The kids actually watched the ball drop. I’m not really sure they could make out the ball though – that was a little lost on them. They saw a circle made of lights but not the “ball” that everyone is talking about. I’m pretty sure Reilly thought it was going to be a destructive and explosive thing not some commercialized, light-bulb sponsored initiative that at some point over the years became a commercialized mess versus the celebratory crowded moment in Times Square when Dick Clark could actually nurture a community as he was the ONLY one to watch. I think the whole experience was a bit anticlimatic to them.

I recall growing up spending a few New Years Evenings with our Gervais cousins at the cottage on Ossippee Lake. We would watch one of three channels that came in with the antenna just so which was being broadcast from Portland Maine. We would watch the recap of the year for hours before the ball dropped and we would sing and dance and countdown until the very end. It was so fun then…. so simple. I love those memories.

New Year’s Day came quickly after the 1am hour with the kids. We did the Peanut Butter Chip 5K race in Temple and then took the kids skiing at Crotched. It was a balmy 55 degrees so it was a perfect first day of the year. Reilly and Kate helped me make a movie out of the short video I took with my phone – check it out. They chose the sound effects.

If you can keep your eye on Kate at the end it’s hard to see. I taught her the expression “yard sale”.