new year's eve with the strings

We did our new year's eve a little differently this year, mostly because a couple that we befriended recently invited us over for new year's eve dinner. People rarely invite us over for dinner, so I immediately said yes! Gina & Brian live just a couple of miles from our house, so it would be a quick trip home if we wanted to stay late. Their daughter & son are the same ages as ours and there were four other kids to play with as well, so the adults were pretty much left to ourselves! Yay!

We really had a nice time. AJS brought his famous chicken wings, to Brian's delight! He told me that he was going to ask if AJS could make some, but didn't want to impose, so they were a welcome surprise. I did miss Kelly's new year's grape rituals, but I guess that was a trade-off for Gina's spicy cioppino and roast lamb.

Dash found a toy golf club and would occasionally appear, brandishing it like Thor's skyhammer. We caught a few glimpses of Rosie (who spent a lot of time alone in Ava's closet, trying on her clothes), but the kids all played well and kept to themselves.

We knew it was time to go when Rosie joined the other kids in leaping on the couch cushions and Dash was rubbing his eyes. After putting the kids to bed, I don't recall anything until AJS woke me up Tuesday morning, saying,

"Happy new year, my love!"