Sarah, Eric and Olivia join us to welcome in 2005. The kids are very excited to have their little cousin visit. They had a grand time playing with her. She enjoyed her cousins and especially their toys. And everyone enjoyed the food.

On the menu was our usual New Year’s Eve dinner—crab legs. Last year we had the fortune of benefitting from Boppy’s forgetfulness. He had forgotten crab legs at home. This year we had to buy our own, which we got from Gibby’s in Cockeysville. We must visit them again as they have the right combination of quality and price (high and reasonable).

The crab was excellent. Especially when it was hot out of the oven. Our son had a little. Our daughter had a lot (two legs on her own). She was a little disappointed that we were not having steamed crabs, but her disappointment was short lived.

After dinner (and a quick dessert for the kids), we gave them all a bath. The baby went down first, then the older kids. The three cousins had a ball in the bath. There was much splashing. After a quick bedtime story, the kids were down for the night.

Another of our New Year’s Eve traditions is a couple rounds of Simpson’s Clue. The men did not do nearly as well this year—not winning a single game. They more than made up for the poor showing in Simpson’s Clue with a masterful effort in spades, winning by a 100 points or so.

We went through four bottles of champagne/sparkling wine as the evening wore on. It was mostly Chris and Eric who were responsible for this consumption—Sarah drove home after spades and Robin can not drink more than a couple glasses.

It is certain to be one heck of a New Year’s Day for the men, but, all in all, tonight was a fine way to welcome 2005.

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