New Year's Eve

I know that this post is over a week late, but I wanted to post it anyhow! For New Year's Eve, Dad graciously let us kick him off the boat so that we could take a group of friends out for an evening cruise. Nana and Papa T were sweet enough to offer to keep the boys so we could go out and enjoy the evening and our friends, and of course we took them up on it!

We had appetizers and drinks as Stephen and Jason took us into the harbor for an incredible cruise... the weather was perfect. The sky was clear, the moon was nearly full, the stars were out, and there was an amazing ring around the moon... it was a perfect night for a cruise!
Todd, Mark, and Gregg
Melinda, Dorothy, and Nancy
Caroline, Clary, and me
Jason and Stephen concentrate on the task at hand. They did such a great job, and I appreciate them doing all of the hard work! When we got back, the karaoke machine made a quick appearance (thank goodness it was a short enough appearance that I got skipped!!).
It was Mark's birthday, so Clary made a cake and we all sang.

The crew consisted of a group of our closest friends:
Clary & Mark
DuBose & Nancy
Dorothy & Gregg
Todd & Melinda
Caroline & Stephen
We had such a great time! Thanks, Nana, Papa T, and Papa for allowing all of this to happen!

Thanks to our friends for joining us on such a great night! We are looking forward to many more great times with you in this New Year!!

We missed you, Halfords and Bairs!

A Poll

Jumping on the bed:

Yes or No?

Decorations

So, I have a ton of blogging to do.

The holidays were so packed that blogging just fell by the wayside... I'm sorry. I'm not sure how far I'll get, but I am going to attempt to do a whirlwind catch-up tonight, as long as Blogger cooperates!


The boys loved decorating the tree... or undecorating, in Harris' case! Jackson was thrilled with all of the ornaments and listened closely as I told him the story behind each one. Every morning he would run in and peek to make sure it was still there! Their favorite ornaments were, of course, all of the trains.
I remember always being so excited to decorate the tree when I was young, and somewhere along the way, it lost some of its excitement. My heart grew ten sizes the day we decorated the tree as I watched Jackson's excitement... there is nothing like a child to put you in the Christmas spirit.

When Nana came at Thanksgiving, she brought a gingerbread house that she and Jackson were going to decorate. Unfortunately, time ran out, and they didn't get it done. So, Jackson and I had at it.
He loved telling me where to put windows, how to decorate the roof, and adding all of the candy to the house.I think he did a great job! Thank you, Nana!

Christmas Card Rejects

Christmas card pictures make me thankful for digital cameras. I can't imagine spending money to have some of these developed! Now you can see why I threatened with the duct tape!

The one below is probably my favorite!!

This is the ONE smiling picture I took that actually made it onto our cards.

BUGS Christmas Party

Our supper club has a fantastic Christmas party every year, and this year was our year to host it with Gregg and Dorothy and Robyn. We went all out and had a great time doing it.

Robyn, me, and Dorothy... the hosts.
The spread... standing rib roast, cranberry risotto, green bean bundles, tomato pie, and rolls. We also had chocolate espresso pudding and charlotte russe for dessert. So yummy!
DuBose, Aileen, Nancy and Caroline waiting for the gift exchange to begin.
Each year there is a gift exchange, and we all take a gift that we would ourselves love to receive. After all of the opening, stealing, and laughing, we all go home with a great gift. Katharine is opening a Sam Adams dart board that, ultimately, Jason got to keep.
The girls... Aileen, Nancy, me, Caroline, Katharine, Melinda, Robyn, Dorothy, and Amy (we are missing Kathry). They are such a great group of friends!

Dorothy and me, after clean-up, thankful for a great party, a great meal, and a great friend.

Jackson's Birthday Party

We had Jackson's birthday on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Sixteen of his friends came to decorate cookies, make ornaments, play outside, and eat cake. He was so excited to have everyone at his house... after the first guests arrived, he ran around the house yelling, "More friends, more friends!!".

Melinda, Rutledge, and Caroline decorate and eat their cookies.

Jackson, Henry and Anna (friends from school) had the best time decorating their cookies!

Thomas loved the frosting.

Nancy and DuBose making an ornament.Clary helps Ashley with his ornament.
Aileen with Mills and Eliza.
The "Christmas" Thomas cake... I wanted a Christmas-y cake for the Christmas birthday party, but Jackson wanted a Thomas cake, so we compromised!
He wasn't thrilled to be the center of attention while everyone sang to him.So, I helped him blow out the candles. He was thrilled when everyone stopped singing and he got to eat cake!
Spencer, Henry and Anna playing in the jump castle.

After the party was over, we had a huge mess to clean. I think it was a sign of a great party!! Jackson had a great time and loved having his friends to celebrate with him. Thanks to everyone who participated!!

More Parties

I had some great opportunities to celebrate the holidays with friends this year. Two of my favorites were Aileen and Anne's Annual Cookie Swap and the Smith's Annual Chili and Beer Party.Caroline, me, Caroline F., and Nancy take a break from all of the cookie eating!

For the cookie swap, we all baked and took 2-3 batches of cookies. We voted on the best cookie, the most festive cookie, and the biggest disaster story. I ate so many yummy cookies and got to bring home samples of all of them. Jason loves for me to go to this party and looks forward to what I bring home!

Dorothy, Aileen, and Clary.

The Smith's Fifth Annual Chili and Beer Party was such a fun night! It was a chilly night, but the Smith's had two great fire pits to keep the crowds warm. I think that the guys all huddled around the fires while the girls all huddled together to keep warm! Katharine, Nancy, and a fabulous host, Caroline.

Along with the great chili, they had gumbo, corn chowder, cornbread, apps, and desserts. I have to say I didn't even see the apps or the desserts... the chili was my favorite!! They also had yummy beer made by a friend... such a great touch to a great party!
Nancy, Caroline, me, Aileen and Amy. I'm not sure why, but I don't have any pictures of the guys... maybe they just weren't as exciting as we were!

Marion Square

We headed to Marion Square on the Saturday morning before Christmas in hopes of seeing Santa Claus. Santa and Mrs. Claus were both there, but neither of the boys wanted anything to do with them (except for the candy canes they were handing out!). So instead, we just hung out around the Square taking as many little boy pictures as possible. I know there are a lot, but they are just too cute not to share...