"Merry New Year!"

...as Madi would say.  New Year’s Eve seemed like the perfect occasion for something out of the ordinary this year. We wanted to do something low-key, but at the same time, we wanted to do something special and fun for the kids, too. So we settled on dinner out at a Japanese Hibachi restaurant.

It was everything we hoped for and more.  It was quite an entertaining dinner, and it was--by far--the best Charlie's behaved at a restaurant--probably because he was totally freaked out when the hibachi grill went up in flames. He instantly snuggled in very closely with Dada for protection.

 

The kids were clearly mesmerized by all of the activity, and the chef really connected with them. Madi loved that the chef decided that she should sample everything for the table. She felt so important.

We loved all of the tricks that included Daddy being hit in the cheek with a shrimp that was supposed to end up in his mouth (not), so on the third attempt, the chef made the shot.  Madi predicted the "onion volcano" when she saw it being constructed. We were pretty amazed that she caught on to that, having never seen it before. I guess we shouldn't be surprised by anything that child figures out...

After dinner, we spontaneously caught up with dear friends, the Wilson family, who we haven't spent enough time with lately. We passed by their house when we returned from dinner, and they joined us in the yard to release a Chinese lantern into the sky for good luck. It was so nice to catch up with them.

 We wish all of our family and friends a very
Merry New Year, and we pray that 2012
brings much happiness, peace, love,
good health, and prosperity to all of you!