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.