Melethwen's Memories: A Year Ends

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

A Year Ends

31 Dec 2013: Happy New Year from our home to yours!

We spent our New Year's Eve in the best possible way: surrounded by the family we love so well!

Dylan and two of his friends, Mikey and Levi

We didn't expect to have Dylan with us, since he and his friends were planning to attend a big party put on by a local Christian church. They left around 7:30, but 2 hours later they called and asked Jacob to come pick them up, saying the party was "lame" (other than the food, of course). So they partied with us!

And parties must have food, of course! Jacob made us hot wings, Native New Yorker-style! Made my lips burn, even though I ate his "milder" sauce! Chris and Sarah brought Ruffles potato chips with toasted onion dip, and Shera decided we needed onion rings. She'd never made them before, but she looked up a recipe online and they were delicious!

I forgot to take pictures at our Monday night family dinner this week, but I just want to mention that we put Sarah in charge of the meal and she was awesome! With parents, a brother, and a husband who love to cook, she's never really gotten into cooking that much. But on Monday she made an amazing meal of Chicken Parmigiana, served on a bed of spaghetti noodles, with a side of garlic bread. Good job, Sarah!

After dinner, we intended to play Monopoly and Farkle, but somehow it never happened. Instead, we relaxed together, chatting, teasing, joking, wrestling, and watching old home movies from 1993-94 so Danielle could see how adorable Jacob was as a toddler.

Jacob and Danielle get to spend the evening together after they got off work at Walmart.

Two more couples: soon-to-be-married Ryan and Shera,

and the "old married couple" Chris and Sarah!

After returning from the "lame" party, Dylan and his friends spent most of the evening in Dylan's room, playing video games and doing other crazy teenage-guy-stuff, like shooting each other with AirSoft pistols and shocking each other with the electrical impulse machine Jacob uses when his bad shoulder hurts. They are nuts! Ryan visited them off and on throughout the night. He likes that teenage madness!

As midnight approached, the guys had to go out and set off the fireworks Jacob had purchased. For them, I think that was the highlight of the night!

Finally, we all cheered in the New year with a toast of sparkling cider (four kinds!) and enjoyed the frosted brownies that Chris and Sarah brought. I also had cheesecake available (that's our family tradition), but we were all too stuffed to enjoy it!