Auld Lang Syne

A stout to kick things off. . .

Happy New Year's Eve, America.

We don't do much around here for New Year's Eve, we never have.  Usually our friends Rita and Smitty drive up and hang out for a few hours, we graze on various dishes, watch Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year's on ABC, and then after the ball drops and we have our obligatory glasses of champagne they head home and the kids go to bed.  That's more or less how this holiday has gone down since we've been back up here in Michigan, at least.

Well, this year, just like last year, our plans were axed due to Covid - Rita tested positive and they weren't able to come up.  Consequently, Kris threw out an invite to some of the families in our friends group to see if anyone else was down for a kid-friendly, low-key sort of evening over at our house.  The Johnsons and Bos'es were down, so they ended up coming over around 7pm and we basically did the exact same thing with them.

Nothing crazy.

So here you go, folks - one final post for 2021.

Enjoy. . .

The dogs stand vigil in the kitchen awaiting dropped snackage as Kris preps food for the party.

I picked up a seltzer sampler for Kris at Meijer earlier that day - surprisingly the Egg Nog one was pretty good, but I didn't care for the others.

Mitch and I playing some weird card game with the kids.  Not sure how we drew the short straw with that one.

The Johnsons were rolling in later, and Kelli had to stay home because she wasn't feeling well, so Mitch and I kept our kids entertained for the first part of the evening.

Kris bought a few photo props for the evening (no surprises there.)

Samson is an unwilling participant in the night's festivities.

Abby, Samson, and Maddie.

Urkel incarnate.

Maddie and Audrey

Picked up a couple bottles of sparkling grape juice for the kids, along with some plastic 'champagne glasses' - it's New Year's Eve, after all.

Audrey and her pipe.

The Johnsons rolled in with their niece - Courtney's sister was in town still and, even though we invited her and her family over, the rest of them stayed back at the Johnson residence because the son wasn't feeling up to it.

Dads and some shots of Tullamore Dew.

Definitely don't recommend, folks.

A round of 'champagne' for the kids.

Playing some cards at the adult table.

Meanwhile, back in the living room. . .

(Not sure what they're playing here.)

With the ball drop a minute or two away, I broke out the real champagne for the adults. . .

The kids insisted on starting the New Year off on the 'right foot' (literally.)

And so goes another year for the Hough Family.  See ya next year, folks.

- Brian