Out with 2011, in with 2012

I slacked so bad these last couple weeks that I don’t even know where to begin. Lucky for me, 2012 means that I can just start fresh, and not worry about how lazy the end of 2011 made me. But, I can’t stand the thought of not wrapping up last year in some way, so I’m going to just give a brief run-down of the past few weeks.

• Tony and I shopped until the last minute this year which means that by the time it was said and done we never wanted to enter another mall ever again. Just thinking about the mall right now gives me anxiety. All of this said, I was at the mall today picking up some clothes for Harper. Shoot me.
• Christmas Eve was spent at Mema’s house and the kids got some really nice gifts from her. Zoe was really excited about a Vera Bradley backpack she got, Landon loved the electricity board he got, and Harper was just flat confused by the whole experience. He must have thought we’d lost our minds ripping all that paper and throwing stuff, taking pictures and being excited. I can see why he might think we’d finally lost it.
• Christmas morning started when Harper woke Tony and I at 7am. We let him wake the other two kids and then we all headed downstairs to repeat the previous days activities. Harper still wasn’t into it, but he was excited with some of his new toys. The first thing he saw when we went downstairs was his zoo with a bunch of new animals and he was just thrilled! I hope to never forget his excited expression, it was adorable. Zoe got a bunch of gift cards to places she likes to go with her friends and some great clothes as well. Landon got some new movies and video games as well as a new soccer goal for the yard. That boy loves him some soccer. Tony and I got each other some nice gifts too, but I won’t bore you with the details.
• My parents and Jaron came up for a visit the day after Christmas. The kids were really anxious for them to get here so our day was spent keeping them occupied so they wouldn’t ask a million times if they were almost here. We didn’t do much the whole time they were here, but it was nice nonetheless.
• My brother spent a bunch of time copying old video tapes onto dvd’s for us for Christmas gifts this year. The first night my parents were here we watched a video of our wedding and I cried like a baby. Seeing us all so young was wonderful and heartbreaking all at the same time. Those old videos are absolutely priceless and one of the best gifts I’ve ever received.
• New Years Eve for us means a night at home with the kids. I can’t really say that I’d rather go out and do anything else either, so I guess it works out well for me! Tony made this crazy good 4 course dinner and we ate until we almost blew up. He started us out with a cheese fondue, then he and I had a salad. For the main course we had chicken nuggets (fondue style) with a side of rice. Dessert was chocolate fondue with pineapple, pound cake, and strawberry dippers. It was all delicious and the whole fondue thing is just a fun way to sit around and chat and eat. Zoe went to her first ever New Years Eve party while the rest of us stayed home. Harper went to bed at his usual 7ish pm, and then the three of us watched the latest Pirates of the Caribbean movie. The movie ended at about 10 minutes to midnight so we just hung out till the clock struck 12:01 and then we crashed…well, I stayed awake waiting for Zoe to get home, but as soon as she got here I passed out.

All in all, 2011 was a pretty good year. I’m really excited about 2012 for so many reasons, but that will have to be another post!