New Year's Eve '08!

I promise I'm actually going to post about the cruise! It's just one of those things that I want to take time to write out in detail and I just haven't had the time or energy quite yet. I think it's going to take me a while to recover from all the excitement of the holidays!

So, for now I'll tell you about our fantastic New Year's Eve getaway!

Monday morning Stacey, Julie & Merari drove over to Knoxville to meet me at my parents (we got back from the cruise Sunday night) and then headed on to Gatlinburg. We rented a 2-story suite at a hotel there that was just perfect for our group. We stopped and had lunch at Salsaritas before checking in at the hotel and doing some shopping at the my favorite outlet mall. The stores closed at 6, so we went back to the hotel to wait for Mitch, who had an afternoon flight and drove separately. Once Mitch arrived (she was welcomed by some serious squeeling - it was hilarious!) we all piled into the car and drove into the heart of Gatlinburg. I don't know how many people ended up turning out, but they said they typically expect 40-55,000 people. There were lots of crowds, so I wouldn't doubt it! We dropped Stacey & Julie off to put our names in at a great Italian restaurant and get some NYE party hats while we looked for a parking spot.

We ate in the heart of Gatlinburg at a restaurant called Legends - rustic stone & log style with a big fireplace (I'm all about the ambiance). Plus, they had paper and crayons on the tables - which is always a bonus! :) After dinner we wanted to get some fudge, but didn't realize exactly how much we were getting! We were thinking that we were each buying a small bit-size square or something...no, these were like fudge BRICKS. They were enormous! We didn't even make a dent in them! We went in some shops, got hot cocoa and laughed and laughed and laughed! I have no doubt that people probably thought we were drunk we were constantly laughing SO hard!

We toasted in the New Year with sparkling grape juice and many toasts (both serious and hilarious) before we all got in our pj's, piled into one bed, watched the NYE after parties on tv, then went to our rooms and crashed for the night (or morning at this point). Merari had an extra bonus - she became an aunt again at 11:50pm on New Year's Eve! I know she's so excited to meet the new little one.

Today started out at the cutest Starbucks I've ever seen (sitting in a pumpkin velvet chair that I adored), moved into some serious shopping, lunch at Connor's and then lots of hugs before saying goodbye and heading home. We had 3 cars total, so I stopped at my parents and had dinner with them before heading back. Once I got home, I immediately put on my pj's, plopped on the couch and haven't moved since....although now my eyes are fading and sleep is calling my name. So, on that note, here's pictures from NYE. Enjoy!