Days with the Dorans

So I ran with my dad on New Year's Eve which was awesome especially because the last couple days had been a bit of a roller coaster! I believe I mentioned that Jen was positive and so I took a test that was negative and since I was symptom free- I went to that game. Well, what I forgot to mention was that I went all over town to actually try to get a test (which was impossible). I ended up getting tested at CVS which sends their tests out- but when I talked to Jodi, she had some so I took her at-home test which was negative... (You following this?) Anyway- my CVS test came back POSITIVE! I was in shock and took another at-home test which was negative. So now I was super confused so I called my doctor who swabbed me themself and said that THEIR test would be totally accurate. Long story shorter- they had me negative too so we're going to just go with that and since no one I was ever with ended up getting sick, I'm assuming we're good. Still, we did NYE with just us. With...

 Had a great time saying goodbye to 2019 and hello to 2020! Opted for a chill night at home and the Jodi(e)s came over (Didn't get any pictures of the Gerkens and only this pic of me and Jodie). I love easy!! We let the Bigs invite a friend (the Littles were cool hanging with them). I didn't realize but Joe invited a second friend who I suspect likes Al (and she likes him). He didn't spend the night though so that was actually a good thing! ;-) We played games with and without the teens, had yummy food and the time went by fast. The Gerkens left early because Jack and Huey are so little (kicking myself for no pictures because they're also so cute!!).  At midnight we toasted to a new year and no one was remotely tired. The kids had "wine" (sparkling cider) and we had... well whatever we were drinking.  I told Jeff to find a bottle of red with a cool name and he brought this home. Not only did it score in taste, it was also super cool. It had...

 I love this tradition of going to Kurt and Eric's to ring in the New Year! I hope they keep it up (or at least don't turn us away when we show up at their door next year). We were a bit late (no surprise there) because Jeff was making a horse racing game- I'm serious- He was hard at work for hours and out getting supplies early in the day! The game turned out super fun and while it is a game where you throw in some coin, it doesn't break your bank! Everyone had fun I think. The food was great, games were fun and the company was the best! Of course I haven't been taking lots of pictures- I'm out of the habit since my phone cracked (I REALLY need to get that fixed but WHEN?! HOW!?!). We need to do more group shots, but the regular players were there- Kurt and Eric, Cosmans, Gordons, Gearys and even Melanie came and it was fun to see her! Here's to another great year making memories with these awesome people! 2018 was a wonderful year- can't...

 We spent our last day of 2017 with our framily! Kurt and Eric hosted another "Stanquist Rockin' Eve" as we called it. The food, fun and friends were many and it was a great way to celebrate the end of the year. Of course our night was spent playing games (what we do regularly) we had the euchre games going and played "What do you Meme?" again which was a blast! I don't know what Eric had me laughing at here with my (half-marathon) friend Jodie but it sums up the night. You know it's a good night when your face and sides hurt from laughing! I didn't drink much but I laughed A LOT! The kids had a blast too (though I didn't see them that much). I think the girls spent most of the night upstairs while the boys were in the basement. I actually went down to check on the boys at some point and Z started showing me a book he found (one of those world record books). He started reading it too me and it was so interesting I stayed ther...

 The Dorans broke from their tradition of hosting NYE celebrations and went out with friends, and boy did we have fun. We made some cool new friendships in 2016. Here's the breakdown... in 2016 we started hanging out with our friends, the Cosmans. Jeff and Dave met while coaching Joe and Gabe, and Jojo and I became fast friends! (I should mention Kyle and Jodi, too, but they weren't with us for NYE.) The Cosmans live in our neighborhood (or in one of the neighborhoods that links to ours). Ty and Ang also moved to our neighborhood and live REALLY close to the Cosmans. This summer/fall we had a lot of fun getting together to eat, drink and be merry! The Cosmans also have friends (Eric and Kurt) who I became fast friends with! They came to many of the neighborhood gatherings and when they invited us to their place for NYE fun, we were in! We had fun eating, drinking and playing "Cards Against Humanity". Oh my gosh... fun game, but horrible! Tee hee hee... ...

 New Year's Eve was AWESOME!!  It was Low-Key (which I've found is our style) and I was surrounded by my favorites!  My folks and the Gerkens came over for some yummy food and football but left before the ball drop. When they left, Al brought down her new Karaoke machine and we had some fun!  It was funny hearing everyone sing and we decided we needed a stage, so up on the furniture we went! Even I played along which was fun!  Joe Cool wouldn't sing which bummed me out but at least he hung out with us.  We were watching the count-down shows which made me realize that I really am getting older... I didn't know who most of the celebrities or music groups even were! Yikes! I think the kids are now more up to date on things than I am (which is scary).  This picture of Ali makes me laugh it was the 'mic drop' at the end of her song.  Jeff went to sleep (on the couch) after our little concert (about a half hour before the ball drop) but t...