A very cold Christmas

This year was my first Christmas away from my side of the family. We spent it here in the freezing state with the hubby's side of the fam. His sister and husband were able to drive down and spend a week here. Christmas day/week was filled with tons of family and tons of food! And I really wouldn't have it any other way. I really missed my family but I am so lucky and blessed to have wonderful in-laws who take such good care of us.
On Christmas morning the Hubby and I went through our stockings and opened our presents. I made breakfast for the family and afterward we ended up watching "Four Christmas's" which I give maybe 3 out of 5 stars. It had some funny parts but over all...it was eh. We then had Christmas dinner at my brother-in-laws. Which was AMAZING! It was filled with great family and great food. South Africans make yummy food! But I'm so sad that "this time of the year" is coming to an end. I absolutely love everything about Christmas. I can already tell that when I have kids and they talk about their mom, I'm going to be the one where they say "Christmas was always a big deal to my mom." I can't help it, I love the lights, the decorations, the baking, the chilly outside but warm and cozy inside, the music and most importantly a time to remember our Savior. Oh and it's also my favorite because that's when I got engaged...2 years ago!
But enough of that. Here are some pictures from Christmas
Presents under the tree, that wouldn't have happened unless mom and dad b. didn't send us any :)

Wait for it...

Wait for it...

Yay for Snuggie!!!

Now he really wasn't so excited for it, but I make him wear it. And he does :)
Here's the family

And here is us! Our 3rd Christmas together.

Happy New Year!!!

Walking in a winter wonderland

Snowy, snowy, snowy! Those are the only words to explain our weather we're having. And to be honest, I'm actually semi enjoying it this winter. I figured complaining about it wouldn't make it go away any faster or make it any more enjoyable. So I've decided to look at the beauty of it and be grateful for this wonderful white blanket of snow that has completely covered everything. One thing I do really enjoy about the fresh snow though, it means Christmas is just around the corner! And in case you didn't know, Christmas has always been my FAVORITE holiday and my favorite time of the year. Everyone is so cheerful and the lights make everything look so...delightful :) I also love watching our dog play in the snow. It's so cute. And well yeah, she's a complete spazz but she's so entertaining. It was so funny, I would throw some snow up in the air and she'd chase it and try to catch it, but by "catching" I mean she would just shove her face into the 5 inches of snow. And I was able to catch a few shots of her during this whole play action.

This is her playing...can you see all of that snow that fell in one morning!? Crazy huh!

And here is her looking up at me after she slammed her head into the snow.

And well I've just realized that this blog post will be almost identical to the one I did a year ago. So bare with me.
Last weekend I FINALLY got the hubby to decorate our apartment, with what decorations we have. I hope though, to someday buy a few...okay many many more, things to decorate our place with. But here is our Christmas tree and our fire place. Looks pretty much the same except for the new Christmas stockings :)


Happy Tuesday! We're almost half way through the week!

"I'm going back to Cali... Cali, Cali"

Well, I guess it's more like I went back to Cali. For Thanksgiving the hubby and I were FINALLY able to go back to see the fam. It was so nice to be able to go since it had almost been a year since our last visit. I loved seeing and being with my whole family. We had so much fun. We went to Disneyland, ate great food, spent time with everyone, got a pedi, hiked and ate some more good food. Life doesn't get much better than that. Oh but before I forget, remember this?

Well that, turned into this...

Just kidding. We had a huge Thanksgiving lunch at school and I volunteered to cook one of those beasts. This was my first turkey that I've ever cooked. And it looks pretty dang good to me :)
But back to my trip at home. We spent all day Wednesday at Disneyland and had so much fun. We were exhausted though by 8:00pm. We're getting old, what can I say? After Wed. came Thursday which meant...TURKEY!! My dad made a deep fried turkey, which was delish, and my mom made EVERYTHING! She made potatoes, stuffing, ham, another turkey, yams and cranberry sauce. It was amazing! She did a great job. Best Thanksgiving ever! Friday was a pretty relaxed day. I got a much needed pedicure and then we finally ate our top cake from our one year anniversary. Best cake in the world! And then came our last day,Saturday, and we spent it by hiking and by watching the BYU vs Utah game. Which was INSANE!! Luckily, my smarty pants hubby found a site that streamed the game live so we were able to watch it. And it was probably the greatest win ever! But sadly, that day ended and we off to the freezing cold state again. But all in all, Thanksgiving was a blast. I enjoyed every second of every day. And I am so grateful for my loving husband and my amazing family. We're so blessed and I am so unbelievably thankful for all that I have been given.
Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and I am so excited for CHRISTMAS TIME!!!