New Years Eve 2010

Each year my in-laws host a dress-up/ethnic themed dinner. The first year it was a celebrity American themed dinner. Last year it was an Asian theme. And this year was Italian.

Does it bother you as much as it does me when people pronounce Italian "eye-tallion" ? Man, it kills me.

Oh, well. I got over that and enjoyed myself anyway. Tyler and I contributed by making brushcetta (like we did for this party) and I made cute little flag pennants that I strung in the dining area. My MIL added some typical Italian style restaurant tablecloths to add to the ambiance.


The rest of the menu consisted of Tyler's aunts famous Lasagna, a delicious and simple Caesar salad, blood orange Italian soda (name?), and this yummy Carraba's copycat chicken dish. Reeeeeally yummy. And we finished it all off with gelato. mmmmmm.

And of course, the funnest part, the dressing up. I was a slacker this year and pretended to be a gondola driver. Ya, I only got as far as a shirt. The kids were Mario Kart characters, because, you know, they are Italian! Samuel, Mario, Cecily, Luigi and Jocelyn, Toadstool (Okay, not Italian, but you know, with the theme). Tyler was a Italian teenager because he looked HOT in his new sweater that I bought him from Eddie Bauer on clearance for $15. I heart Eddie Bauer. My FIL dressed as a mafia gangster along with Troy, Jana and Carson. My MIL was an Italian cook and the girls were Italian masqueraders.













Goodbye 2010! You were awesome!

New Years Eve 2009

Tyler's sisters like to give themes for each New Years Eve celebration. This year was Asian. We cooked all day making homemade egg rolls, Korean Jopchee, orange chicken, and wan-tons. We had a TON of food. The girls all dressed up in Asian garb. Can you tell which one was told she was adopted growing up? She actually looks Asian (the one with the short black hair and dimples just like Jocelyn's). Carson, Troy and Jana's "little" guy was all decked out too. The girls also dressed up Jocelyn as Kung-Fu's Tigress and Samuel as the Karate Kid. He's sporting the blond wig and looks almost identical to his cousin Olivia. We played Euchre after we ate and I was in the "championship" game but blundered it with a stupid pepper. sigh. Euchre, by the way, is a mid-western 6-handed face-card game. Often compared to sheephead, hearts or rook. It's complicated to learn but soooo fun.

Fun times for the close of the year!