December 31, 2009 - New Years Eve

We got up late and did the usual morning activities of eating and visiting.  We got ready to hit the little market that is within walking distance from Wendy and Erik’s house to get our goodies to take home.  I wanted to get some tea and cookies to share at work and Ed wanted to get more cheese than our share from the wheel that we went in on with Andy and Marsha.  We ended up with more than we could carry back so Ed and Bill walked back and got the car to put our goodies in.

While we were shopping, we saw a car that is smaller than a Smart Car (if that is possible!).  It was called a Micro Car and it was pretty cool:

We walked around the shops and then headed back to the house. 

We visited, ate a snack, and checked email while waiting to head over to Theresa’s for dinner.
 

Around 5:30pm or so, we walked over to Theresa’s house to eat and hang out until closer to midnight.  This picture is just funny to me…..Ed looks like a cross between the Unabomber and a gang member with a case of Heineken walking in the streets:

We visited and played with the kids while the food was prepared.  Once again, Bill is the most popular American!

Of course, there was food all over the place.  Here is a glimpse:

Of course, blowing up things is something that has to be done on New Year’s Eve.  Christian was coming in and out of the house and looked like he was in the midst of making trouble.

The young folks headed outside with a big milk jug looking can, a basketball, water, a homemade torch, and some oil and proceeded to make noise with it.  We finally went outside to see what they were up to.  It was pretty cool but probably scared some of the neighbors.  I didn’t grab the camera for this outing….I just wanted to make sure I was warm.  So, no pics here….I will have to steal some from one of the youngsters who might have snapped a few.

In the mean time, some had trouble staying awake until the new year hit.....people of all ages were falling asleep!

Around 11:30pm, we headed back to Wendy and Erik’s because there were younger people living on that street than where Theresa lives.  They would be setting off fireworks as well, so the plan was to go over there to set off ours as well.  We counted down to midnight and then wished everyone a Happy New Year (three kisses, just like saying hello and goodbye).  We went outside and set off mass amounts of fireworks.  Here is a glimpse into some of what was set off:

It was crazy to see this taking place in a neighborhood.  Ed and I are used to setting off our own fireworks because, for the past two years, we have spent the Fourth of July in Ferndale, WA with my family, where fireworks are legal for the weekend.  This was insane!  Here are some pictures of our light show as well as some video.  

Don't even think that the food was left behind.  It was walked down the street along with the rest of us.  After about half an hour of fireworks, we went back inside and ate more, if that was possible.  We also talked about how much we eat, which was pretty funny.

I also found a new drink that was quite tasty!  Apparently, Bacardi Breezer is a drink that the 14 and 15 year olds drink in the clubs…..pretty much equivalent to Zimas for us.  My cousin, Christian was making fun of me because I liked it.  He also made me a drink with some orange juice and some other kind of alcohol that I have never heard of.  It was quite tasty. 

After an hour or so, we were all fading pretty fast, so some headed back over to Theresa’s and we headed upstairs to go to bed.  After surfing the web a bit, we were getting ready to go to sleep when the power went out.  Apparently, it was the whole neighborhood.  I guess that’s what happens when you set off fireworks in a residential area.  It was off for a few hours and then came back on, so we were told. 

I would have to say that this was the best New Years we have ever celebrated.  They sure know how to party it up in Elburg!  Happy New Year!  Bring on 2010….it has to be better than 2008 and 2009!!