We had one amazing New Year’s Eve ringing in 2013 with some of our favorite people.

Last year we had the realization that New Year’s is kind of a single’s holiday. Think about the concept of having someone to kiss at midnight, such an exciting thought but once you’re married you realize that’s in the bag. Parties are usually catered to singles, and lots of our married friends don’t celebrate it at all. It only took one day of searching for things to do to realize we’d always have to create our own fun, and maybe even put together parties or activities to help others have fun.

This year we decided a party was in order with some of our dearest friends and family members. Lucky for me one of my best friends in life came from an arranged friendship. Think arranged marriage, only with a friend. Both our parents were transplants to AZ with students off at BYU. They suggested we hang out many a Christmas break. Then Catherine and I moved down to AZ at the same time and found ourselves spending a lot of time together, and soon became running buddies, sharing all intimate life details while we tried to burn some calories and train for half-marathons together. She makes a living singing and songwriting (and she’s awesome at it). We got to be the ones to take her out to eat after her first EP release. Catherine picked me as a friend at the lowest time of my life (if you haven’t read my life story you can do so HERE) and she’s a mutual friend who was there through meeting of Jacob to our sealing. One of her latest songs is about me letting go of the abuse and the demons of the past and letting Jacob into my life, it’s called “You Remind Me.” I cry every time I listen to it, it says my feelings at the time in a way I’ve never been able to say them.

We had our wedding reception in her parent’s backyard, and she even wrote a song for us on our wedding. If you’ve ever wondered where the name for our blog came from it was influenced by THIS song she arranged for us and performed for our wedding. I hope you get the picture, we love her, we love her parents, and they are some of our dearest friends. So a parent/married couple/single friend get-together seemed so natural for their last New Year’s before they move to CA.

We played a game that mixes charades, memory, and the Pyramid game show. We laughed so hard listening to each other describe words or phrases without proper nouns, and then acting them out with their teammate. I introduced my peers to the song “Muskrat Love” that evening, noted often on many worst song lists. You’re welcome my friends! And Jacob acting it out will always crack me up!

There was amazing food- crepe bars are always the right answer for your first food of the new year. 

And of course, there was a surprise silly string attack-on-parents-turned-fight as there should be at midnight every New Year.

 

It was one amazing New Year’s Eve, we will miss you Papworths, thanks for letting us have a blast at your house one last time!