I'm so happy the weekend is here. This was a short week, but somehow it seemed even longer than usual. We don't have much planned, which is a relief because the past few weekends have been packed with fun. I have some laundry to catch up on, and Christmas really needs to be packed away, but that's about all I plan to do.

Last Friday Natalie came over with the girls, and at the last minute Gary called and asked if we would mind his and Ava's company for dinner as well. Being a family that strongly believes in "the more the merrier," we of course did not mind. It was great seeing them since it has been too long since I've seen Ava. I missed that little bugger like crazy. I invited them all to come back again the next night for New Year's Eve, and told Gary to pack clothes for himself and Ava and plan to stay over, which he did. We had a small crowd on New Year's Eve - Greg, Sue and Sophie; Gary and Ava; Natalie, Carolynn, Grace, Kristen and Chris; a couple of Abby's friends; and my in-laws were all here. After a head count we realized the adults were completely outnumbered by kids. It was a fun night, especially since, for the first year, all the kids managed to stay awake until midnight to celebrate. The next morning, we woke up, ate breakfast, and straightened up the house to start the party all over again. Jay and Lisa were on their way over with the boys, and since Gary had already been living here for two days, we told him he may as well keep it going and stay for a third! He and Ava stayed and Norah's cousin (also named Ava) came over to hang out. At the end of the day, the adults (which at this point were just George and me) were once again outnumbered when Jayson and Jayme asked to stay over along with Norah's cousin Ava. George was off from work the next day so I didn't mind. Not that it would have mattered if he wasn't off from work since it's not very often that there is not a group of close to a dozen kids here. Despite the gang of kids on this particular Monday, and the continued preparing, serving and cleaning up of constant meals for more than a dozen people for four straight days, I did manage to squeeze in a few moments to sit back and take in the scene of all the happy, laughing kids, that to some may seem chaotic and stressful, but to me was a glimpse of a weekend I hope my kids will remember for many years to come, and I only hope we can recreate the same scene again next year.