2012~ ringing it in

AbbySue's super rad decorations...she just blesses my heart.
a toast to 2012 in the old dining room

ummmm...snuggie time!?...this just makes me laugh...seriously.
Kaeleigh brought her curling rod and nail polish, to the delight of all the little girls.
Gingerbread (graham cracker) house contest...the cousins couldn't wait to do this together again.
Lily was our winner this year. Her house stayed together when moved to the judging table and she had the most creative idea: (below) "it's a horse stable with all the animals coming out."
The boys. My favorite memory of these two was when they decided to go deer spying after the sun set. They camped out on the field off the back of our property and ended up being surrounded by deer. Leave it to the boys!

For seven out of the last eight years we have celebrated the new year with family and friends who feel like family. This new year was one we had been looking forward to ever since the day we knew we would be moving back home. There is just something special about Sally's popcorn, Tina's bean dip, dominoes, and our favorite local brews. The Herman's have been a part of our lives in one way or another for over a decade. This year was even more memorable because the cousins came over for a sleepover too. There were Nerf wars, and manicures, and movies, and play mobile, crafts, and toasting with the grown-ups at midnight. I often look at little Zibby, only four years old, and think to myself, "what a lucky girl!" I would've never let AbbySue & Ben stay up so late at that age. I guess that's one of those advantages of being the baby.

Now that we have so much extra space we had room enough for some of our bestest buddies, Austin & Tina, to spend the night too. The next morning was full of kids and grown ups, yawning, and shoving Aaron's awesome pancakes down our throats. And, because Kaeleigh is in high school now, and a super babysitter, us grown-ups took advantage of the beautiful New Years day, walked downtown Silverton, and all over the hills behind our Old House. It was lovely.