NYE

New Year's Eve day was wonderfully relaxing.
And best described in pictures.

I grilled the most perfect grilled cheese sandwich of 2011.

Made delicious cookie cutter pancakes.
Thank you again, Pinterest. All of my good ideas come from you.

A moose pancake, anyone?
(Make you look like a girl moose that makes the boy moose go "hwaaaaa!" Name the movie and we shall be eternal friends.)

Or how about a squirrel?
Cookie cutters via Ikea.
Don't tease. Our only metal cookie cutters are in the shape of woodland creatures.

(One note: spray the inside of your metal cookie cutters to avoid sticking. We lost a few animal legs figuring that out.)


For the Eve we partied at John and Caroline's.

The night began with rip-stick lessons in the house.

We ate copious amounts of ice cream and toppings.

Disney Scene It was the game of choice, with constantly changing house rules. (I kept forgetting which rules we made up and which ones were the real ones.)
The longer we played, the louder it got.
Can you not yell when playing this game? I submit you cannot.

Chris and Jilleena later joined us for a rousing game of Wits and Wagers, a game that involves numbers and betting which are two things I am beyond horrible at. It was, nonetheless, still a lot of fun.

We all hoped Jilleena would go into labor that night and have the first baby of the new year.
Sadly, still no baby to the day. (Come on, baby!!! We're ready to meet you!)

The newlyweds, as Neal would call us.
I'm starting to look a tad harried in this picture.
My attentiveness declines rapidly after 10 p.m.
Thankfully this photo is before my "eyes-glazed-over" phase.

The gracious hosts.

My only NYE-worthy attire was my sparkly shoes.
Which I have worn almost every day since I got them on Christmas.
(Hey, we still don't have snow so I am taking advantage of wearing my flats!)


I am again thankful for the legalization of the good fireworks.
NYE becomes that much more exciting.
Even better? A wedding reception at the nearby church ended at midnight and launched a killer firework show. What a great way to start off the year.


Happy 2012!
I'm nervous, excited, terrified, prepared, anxious, unprepared and ready as I'll ever be.
Come and get it.