Hello 2015

Because we were at home for the holidays we wanted to make the most of the New Year festivities and decided to host a family fun countdown to 2015.  If you know Sarah, you know that this means a fair amount of prep work was necessary.  And by a fair amount we mean a lot.

The prep work began with the countdown chart.  Because we were going to have quite a few kids and did not know how long they would last we needed to know when 2015 arrived around the globe starting at 5pm our time.  We began with Greece and worked our way across the time zones from there.  Sarah, Grammy, and the girls had a great time identifying the country and the symbol we would use to represent that country.

To the right you can see the finished product.  We had flags, towers, Easter Island statues, and everything in between.  Every hour from 5pm to midnight had not only a happy new year but also a planned activity.  Activities ranged from family game time to decorating your dessert.  There was so much planned that there would be little time to notice how quickly the last few hours of 2014 were flying by.

As mentioned, we had quite a few kids present.  The three Johnsons (Vivie Ann, Mason, and little Emerson), the two Abrahams (Claire and Ella), and of course the two Bowes (Callie and Reese in case you are keeping score).  We are happy to report that they had a very good time.  And amazingly enough, not one of them, not even Emerson, fell asleep before midnight.

Here is Jessica and Emerson at dinner.  You might notice that Jessica is sporting a lovely tissue paper crown and a set of beads.  Both were prizes from her dinner popper.  Seriously, we did this party right and are not afraid to talk about it.

Perhaps nothing showed off the commitment to the celebration more than our homemade Times Square ball.  It was a styrofoam ball with sequins that were attached individually with small pins.  No kidding, Sarah probably put a good 5-6 hours into making this thing.  John ensure that every hour as a new country celebrated the new year that the ball descended a little further. By the time it reached midnight in Lexington our glittery ball of sequin fun had finished its descent.  We were pretty proud of this and can't wait for another opportunity to break it out.

Even Grammy Gayle stayed up until midnight, that's how much fun we had.  However, truth be told, it really was just 9pm her time, but she still has bragging rights for years to come.  It was just so great to have Grammy here to interact with and get to know the families who have become such an important part of our life here in Lexington.

Mason's favorite activity of the night involved the poppers.  We had to think twice before purchasing them, but we wanted to make sure that we sent 2014 out with a bang, and this was as good a way to do it as any.  For the most part all the kids had a fun time with it.

We ended the night with a dance party that started at 12:05am, and all the kids took part.  However we must mention that Reese was the one leading the pack and shaking her booty.  All good things must come to an end, though, and so before our guests left we made sure to capture each family as they started the new year.  The Johnsons certainly look ready to tackle everything that is going to come their way in 2015.

And it appears that 2015 better keep its eyes out for the Abrahams.  In this picture we realized how great it would be to take the shot in front of the sequin ball to capture the night in all of its glory.  It certainly adds a special something to the scene.

Last, but certainly not least, we have our special family photo.  These are the kinds of experiences we figure the girls will look back on and say one of two things.  Either, "Wow, we are so lucky to have such awesome parents who are incredibly fun!", or "We can't believe our parents kept us up so late, made us wear ridiculous glasses, and then put the pictures up on the internet.  Seriously, who does that?"  As we look forward to a great 2015, we are very much hoping they are going to say quote number one.

Celebrating Christmas with Grammy

Due to the ridiculously high prices of airplane tickets this year, we figured we would not be celebrating the holidays with family.  However, Grammy Gayle was not going to let that happen, and when we told her we would not be traveling to California she said she understood and wanted to know if we would like her to come to us.  We jumped at the opportunity and Christmas got that much better.

For the first time we turned to the internet to track Santa's progress across the globe on Christmas Eve.  The girls were definitely interested in seeing just how fast Santa was traveling and how far he still had to go before he reached Lexington.  Fortunately they did not want to stay up all night watching his progress.  After church we checked on his progress a couple of times, put together a dish of cookies the girls had made with Grammy for Santa, and sprinkled the reindeer oat/glitter mix that Reese had made at school on the front lawn.  We were ready.

Christmas morning came quickly, but we are still very lucky in that the girls sleep in.  They are excited to see their gifts but not so excited that they skip out on their sleep.  Everyone wins.  Grammy Gayle wanted to see the morning craziness and Callie and Reese did not let her down.  Here they are snuggled inside one of the sleeping bags we gave them in preparation for numerous sleepovers to come.

One great thing about having Grammy there is that she had a front row seat while the girls opened the stocking she put together for them.  Grammy Gayle has a natural talent for stockings and the the girls loved the Frozen-themed everything that they pulled out of them.  Elsa, Anna, and Olaf are big hits in this house.

This picture highlights Sarah's excitement that the girls just went wild and showcases John's tolerance/self-control after receiving several reminders to just let it be and not clean up every second.  And like last year, Reese wanted to ensure chaos and went through the wrappings several times like it was like a pile of leaves on the front lawn.

Some of their gifts were put into action right away, including this cool coloring craft that they used to send messages to family and friends all over the country.  We needed to make sure that we wished folks from Connecticut to California a Merry Christmas, and the girls looked much cuter holding this sign than anyone else in our household.

We had another special treat on Christmas day when our dinner at the Chrismans included the Gipes.  The girls had their own special table where they enjoyed the fantastic meal, but even more importantly the four of them got to play together before, during, and after dinner.  What could be better than that?  And of course, the adults got to eat, drink, and be merry together, which is just as fun.

One of Grammy's gifts to the girls involved Build-A-Bear, which meant a post-Christmas day field trip to the mall so the girls could pick out the stuffed animal they wanted and of course an outfit to go with it.  Sarah, Grammy, and the girls got there relatively early, which was a good thing because clearly Grammy was not the only one who had thought of this idea.

After an enjoyable two hour adventure in the store, Reese left with a My Little Pony and Callie had a bear that giggles when you squeeze it.  The girls were delighted with their new stuffed animals but also loved the boxes that they got to carry them home in.  You have to give props to Build-A-Bear.  They understand all the little details that go into a fun experience.

We topped off the holiday experience with a trip to the movie theater to see the new incarnation of Annie.  This was Reese's first movie theater experience, and it is safe to say that she loved it.  However, we are not really sure if that was due to the movie or the tub of popcorn and M&M's that she appeared to be swimming in throughout the film.  Not a bad way to wrap up the holidays.