Ringing in a New Year

Our final day of 2011 was spent wonderfully.  We slept in late, took our time getting ready, ate a very late lunch of sushi with my mom, and then as night descended the real party began.  Chris' Mom had a  house full of grand kids and earlier that day we had let her know that we would keep the kids entertained for the evening.  First up on the agenda was saying goodbye to 2011 in style.  Before we had left Alabama we had stocked up on fireworks.... BIG ones... the kind that give off a big BOOM and light up the sky in beautiful colored fountains.  And although the tips of our noses all the way down to our toes were burning from the cold we all had so much fun.  So much fun in fact, that at one point all the kids spontaneously started singing the National Anthem.  I guess fireworks will do that to you. 

After the firework show we all headed back for the next fun activity.  We played BINGO!....... lots and lots of BINGO.  

And then the time came to officially bid farewell to 2011.  Linda provided all the kids with a "noise maker" and poured the sparkling cider and then the countdown began.

After all the little ones were snug in their beds and fast asleep, Chris, Bo, Braden, and I decided to play one last game......  Monopoly.  We started playing around 1:00am and didn't end the game until about 4:30am.  The long day and late hour made us all pretty delirious, which made the game hilarious!

My favorite moment:  When Braden paid Bo rent by handing him a wad of one dollar bills and while he's handing it over he tells Bo that Bo owes him a $1.  I cried I was laughing so hard. 

Chris' favorite moment:  When he somehow talked Bo into paying him to take Bo's properties.  Classic.

This is our first picture taken in 2012.  Just a couple seconds after midnight.

2011 was quite the bumpy ride for Chris and I.  It had a lot of downs and it really wasn't until around the end that we finally found ourselves making the climb back up.  But lessons were learned and for that we are the better.  I can't say we will miss 2011 but it is one that we will most definitely remember. 

Christmas Roundup

We were crazy enough to make the 30 hour drive home again this Christmas.  I always have it in my head that the trip is going to be long and drawn out, which it totally could be, but when you have company as great as I do the trip is easy peasy and actually fun.  It is 30 hours of just me and the Mr. and almost zero interruptions.  The hours can go by fast when they are filled with laughing, reminiscing, day dreaming, junk food eating, reading, playing games, and whatever else we can think of that is limited to the inside of a car.  Take a road trip, we highly recommend them.

Our Christmas vacation was exactly what would be expected, it was filled with the 3 F's.... Family, Fun, and Food.  With our entire family in one town, it blesses us with the opportunity to have not just one Christmas but five Christmas'.  That's right folks..... 5.  I get exhausted just typing that number.  Needless to say our Christmas day is jam packed from the moment we rise to the time our heads hit the pillow at night. 

Christmas #1:

Since we celebrated this one early with my brother it really technically shouldn't count.  But I'm totally gonna be a rebel and count it.  I'm so bad.

Christmas #2:

After church and then a brief intermission at Chris' Mom's house we headed off to my Grandparents house.  Christmas just wouldn't be Christmas for me if I didn't go to my Grandpa and Grandma's.  They were suppose to be out of town, but with some unexpected surgeries they were sadly forced to stay home.  But being the total troopers they are and with the assistance of my aunt and Mom, they still managed to have a whole Christmas dinner and gift exchange.  Even though only a small portion of my family was able to attend we had a blast.  

 Twinkee is seriously the best present opener ever.  A true pro.

 Sisters.

One minute he's throwing me sexy model looks at the dessert table

and then the next minute I find him crashed on the couch.  Aren't they both so cute when they're all tuckered out?  I sure think so.

Christmas #3:

After Chris' power snooze, we found ourselves at Christmas #3.  Chris feels about his Grandma's in much the same way I feel about my Grandparents.  No holiday would be complete without seeing her and all the family who gather there.

We usually arrive just in time for the leftovers to be brought out and while munching on delicious shrimp salad, rolls, dips, homemade caramels, and whatever else may have found its way to the center of the table, we tell stories from the year and once again find laughter from stories of the past.

After everyone has their stomachs stuffed to full capacity once again, the table is cleared and a game of some sort is played.  This year we played dealer choice poker.  I had no idea there were so many poker variations, it was so much fun and I haven't laughed that hard in a long time.

   
Christmas #4:

Christmas night we found ourselves back at my Mom's to have an intimate little family get together with just the five of us.  It was a very strange thing not having my brother and his family there and although they were dearly missed we made the most of the situation and ended up having a great time.  I mean, how could you not?........  It's Christmas!

Christmas #5:

We had our final Christmas celebration with Chris' family on the 26th.  It was a day filled with so much fun.  We got to go sledding with the nieces and nephews, ate a yummy "Christmas" dinner, had a white elephant gift exchange, and just relaxed and enjoyed being with family.  Unfortunately, I left my camera in the car and when I brought it in to use, the lens was fogged up and I was too nervous to wipe it off in fear that I would scratch it.  So no pictures, I guess you will just have to take my word that it was a very memorable day.

Christmas Countdown

The start of this new year brought with it for me a huge feeling of being overwhelmed.  The next few months are so packed full of personal opportunities and professional obligations that I'm struggling to figure out how it's all going to fit together.  And that's when I slowly inhale then exhale and remember to take it one step and a time.

So, as I work towards marking this blog off my to- do- list I will simply start where I left off.  Enjoy.

Our countdown to Christmas was in full swing.  After the company party we were left with about a week and a half to get the rest of our traditions in before we were set to embark on our journey home.  And then out of nowhere I. GOT. SICK.  It was awful.  The whole week could have been a dud. Except for the one day where Chris forced me to stay in bed, I managed to drag myself around in a haze and slowly cross items from my Christmas to- do- list.  

All the presents were bought and wrapped (a first for us), the cards were sent out, we shopped for our "Angel" and hoped he had as much fun with what we got him as we had finding it for him, we started watching our favorite Christmas movies (the above, shows me crossing two items off my list at once),

we listened to Christmas music nonstop, made delicious Christmas sugar cookies (I warned all who ate them they may be contaminated with my sickness and to eat at their own risk),

visited Bellingrath Gardens to take in all the light displays, 

and had Christmas #1 with my brother and his family since we were both headed in opposite directions of the country for the holidays.  We celebrated with a delicious dinner, a gift exchange, and topped the evening off with another Christmas movie.

Our spirits were high.  With the conclusion of this week we were all set to drive home for 2 full weeks of Christmas fun.

Party Time

The next task at hand was getting the preparations for the company Christmas party completed.  I can honestly say that besides placing a food order for the catering and making the party invitations, I was zero help in making this party come together.  The whole effort and success of the party goes to Chris.  He did it all.  He wanted something fun, where people could laugh and relax and not be too serious, so he decided to have a casino night and managed to pull it all together.  We had a white elephant gift exchange, a "Dundie"award ceremony, and throughout the night prizes were given out.  We ensured that nobody left empty handed.  The casino portion consisted of 3 tables, a roulette, a black jack, and a poker table.  Each person was given the same amount of chips and given one hour to get their pot as big as they could.  If they happened to lose all their chips they had to do something embarrassing in order to get back in (fyi- watching grown men do kart wheels is hilarious).  At the end of the hour first, second, and third place winners were awarded with gift cards.

All the time and energy that went into this night was worth it.  The evening was a blast!  Chris got so many compliments on how it was the best company party they had ever been to.  Needless to say I was pretty proud of him.  He knows how to throw quite the party.

The office transformed.

Chris announcing some winners.

Casey enjoying himself and proving you are never too old for bunny ears.

Slumber Party

As we considered ways to bring the Spirit of Christmas into our home we knew we needed a kid...... so we borrowed one.  And the lucky kid was Mya of course.  We planned on a little sleepover and while she was here we talked about what she wanted from Santa, listened to Christmas songs, ate dinner and played with the new toy from her meal, watched as she decorated a ginger bread house for the center of my table, devoured a big bowl of ice cream, and right before bed we watched the Mickey Mouse Christmas Carol dvd that I had recently purchased.  Chris and I love it because it takes us back to our childhoods and it was fun to be able to introduce Mya to it.  This dvd has 4 short stories on it, one of them is call "Small One".  Have you seen it?  I never had and either had Chris, but it is so good for a Christmas cartoon, I was in tears.  I mean I was actually sobbing.  It had such a good story line.  Chris couldn't help laughing at me and Mya was so confused as to why I was crying.  But anyway......  She seemed to enjoy the stories because as soon as it was over she requested to watch it again.  

She threw a fit when she had to go home the next day, so I am taking that as a great sign that the sleep over was a success.  

Oh Christmas Tree

The Saturday after Thanksgiving was our official kickoff in our attempts at squeezing all of our Christmas traditions in before our journey home.  It didn't leave much time considering I was overloaded with church obligations and Chris with work obligations, but none the less we dove in head first and have had a blast celebrating Christmas here.

My excitement for putting up a tree was high, considering all of my Christmas decorations are still in a storage unit in Idaho, but I knew what it felt like to go without a tree and refused to let that happen again no matter what.  So off we went and loaded our arms with balls, gift tags (that I would convert into ornaments), lights, and ribbon.  The next stop was Lowes, where we found the cutest little 5 footer.  We took it all home, set up the tree, strung up the lights, and as I looked around at our sad little collection of ornaments I knew it was missing something.  It was missing that something that takes a tree from just any ordinary tree to "your" tree.  And so I pondered and thought and pondered some more and finally it came to me.....  I asked Chris to pop me some popcorn, I grabbed the needle and thread, put on a Christmas movie, hunkered down on the couch and off we set to make our popcorn garland.

The pictures are awful.  The only reason I am putting them on here is to show proof that Chris and I strung each one, it was a little tedious, but Chris once again proved that he is amazing at the most unexpected tasks.  If he was in a race to string popcorn he would win hands down.  He is so speedy. Me..... not so much, I am way too much of a perfectionist.

But boy was I right about the garland.  It was exactly what the tree needed.  Chris even commented that he really liked the tree this year and so do I.  So even without all our sentimental ornaments the tree still shined.

I'm totally smitten with the popcorn garland.  

Burrup Family Christmas Tree 2011