Christmastime is... Gone (Part, the Second)

After a very short stop home, we were off again. My family rented a house in Estes Park where we gathered for New Year's Weekend. We get to see each other a lot more frequently than Matt's side of the family, but it was still nice to sequester ourselves away for the weekend. And it was awesome that every member of our family was able to be there.

We had our big "Christmas" dinner on New Year's Eve, followed by our gift exchange.

The whole family at dinner.

For presents this year, we did our traditional pooling of money, with each person receiving one gift. But because a lot of the money pot went to renting the house, our gifts were less lavish - which is definitely ok by me! I like giving big gifts, but I also like remembering what Christmas is all about! And the kids got lots of gifts, of course.

Presents!

Though the theme was certainly "Christmas" up to that point, we still had a new year to ring in. The start of 2012 involved lots of football, food, shopping, games, and Christmas Carols.

Happy New Year!

We had to acknowledge a little one's birthday:

I'm sure she was happy to get some attention in all the craziness.

And then we just hung out. We ended the weekend with a rousing game of Telestrations, which was hilarious for those who played and highly obnoxious for those who heard us laughing from the other room. That's a pretty typical situation at Krause gatherings.

Best. Game. Ever.

And so, another Christmas has come and gone...

Fall 2011: Double Holiday Fun

Who wants to read about events that are no longer relevant or interesting because they happened a really long time ago? You do? Good.

The holidays were a little crazy this year. They started with double the fun at TWO Halloweens and TWO Thanksgivings. I know, we're pretty special.

As you may remember, Matt and I have hosted a Halloween party at our place for the last couple of years. Usually, we kick out the little ones in our family as it gets late (trying to be responsible and all that junk), which is always a little sad because kids LOVE Halloween. This year, my family decided that the kids deserved a party that was more designed for them. Cue my mother and her insane enthusiasm (which is awesome).

She decided a MURDER MYSTERY was just the ticket. Except it was really a ROBBERY MYSTERY, because murder is a little dark for kids. Anyway, we got to planning. I was responsible for side games (we did a Halloween song identification and a competitive dance party - fun!) and a couple of snacks.

Snack table.

My favorite of my treats. I contributed with a mummy cheese spread, eye of newt eggs, and sugar cookies.

The robbery mystery required each of us (except for the lame-os, who refused) to play a part; I was Ms. Pheasant. We were given clues about our character, and we tried to learn more about our castmates as the theft unfolded - while eating snacks and taking mini-game breaks.

Who stole the diamond-encrusted dragon egg???? (It was Hannah - I mean, Ms. Crimson)

At the end, we all gave away our final secrets until the thief was revealed. The whole night was a little silly, but also really fun. And the kids got a kick out of it, which was the whole idea.

The following weekend, we continued the Halloween fun with our annual party. This year's theme was video game characters. We had lots of family and friends gather in silly costumes, and it was a really good time.

My first focus in hosting these parties is always the food. I have to say, I'm pretty proud of my spread. I had pumpkin puke (guacamole), tapeworms (hot dogs and ketchup), vertebrae (tortilla rolls), dirty bath water (punch), test tube goo (blue curacao and sprite), chex mix (chex mix), and store-bought cookies (store-bought cookies).

Food.

Fun, yes?

My second focus when hosting these parties is finding an awesome costume. This year, I pretty much chose the theme to fit the costumes I wanted for me and Matt, which was: Link and Princess Zelda! I, of course, was Link! Matt was really only half a Princess Zelda because I didn't want to make/find a full gown that he wouldn't wear for more than a half an hour. But he wore a wig with pointy ears!

Some of the fun video game costumes.

Of course, we covered our house in fun decorations, and the mood lighting created a creepy atmosphere.

Hanging out in my mood lighting.

It was definitely a good time. I always get stressed when having parties, and I think that I don't want to do it again. Then a couple of months go by and I start to forget the not-fun parts. So, there's a possibility that we could be having our 4th Annual Halloween Party next year.

Thanksgiving, which is my favorite holiday, was double-the-fun, too! We had a nice meal with my family at my parents' house, and we had a meal with one of my good friends a couple of days later. That meant lots of food and, for me, lots of cooking.

Some of my supplies.

For my family Thanksgiving, I made macaroni and cheese (of course), apple cranberry sauce, salted caramel butter bars, pumpkin chocolate swirl cheesecake, and mud slide pie. Other members of my family made a ton of stuff too, so we had lots of food. We even fried some sweet potato chips for fun!

Just the appetizers.

The big meal.

Thanksgiving was on the little one's birthday this year, so we had to give her a moment to be the center of attention (as if she isn't usually).

Happy Birthday!

Then we devoured desserts.

My pumpkin chocolate swirl cheesecake and mudslide pie.

For Rachel's Thanksgiving a couple of days later, I made a cheesy squash casserole and another pretty cheesecake. We gathered at her newly purchased home with some of her family and friends. It was a very neat experience because a couple of the guests had never been to an American Thanksgiving before (they're here from the Middle East). It was great to share part of our culture and learn about others' traditions. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures, but we had a lovely dinner, pleasant conversation, and a little Apples to Apples thrown in at the end.

Double holidays are tons of fun, but I'm not sure I can handle it every year. At least not if I plan on making as much food.

Happy 4th of July!

Some people may think it's a little weird to wait until the middle of August to blog about the 4th of July. Not me. With all the stress and sadness of summer's end and the return to school, I knew that I would need a pick-me-up. I chose to hold off on this post until now so I could relive the fun of the holiday. The delay has nothing to do with the fact that I've been really behind on blogging all summer. Nothing at all.

Anyway, you may remember from my last post (if you can think back that far...) that some of our awesome friends came to visit us in order to help Matt with his fireworks show. This year, Matt left the country club behind and moved to bigger and better things. He was the lead pyrotechnician on the Lafayette Chamber of Commerce show, which was the first show put on in the city in 20 years!

While the boys (Matt, John, Dac, and Alex, along with my brother-in-law, George, and our friend, Rick) were setting up during the hottest day of the summer...

Alisha and I stayed cool by shopping in air-conditioned stores. Then we came home and took a nap. It was rough.

After our relaxing day, we loaded up my car with dinner and LOTS of water/gatorade to take down to the guys. By four o'clock, the six boys had gone through an entire case of water and an entire case of gatorade. And they were feeling pretty desperate for more! Like I said, it was HOT!

Needless to say, our arrival with provisions was greeted pretty positively. The guys took a short break for lasagna and goodies...

Then it was back to work.

Alisha and I got our work-out by hauling our cooler and chairs to the other side of the lake to get ready to watch the show. Then we continued our trend of exerting little to no energy by sitting by the lake for 3 hours! My family quickly joined us to "support" Matt and the guys.

Playing and waiting for the show to start!

Finally, it was time!

So pretty!

It was a GREAT show! The guys did a fantastic job and everyone loved it. In fact, Matt got rave reviews from the Lafayette Chamber of Commerce and many other people who saw the show. We're hopeful and optimistic that he'll get to do the same show next year. And maybe the excitement of blowing things up will continue to draw our friends out for more fun visits!

Happy Independence Day (in August...)!