Happy New Year!

We finished out 2010 celebrating and reminiscing with old and dear friends that are like family to us.  Two families came down from Alabama to visit with us over the New Year's Weekend.  Our friend, Bill, who passed away in August, was Dad to one of the families, and since his sudden and unexpected death, we treasure our friendships, and are doing our best to keep in touch and share more time together. 

There were a total of 13 people in the house and eight of them were kids.  The kids LOVE those kinds of numbers, and they had a great time together.   Unfortunately, Allison was sick with some kind of cold bug and pretty much slept on the couch the whole time everyone was here.  She was so sad that she did not feel like getting upstairs and being silly with all the other kids.  I think Rachel pulled her weight, though, she loved getting up there and acting goofy. Below is a pic of the moms getting ready to feed the hungry masses.

The first day everyone was here, we headed out to a nearby amusement park that has go karts, miniature golf, and arcades.  The go karts were a blast and the kids had lots of fun playing the arcade games.  Rachel was even able to ride the go karts, and she was grinning from ear to ear when she got to ride them.  Allison made it on this adventure, but was worn out afterwards, and it turned out to be the only thing she was able to participate in.     

New Year's Eve was our second day together.  Some of the more adventurous of the group headed out before sunrise for a fishing trip.  They spent all day on the rolling seas trying to catch fish.  Unfortunately, they came back empty handed, a little seasick, and tired.  But they did have some funny stories to tell.  The other half of the group, which included me, Leah, and Rachel, went to the zoo instead.  The weather was great and the zoo was not too crowded, so we had a nice time. Below is a pic of your landlubbers.

New Year's day was a little more laid back.  Everyone hung out in their jammies for a bit.  At least Allison could be part of the group here. About noon everyone headed to the beach for a bit.  Allison was still feeling tired and run down so she and I stayed home.  The kids had a great time at the beach, even though the water was a little too chilly for some.  I guess not too bad for a January day though!

Happy New Year to everyone and may 2011 be your best year yet!