We shared another New Year’s Eve and morning with the Potters. We started at at a fundraising soup dinner held by the folks in the basement of the University Baptist & Brethren Church building. It’s the Potters’ home congregation. At dinner, I missed an opportunity to inquire about Josh’s faith. Other times will come. And gosh, does the pastor’s son know how to make a caramel cheesecake.
Anyway, we proceeded through the regular Sidney Friedman Parklet and Allen Street routine for First Night, appreciating the percussive, paper-maché parade emanating from St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church building, kettle corn, the ice slide, the ice sculptures, the Christian Science Reading Room’s free cookies and cider, the phoenix in the Borough building, and the sight of the horses and carriages and Vamos' lit-up pedi-cab along the way. All four parents ended up carrying all four children back to the cars.
We had a dance party featuring upbeat selections from Stilson Family Mix 2013 (everyone participated with vigor except Sullivan, who tried for a little and then settled into a couch corner to read). We put the kids to bed, chatted, snacked, played Taboo (the men trounced the women), kissed at 11:59:50 for ten second while humming “Auld Lang Syne” and then had our grape-tossing contest (Stilsons won), followed by a frog-themed folksong and dance led by Greta, who stopped up for the stroke of midnight after the brisk First Night 5K.
We went to bed around 1am, arose for a nondescript but enjoyable breakfast, and bid the Potters farewell on their trip to O-Ma and O-Pa’s house. Later today, we went to the Peters’ house for chili dinner, grilled (by me) Diner stickies, and college football. Krysti left for Colorado. This ended up being much more of a record of days entry, and I think that’s OK.