New Year’s Eve 2018-2019

2018-12-31Finnur's family, New Year's Eve, Us Standard

[Photos taken on 31 December 2018 – 01 January 2019, posted online 08 July 2019. As this is being written, we’re formally on summer holiday, yay!]

New Year’s Eve was a customary one, with us hanging out with Finnur’s family at their big party. (I just checked, and apparently I spent the day blogging about Bjarki’s 11 year old party, which is funny as we just celebrated his 12th yesterday!)

The evening was fun as always, and all talk of fireworks being a silly waste of money drowned in a shower of fireworks…! (45-ish images total)

Anna writing in the new year!
The hosts, and the packed table, which was organized-potluck style this year.
Emma found a fun hat.
Hungry yet?
Dinner served!
I’m a sucker for firework-shows, so I took off for my usual perch between two town-ships.
People in another car waiting for the organized fun to begin.
I walked out to this road bridge, hoping for a clear line of sight.
Aaaand go!
The bonfire in the valley visible down low.
A mess of red.
I walked back towards the car, before the next show began (in the other town) and noticed quite a few more cars had arrived.
From the second show.
A mess of yellow.
The red glowing orbs (which I think are technically emergency flares) always mark the end of each show.
Back on the other side, groups had been formed to figure out a puzzle game by The Game Master.
Boys at the drinks-station. This was the year where I wasn’t paying attention, and accidentally handed Bjarki a glass of bear, which he’s still laughing about.
Hard at work!
Excited Bjarki!
Puzzle solving still in progress.
Tickle,tickle!
The Game Master announces the results.
The happy victors.
Mine!
Our 13 santa clauses, dressed in the old style.
Everyone watching the annual comedy hour, which runs from 10:30pm – 11:30 pm every year.
Once the comedy hour was done, we went outside to light star-lights, and watch the crazy neighbors shoot up fireworks.
Emma figured she needed a santa hat.
The Master Firestarter with two off-springs.
Earlier that evening I’d seen a van driven into an empty lot below the row of houses. That van must have been packed to the gills with huge cakes, because the insanity just kept coming!
Pretty red light everywhere for a split second.
One more.
Finnur teaching Emma how to light fireworks.
You can tell how old the houses in Reykjavik are by how tall the trees are.
Perhaps my favorite fireworks image of the night.
Exciting!
The main fireworks enthusiasts in the family.
Explosions still going strong, even though it was past midnight at that point.
One of the attempts to write 2019 in light.
The hosts still standing at half past midnight!
Proof I was there. 🙂
Our last action before departing at 1 am was to shoot up this big sucker!
Wheee!!
At home, we put the kids to be as quickly as we could, and I walked over to this ex-fireworks-cake-box that was on fire to move it a little so it would be less of a hazard. And thus 2019 began!