Seth, Sarah, Collin, and Natalie for a fun evening!

*****

And, for my post thankfulness....

Tonight, I choose #127 -- Cinnamon Toast.



(This was my breakfast yesterday -- cinnamon toast and scrambled eggs).

I've always enjoyed cinnamon toast. I especially LOVE it when you immediately butter the toast after it pops up from the toaster. That way, the butter melts on the hot toast, creating a wonderful "soup" of butter, sugar, and cinnamon :)

It's something I'm thankful for but never really thought to thank God for...

Later.