Happy New Year!

Our New Years Eve extravaganza was so much fun!  While we were planning all these events, we had decided to not go to Big Bear and focus our attention on throwing a huge New Years/Taylor's 30th birthday party.  Then somehow last minute we found a deal for Big Bear that we couldn't pass up, which meant that we were going to be having the craziest week of our lives.  We left for Big Bear two days after Christmas, then returned on the 30th, and of course New Years is the 31st.  It was all a bit crazy, but definitely worth it in the end.  Our party had live music, bonfires, s'mores, games, chili, cornbread, cake, watching Indiana Jones on a giant outdoor screen, kettle corn, sparkling cider while watching the ball drop from 1981 into 1982 (30 years ago), a fireworks show to rival the 4th of July, and camping overnight with a pancake, sausage and egg breakfast in the morning!  We had a great crowd and total overall we had about 75 people come, there were about 30-40 die hards who made it to midnight, and about 15-20 people who camped in tents, a motor home, or on hay bales around the fire.  I think it was probably the best New Years I have ever had.

It was a family friendly event with lots of little kiddos running around!

Colteton getting spoiled rotten by cousins Nina & Cami...and Clara and her friend Lauren!

Making Smores...and sneaking marshmallows!

Ringing in the New Year!!

The morning after, including a yummy breakfast!

We have been having fun filled holidays, however, three words sum them up for me...death by chocolate! I have such a sweet tooth, and sweets are in abundance this time of year.  I feel like the new year is a time to start fresh with eating better and exercising more.  I am so over the flab, and I'm pretty sure 8 months is way past the mark where you can blame your belly on a baby!  I remember having these grand plans of losing the baby weight immediately this time.  I just overlooked one simple detail, that I was going to have two kids under two!  Especially a newborn who doesn't sleep through the night, and still doesn't for that matter.  And that it takes ALL your energy to keep them fed, napped, entertained, the house clean, laundry done, etc, etc. While 2011 was an amazing year, I feel like I ended it personally feeling a little blah.  It's time to be renewed, and so my new years resolutions are to read the Bible every day and exercise more (definitely not going to say every day because that would be broken real quick!) I am excited for the new year and looking forward to what 2012 has in store for us!