Bye-Bye 2008

Our friends Tim and Mia hosted a fabulous New Year's Eve party at their house. Every year, the managers at Jack's dealership and their families get together on New Year's Eve. Ideally, we rotate houses for hosting, but Tim and Mia's house is ideal because they have two levels and tons of stuff for the kids to do (from Wii to Karaoke). There's enough space for the adults and kids to do their own thing, which is nice. All attendees contribute so that the burden is not on the hosts. The party begins around 7 pm and ends a little after midnight. It is so much fun! We started the night with apple martinis and a wonderful assortment of barbecue and seafood, and the night just took off from there.

Jack and his good friend Andy. They work together at HanLees and have become very close.The kids divided themselves up into two teams. One team was the older kids, led by Tim and Mia's oldest daughter, and the other team was the younger kids, let by their youngest. It was a little "Lord of the Flies," but worked. The kids had a blast!Dahin has inherited her karaoke obsession from me. Both she and Oliver really took to singing. Dahin needed just a little coaxing, but Oliver did not. He even sang when there was no music.

This is Ronan with his favorite samchun, Andy. And, of course, Andy has no qualms about letting us know that Jun-Jun is his favorite, too.

Jack believes he was always meant to be a star....Karaoke was definitely the highlight of the evening. Below, Dahin sings with her big girl 'idol,' Tiffany.

Dick Clark's countdown, poppers, champagne and sparkling cider, and hugs brought in the new year. It was so fun, we hated to go. After some raman noodles to fill us up, we all left believing that 2009 will be a wonderful year after the many trials and tribulations of 2008. With the economy the way it is, we know it won't be easy, but we're bracing ourselves. I know that in what can appear to be the worst of times, we get stronger and really find the strength to make our lives fulfilling. Here's to 2009--may it be the best year we've seen yet!