New Year's Eve '08

We usually have my mom over, eat snacky kinds of foods, play games or watch a movie, then watch the Times Square Ball drop at midnight.  This year was different.  We were invited to our friends' place about 30 min. out of town, in the hills.  They have an annual chili feast and a huge bonfire.  So dh made his first ever chili (with Y2K pinto beans, I found out later , which I only kept for playtime).   It was quite good, not even too hot.  He put it in the crockpot to the top, and we put that in a plastic bin for the trip through the hills. Yep, it spilled, but stayed in the bin.  There was lots of yummy food to eat, then later, they set the huge bonfire.  Like 12 ft high.  At the top of the metal pole that held up the wood planks, they used a forklift to put three rolls of toilet paper on spools.  As the fire heated up, the heat unwound the tp rolls right up into the night sky.  I wish I'd taken my camera, but who knew?  The tp went up, up, up, straight up, till the roll was done.  Then it broke off and fell down, without any burns.    The kids loved that, and then enjoyed playing cops & robbers in the hills with their flashlights.

We got home by 10, in time to bring in the new year with Dick Clark, etc.  We did, then around 12:30 the power went out due to high winds.  We lit candles waiting for them to come back on.  The kids fell asleep on the couch.  We went to bed.  At 7am the power was still out, but soon came back on at about 7:30.  That was the first time the kids have really experienced a power outage that long.  It was pretty neat, but at midnight, not much to do but go to sleep.  Never did find out what exactly happened, but it made for a memorable New Year 2008.