With the FRIGID winter temperatures and dark days, it seems so easy to just stay at home and cuddle up with a cup of coffee, a heated blanket, and movies, doesn’t it? That is what I like to do during the week when I get some free time and even on Friday evenings. It’s sort of like “me” time to relax and not think about school what-so-ever. When Saturday comes though, I am ready to go, go, go. I don’t care if Ryan and I go look at furniture, go to Target, or go on a dinner date—I DON’T want to stay home! Then, once Sunday comes, I DON’T want to leave the house..sounds crazy, right?
Well that little peek into my life describes my typical weekend; this weekend included. Friday evening I literally came home from school, put on some sweats, and started writing lesson plans for NEXT week. After doing that for a few hours, I moseyed around the house sipping on coffee and trying to convince myself 9:30 was entirely too early to go to bed on a Friday. By the time midnight hit, staying awake was no longer an option so I cuddled up the girls and fell asleep!
Saturday, like always, Ryan and I had a big day planned. I got up bright and early that day and did some things around the house while he slept. When I decided he had gotten enough sleep, I started getting ready for the day and then woke up him up to get him going! We then headed to Des Moines. We spent the ENTIRE day shopping and looking for things. We literally went to SO many different places it was crazy. I wish they were all connected, but of course they are not, so every time we had to get out of the car I was cursing myself for wanting to stop there! It was so, so, so, cold—I think around 0 degrees!
So after going every where that wasn’t in the mall, we finally made our way to the mall. It was crowded and a bit chaotic but we got everything we needed plus some. Ryan even reminded me on my way in that I had gift cards to Victoria’s Secret that I totally had forgotten about—what a pleasant surprise! It was a pretty successful day of shopping besides the fact that I am a ditz and wore my TALL zip-up boots when I wanted to look for new shoes! If you are a female, you know just how much of a pain these are to get your jeans tucked into and zipped up just right, so it is NOT convenient in any sense of the word to wear them when you are going shoe shopping!
So we passed on that, momentarily.
For that evening, we had made plans with my cousin Kari and her boyfriend Danny to go get dinner and drinks. Kari is leaving for London in 2 weeks (from Saturday) and wanted to see us before she left as she won’t be home until the middle of April. We had decided Texas Roadhouse would be good (Ryan’s favorite) but couldn’t get through on the phone. When I finally got through, literally like an hour later, they told us 100 minutes wait—paaalease. We obviously x’d that idea, and after much debating, decided On the Border (a Mexican restaurant by Jordan Creek) would be a good choice. Ryan and I got there first and had to stand with a beeper in a room full of people packed like sardines! It was craziness. After waiting for what seemed like forever, we finally got a table. The restaurant was like the mall..crowded, a bit chaotic, and less than pleasing BUT our company was fantastic! Danny and Kari are a spitting image of Ryan and I’s relationship—if you can imagine that, so we get along well We drank some margaritas and chatted for quite some time. After a couple hours Ryan and I thought we should get going because we were going to see a movie. It was wonderful to see them again and I can’t wait to hang out again when she gets back from London….AND of course, hear all her stories!
Ryan and I headed over to the movies, only to find out it didn’t start for over an hour! With that, we decided I could probably break down and go shoe shopping so we headed to DSW. After wrestling around with my boots, having 5 people ask if I needed help, and not finding anything worth buying, I walked out with nothing and went back to the movies haha.
We ended the night by getting Starbucks and seeing “No Strings Attached”—which I’ve wanted to see since the previews in like August! It was, hands down, one of the best/funniest movies I’ve seen in awhile. Sure, it looks like a total chick flick but it was truly funny and Ryan even enjoyed it! So cute!! We ended up getting home late that evening and of course felt bad the girls had been in the kitchen all day but it was definitely the PERFECT day, with the perfect people!
ps-Unfortunately, I didn't take ANY pictures from the day, sorry for the lack of color on this post :)
And, like always, an adorable quote from the movie…
You make my heart have premature ventricular contractions.
What?
You make my heart skip a beat.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
...ALWAYS PLAYING "CATCH UP".
It has been awhile since I have posted on here but fortunately, nothing much has changed around here! No news is good news, right?!
We are now into our 4th week of the semester at school and it is going great so far. Of course, the snow has been less than pleasing (and caused a cancellation and a delay already) but there is nothing I can do about that so there is no use in complaining! I haven’t had much going on after school (I get home around 4:30) but starting this week we will have meetings every Tuesday, so that is kind of a bummer. Besides that, it’s the same old, same old—this holds true for Ryan as well.
The girls lives haven’t changed much either in the last couple weeks, as you can imagine. I’m pretty sure they are convinced they are on house arrest though. We hardly take them anywhere when it is this cold and with Ryan and my hours being so different, they spend their entire day in hibernation it seems! While in Des Moines yesterday, we went to look at a fence for them for the backyard but didn’t end up buying anything after looking for nearly an hour. We are going to measure everything and see what actually needs fenced in before we make any purchase. So that’s that.
I hope everybody is off to a wonderful semester/new year/week/etc!
We are now into our 4th week of the semester at school and it is going great so far. Of course, the snow has been less than pleasing (and caused a cancellation and a delay already) but there is nothing I can do about that so there is no use in complaining! I haven’t had much going on after school (I get home around 4:30) but starting this week we will have meetings every Tuesday, so that is kind of a bummer. Besides that, it’s the same old, same old—this holds true for Ryan as well.
The girls lives haven’t changed much either in the last couple weeks, as you can imagine. I’m pretty sure they are convinced they are on house arrest though. We hardly take them anywhere when it is this cold and with Ryan and my hours being so different, they spend their entire day in hibernation it seems! While in Des Moines yesterday, we went to look at a fence for them for the backyard but didn’t end up buying anything after looking for nearly an hour. We are going to measure everything and see what actually needs fenced in before we make any purchase. So that’s that.
I hope everybody is off to a wonderful semester/new year/week/etc!
Sunday, January 9, 2011
...I LOOOOVE MUSIC!!
I have yet ANOTHER song for you all to listen to! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Darius Rucker as a country singer; his voice is unique and his songs are not "typical" country music. I heard this song on the radio awhile back and have fallen in love with it..it is so true, isn't it?
Darius Rucker
"This"
Got a baby girl sleeping in my bedroom
And her mama laughing in my arms
There's the sound of rain on the rooftop
And the game's about to start
I don't really know how I got here
But I'm so glad that I did
And it's crazy to think that one little thing
Could've changed all of it
Maybe it didn't turn out like I planned
Maybe that's why I'm such, such a lucky man
For every stoplight I didn't make
Every chance I did or I didn't take
All the nights I went too far
All the girls that broke my heart
All the doors that I had to close
All the things I knew but I didn't know
Thank God for all I missed
Cause it led me here to
This
Like the girl that I loved in high school
Who said she could do better
Or that college I wanted to go to
'Til I got that letter
All the fights and the tears and the heartache
I thought I'd never get through
And the moment I almost gave up
All lead me here to you
I didn't understand it way back when
But sitting here right now it all makes perfect sense
For every stoplight I didn't make
Every chance I did or I didn't take
All the nights I went too far
All the girls that broke my heart
All the doors that I had to close
All the things I knew but I didn't know
Thank God for all I missed
Cause it led me here to
This
How I cried when my mama passed away
But now I've got an angel looking out for me today
So nothing's a mistake
For every stoplight I didn't make
Every chance I did or I didn't take
All the nights I went too far
All the girls that broke my heart
All the doors that I had to close
All the things I knew but I didn't know
Thank God for all I missed
Cause it led me here to
This
It led me here to
This
Darius Rucker
"This"
Got a baby girl sleeping in my bedroom
And her mama laughing in my arms
There's the sound of rain on the rooftop
And the game's about to start
I don't really know how I got here
But I'm so glad that I did
And it's crazy to think that one little thing
Could've changed all of it
Maybe it didn't turn out like I planned
Maybe that's why I'm such, such a lucky man
For every stoplight I didn't make
Every chance I did or I didn't take
All the nights I went too far
All the girls that broke my heart
All the doors that I had to close
All the things I knew but I didn't know
Thank God for all I missed
Cause it led me here to
This
Like the girl that I loved in high school
Who said she could do better
Or that college I wanted to go to
'Til I got that letter
All the fights and the tears and the heartache
I thought I'd never get through
And the moment I almost gave up
All lead me here to you
I didn't understand it way back when
But sitting here right now it all makes perfect sense
For every stoplight I didn't make
Every chance I did or I didn't take
All the nights I went too far
All the girls that broke my heart
All the doors that I had to close
All the things I knew but I didn't know
Thank God for all I missed
Cause it led me here to
This
How I cried when my mama passed away
But now I've got an angel looking out for me today
So nothing's a mistake
For every stoplight I didn't make
Every chance I did or I didn't take
All the nights I went too far
All the girls that broke my heart
All the doors that I had to close
All the things I knew but I didn't know
Thank God for all I missed
Cause it led me here to
This
It led me here to
This
...FINISHING UP CHRISTMAS BLOGGING.
I know you guys are soooo over Christmas (me too!!) and if you aren't, you should be!! BUT I figured I should finish up telling you about Christmas and posting what pictures I did take.
For the last few years, Ryan and I have spent Christmas Eve with my family, then Christmas day with his family. That is exactly what we did again this year.
Christmas Eve was spent with my family eating dinner, opening up gifts, and chatting. Ordinarily we play games after opening up gifts (things get pretty intense!) but we sort of had a sad moment instead when it came that time…my sister couldn’t make it home this year. As most of you know, she moved out to Wyoming with her husband a few months ago. She got a job working in the financial aid office at the college there, only leaving her a few vacation days for her first year. So, planning ahead, she took off just a couple days before Christmas and a couple days after with hopes on being home for nearly a week. Well..as it turns out..Wyoming’s weather isn’t quite as pleasant as she had planned. They got a terrible snow storm the night before they were supposed to leave and they were basically trapped up on the mountain! They closed the road to get down even. So, with that, they were planning to leave a day or two later when things got a little better..well, long story short, it just got worse and she ended up not being able to come home. So, unfortunately, our Christmas was slightly different than before BUT we still celebrated and those of us that were here had a good time. I told told Abi that mom said I could have all of her gifts since she wasn't there to open them..hahah sisterly love.
The following day Ryan, the girls, and I got up and headed out to his parents. We had to do sort of a “day time” Christmas there because of everybody’s schedules, but we still had lunch and had time to open presents. The house was crowded and a bit chaotic but hey—that’s what Christmas is all about, right?! After spending a few hours at Ryan’s parents with his siblings, parents, and grandparents, we headed back into town to go to my Grandma’s. We were a little later than most, but there were still plenty of people there. After staying there awhile we were ready to get home! We were tired from the night before, full from all the food, and ready to get home and RELAX. That night I basically cleaned up the house, put away all of our gifts, and watched television. It was the perfect ending to the holiday!!
As for my FAVORITE gift?! I hope you all get a laugh out of this…a Taylor Swift CD…YES, a $9 dollar stocking stuffer was my absolute favorite! I have had it blasting over my speakers in my car every day since and have not yet gotten tired of it..now THAT is the perfect Christmas present—thank you Santa.
I hope you ALL had wonderful holidays and got to spend time with the ones you love!! Here are a couple pictures that made me laugh :)
Ryan's family on the couch..Bob, Curt, Brody, Sarah and baby girl..she's hiding in Sarah's belly :)
Curt was "flexing" his muscles! haha
All the green presents you see are to Brody from Ryan and I..whoa. We MAY have went overboard!
Bella Luella up close and personal
Brody wanted a suitcase sooooo bad and then when he got it, he was less than impressed. He did, however, enjoy using it as a stand to hold up his drums :)
For the last few years, Ryan and I have spent Christmas Eve with my family, then Christmas day with his family. That is exactly what we did again this year.
Christmas Eve was spent with my family eating dinner, opening up gifts, and chatting. Ordinarily we play games after opening up gifts (things get pretty intense!) but we sort of had a sad moment instead when it came that time…my sister couldn’t make it home this year. As most of you know, she moved out to Wyoming with her husband a few months ago. She got a job working in the financial aid office at the college there, only leaving her a few vacation days for her first year. So, planning ahead, she took off just a couple days before Christmas and a couple days after with hopes on being home for nearly a week. Well..as it turns out..Wyoming’s weather isn’t quite as pleasant as she had planned. They got a terrible snow storm the night before they were supposed to leave and they were basically trapped up on the mountain! They closed the road to get down even. So, with that, they were planning to leave a day or two later when things got a little better..well, long story short, it just got worse and she ended up not being able to come home. So, unfortunately, our Christmas was slightly different than before BUT we still celebrated and those of us that were here had a good time. I told told Abi that mom said I could have all of her gifts since she wasn't there to open them..hahah sisterly love.
The following day Ryan, the girls, and I got up and headed out to his parents. We had to do sort of a “day time” Christmas there because of everybody’s schedules, but we still had lunch and had time to open presents. The house was crowded and a bit chaotic but hey—that’s what Christmas is all about, right?! After spending a few hours at Ryan’s parents with his siblings, parents, and grandparents, we headed back into town to go to my Grandma’s. We were a little later than most, but there were still plenty of people there. After staying there awhile we were ready to get home! We were tired from the night before, full from all the food, and ready to get home and RELAX. That night I basically cleaned up the house, put away all of our gifts, and watched television. It was the perfect ending to the holiday!!
As for my FAVORITE gift?! I hope you all get a laugh out of this…a Taylor Swift CD…YES, a $9 dollar stocking stuffer was my absolute favorite! I have had it blasting over my speakers in my car every day since and have not yet gotten tired of it..now THAT is the perfect Christmas present—thank you Santa.
I hope you ALL had wonderful holidays and got to spend time with the ones you love!! Here are a couple pictures that made me laugh :)
Ryan's family on the couch..Bob, Curt, Brody, Sarah and baby girl..she's hiding in Sarah's belly :)
Curt was "flexing" his muscles! haha
All the green presents you see are to Brody from Ryan and I..whoa. We MAY have went overboard!
Bella Luella up close and personal
Brody wanted a suitcase sooooo bad and then when he got it, he was less than impressed. He did, however, enjoy using it as a stand to hold up his drums :)
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
...BLESSED TO HAVE SUCH A WONDERFUL FAMILY...
So , after decorating for the holiday and tracking down gifts for everyone, I was SO excited for our first Christmas of the season. What made it even more exciting, was the fact that it was the Christmas with all my cousins!! These are all the cousins on my dad’s side of the family, and the ones I am the closest with. We all grew up together and it is so fun when we all get together, it is just like old times! We literally laugh and laugh and laugh like little children!
We had been looking forward to this Christmas since fall and planning it for quite some time. We decided as kind of a “getaway” we should all go somewhere and stay together in one house so we ended up going to the Ozarks and staying there. Of course it is a little bit of a drive (about 4.5 hours) but it was well worth it. We all piled into cars and headed down there the weekend which was the end to many of our finals weeks, or beginning of Christmas break for the teachers.
Our car (6 of us) was the first to arrive and once we got down there we were pretty tired. We literally all went into our rooms and laid down to nap. After a few hours, several of the others showed up and kind of got everybody up and rolling. We all started to shower and get ready for the evening. We were only missing Ashlee and her family and we knew they wouldn’t get there until later that evening because they couldn’t leave Omaha until 3pm. After we all showered and everybody razzed me about taking so long (in my own defense, I honestly did not know they were waiting on ME) we decided to head out to dinner. We had no plans on where to eat, we just figured we’d drive around until we found something that everyone agreed on. Only a short distance from the house we found a little Italian restaurant that had pasta, pizza, etc. We decided that would work and headed on in. We all crowded around a table, ate, talked, and joked with one another. Of course, dinner wouldn’t be complete without a few drinks!
After dinner, ALL of us headed to the grocery store. We didn’t bring groceries with us, or even a cooler for that matter, because we were already so crammed so we knew we needed to go that night. We bought food for the morning, snacks, and drinks for that night and then headed back home. Once we got back home, with our bellys full, we all sat around and had some drinks and chatted. Scott, Ashlee, and Faye finally arrived and then we were all together! We literally sat around that night and chatted, drank, danced and played games for hours --- it was soooo much fun!! Oh, and of course the all-through-the-house sound system for music was the best idea EVER. We ended up staying up entirely too late but it was well worth it and we had tons of fun.
The next morning, Uncle Rod and Tracey had gotten up and cooked us biscuits and gravy for breakfast. Besides that, we all kind of laid around watching tv and “recovering” as Ashlee put it. I don’t think anyone was actually dressed before 1pm! Then, a few of the girls decided they wanted to go shopping. I don’t know if you’ll believe this or not, but I decided NOT to go. I know, I know, not my style. Anyway, Vin had fallen asleep for a nap, little Faye was sleeping as well, Ryan was lounging around, and I decided to hop in the shower. Ashlee had asked if she cared if we left Faye and of course I said no so they all took off. Us four spent the afternoon lounging around some more and watching Spongebob with Faye.
When everybody arrived back home a few hours later we decided to cook dinner. Everybody had agreed on a taco bar style meal so that’s what we did. Mostly everyone pitched in and cooked a few things and we had tacos, beans, rice, salad, etc. It was delish! After dinner and cleanup, it was time for the gift exchange. We were all SO excited to see what everybody had gotten each other. Everybody got such cute things and things they had asked for (everybody has to name several things they want so they don’t end up with junk they don’t want) except for Kelli and Kari. To give you a little history, ever since we were little kids, Kelli and Kari have LOVED pickles and pickle juice. People think I am crazy for drinking straight pickle juice but they have no idea my whole family does it!! Haha. Anyway, as strange as it worked out, Scott had Kelli and Ashlee had Kari, so Ashlee had bought them both bags full of those huge individual dill pickles—you know those ones they sell at movie stores or gas stations?! Hahahah. Their bags were so heavy, and as everybody was opening their gifts, one at a time, and getting stuff from Victoria’s Secret and Scheel’s you could tell they were expecting something good.
Then, finally, it was their turn. They both opened up their bags and had the WORST looks on their faces. Then, they both put on a (fake) smile and said thanks as they put their pickles back in their bags. I knew what Ashlee was doing so of course I found it even funnier. I asked Kari what they got and she said “pickles” and pulled one up and had THE WORST look on her face hahahah it is making me laugh out loud just thinking about it. Everybody laughed and thought it was funny and you could tell they were disappointed. Then, finally, Ashlee surprised them and said it was just a joke and gave them their real gifts lol. They had such a look of relief and both admitted they were a little let down. Kelli said “I knew she asked Audrie what we wanted and that’s the best she came up with?!” hahah oh goodness it still makes me laugh!
After the gift exchange, we all cuddled up on the couches and watched a couple movies before some headed off to bed. The rest of us stayed awake awhile talking and hanging out and then headed to bed as well, knowing we had to get up early the next day. It was the perfect end to a perfect weekend!
I cannot express how truly blessed I am to have such wonderful cousins/aunts/uncles. Though we may not see each other all the time, and though we are all getting older and starting our “own” lives, it is so important that we stay in contact and still celebrate certain things together, otherwise, it will be gone forever!
We had so much fun together over the weekend; got to celebrate Christmas, and act like children again—how often do you get to do that with the people you love?! As I’ve said before, I can only hope my children will be as close with their cousins as we all are, it is truly a blessing to have all of them! I certainly look forward to Christmas with you all next year, and for a few of us, 4th of July as well!!
Kelli and her boyfriend Nate bright and early in the car on the way down there. NOBODY wanted me to take their pic because everybody was in sweats with no makeup but I took them anyway :)
Vinny in the far back on the way down there
All of us at dinner
Another dinner shot
Little Faye in our room telling us all about her little animal named "Cupcake Davis" :) So cute!
Trying to get an all girls picture
and again...
We all looooove to talk! This must have been a pretty intense convo!
Kari and I
Kari and her boyfriend Danny
Scott cooking dinner--what a chef :)
Oh goodness. Here is Ryan playing with Faye. I cannot even BEGIN to tell you how much these two played and messed around. Ashlee said she was surprised Faye liked him so much because normally she is shy around men but she was literally his bestie in only an hour or so!
Here they are again..I think he was throwing her around here (eeeek :S )
Ashlee and Kari
The girls again
Faye running to get the presents--she was our little elf :) She was running so fast her hair was flying behind her haha
Tracy
Kelli and Nate eating dinner
Isn't she the sweetest little pumpkin?!
Scott cooking dinner again
Kari opening her pickles! hahah
Faye opening her gifts from Ryan and I
again...
and again...
Faye running to get the presents still..almost all delivered by this point
Everybody laughing about the pickles
Kelli posing with her "Christmas gift" :)
One of Faye's gifts from Ryan and I was a Build-a-Bear set that was a bear dressed with cheerleading clothes. It came with the heart, stuffing, needle, thread and everything like that so she could build it right there and that is what her and Kelli are doing here.
She was so happy about it!! I was so glad she liked it and Ashlee told me that next week that she hadn't left her side!
Guess what she named her? Heart Flower :) It was so cute--the dress came with lots of fabric stickers you could stick on there and the picture on the box had like two stickers on the dress. Of course, Faye went nuts and flooded the bear's dress with stickers hahah it was so cute!
We had been looking forward to this Christmas since fall and planning it for quite some time. We decided as kind of a “getaway” we should all go somewhere and stay together in one house so we ended up going to the Ozarks and staying there. Of course it is a little bit of a drive (about 4.5 hours) but it was well worth it. We all piled into cars and headed down there the weekend which was the end to many of our finals weeks, or beginning of Christmas break for the teachers.
Our car (6 of us) was the first to arrive and once we got down there we were pretty tired. We literally all went into our rooms and laid down to nap. After a few hours, several of the others showed up and kind of got everybody up and rolling. We all started to shower and get ready for the evening. We were only missing Ashlee and her family and we knew they wouldn’t get there until later that evening because they couldn’t leave Omaha until 3pm. After we all showered and everybody razzed me about taking so long (in my own defense, I honestly did not know they were waiting on ME) we decided to head out to dinner. We had no plans on where to eat, we just figured we’d drive around until we found something that everyone agreed on. Only a short distance from the house we found a little Italian restaurant that had pasta, pizza, etc. We decided that would work and headed on in. We all crowded around a table, ate, talked, and joked with one another. Of course, dinner wouldn’t be complete without a few drinks!
After dinner, ALL of us headed to the grocery store. We didn’t bring groceries with us, or even a cooler for that matter, because we were already so crammed so we knew we needed to go that night. We bought food for the morning, snacks, and drinks for that night and then headed back home. Once we got back home, with our bellys full, we all sat around and had some drinks and chatted. Scott, Ashlee, and Faye finally arrived and then we were all together! We literally sat around that night and chatted, drank, danced and played games for hours --- it was soooo much fun!! Oh, and of course the all-through-the-house sound system for music was the best idea EVER. We ended up staying up entirely too late but it was well worth it and we had tons of fun.
The next morning, Uncle Rod and Tracey had gotten up and cooked us biscuits and gravy for breakfast. Besides that, we all kind of laid around watching tv and “recovering” as Ashlee put it. I don’t think anyone was actually dressed before 1pm! Then, a few of the girls decided they wanted to go shopping. I don’t know if you’ll believe this or not, but I decided NOT to go. I know, I know, not my style. Anyway, Vin had fallen asleep for a nap, little Faye was sleeping as well, Ryan was lounging around, and I decided to hop in the shower. Ashlee had asked if she cared if we left Faye and of course I said no so they all took off. Us four spent the afternoon lounging around some more and watching Spongebob with Faye.
When everybody arrived back home a few hours later we decided to cook dinner. Everybody had agreed on a taco bar style meal so that’s what we did. Mostly everyone pitched in and cooked a few things and we had tacos, beans, rice, salad, etc. It was delish! After dinner and cleanup, it was time for the gift exchange. We were all SO excited to see what everybody had gotten each other. Everybody got such cute things and things they had asked for (everybody has to name several things they want so they don’t end up with junk they don’t want) except for Kelli and Kari. To give you a little history, ever since we were little kids, Kelli and Kari have LOVED pickles and pickle juice. People think I am crazy for drinking straight pickle juice but they have no idea my whole family does it!! Haha. Anyway, as strange as it worked out, Scott had Kelli and Ashlee had Kari, so Ashlee had bought them both bags full of those huge individual dill pickles—you know those ones they sell at movie stores or gas stations?! Hahahah. Their bags were so heavy, and as everybody was opening their gifts, one at a time, and getting stuff from Victoria’s Secret and Scheel’s you could tell they were expecting something good.
Then, finally, it was their turn. They both opened up their bags and had the WORST looks on their faces. Then, they both put on a (fake) smile and said thanks as they put their pickles back in their bags. I knew what Ashlee was doing so of course I found it even funnier. I asked Kari what they got and she said “pickles” and pulled one up and had THE WORST look on her face hahahah it is making me laugh out loud just thinking about it. Everybody laughed and thought it was funny and you could tell they were disappointed. Then, finally, Ashlee surprised them and said it was just a joke and gave them their real gifts lol. They had such a look of relief and both admitted they were a little let down. Kelli said “I knew she asked Audrie what we wanted and that’s the best she came up with?!” hahah oh goodness it still makes me laugh!
After the gift exchange, we all cuddled up on the couches and watched a couple movies before some headed off to bed. The rest of us stayed awake awhile talking and hanging out and then headed to bed as well, knowing we had to get up early the next day. It was the perfect end to a perfect weekend!
I cannot express how truly blessed I am to have such wonderful cousins/aunts/uncles. Though we may not see each other all the time, and though we are all getting older and starting our “own” lives, it is so important that we stay in contact and still celebrate certain things together, otherwise, it will be gone forever!
We had so much fun together over the weekend; got to celebrate Christmas, and act like children again—how often do you get to do that with the people you love?! As I’ve said before, I can only hope my children will be as close with their cousins as we all are, it is truly a blessing to have all of them! I certainly look forward to Christmas with you all next year, and for a few of us, 4th of July as well!!
Kelli and her boyfriend Nate bright and early in the car on the way down there. NOBODY wanted me to take their pic because everybody was in sweats with no makeup but I took them anyway :)
Vinny in the far back on the way down there
All of us at dinner
Another dinner shot
Little Faye in our room telling us all about her little animal named "Cupcake Davis" :) So cute!
Trying to get an all girls picture
and again...
We all looooove to talk! This must have been a pretty intense convo!
Kari and I
Kari and her boyfriend Danny
Scott cooking dinner--what a chef :)
Oh goodness. Here is Ryan playing with Faye. I cannot even BEGIN to tell you how much these two played and messed around. Ashlee said she was surprised Faye liked him so much because normally she is shy around men but she was literally his bestie in only an hour or so!
Here they are again..I think he was throwing her around here (eeeek :S )
Ashlee and Kari
The girls again
Faye running to get the presents--she was our little elf :) She was running so fast her hair was flying behind her haha
Tracy
Kelli and Nate eating dinner
Isn't she the sweetest little pumpkin?!
Scott cooking dinner again
Kari opening her pickles! hahah
Faye opening her gifts from Ryan and I
again...
and again...
Faye running to get the presents still..almost all delivered by this point
Everybody laughing about the pickles
Kelli posing with her "Christmas gift" :)
One of Faye's gifts from Ryan and I was a Build-a-Bear set that was a bear dressed with cheerleading clothes. It came with the heart, stuffing, needle, thread and everything like that so she could build it right there and that is what her and Kelli are doing here.
She was so happy about it!! I was so glad she liked it and Ashlee told me that next week that she hadn't left her side!
Guess what she named her? Heart Flower :) It was so cute--the dress came with lots of fabric stickers you could stick on there and the picture on the box had like two stickers on the dress. Of course, Faye went nuts and flooded the bear's dress with stickers hahah it was so cute!
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