Our Five Ring Circus: Ringing in 2014

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Ringing in 2014

It's hard to believe 2014 is already here! We celebrated the end of a great year and the beginning of a new year with some of our closest friends. Our friends are a huge part of our lives and I was happy to be with them as we welcomed in the new year!

The kids and I had a quiet day at home while Grant worked.  Unfortunately, there's no rest in the mortgage industry!  When he came home, we got our stuff together, and headed over to Amber and Rex's house for the party.

We all got to spend the evening with great friends.  Lots of food and pajamas were involved.  We missed a few families that couldn't make it, but hopefully they can join us next year!

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Liam and Violet celebrated their first New Year! They were unimpressed.

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Lily, Lexie, and Dylan were thrilled to be there with some of their best friends!

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We celebrated Jack's upcoming 7th Birthday while we were all there!

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The toddler girls did a great job of staying awake, but began to slow down as midnight approached!

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Liam finally woke up for some snuggles just before midnight. His birth was the most memorable moment in 2013.  I look forward to every day with him.

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We managed to capture one last family picture before 2013 ended.  They are my world!

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I didn't take any pictures as we welcomed in 2014.  Instead, I captured it on video!  The only other pictures I took were in the wee hours of the morning.  Liam snoozed on Tracy, the girls fell asleep one by one, then Liam decided to wake up and party some more.

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My family and Steph's family ended up spending the night.  Liam finally fell back asleep around 3 AM, and the rest of the 6 and under crowd was fast asleep.  Steph and I were wide awake, and ended up chatting until almost 5 AM.  Just as I drifted off, Lily woke up to use the bathroom.  The TV was on, and captured her attention, so we were awake until almost 7:30 AM.  She finally fell asleep again, but just as I closed my eyes, Liam woke up, because he wiggled almost completely out of his car seat. 

By the time I fell back asleep, everyone else was waking up.  I shared the couch with Steph and her Lily, Grant, and my girls. My legs were over Lexie, and Liam slept the last two hours on my chest.  Sleep just didn't happen that night!

We all had a late breakfast together before returning home.  I love our New Year's Eve tradition with our friends!  It was a great night!

That afternoon, we went to my sister's house for an early family dinner.  While we were there, we celebrated the January birthdays in our family.  It was Michelle's birthday (my niece), but my oldest sister's birthday is on the third, and my dad's birthday is the 6th. 

Papa snuggled his grandsons.

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The girls had a great time playing!

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The kids went outside for a few minutes, we had a delicious traditional pork and sauerkraut dinner, and then we sang happy birthday to Michelle, Kelly, and my dad. With the exception of the first few minutes, Liam slept the entire time we were there!

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It wasn't long before Dylan jumped on the sleep bandwagon!

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We had a fun, relaxing afternoon with my family, but left early so my kids could go to bed!  Lexie was the first to fall asleep at 6:00.  Lily followed about a half hour later.  She grabbed Liam's blanket, curled up next to him on the floor mat, and fell asleep in less than a minute.

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Dylan soon followed.  Liam was the last man standing.  Obviously, he is our party animal!

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2014 is off to a perfect start!

11 comments:

  1. I love our new years tradition. Especially the pjs ;)

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  2. Such great pictures!! Such a fun party for NYE!

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  3. You are the craziest bunch ever!!! And I love it about your family. Great memories! Prayers for your family for 2014.

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  4. It looks like the perfect way to welcome the new year! Happy 2014!

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  5. What a great New Years! Kudos to you for pulling an all nighter!

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  6. Happy I found your blog! Happy New Year! 2013 brought both of our families extra special little boys!

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  7. Sounds like a perfect night to me! We hung with friends too. Times sure have changed huh?? love these pictures. Liam's shirt is adorable and his smile priceless. Happy New Year Stephanie!

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  8. Happy New Year! Looks like y'all had a wonderful time, sans the not getting any sleep - but you aren't supposed to sleep on New Year's anyway...right!?!? LOL

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  9. Happy New Year sis! Sorry for the late visit!! have a blessed new year ahead :)

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  10. It was a great party!! I have no idea how you completely function like a normal human after having no sleep the night before! I love Liam's onesie, I bought the same one for my non-existent New Years Baby...haha

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