Rockin' New Year's Eve

This New Year's Eve we opted to have a few friends over after 5pm for an early countdown for the kids with the idea that if anybody felt brave enough to stay on til the bitter end, they were more than welcome. It happened last year for the first time that the girls managed to ring in the real new year. with Grandma and Grandpa visiting. And unlike last year, this time Nacho would be returning from a 4-day trip to make it home in time to say happy new year. But you never know from one time to the next if the girls will have the stamina, so I wasn't betting anything on a long night. But they did. We saw the Lefers early in the evening and Samarra and kids visiting from Toronto as well. But by 9:45pm, they were on their way out. The first of several countdowns happened around 8:30pm, and Netflix gave us a handful of options so we took them all. The kids went wild for the confetti again which is always fun to watch. This time around we only fired off one cannon for the kids and saved one for the real midnight which actually gave us time to clean up between messes. And truthfully, the mess is all part of the ambience of the night. The way the kids collect the confetti again and again to throw it back up in the air is a good reminder that we all want to capture fun and send it soaring time after time. Maybe it's the nostalgia of the evening, but it was also nice to spend it with a few close friends at home instead of chasing something bigger and better out and about. The Huderskis made it over just a little after 10pm to toast to the new year and the girls found some renewed energy with Krystal and Kristina around.  Yes, we had lots of prosecco on hand, good pizza from Marabella's, and plenty of yummy appetizers and Carmen's casserole. The new year even started with leftovers. I'll take that as a good omen.