Happy New Year!

I'm only running a month behind here.  Could be worse.

We actually had a very fun new year, which is rare for the mother of small children.  Actually, let's be honest: it's rare for the Mormon.  There, I said it.  I remember vividly New Years Eve, 1999.  I headed downtown with friends, ready for a fabulous night out, and it was somewhat less than fabulous.  In fact, there was a moment when we all agreed that this would be much more fun if we were drunk.  Not because we wanted to get drunk, but because it was that disappointing.  Such is the life of a Mormon - have to find good, clean fun, even when the bad, dirty fun looks more appealing. 

(Maybe I shouldn't have just admitted all that, but I did.)  (Oh hey, I also like being a Mormon.  In fact, I love it. But it's not always kicks and giggles, know what I mean?)

Anyway.  This is all to say that generally, I find New Years Eve to be a lame holiday.  But this year Julia claimed it to be the BEST DAY OF HER LIFE.  That is pretty high praise.  But I think it was fully warranted.  Tell me if you agree.

Our "eve" started out in the middle of the day, with the library's Noon Years Eve.  What a great idea!  We had an adapted version of Stone Soup (New Years Soup), in which everyone brings something (love, success, good health, etc) to put in the pot. They had a "Book Drop" as the clock struck 12.  We toasted with apple juice.  We wrote things we were thankful for in the year past (a new job! a great library!) and things we hope for in the year to come ("to see a leprechaun!" "a new baby!" [poor girls will both be disappointed]).  We even spun the library wheel.  It was magical.  And the biggest surprise of the day was when Julia won a prize in the Make Your Own Hat contest by wearing her Hello Kitty winter hat - 3rd place in the Book Character category - a bit of a stretch, but we'll take it. 

I opened the prize envelope to find a coupon for a free ice cream cone at McDonald's...that expires on 12/31/13.  So guess where we went for lunch??  Between going out to lunch, getting ice cream afterwards, and playing in the Playplace, I had 2 very happy, very tired kids.  Which is great for the afternoon of Dec 31.  We headed home for a nap.

But wait!  There's more!  In the evening, we headed over to the church, where the Aurora Spanish ward hosted a big old party, complete with multiple pinatas, authentic Mexican food (the tamales were EXCELLENT), balloons, music, and dancing.  We all had a wonderful time.  However, by around 11:15, Ella was so done.    We went and sat by the bishop's office together for a few minutes, and I think she was on the verge of a total meltdown, so we made the executive decision to head home.  Julia was persuaded when we told her we'd have a countdown and toast at home. 

We came home, got everyone in their PJs, and discovered that it was 11:50.  Nobody was going to make it 10 more minutes.  Somehow, Clark's watch suddenly said it was 11:59.  A New Years Miracle!   We counted down, toasted with water in fancy glasses, and crashed.  But did I mention, the girls slept in their play tent?!  What could be better!

New Years Day we held the 2nd Annual Blockburger TV Marathon, wherein we let the girls watch a boatload of television on this day, and this day only.  Everyone was in heaven.  Not much more needs to be said about that. 

So there you have it.  2013 went out with a bang!