You know it's a good party

when the boss ends up wearing a sombrero.

Seriously, I feel very strongly about the importance of party hats. That's one of the reasons I love New Year's Eve... lots of fun party hats.

Oh man, somehow I got roped into being on the party committee at my work, and it is a lifetime appointment! So while the parties are a lot of fun, they are also a ton of work. Fortunately the head of the committee (to the right in that picture) is an expert and always manages to pull everything together.

The most incredibly fun part is the annual kick-ball game. Not only is it fun to have adults and kids playing kick-ball (quite competitively, I must add), but we have a lot of faculty & postdocs from countries were kick-ball is not a common school-yard activity. We've had people running to the wrong base, not running at all, not at all sure what to do with the ball when they get it - its great.

We couldn't have a fiesta without a pinata... but this was the pinata that would not die.

First we let all the kids line up, put on the blindfold and take one whack each. They whacked off one leg, than the other, then the back two, then the head... and it still wouldn't crack! By the end, the blind folds were off, and we were letting them take a few swings each. Finally someone knocked the whole thing off the string... but it still didn't break! So I picked it up and ripped it to pieces. =) Whatever it takes to get the candy - that's how I roll.