On New Year's Eve, my in-laws surprised us with a great idea: "Hey, if we come over to play with your boys, would you and Mike like to go out to dinner?" It was too perfect to pass up! So, when they arrived at 0ur house, after completing their dinner date, we headed to Outback Steakhouse. Mike had received a gift card from Mom & Brent, for his birthday, so it made the date even more perfect - free dinner along with free babysitting, what more could we ask for? Of course, the place was packed, so we sat at the bar. Mike was oh so happy to be surrounded by three flat-screen T.V.'s, each tuned to a different game he'd love to watch! I liked it because we were keeping the seats occupied, thus preventing two other people from getting drunk (well, at least we kept them from getting drunk at that restaurant, at that time.)
When we returned from our fun, Grandma and Grandpa said it was time for them to go to bed. We thanked them and they left, just as more family were arriving. Levi had said that he didn't have any real plans yet, but that he would probably stop by for some part of the night. He ended up coming just as Janice & Dale left, and stayed the night.
Kathie and Henry picked up Jase and Brooklyn from their babysitter (Heidi & Will were invited to a party w/o kids! :-) Hurray for them!), and they all came over for the night! We were so surprised to find that Jase and Andrew had the same pajamas! 
They also brought their projector; so, we cleared the pictures off the wall, and watched a movie while the kids ran around having fun! I had made my a Cheeseball (my mom's recipe, and one of my MOST favorite traditions), and there were plenty of leftover goodies from Christmas. The only thing that would have made it better would have been if we had played more games. The boys played some XBox, and Henry and Levi played a few rounds of Pictureka Card Games with me, but at the end of the night, my hunger for games had not been satiated. Oh well. At least Mike roused himself from his weariness long enough to kiss me at midnight, and have a little sparkling juice (another must for my New Year's Eve celebration).
They also brought their projector; so, we cleared the pictures off the wall, and watched a movie while the kids ran around having fun! I had made my a Cheeseball (my mom's recipe, and one of my MOST favorite traditions), and there were plenty of leftover goodies from Christmas. The only thing that would have made it better would have been if we had played more games. The boys played some XBox, and Henry and Levi played a few rounds of Pictureka Card Games with me, but at the end of the night, my hunger for games had not been satiated. Oh well. At least Mike roused himself from his weariness long enough to kiss me at midnight, and have a little sparkling juice (another must for my New Year's Eve celebration). 
