New Year's Eve 2011

New Year's Eve was an exciting day, because Matthew killed his first deer that morning.  He and my Dad had been hunting all week long, and Matthew finally got his buck on Saturday morning.  I'm not crazy about the idea of killing harmless animals, but I knew it was exciting for Matthew, so I told him I was excited for him, but sad for the deer.  It was important to him, so it was important to me.  My only request was that he not insist that we hang any dead animals in our home.  He obliged, so all is well.  Here are some pictures that my Dad took, just a few minutes after Matthew found his deer.......

Apparently, it's tradition that after killing your first deer, the other guys smear blood on your face.  GROSS.

Earlier that week, my Dad also killed a deer that he was proud of.  So, I dressed Kyndall in her best camo and decided to have a little photo shoot with the three of them, including their "trophies"......

Later that night, Kelly and Michael came over and we had a fun night of pizza, junk food, games, a warm fire, raw oysters (for some), and sparkling grape juice to bring in the new year!

Sleepy girl tried to hang with the big people, but she crashed pretty early

My little dental hygiene prodigy =)

By the time midnight rolled around, this is how we ALL felt!

New Year's Eve 2010:





New Year's Eve 2011:

2011 was a great year for us and I can only hope that 2012 proves to be just as wonderful!  We are blessed beyond anything we could ever ask, and we're looking forward to seeing what 2012 has in store for our little family!