1.03.2009

New Year's Partying: Ugly and Rosey

Our New Year's celebration was a busy one.
We headed back to OC and celebrated with the family. First we rang in the New Year at 8pm with the kids.
Plenty of rocking out to Yo Gabba Gabba tunes:
And once the kids were in bed, we had....an Ugly Sweater Party! It was awesome! (great party Camille and Rachael). Everyone came dressed in ugly sweaters. We had fondue, drank out of mugs, and played fun old school games (Basket Upset, the name game, etc.)
Mom found her sweater in Granner's closet:
Aunt Karen looked like she was from the FLDS church:
And everyone else hoarded Good Will and Salvation Army for their best Bill Cosby sweaters.

Eric and Laura:
Kam and Gerrit:
Rachael and Brennan:
Marty and Karis:
Bryan and Camille:
Mark and Sara:
And Me and Casey. I thought ugly pants would be appropriate as well, especially if my stomach was slightly stuffed (a la "Mom Jeans" from SNL):The boys:
How foul is Mark's hair?The girls, looking all pretty and tame, until.....
Gerrit!Seriously, we were dying when Gerrit stripped down and came out dancing (as you can see in this photo. I think Kam's crying):
Happy New Year!
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at 12:15am we said goodbye to the O.C. crowd and drove back home to Pasadena. We slept till 5:30am and then met up with my family at the train station where we headed to the famous Rose Parade. You gotta do it at least once, right?

My awesome neighbor had overbought bleacher seat tickets for her clients at work and asked if we could use them. Um, yea! $85 tickets....for Free? TOOOTALLY yea.
We were right at the beginning of the parade route on Orange Grove. Our tickets said to be in your seat by 6:30am. Not necessary. But still fun to watch everything come together.
Our seats were on the front row. Awesome. We left Owen with Parry and Linda over night so we didn't have to worry about him falling off the scaffolding.
The anxious (and tired) family:
It was the perfect Southern California day:
The weather was chilly till the sun came up but thankfully we were in the shade, without the sun glaring in our eyes.

While waiting for the parade to start, Mere and Mom took the kids for a walk:
I tried out my new telephoto lens and felt like the paparatzi. I mean, come on...Stars! They're just like us! They wear bangs in their eyes, while going to parades!
Meredith and Lucy:
Our little family (minus Owen) watching the floats:
Our favorite moments were the fun celeb spottings.
Bob from Sesame Street:
And Cloris Leachman. We love her in Spanglish:
This float was ridiculous. Cool dog, but the music blaring from the speakers was a short 5 second loop of "Who Let the Dogs Out?! Who, Who, Who-Who?" Enjoy your two-hour float ride with that obnoxious party!
Nothing says America like a brilliant red and white roses:
The parade was perfect. By the time we were ready to go, it was over! Glad we did it. And welcome to 2009!

13 comments:

dietcokegrrl said...

OK--that ugly sweater party is HILARIOUS!! Great idea and looks like a ton of fun!

And I didn't realize your seats were on Orange Grove--impressive! But yeah, that 6:30am "suggested time" is obnoxious. Glad you guys got to go! Fun!

Saunja said...

Okay. Ah, the sweater party... where to begin? First, Karen looks so nasty and 100 years old! So funny! I seriously could not believe it when I saw her picture. So funny. I LOVE your outfit, hilarious! The pants, the shirt, and your's and Casey's matching sweater vests... so great. Everyone really got into it, it looks like a lot of fun!

And the Sesame Street guy in the Rose Parade... he fits right in with the ugly sweater party!

Ryan & Holly Willard said...

I love your mom jeans. Looks like a great Christmas and New Years. I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who got addicted to rock band over the break.

lyndsey said...

you guys look awesome in your outfits...vests, very creative. everyone went all out -- hilarious!

and AMEN to all your comments on the rose parade..."who let the dogs out" WAS so annoying. we said the same thing. glad you guys had fun! and thanks for pointing out the sesame street man...i couldn't place him. i guess that brings the celeb count to 5.

Nicole said...

WOW, what a great holiday celebrations you had! I love it!! Looks like such a blast. I love the ugly sweaters and mom jeans!

Kate said...

What a great idea for a party, totally funny. I drove through the traffic of the parade, but didn't get to see anything. What a fun day...for you that is! Great pix, and love the lens.

La La Land said...

Oh my gosh, where do I begin? I love the sweater party..always fun! I love your Mom jeans and the FLDS hair. I love your new bangs. And I am SO EXCITED for you that you got the camera! You are going to have a blast with it (let me know if you find any new tricks with it!). Oh, and you totally bummed me out about the parade. Have I mentioned how much I miss P-town!?

megan said...

fun fun celebrations! I have some friends that have been to ugly sweater parties, but I have yet to participate...sounds fun though! although i didn't know the first game that you mentioned

ya mean you didn't refuse free rose bowl seats?!? just kiddin..what a sweet hookup! although my kids wouldn't have lasted, I still would have loved to sit there!

and I love your bangs!! makes me more motivated to call and make a hair appointment

megan said...

fun fun celebrations! I have some friends that have been to ugly sweater parties, but I have yet to participate...sounds fun though! although i didn't know the first game that you mentioned

ya mean you didn't refuse free rose bowl seats?!? just kiddin..what a sweet hookup! although my kids wouldn't have lasted, I still would have loved to sit there!

and I love your bangs!! makes me more motivated to call and make a hair appointment

sachia said...

You seriously rocked the sweater party. Hope you guys won, way cool family! Love that everyone was involved and actually participated! I can't wait to see your new camera so we can compare! I love my Nikon big time. It's so fun. Your new camera is taking mighty good photos though!!!!

Michaela said...

You guys sure know how to party! Looks like you guys had a lot of fun! :)

Camille said...

New Years was so fun. Thanks for wearing your great outfits!! You were hilarious. Sorry we didn't do prizes. But like I said....you would have won! I'm glad you guys came down so much for the week. The rose parade looks like it was fun. I want to go sometime. I like that paparazzi pic you took of Mere and Lucy.

the bates motel said...

nice recap. fun times. i stole a couple of pics. the parade pics are fun too!