A Cheesy New Year To You!

We celebrated the new year by hanging out with friends, playing games, and eating delicious food, including one of my favorites, cheese!

I had an assortment of cheeses already bought and realized that a new years eve party was the perfect time to eat them! Zach does not like cheese, so I have to find opportunities to share my cheesy bounty with other people that enjoy them as much as I do.

I also tried gooseberries for the first time and brought those, sliced baguettes, and walnuts. Our hosts provided the delicious jams and assorted cheesecakes! Yum!

Not pictured: white chocolate cereal mix, hot sausage dip, sodas, various flavored sparkling cider/juices, guacamole, and chips. So, so good! It was one of those nights where you are kind of full, but everything is so yummy that you want to keep eating.

Brie, goat cheese (with jam), smoked Gouda, and candied apricot cheese. Mmmm. 

We had such a great time making new friends while playing games and chatting. All the kids loved running around upstairs and playing until it was time for bed and we shuffled them all to different corners of the house to sleep while we continued parting it up downstairs until midnight while watching the countdown on TV. 

It has been so good to make friends and find people to spend time with here in our new home. I only wish we got together more often! If anyone loves cheese and/or games, let me know and we will invite you over!

Happy new year, 2015!

New Year's Eve: In Holland

We were so lucky to be invited to an annual New Years Eve party that our new friends host every year. This year the country they chose for the theme was Holland.

In traditional Holland fashion, it was also a costume party! I pulled out our costume boxes and we whipped up these costumes for the entire crew.

Via the photo booth.
Chinese girl, Olympian, Frenchman, Prom Queen, Supergirl, & Mexican

Snowman contest: Boyd and Andrew

The winning team!

Boyd and Andrew were good sports, and had many fan club members by the end of the night. 

Nice hat/ears on this snowman.

A worthy adversary in the snowman contest.

"Midnight" balloon release! 

Hearing all about the traditions of Holland.

Pure joy to find the treats left behind in her shoe.

Trying to nurse an orange.

Lucy congratulating Clara, who won 2nd place in the kids costume contest. The Dragon won first.

The Adult costume contest participants. I won, and Boyd was runner up. 

Lucy's prize for participating in the costume contest. 

Finishing off the night right with fireworks! 

It was great to have a fun family activity to go to on New Years Eve.  I hope we get invited again next year!




What fun traditions do you do for New Years Eve? I'm always looking for new ideas!

New Years Eve 2013

New Years eve was always a highlight of the year when I was a teenager. I loved dressing up and going to the church dance with my best friends and brother and dancing the night away. 

At my dad's house before the dance we would have king crab legs, steamed clams with melted butter, reindeer sausage with crackers, and pot stickers. Yum! 

Scotty and I partying like it was 1999/2000!

Since moving to Texas we have celebrated New Years by having yummy food and hanging out.  

2008/2009!

2009/2010

The past couple years we have gone out for sushi- my favorite! 

2010/2011

We invited several of our friends from church to join us this year and we had a good time celebrating the end of the year. 

What New Years Eve traditions do you celebrate?

PS. If anyone wants to send me Alaskan King Crab for next year, I would graciously accept it. :)