We had our annual New Year's Eve party this year with Dan and Amy and Joni and Larry. We did have a few new ones with us this year too. Shannon, Stephanie and Greg joined us as well as a friend of Eric's from work and his wife. We changed it up a bit this year by going out to dinner rather than fixing everything ourselves. It was fun but every year I think, I'm getting too old for this! Ha!
These are the only pictures I took this year...
I've been revamping the downstairs since the fall. Between Christmas and New Year's Eve, we (really Eric) finished the bathroom. The bathroom had this really dark brown faux finish on the walls from the previous owner. There was a large dark vanity and dark mirror too. Eric put up bead board, painted the walls a light blueish gray and we bought a new vanity. I actually sold the old vanity on Craigslist for the same price as the new vanity from Lowes!! How's that for decorating on a budget? The new vanity doesn't have as much counter space but it really does fit the bathroom better.
This first picture was taken as a remembrance of the little mishap we had in the middle of the remodel. Eric had to take the bead board off of the wall that he had already put up because the new vanity was smaller and didn't cover the seams in the bead board. The problem came when he pulled the bead board off. Evidently, he had accidentally nailed the bead board directly to the water pipe! So when the nail was pulled out....let's just say it reminded me of "Old Faithful", except it was shooting sideways instead of up! Water went everywhere! Evidently, the nail puncture had been leaking this whole time too. It was really a blessing that he pulled the board off and discovered this rather than letting it leak forever without knowing it. Fixing the pipe was a big pain in the rear for Eric but he finally got it done. The wall was put back and the vanity was put in. It looks great. I really love it. The bathroom is really small so it's hard to get a good picture of the entire thing. These are the best I could do.
The day after Christmas we took the girls to Build a Bear. That was part of their Christmas from my parents. It was very busy but they all made really cute animals. Grace made an adorable bunny. Lyla made a really cute dog. I actually can't remember what Reesi made. That's what I get for waiting until the last week in May to write a post about Christmas! Elye made a reindeer. Elye was so cute carrying that big box. It took forever. Mainly because Lyla couldn't decide on the clothes for her dog! I have no idea where she gets that trait? *wink, wink*
After we have Christmas at our house, drive to Indiana, have Christmas at the Wade house, we go to the Gardner house for Christmas and then to the extended Gardner family Christmas in Owensboro. It's a whirlwind of a day! The girls love it all! They love to open presents and play with everyone. This year there was a little snow on the ground so they talked Aunt Laura, who graciously plays with them all the time, to go out and "sled". There wasn't really much sledding going on, but they had a blast!
I love this next picture of Laura! She's so great with the girls! They LOVE playing with her. After they came inside their clothes were all wet. She gave them some of her pajama clothes to put on. They were huge on them but they didn't care. Lyla actually brought Laura's tshirt and pj pants back home with her. She is still wearing them to sleep in! I ended up cutting the legs short so she could walk in them. Then one leg of the pants ripped all the way up! It wasn't even on the seam either. We sewed up the rip so she could still wear them. 
The girls stay in their Christmas jammies all day. I like that. They like it too. The girls carried all of the presents in from the bedroom just like years past. Then they made the present tunnel to take a picture under. It was a little trickier to take that picture with little Elye and Easton in there this year! Then came the presents. Grace and Lyla got a Nintendo DS from Mimi and Papoo this year as well as craft supplies, a purse full of goodies, and several other fun things. 
Our 3 Silly Girls... 
Silly picture... 
More silly picture taking... 
Easton was having fun spinning the wheel on the Build a Bear Wheelchair. 
Christmas morning....This first picture is my favorite. I love their faces. I wish you could see Lyla's better but when I zoom in it shows so much excitement. The big gift this year was a Wii. The girls were really excited about this. They got several games for the Wii from family this year too. The other gifts Santa brought were Squinkies and Build a Bear things. 
