New Year Fun

I love having company and I am not just saying that, I really do. We have been so excited to have David and Emily's family come we could hardly stand it. Especially the kids who were constantly asking me when they were coming or if I would call and see if they could come any sooner. The boys thought they would come on Saturday and were completely shocked when they showed up on Friday night. I wish I had a picture of the look of total shock on Ben's face when he answered the door.

The boys (all seven of them) get along really well. Sometimes I am surprised at what entertains them. This weekend they liked to dress up. I don't know if dress up is the right word, they would probably prefer I called it dressing cool or something a little tougher sounding. First they dressed as "hippies" which is totally inaccurate but that's what Noah insisted they were.
The next time they were into weapons and spying. They had nicknames: Sam & Noah were the Cool Dudes. Ethan was Chubby Cheeks. He is chubby because he only sleeps as evidenced in this picture. Zack also went for the fat look and was Chubby Checker. Ben was Hawk, but his real name was Alvin. (He really really wanted to be Alvin in the previous Alvin and the Chipmunks game they were playing. By the way, Simon fell out of the tree and died in that game.)
The dads really figured things out right this vacation. They rented movies that we didn't want the kids to see and then watched them downstairs. The result: privacy for the men and noise and chaos for the women. Nice plan, except now I am on to them. Good luck pulling that trick next time. Anyway, one night we encouraged the kids to spy on their dads. They aren't good spies-- way too noisy. Even this solution didn't help much:
Sledding was definitely on the agenda for the kids. I don't know if Cooper was planning on sledding, but I think he liked it too. (To give credit where due, this is where the dads really pulled through for us--in 20 degree weather. The ladies just supplied the hot chocolate).
The two littlest kids didn't get to go sledding the second time. Maybe this was an effort to prove that they were in fact old enough to go with the big boys? Zack did have the perfect mustache. I know because he told me many, many times.
They did get to go play in the snow. Henry is a lover of snow, especially the taste. They wanted to build a snowman, but had to settle for re-decorating what was left of Jack Frost.
While the guys watched Die Hardest and UFC 2581 the ladies preferred a more refined entertainment: puzzle-ing. After the great puzzle tragedy of 2006 we were more prepared. Dianne bought a puzzle mat so that we could protect it from the little kids. Emily brought a puzzle that looked like it might be easier. In the end we didn't use the mat because we were afraid the puzzle would fall apart and the puzzle turned out to be harder than anticipated. We might have clued in to the difficulty level when we had to use a buffet table. But we persevered in spite of the fact that even though a puzzle piece might fit it didn't mean it was in the right spot. Henry and Zack nearly got to it again, but only succeeded in spreading around the loose pieces. I think Henry was truly sorry, Zack-uh, not so much. After a few late nights, we finished and had plenty of time to read and get ready for the main event.
Speaking of the main event. Chad and Angie joined us for some good old fashioned gluttony and gaming on New Year's Eve.

The great thing about this chocolate cake is that it doubled as breakfast for the kids the next day. Yum!Here Sam is, rockin' like a hurricane.
Mike and Di were forced to take a turn. That's all it took to get Di addicted. Besides Grace, these three were the only kids who made it until midnight. They all have fancy glasses, but I am sure you will agree that Ethan has the fanciest. Cheers! Like I said, I love company and hope we can entertain more often. In other words, come visit! You may have noticed Cooper (the dog) in the house. That's the closest my kids will probably ever get to a pet. But don't get any ideas Lacey, leave your cats home.