January 5, 2011

New Year's Eve-gate 10-11

New Year's Eve started off like any other day... the girls ran around Kelli & Randy's like crazy people, we all doted on Tucker, and Kelli & Randy ran and brought home bagels and cream cheese for breakfast. Yum!



Isn't he a little doll? The girls just loved loving on him, and Tink thought she was such a big girl when she got to hold him on her lap!



Kelli and I left mid-morning to begin the 892 errands we had on our list. First it, was a trip to Tony's for our NYE menu. Next, it was off to Binny's to buy enough libations for 6 times the number of people we were to gather with. Kelli received a call from Aunt Kathy that she wasn't feeling well at all, and that she really wanted us all to come over still, but that we needed to run her errands, too. So, just when we thought we were finished, it was off to The Dollar Tree and Party City to stock up on all the NYE must-haves with all of the other crazies who like to procrastinate. We were literally gone for over 4 hours.

By the time we returned home, unloaded the car, and began food prep for the evening, it was nearly time to go! Once we did get to Aunt Kathy & Uncle Joe's, the adults took charge of my sweet peas so Tyler and I could get to work in the kitchen. Sassy had the most splendid time serving the Reindeer Treats she and I had made earlier in the afternoon!

Tyler and I made our pseudo-homemade cheese dips. Basically, you take 2 pre-made containers of cheese spread and add red wine to one and beer to the other and blend or food process until the desired consistency to serve with crackers. Easy peasy. We also made spinach & artichoke dip, french onion soup stuffed mushrooms, spicy lemon garlic shrimp, and a new recipe for potato latkes that turned out to be delish (served with applesauce & sour cream, of course)... Yeah, we certainly were not watching what we ate! Everything was delicious, though.

After appetizers, Sassy was just begging me to change into her fancy party dress that she got for Christmas. So, we did.



I also took a picture of myself, fully knowing it would probably be the last I graced for the evening... mostly true story.



Sassy even insisted on making a grand entrance in parade-like fashion as I announced her arrival. She ate the whole thing up, and so did everyone else!



Don't worry about Tink feeling left out- she truly couldn't have cared less about the entire production!

What happened next really deserves no attention. We sat around like old folks, sipped wine, and watched the New York count down. Both girls fell fast asleep. About 20 minutes prior to our own new year, we pulled out the goods. We rolled in high style, baby!



This picture is classic, completely candid, and well before midnight. HA!



I surveyed the room and snapped my last shots of 2010...



...and then we all yelled, "HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

Kelli began popping the little popper thingies, which woke Tink up and scared the New-Year's-Eve-lights out of her!



Another classic. BWAHAHA HAHA HA!



We made rounds and gave our new years hugs and kisses. Tink cleaned confetti off of the floor and threw it all in the trash for us.



We began popping every last popper until I caught the confetti flying out on film. See it up there? Kelli will likely never again speak to me after publishing this picture, but hey...



Randy got Kaitlin (who clearly didn't know what she was missing by choosing to go out for the evening with her friends. I mean, what 20-year-old does that?) on the phone and wished her a Happy New Year, Randall-style.



The champagne flowed, Tink got more used to the noise, all was well...



...Almost.

Notice anyone missing from the celebration photos? Yeah. Sassy slept on my mom's lap through the.whole.thing. Every yell, every horn, every popper, every cork pop, ev.ery.thing.

We packed it up at about 1:15 and headed back to Kelli & Randy's. Sassy slept through the leaving, the car ride, being carried upstairs, through it all. As we laid her on the air mattress and began to put her jammies on, she woke up. And burst into tears. She was devastated she missed New Year's. Heartbroken. Crushed. (Side note: I totally tried to wake her up a few minutes before. I did. I promise.)

After 20 solid minutes of sobbing (Tink was already fast asleep), Kelli called her out onto the couch. Randy trekked back to the car to retrieve some sunglasses and a headband. We tried to catch the California ball drop, but it wasn't televised by us. Then, Uncle Randy had a brilliant idea...



Thank you God in heaven for YouTube. Yep, that's right. We rocked New Year's again. In style. It was all worth her little smile.



And, so ended New Year's Eve-gate 10-11.

1 sweet tweets:

Alyssa said...

Wow, way to save the day Aunt and Uncle! That was so cute. My mouth is totally watering right now thinking about your menu. YUM! What a fun New Year's!