happy new year (past and present)

Though we were undecided up until Tuesday evening as to what we wanted to do to ring in the new year on Thursday night, we ended up having a GREAT time (as always) as a family. The Indiana Ice (minor league hockey team) had a game at Conseco Fieldhouse and they asked Dean to play the music for the game so he ended up doing that and the boys and I were able to go to the game and sit in a lower level suite at center ice with one of Dean's coworkers (Jake Vernon), his wife Traci, and their two boys Ashton and Avery. Ashton is just a couple days older than Ben and Avery is about a year older than Joey so the boys played well together and we had a wonderful time. Joey was SO pumped to be there. He was really into the game and love watched the action...but equally loved walking up and down the steps, climbing in and out of the seats, eating hotdogs, chips, and popcorn, spilling water, etc., etc. At the end of the game Jake evidently told Dean "man, that younger boy of yours is a handful." True. Ben was surprisingly, though maybe not so much, nervous at first. He sat at the back of the suite and watched the first period from a safe distance! I'm not sure what he was scared of, a flying puck perhaps? Regardless, in typical Ben fashion he warmed up after a bit and cautiously moved to the front row of the suite by the end of the second period! Dean played great music and the boys were pretty well behaved (and mommy had a great glass, or two, or wine) so a good time was had by all! We headed home from the game all together and stopped for a quick bite at White Castle (nothing says celebration like some boogie burgers) and were settled on the couches in our jammies with Dick Clark by 10:00 p.m. After watching Joey run around like a crazed person for a bit we plopped his happy bum in bed and he promptly passed out. Ben decided to "rest his eyes" and passed out around 10:45. At this point Dean and I called it quits and headed to bed too. We're so wild and crazy! Miraculously I awoke at 11:55 p.m. so I woke up Dean, we watched the ball drop and kissed at midnight and promptly fell back to sleep! HAPPY NEW YEAR! The new years I was really reflecting on last night was the one 11 years prior...Dean and my first date! We went to the wedding of one of Dean's former co-workers at the Pacers (the original Boomer, I think?). We both were a bit nervous as we were spending the night at the hotel where the reception was being held...I know, what a hussy I am spending the night with the guy on our first date?!? What was I thinking?! Regardless, we had a wonderful time with Doug and Jodi Morgan and Rob and Jolyn Robinson and drank a bit too much -we'll blame it on the nerves-and passed out promptly after leaving the reception. I think we may have kissed at midnight, though if we did it was nothing more than a peck. After that night I went back to Miami to finish my second semester of my junior year of college and Dean commenced his streak of dating random women; his trophy pacemate girlfriend was during this time period! I just think it's really funny to think about how life just works out sometime. Dean and I were totally just friends leading up to that New Years Eve first date and we were just friends after for a long time as well. It wasn't until the following November, in fact, that we really became a couple. I am so grateful that God put him in my life. He is truly the best friend I have in the world and my life is so much better with him in it. So this New Year's I celebrate my husband, my friend for nearly 12 years, and the love of my life. I look forward to many, many, many years of "first dates" to come.