New Years

New Years Eve was a lot of fun.  We did our traditional 'Appetizers for dinner'.  Our friend Wendi stopped by with a couple of her kids, so we talked with them for a while.  And then we just hung out and played the Wii.  I was totally planning on just putting the kids to bed, but Sawyer was in a good mood and having fun with us, so we decided to let him stay up as long as he wanted.  We did a bunch of little fireworks outside.  They even sell the real rockets here...so we had fun setting those off.  Violet pretty much put herself to bed when we started the fireworks outside.  She was terrified.  That was ok with me ;).  It's funny how your perspective changes the more kids you have.  When Sawyer was 2, I was so determined to have him enjoy the fireworks.  I remember him being scared and I spent all night trying to convince him that they were fun.  With Violet, I said, that's fine, would you rather go to bed?  And then I happily took her up to her bed and tucked her in.  We were all happy with that decision ;).  So Sawyer ended up making it all the way until midnight!  It was kind of fun just hanging out with our little man.  We kept hearing from everyone that Germany goes all out when it comes to fireworks.  So we decided to try and drive up the road a bit behind our house, until we were at the top of the hill.  We were hoping to see something from all the way out here in the middle of the countryside.  Truthfully, I wasn't too hopeful.  I just about stayed behind and went to bed.  Ned was already sound asleep, and the girls were sleeping, so I decided with him there, I might as well go with the others.  We waited about 10 minutes for the clock to strike 12, and then we saw it.  A fireworks display like none other!  It was incredible.  We could see fireworks erupting from every point on the horizon.  And they lasted for a good 15-20 min.  Everywhere we looked, we could see fireworks.  I was a little worried the girls at home had woken up from the noise.  Who knows if Ned would hear them.  We later found out that Ned woke up from the noise and poked his head out of the sky lights in his room upstairs.  He said he couldn't believe it...the fireworks were everywhere!  And the girls slept through it all!  It was a really cool thing to see.  I'm excited for next year.  And from now on, I have a feeling our New Years Fireworks will never compare to Germany's show.

The 4 Adventurers...the flash was SO bright in the pitch darkness...our eyes were all watering, lol

New Years Day we celebrated with a traditional German Breakfast.  Fresh rolls from the bakery and an assortment of meats, cheeses, jams, etc.  And our fake coffee ;)