New Year's Eve 2011

We had another fun evening at the First Night celebration in State College.  Lori and Austin had just gotten back from her home in NYC, so it was great to be with them.  The first thing we did was go to a reader theatre where Destiny played the part of a gypsy girl.  They all, but especially the reader, did an excellent job. If you look closely, you can see Destiny on the left in front of the black stage curtain.

We then went to see the ice sculptures.  It was disappointing that there were not nearly as many as there used to be.  Another result of a poor economy, I suppose.   There were no reindeer either as there always had been other years.

They did still have the ice slide.  Anthony went down with Austin, but there was an increasingly big drop at the end of the slide, and Anthony found it out the hard way.  He said it felt like someone had smacked him on the behind with a baseball bat.   Hopefully they worked at smoothing that out before others were injured.

Austin's favorite thing was banging on this very loud gong.  I can't believe this is the only picture I have of him from the evening - his back.  Grrr.  

After Anthony, Lori, and Austin left to go home, we debated what we would do.  There were a number of events we could choose from.  I would have liked to hear the brass band, but Destiny thought that would be boring, so instead we went to a comedy juggling show.  Oh. My. Word.  It was EXCELLENT!!!  And hysterically funny.  I was just in stiches the whole time, either from their amazing talent, the crazy risks they took, or from the dad's wit and humor.  It was a dad, Michael Rosman from the Baltimore area, his daughter, and son.   Here they are, preparing to juggle those sticks, the dad on a unicycle, the daughter on an exercise ball, and the son on a board that was balanced on top of a cylinder. 

It was after 11:00 when that was over, so we headed for home to watch the ball drop in New York.  

This morning Dick went to Fillmore's service by himself so we could let Destiny sleep a bit longer.  Judy was back at the piano today, so that worked out great.  We went to Houserville, had a great service, followed by a scrumptious pork and sauerkraut meal.  

This afternoon we packed up Destiny's things and drove to the Harrisburg area.  Sam and Jenn were there at Jenn's parents' house.  They (Sam and Jenn) took Destiny the rest of the way home, since they live only about half an hour from Reading.  It saved us a lot of driving, and we were so thankful it worked out. We hung out at Jenn's home for a while and got to hold and play a little bit with Sammy.  But it was just a teaser.  After we left I felt like I just wanted to go back for more Sammy, haha!

This was a strange day, weather-wise.  This morning it was gorgeous, sunny, and mild.  This afternoon it rained.   As we left Harrisburg the sky looked confused.  Part of it was dark and cloudy, and part of it was bright orange and sunny. 

This evening, as I sit here at the computer, it sounds ferocious outside.  A lot of wind and rain.  I think we'll be getting some winter temps and maybe some white stuff this week. 

So two weeks ago I worked like a crazy woman to get ready for Christmas weekend, last week I had a marvelously laid back week, but now it's a new week and a new year.  I have plenty to do, and lots to be thankful for.

Welcome 2012!