Happy Everything

What a great couple of months! Man they flew out the window. Well November was my birthday trip to Jerome/Prescott. My parents surprised me with my brother for the weekend. He moved to LA this summer for school. Their amazing surprise was the cherry on top of birthday weekend trip. Here are a few moments from the weekend:

Back together and it feels so good!!

All Bundled Up

This year we hosted Thanksgiving. This meant that I would be in charge of the bird! I was up for the challenge. I received some great instruction from my boss, a self proclaimed foodie. Not to toot my own horn but TOOT TOOT. It turned out fan-freaking-tastic!

Looked & tasted out of this world.

Proudly we have come close to finishing our backyard. Brad shoveled 10 tons of rock with the help of our helpful neighbor. He planted winter seed, which has been coming in beautifully. To top it all off we found some great patio furniture to enjoy in the finished yard. I was thankful to be so blessed.

Missy claimed her spot

Now that December had rolled around it was time for Christmas!! Santa!!! I know him!!! I love getting a real tree so it was off to the tree lot for me. I usually do not bring Brad. I can see him now telling me, "It is too big." Too big and Christmas tree should never be in the same sentence, hence why I leave him at home. So it turns out my eyes were bigger than the room that the tree actually goes in. I will swear until the day I die, it did NOT look that big a the tree lot. It turns out that it is more along the lines of a Christmas Bush. Eh some say tomato, some say tomato. Needless to say I need  A LOT more ornaments as well as bigger tree skirt. This one is more along the lines of a tree thong. I still loved it!!

Fat trees need love too!!

This brings us to the 2nd Annual Ugly Christmas Sweater Party. It is always a great time getting everyone together to see the creative ways to make an already ugly sweater even more ugly. It was a laid back night that turned out pretty great. My camera died so I didn't get as many pictures as I would have liked to.

Mike brought Jake to the party so he wouldn't miss it.

Jamie, Miss, and I in an awkward family photo

Not sure which is better, the pants or the teddy bear on the sweater?!

Is that Mr. Magoo??

I would probably have to say the best part of this Christmas season was planning a secret trip to visit Jake and Jena in Winnemucca, Nevada. Our arrival would be a surprise to Jake. Jena and I have been planning these shenanigans since October. There were times we thought we wouldn't be able to pull it off. We did though and I think it will go down in history as the Best Christmas Present Ever. It was an adventure just getting there. Brad and I flew to Reno, NV Thursday morning. We were still about 3 hours away from Winnemucca. So after a few hours of exploring Reno we hopped on the Amtrak. What a great way to travel. There was so much room. Our seats even had recliners!! The best part is that you can move around the train as you please. Brad had never been on a train before so this was really neat to experience with him. Jake and Jena were at the local pizzeria in town. The train station was about a block from their house. We hoofed it, luggage and all to the house. We dropped off our stuff and hopped in Jena's car to the Pizzeria. I am pretty sure Jake could have used an adult diaper when we walked in the door. It took a couple seconds for him to realize it was us---there. It was great to see them. It was 4 days filled with baking, boy truck stuff, twilight marathon, apples-to-apples, bowling, drinking, and eating. We could not have asked for more.

Reno Train Station

Lots of room on the train!!

Jake & Jena

Goofy

Christmas was wonderful. I was truly blessed to have my family at such a special time of year. My brother is moved back to Arizona, which makes me happy. The best part of the holidays is spending time with the ones that you love. With all the busy hustle and bustle of life it is great to just relax and catch up with everyone. As 2011 comes to a close I am so grateful for all that I have. Health and Happiness.

xoxo Stefanie