Country Goodness {No 2.}

     This past weekend was New Years Eve!! Whoop! We did have plans to go to Houston - my hometown - to a wine bar called "The Corkscrew" with some friends we went to college with and who are now some of our best friends! Unfortunately, I got extremely sick at work on Thursday. I mean I was literally doing a semen analysis and throwing up in a trash can pulled up next to me at the same time. Luckily, my later analysis cancelled so I was able to clock out, lay down, and wait for my fiance's secretary to pick me up from work. Yes his secretary picked me up from work. Being in Cleburne I have no family, no reliable friends, nothing. So yes his secretary. Feel sorry for me. :-)
     To make things worse my "holiday" to work was New Years Eve - so we were going to drive down after work, party, family sunday, drive home Monday. THEN Henry finds out he has to leave town for work, AGAIN, on Monday. So, a 5-hour drive to Houston would be pointless. PLAN B - HICO!
     My soon to be sister-in-law Audrey was in town with her fiance, Aaron, so she drove the hour and a half from Hico, where Henry's parents currently have a ranch, to pick me up Thursday and bring me back to Hico so I wouldn't be home alone all sick. This is also where we ended up spending our New Years Eve. :-) Which was amazing! I absolutely adore Henrys family - minus the old bully thief & Mickey Mouse character.
     First fun adventure: waking up to a deer being "processed" by Aaron and his son, Jake - and my dog gnawing on one of its chopped off legs! I mean I buy bones at Petco or PetSmart - but this one had fresh blood and fur still on the leg - and did I mention MY CITY-RAISED, CUDDLY, FUZZY-BUTT, BABY BOY was happily gnawing on it?? I mean I could hear the crunching and squishing! Then, Tux was running around after me with it in his mouth, grinning, like it was another one of his tennis balls or frisbees, saying "Play with me! Play with me!". Yuck! haha

Tux and his beloved gag deer leg

After I told Tux "drop it" so I could get a better photo of the deer leg

     Fun adventure number 2: Four wheeling in the dark with his family! I can't believe I never grew up with four-wheelers. Well, actually I can. Henry busted his nose open and had to have stitches - his sister Audrey hit her chin on the handles or something and split her chin open. I mean we are talking about having parents who wouldn't let me play soccer because "I would get bruised or brain damage". So of course I wouldn't have anything cool like a four-wheeler, much less any place to ride the dang thing.

With Henry's sister in the kitchen taking shots - Audrey hates this photo but too bad! I don't. :-)

     So, here we are 11 o'clock at night, Henry grabs me out of the kitchen, as I am taking shots with Audrey, to go four-wheeling. I love how well Henry drives a four-wheeler, kind of sexy! We hop on one, Aarons sister and her boyfriend hop on another, Henry's mom - yes his mom! She is a badass! - she hops on a third, then Henry's dad gets the "mule" with Aarons parents in front, and kids Alanna, Ariana, & Peyton in the back. We all take off through the property. Henry's mom is speeding past us! Then Aarons sister and bf are gaining on our butt - Henry whips through a path I didn't even know was there and comes out ahead of everyone! His mom yells, "Hey you cheated!" LOL We finally make it to the cow pasture and start racing full speed ahead - did I mention our four-wheeler only had the left brake BARELY working? - toward a pond I remember Henry shooting a lot of snakes in this past summer! Next thing I know we slide to stop right before the edge of the pond - Henry can be a real punk sometimes! Henry then takes off in the pasture along the line and decides to play his mom in a game of chicken that she wasn't aware of. Then off to the house we go! I am so sore! lol

Laying down with my two baby boys after lots of fun - Tux had to wrap his paws up because he spent so much time chasing four-wheelers on the rocky ground it ripped off a layer of his paw pads :-(

     Fun adventure number 3: Fireworks! Aaron bought a crap ton of fireworks that day so off we all went to a gravel pit to shoot off the fireworks, a safe distance from the house, with this drought we didn't want the house catching fire! The guys continue lighting fireworks, you get your "ooohs" "awwwws" followed by "burn out! burn out!" as the ashes scatter the ground - THEN Aaron whips out these things that he lights, waits a second, then tosses in the air towards us!!!!  Now the first round are fine, you can see where its going, run away, and it "blows up" "bursts" whatever you want to call it. THE SECOND ROUND was the scary round! These were different! Aaron lights them, waits a second, tosses it in the air towards us -same as before - only these don't land where you expect! They light up green in the air, then full speed zip towards the ground in a random direction and burst in a split second!!! We were screaming! I am pretty sure Henry's dad was getting rather angry at some point. One flew right between my legs and burst too! I would've been pissed had it ruined my new Miss Me jeans! But it was a fun adrenaline rush for all involved - especially when Aarons sister snuck up behind them with a hand full of the zipping fireworks and starting tossing them at Aaron to give him the same torture who was submitting us to. LOL Gotta love siblings!

Audrey caught in the sparks of a firework - it was extremely windy!

More firework sparks at the gravel pit or whatever they call it. :-)

    Even though it wasn't the New Years Eve adventure we had planned, it was a ton of fun! It was nice eating dinner with my in-law family, then waking up and having breakfast with everyone as well. It was a great way to end 2011 and to begin 2012 - surrounded by loved ones.