Christmas in Houston

Better late than never, right?

December was a crazy busy/awesome/frustrating/fun month ... we rang in the New Year in our living room by ourselves with not even an acknowledgement to midnight arriving.. We didn't realize we missed it until about 12:45. We were too busy watching our latest TV series, White Collar, and relaxing. And it was exactly what we wanted. Maybe next year we'll venture out our front door.

The week before, we spent in Houston celebrating Christmas with my family. It was SO nice spending a whole week there. We haven't had a chance to do that since before our wedding... two years ago this month by the way!

Kanyon was at the deer lease so I drove the first part by myself and picked him up in Abilene where him and his dad met me. On the way, we got a picture from Landon showing us his buck that he got that afternoon! The bucks on our deer lease are not the biggest you'll ever see so this one was an exciting one to get.

The first couple days spent in Houston was mainly spent sleeping in and relaxing! The night of the 23rd, Mom, Dad, Kanyon, and I headed to Kemah Boardwalk to eat at Laundry's. The food was so good!

A restaurant had an outdoor fire pit that we warmed up at.

 Finally Christmas day arrived! Also known as the day Cole got home for his week-long break from Patagonia! We were really excited to see him. We had to skip out on going to church because his flight was arriving at 9:30 am.

I love my mom's Christmas decorations and all the yummy food she makes! I even made "my child" pose in front of the Christmas tree. I'm slightly ashamed of this.

Lots of cooking going on! After we opened stockings and presents and ate banana bread and sausage balls (then took naps - Cole had just been traveling for about 24 hours, I think) the finishing touches on Christmas dinner was made. Dad got ready to carve the turkey...

... and give the grateful dogs the scraps...

... and pause for pictures.

Kalith sent us this picture of our home in Welch. We had a white Christmas at home!

I was pretty excited to be in the same country as this guy...

It was a great Christmas at home.

The night after Christmas, we had our annual Charades Night with the Rogers and the Jones, a couple of families who are basically family. The only picture I got is of the food... what does that say about me?

The next morning, we got up and headed home with our car packed to the brim. We were so blessed, maybe a little spoiled, by my parents. On top of already being spoiled by Kanyon's parents and grandparents. I hope someday we can shower our kids and grandkids with gifts like our family does. They are too good to us. But the truth is I remember the time spent with our families much quicker than I recall the gifts I got. 

It was a great Christmas and end of 2011!

My birthday was Monday, the 2nd, a day that I already had off from work! It was amazing to sleep in and piddle around the house that morning and then playing with my niece, Addalie, for a little. She will definitely make you feel special on your birthday!

Sena and Daniel were here for the second year in a row for my birthday, except this time was really special because they were here looking for a house and having a job interview!!! They will be moved here by the end of the month and I am pumped! I can't wait to have them so close by! 

Kanyon and I went to Lubbock that afternoon to see Sherlock Holmes and go eat at a hibachi grill. For some reason, those types of restaurants are always what I choose for my birthday. Something about having someone cook your meal right in front of you makes you feel super special. Even more special - being the only ones at the table because its almost 9:00 pm on the day after a holiday. Also a little awkward though. 

The next night (last night) Vaughn made a birthday dinner for me with both sets of Kanyon's grandparents and his parents and Sena and Daniel and their kids. She is such a great cook and the cake was so good!! I asked her if she would make me a cheesecake this year and she said she had a chocolate cheesecake recipe she hadn't tried. It was so extremely yummy. I'm craving it as I write this now. I got some great gifts and then we stayed up way too late talking and laughing. I haven't gotten my birthday present from my parents yet because of shipping so my birthday will be even more extended, which is how I like it!

So now the Christmas decor is taken down and I've been in the process of putting everything back up and rearranging. During the Christmas season, I got some new (free with my credit) Willow House items and several home decor items so I'm having a lot of fun finding new places for everything! I also still need to post pictures of our guest bedroom... Whoops!

I'm heading to Midland tonight to go see my friend Heather who is home for the holidays from Peru! I got to see my friends Daley and Jason, also. who are home from Kenya for the holidays. My friends have glamorous lives.