New Year's Eve 2015 with The Rafferty's

It's safe to say that we had one of the most perfect and fun New Year's Eves in a very long time this year.  Kevin, Ally, and Maddy came over for dinner and games and it was so much fun!  This year we decorated the tree with colorful balloons and put up the puff balls from Ayla's last birthday party. We did a fizz activity every 15 minutes and the girls got to make noise makers, streamers, and signs.  They drank their very own Princess Milks too and it was so much fun just to see them get in on the party.  We ate a delicious meal of Salem steaks, baked potatoes, Caesar salad, homemade macaroni, and green beans.  The kids all ate very well and then enjoyed rice crispy treats afterward.  Kevin brought over a delicious red wine to drink with our steaks.  And we had some pretty good beer throughout the night.  Bub had fun watching and was ready for bed at his usual 8:15, but the girls rallied until a little after 11:00.  Then the Raffety's headed home and we got Ayla to bed just in time for us to ring in the new year and fall asleep!  I love, love, love my friend Ally Mac and it was so great getting our families together this year!  Here is to another year in the books!  Now on to 2016!

The next morning, Blair and Jasper (of course) slept in and Ayla and I got up to make some rings with her ring maker kit she got for Christmas from Fancy and Grand Dude.  She is seriously a character!

Merry Christmas 2015!

Christmas Eve was very fun this year.  We went to Fancy and Grand Dude's house to eat our traditional Tenderloin and Wine, Twice Baked Potatoes, and yummy Aunt Joan's salad dressing with the great grandmas.  The kids played for a bit and then we headed home to set out cookies and "WHITE" milk (as Ayla says) and then some M&M's for the reindeer since we did not have any carrots in the house.  Both babies wouldn't leave the treats until they had each snuck and M&M from the bowl.  (They take after their Daddy).  And then we all headed to bed in hopes that Santa would drop by sometime in the night to bring Ayla her "Baby Doll and a Doc Surprise".  We were very anxious to find out what Santa would bring her since she could never explain to us what a Doc Surprise was.  Each time we would ask her what that was, she would simply shrug her shoulders, hold out her hands, and state, "It's just what I asked Santa for Guys!"  shewwwww.  ;-)

The next morning, I woke up at 6 and got myself ready.  I was too excited to start Christmas!  Blair ended up sleeping in bed with Ayla so she would stay asleep and Jasper sleeps like a log every night, so no one else got up until 7:30.  Fancy and Grand Dude decided to come over to watch the kids open their gifts and it was truly the most adorable thing ever.  Ayla walked down the stairs and basically sucked in all the oxygen in the room before she shouted "DOC!  I AM SO EXCITED!  LOOK AT ALL THIS STUFF!  AND A BABY!"  And Jasper crawled right over to his brand new couch and laid his head down on it.  Talk about the sweetest baby boy.  They both completely loved their Santa gifts and had a blast on Christmas morning.  Making memories like these is what it's all about.

The rest of Christmas day was hectic just like it always was when I was a kid.  We had to be at Fancy and Grand Dudes for presents at 9:30.  Ty-Ty met us over there, but Chad and Angie didn't come home this year.  :-(  We opened TONS of gifts there and it was wonderful.  Ayla got a new chest of drawers that she can keep all of her dress-up, bows, earrings, etc in.  Jasper got a super cool car tower, Tyler got a new desk and chair for his house, Blair and I got a new Roomba vacuum that I am stoked about, and Fancy and Grand Dude even got lawn chairs with their grandparent names embroidered on them.  We had to be to Grandma Jody's at 12:30 for the last Christmas ever at their house before she moves out to the Methodist Home in a couple days.  And then we had to be at Grandma Shirley's house by 5:30 to celebrate there.  We got home about 10:00 that night and the kids hit the sack.  Blair and I stayed up until about 1:30 in the morning trying to decide what to do with all of the new things we all had just inherited!  MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Ayla's Classroom Christmas Party

Ayla absolutely loves Miss Brenda and Miss Kathy.  And I was thrilled to be able to make it to her Christmas party at school.  She got to decorate a Christmas tree with icing and sprinkles and then the kids got bells and sang all of the parents "Jingle Bells".  It's moments like these that you never get back, and I'm thankful that I was there for this one!