This year Theresa brought a blank notebook with her and she and I recorded the specifics of the past eight years of New Year's Eve fun. Eight years and still going strong! We recalled the first few New Year's Eves that we spent together; where they were held, how quiet they were, what movies we watched, what the boys cooked. We laughed as we recounted the hilarious events that occurred throughout the years. Wish Lanterns is all I'm going to say. The boys helped us fill in all the necessary food details. That book has become a sacred reminder of many good times with amazing friends.
On to this year's fun which included the opening of the kids' Christmas presents.
You may recall the Mickey "kitchen sink" that Landon and Chris shared on our last night at Disneyland. When we were contemplating whether we should throw it away or keep it Landon said, "I really think that we should give it to Kiersten and Brenden. They would love it." And that's exactly what we did. 
After he opened the present Brenden immediately ran and got his toy cars and said he was giving them a bath in the sink. Landon was right, they did love it. I was so thrilled to see him thinking of others and recognizing a gift that they would really love.
Jason and Theresa got Ashlyn a scrapbook. She came home and instantly got to work on filling its pages.
After a few weeks of planning the meal over many texts, Jason and Chris set out to top their previous NYE feasts. They could be found in the kitchen or at the grill all day long.
The rest of us watched movies, caught up on life or played with new toys and old friends.
And the boys did not disappoint (as if you actually thought they would!). They created a delicious spread including salad, garlic bread, Santa Maria style smoked Tri-Tip,
ghost chile & cojita corn on the cob, 
baked beans,
and four cheese mac and cheese made from scratch.
It was heavenly. This is Chris' "seriously... the camera…again" face.
These guys are so talented. Their shared love of food bonds them in amazing ways. I know I can probably speak for Theresa as well as myself when I say that having them create a meal for us is such a privilege. They put everything they have into the meals and it completely pays off.
After the boys' homemade dessert of bananas foster (which I didn't get a picture of) we spent the rest of the night hanging out and laughing over stories from the past.
Years ago, Ashlyn and Landon gave Kiersten & Brenden this container of blocks. They had just grown too old for it. Ashlyn and Kiersten built towers and a block man just like Ashlyn and I did when she was little. As I watched Brenden climb inside the tub that holds the blocks I was reminded of how Landon used to do the exact same thing when he was Brenden's age. Man, time flies.
Brenden carries this old phone around with him everywhere he goes. It is no longer in service but to him it works just fine. He could frequently be found "taking a call" or be heard saying "I'm need to work on my phone now." This was him taking a picture of me with his phone.
Memejo and Mingie catching up on life…
Memejo had some fun playing with the little guys. They repeatedly begged her to play "do you like…" which is essentially just an excuse for my mom to tickle small children. My brother can attest to this because we were often the victims of this game when we were kids…and we loved every minute of it. The forced knuckle crackings, not so much. 
And a few random shenanigans captured on our cell phones…
Landon came over to take a pic with me and we were joined by Brenden who wanted to take a pic with his formerly mentioned phone…
Silliness ensued...
The best friend a girl could ever have...
I was so happy to spend NYE in the arms of the one I love…even if he was asleep before midnight. Love you, Babe!
Another NYE complete! It was one for the books!
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