Friends in Charlotte...

We tried to catch up with as many of our friends in Charlotte as we could, but we still didn't get to them all! It is so hard when we're only in town for a few days to see everyone. I got to have lunch with Andrea and Laurie on Christmas Eve. I met Laurie in middle school and Andrea in 9th grade.

Christmas Eve night at the church service we went to, I got to catch up with my friend Marsha. Marsha has been my best friend since we were 5 years old! She has been engaged for about a year now, and I FINALLY got to meet her fiance! It was so great to see her!



On Friday, the day after Christmas Garet and I made our rounds. We stopped by to see my friend Cayce first. She lives in downtown Charlotte really close to the Panthers stadium. I met Cayce in college, we both worked at a resturant - the same one I met Garet at. So she has known Garet and I since we first started dating!



Then we traveled to Christy's apartment. Christy is one of my best friends! We have been through so much together - we met in the 9th grade. It was soo good to see her and catch up some!


Last, we went and had dinner with one of Garet's good friends, Justin and his wife Jessica. They got married this past August. It was a nice dinner - and, of course, Garet had to take a picture!

It was so great to see all of our friends! We love Huntsville, but I only wish it was closer!!

Hope everyone has a happy, safe New Year's!!!

A Charlotte Christmas...

We really had such a great Christmas! It was soo great to see ALL of my family, and many of our friends! We got to Charlotte early on Tuesday (like 2 a.m.) We went right to sleep. Tuesday when we got up, we went to visit my cousins and then we went to see my brother's house, and meet his dog, Macy.

Wednesday, Christmas Eve, I got to have lunch with a couple of my friends. Then we went to a Christmas Eve service at church. It was soo nice! I saw a lot of people that I knew - it is always neat to get back "home" and see people that I haven't seen in YEARS!

Christmas Day we woke up and made a big breakfast. My brother, Eric and his girlfriend, Kailey came over, and so did my uncle, Ray. Here is Eric, Kailey, and us:


We all ate, and opened presents. We got lots of fun stuff! Garet and I got a Wii - I didn't even know I wanted one, but man it is tons of fun! :) We also got an iPod, clothes, shoes, and other great things. Suzi got a toy, which she has already destroyed. Garet and I not only got presents for everyone, but we also brought.... take a guess..... here's a hint:


POPCORN! Yep, everyone got some popcorn too! If you aren't aware, the Boy Scouts sell popcorn, therefore, we have tons of it!

After playing Wii all morning, we went over to one of my aunts houses. Most of my family lives close, so everyone gets together on Christmas and Thanksgiving. All my aunts, uncles, and cousins. Here is me with a few of my cousins:


I pretty much stand out in my family - the blond.

We left there and got back to my parents house. I snagged my brother for a quick picture:


My parents and Garet and I all hung out talking and playing with our new stuff. Christmas Day always flies by! Both Garet and my dad got a hat in their stockings, so here is mom and me trying them on:
I love seeing my family! I wish I had gotten more pictures! I will have to post tomorrow of some of the friends we got to catch up with!

Christmas...

We had a wonderful Christmas! We are still in Charlotte, but I wanted to post a few pictures. I will tell more about it later. Hope everyone had a wonderful day!!

Suzi in her Santa hat

Garet and me

My parents

My brother, Eric, his girlfriend, Kailey, and their dogs, Biscuit and Macy

Merry Christmas!

Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas! We're off to Charlotte!

Cookies...

Yesterday I made the best cookies EVER! I got them from Pillsbury - they are called Double-Delight Peanut Butter Cookies. Seriously they are the.best.cookies.ever! You have definitely gotta make them! :)

This weekend has been jammed packed - and we're still going! We had our Sunday School Christmas party Friday night. It was really fun, it is always great to see everyone outside of church on Sundays. We played Dirty Santa - and Garet and I walked away with a blender! Nice!

Yesterday I cleaned ALL morning. Suzi went to get bathed at PetSmart - and they brushed her teeth! I'm not even kidding! Oh and they gave her perfume?!? Really? She smelled like vanilla. That afternoon we volunteered by wrapping gifts for people at a store down the street. I wasn't feeling too great, so afterwards we came back and relaxed the rest of the night. Except I made cookies!

Today, after church we got to work on laundry and packing. I can't believe we are leaving tomorrow! We are having a couple over to watch the football game tonight, so we are just making sure everything is ready to go tomorrow. I am going to come home from work, and hopefully, jump in the car and GO!

GO PANTHERS!!!!

Suzi's Christmas...

We aren't the only ones getting presents early, we went ahead and gave Suzi her Christmas present too. We got her a new bed, her old one was getting pretty gross! She loves it!

This week has pretty much flown by (thank goodness!) Work has been busy enough, and when I get home I just fall on the couch! I have been so tired lately for some reason! I think I need some sun in my life! It has been so gross and rainy and gloomy - I think when the sun comes out I will feel more energized! :)

Our weekend is looking fairly busy. Suzi has a Petsmart appointment for a bath tomorrow morning, then we are volunteering with our church to wrap some gifts tomorrow afternoon. I like wrapping presents, but Garet on the other hand.... let's just say he will probably be cutting the tape for people!

We are so excited for our Christmas trip to Charlotte! I can't wait to catch up with friends and, of course, see my WHOLE family! My aunt and uncle and cousins from Texas are going to get to come up too! I haven't blogged about it, but my youngest cousin in Texas is sick so they haven't been able to travel in a few years, so this is truly a blessing!

My mind is trying to figure out when and what to pack and when I am going to clean the house! I like to have a clean house when we get back from a trip, so that will probably be what I do on Sunday! Fun stuff! Garet and I finally got around to taking a Christmas picture last week. Here is an outtake:

Gotta love that dog! I was trying to figure out our camera. Since it is new, I don't know where everything is yet. So I thought it was on the timer so I could run and jump in the picture, but obviously it wasn't :)

TGIF!!!

Santa's Elf's...

I know this went around last year at Christmas, but I just think it is hilarious!!
If you want to see The Beane Family dancing around CLICK HERE!

Pretty weekend...

This weekend was great! We woke up Saturday morning to a beautiful sunrise!

It rained a lot towards the end of last week, so it was nice to have a clear day!


I did some shopping Saturday and now I am pretty sure I am finished with all my Christmas shopping! Yay! I got started early this year, so I never got stressed about it. The stores were packed though! I still can't believe it is almost Christmas! These days are just flying by!

Saturday night we had a fire! I have mentioned before that Suzi and I compete over the spot in front of the fire... well... we have reached a compromise...
She makes a great pillow :)

This is my last full week of work this year!

Sleeping Beauty...

What a sweet pup - she looks so innocent when she's sleeping :)

Christmas is comin'...

I really got into the Christmas season this weekend! On Saturday Garet and I got our Christmas tree. Guess where the tree came from?? BOONE, North Carolina! Even though I'm not from Boone, I visited friends there often enough, and it is only 2 hours from my parents. It's a little piece of home :) That night I had my work Christmas party at the Von Braun Center.

Garet actually went skiing with some friends today. I went to church, and man was I glad I did! They were doing a "Christmas Sunday" and the choir did an amazing job singing. I love our church! I have told many people, I do not like Christmas music - but I feel the need to clarify... I do not like the songs that they overplay on the radio 24/7, you know, the ones about hippopotamuses and two front teeth... but I really enjoy the ones about Jesus, and the true meaning of Christmas, and today I was NOT dissappointed! It was a great way to start the morning!

I finished putting up all our decorations. We gave Suzi a trial period with our Christmas tree... we weren't sure how she would do with a big "toy" in our living room (she loves to chew on sticks/branches/trees). She seems to not care at all - sooo I went ahead and decorated it.

When Garet and I lived in St. John, he gave me this decoration:
It is my surfing santa! I love it!! Too funny! Here is our tree and fireplace:

This weekend, of course, went by too fast! I am thinking that the days will fly by until it is Christmas and time for me to go see my family, I am so excited!

My brother...

Today is my brother's birthday!! He is 24 today! I can't believe it! Eric lives near my parents in North Carolina - so I get to see him every time we travel back home. We will be there for Christmas in a few weeks, Yay!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERIC!!!

Us at a wedding this past August

Eric and his beautiful girlfriend, Kailey.

Eric, Kailey, Me and Garet

Eric and his dog Macy

I miss being around my family so much, especially when it is a special occasion! Eric, I hope you have a wonderful birthday!! I miss you TONS! Love you, and see you in a few weeks :)

Thanksgiving in Michigan, part 3...

This should be the last one!

On Saturday we joined the family for an all day basketball tournament! Mary Kay and 3 games in one day! We went about 45 minutes away. Garet and I only stayed for the first 2 games, then went back to the house to start packing.

Shooting a free throw

Kelly had a bear that she had to look after from school. His name: Ted E. Bear. Her job was to take him everywhere with her and make a journal about his adventures. How cute is that?!

Kelly and Ted, watching her sister

That night we got some last minute pictures in and we played a few card games. We had such a wonderful time! Garet, of course, had to do his famous shot that he takes everywhere we go! This is the whole crew:

The next morning we got up and hit the road! The night before (Saturday night) we watched the weather and the forcast was calling for snow on Sunday night. Michigan was supposed to have about a foot of snow by Monday morning! We thought we had made our trip in perfect timing.... BUT on our way home this is what we encountered...

We hit Indiana and it was snowing like crazy!! We saw sooo many wrecks and people that had skid off the road. We were backed up for awhile waiting on a wreck to clear. I really wasn't sure if we'd make it back that day or have to get a place overnight!

Eventually we made it through the snow, and then just had to deal with the rain the rest of the way home. It was a LONG drive!

Thanksgiving in Michigan, part 2...

On Friday morning, Garet, Jay (nephew), and I woke up at 5:30 a.m. to get caught up with the other crazy people shopping on Black Friday. I set out to get a new camera! And they had just the one I picked out! I especially like the color accent feature... that allows you to just have one color throughout your picture. When we got back I had to play with it...
Suzi had gotten a new ball as a treat while we were there. This is with the purple highlighted.

Then we got to go see the girls at their horseback riding lessons! You should know that I LOVE LOVE LOVE horses!! I started riding when I was 5, and it has been awhile since I have ridden. So this was just great to see the girls riding, and just to be in a barn was refreshing! I just love this picture...

That is Kelly waiting on her horse.


Mary Kay and her horse, Monte


Kelly and her horse, Shadow

After riding, we got to hang out some at the house. Have you ever heard of Guitar Hero?? Well, if you haven't - it is this video game that you have a guitar and you play songs. Anyway, man it is hard! :) Seriously, I couldn't hang - after you are finished and if you did well the screen tells you "you rock!" Well, I never got the "you rock" after I was finished playing.

Mary Kay, Me, Kelly

Jay and Garet

That night for dinner, Kim and Mark took us to their country club to have dinner. It was soo good! I think I ate more that night than on Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving in Michigan, part 1...

I figured I'd sum up our trip to Michigan in a couple different parts. That way I don't have a HUGE post :)


We left at like 6:30 a.m. on Wednesday morning for our long 10 hour drive to Michigan. It was a pretty scenic drive, but by the end we were pretty restless. Even Suzi was getting sick of being in the car...

Poor pup. She had her big crate in between the back seat and front seat, but she DID have the entire back seat to herself! Lucky for us, she is really good in the car!

We got to Garet's sister's house by 6:00ish (there was an hour time difference) and she had a wonderful dinner waiting on us. We were greeted by her and her husband and their 3 kids. There was snow on the ground when we got there! It was so neat to see "real" snow! We got to visit some before we crashed for the night.

Thursday was Thanksgiving. It was pretty outside, but it was FREEZING! We all bundled up and went to a park to go on a long walk with Suzi. My mom had given us a coat for Suzi a year or two ago and she has never worn it - for the record, we are not the people that put clothes on our dog! - but it was super cold and I thought it would be cute...

I was surprised that she didn't even try to get it off! Suzi had no clue what to do with all the snow, but as soon as the kids started kicking it she quickly realized that she could eat it, so, that's what she did.

We got back to the house and got ready for Thanksgiving dinner. I don't have any pictures because my camera was broken... the pictures I did get (that are on this post) I got by luck. My camera's screen broke, so I could take pictures - I just couldn't look at the pictures I took. Anywho - we had a wonderful dinner, and it was so nice to visit with everyone!

After dinner we were informed that we had to go next door to the neighbors house to see the Christmas lighting. Huh? Garet's brother-in-law, Mark, asked us if we'd seen National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation... you know the one, with the Griswold's... OF COURSE we had! Well that was their neighbor...

The picture doesn't even do it justice! I couldn't get everything into one shot!! There were lights EVERYWHERE, things were moving, there was music playing... you name it! It was hilarious! AND everyone around knew about it... so while we were standing there looking at the house, there were people driving by, and walking down the street to look at it! Come to find out, they starting putting up these decorations in October! Wow! It was great!

Off to Michigan...

Well I just looked at the weather in Michigan and tonight they are calling for snow flurries. Tomorrow and Wednesday it will be sunny, with a high of 38. Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday they are calling for "partly snowy conditions" and a high of 35.

It'll be cold, but Michigan here we come!

Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

Short week...

I have no pictures because my camera is broken... just to prepare you for a pictureless post.

This week, I only have to work for 2 days!! Whoopee!! So, today is pretty much my Thursday. I am so excited that Thanksgiving is almost here!

This past weekend was nice and relaxing. Garet and I didn't do too much. We did go check out Best Buy to narrow down our choice of camera. We are going to shop the day after Thanksgiving to hopefully get a good deal on a camera. I did find one I liked. I wanted to have it picked out so I didn't have to search for one on on Black Friday - cause I'm sure it will be crazy! I think I am going to get a Canon. It isn't a fancy one with lens, or anything like that. It is just your simple point and shoot camera, but I am excited about it :)

Garet went out this weekend with his chainsaw and chopped up some firewood. So we are prepared for the cold weather now! I LOVE having fires!

For Thanksgiving, we are traveling to Michigan to spend the holiday with one of Garet's sisters and her family. Right now, it is snowing and they are expecting about 2 inches. That should make for an interesting car ride... It will be neat to see some snow though, like REAL snow. We just don't get much snow in Alabama - or even in North Carolina when we lived there. Right now Suzi is getting a bath at Petsmart so she will be a clean, good smelling guest.

10 on Tuesday...

1. First off, we LOVE having a recliner! It is wonderful! Second, Suzi likes the recliner too.... yes, she has decided that when we left home she would rock in it herself *sigh* I came home yesterday to a hairy seat cushion. Lucky for us it is leather and easily brushed off, also lucky for us, she didn't scratch it or tear it! She was yelled at, and today there was no evidence of her being on the chair again. She must have seen how much we enjoyed rocking in it!

2. Sunday morning, Garet and I had nursery duty at church. This was the first Sunday that we have done this. We decided to volunteer with the kiddos to get more involved in church, and it is also good experience for us. It went really well. We were in the "Inchworm World" room. The kids were just starting to walk, and they all did really well - we had one meltdown, but overall everyone was very happy.

3. Garet and I had a date on Sunday night, and we went to see the movie Eagle Eye. It was really good. It was packed with action! I love getting to go out to a movie every once in a while, we even got popcorn! Although, I have to admit, theater popcorn just isn't as good as Boy Scout popcorn.... and I'm not just saying that :)

4. Speaking of, Garet is having a super busy work week. They are getting shipments of ALL the popcorn people have ordered! I think they are swimming in it at his office!

5. I got my camera out this weekend to take pictures and guess what? It's broken! I am so upset! It still takes pictures, but the whole screen is completely white... so you can't see what you are taking a picture of. Since we have to have one, I figure I will just wait till the day after Thanksgiving and buy a good one. I am soooo mad about it! And it was my fault! I had it in my purse and dropped my purse... so sad...

6. So, the day after Thanksgiving... since I will be getting out in the craziness anyway I found the website of who is having what on sale that day. But I have heard that stores are starting their sales early. Hopefully I can find a good camera!

7. I just can't believe that Thanksgiving is NEXT week!! We will be heading up to Michigan to spend the holiday with Garet's sister and her family. We are so excited! I think I just might freeze though - I have heard that they had snow flurries predicted up there this past week.

8. Just in time for the cold weather up north - I just got a new coat! I am going to be prepared for the snow!!

9. Last year at this time, Garet and I were preparing to move into our house. Again, I can't believe how fast this year as flown by! I think I say that every year though. Anyway, we are coming up on the end of our year warranty for a lot of things in our house. Since we built it, they fix a lot of things within the first year. So we have to make our list :)

10. I find it really hard to get things done at work when I know I am going out of town next week! Is that just me? I find myself trying to decide (in my head) what to pack and what to make and when to clean and when to do laundry and, and, and.... I am a planner if you haven't figured that out!

Early Christmas...

Guess who got an early Christmas present????

We went out today and got a new recliner! We have wanted one for a long time, we decided to make that our "big" gift for each other for Christmas - and we just couldn't wait :) Here is Garet in our new chair:
And here is me:

So far we've had a great weekend! Although, it is FREEZING - and I'm not just saying that, it has literally been freezing! Yesterday the high was 69 and today the high was 47! We went and hung out with our neighbors tonight, we had a good time. Now we are home watching some t.v. and taking turns reclining!

Today...

Today is my Dad's birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!

We are going to see him and my mom in a few weeks :) I am so excited! After Thanksgiving, Garet and I are going to catch up with them in Gatlinburg for a weekend. I miss my family so much!! Hope you have a wonderful day Dad!!

Saturday...

This morning I woke up and looked in the backyard... It was covered with leaves! You couldn't hardly even see the ground! It really looks like fall now!

Suzi and I are having another girls weekend. Garet is away for work. He is actually camping out in the middle of Talladega speedway with a bunch of scouts. They estimated between 8,000 and 12,000 people that were going to be camping this weekend!

So, I have been taking advantage of this beautiful fall weather! There was not a cloud in the sky, so Suzi and I hung out outside most of the morning. The trees are almost all finished changing colors. It is so pretty to look up our hill at all the trees on the mountain. This one is in our backyard.

Suzi about blends in with all the leaves :)

I also went and bought some Pansies to plant out front. I didn't get around to planting them today, that will be tomorrow's project. And Garet will be home tomorrow!

Voting...

It's Election Day!! GO VOTE!!!

I was there at 6:45 this morning and didn't get out of there until 8:30! But I did it, and I'm done thinking about it now :) I tried to miss the craziness of it all - little did I know that everyone with the last names A - F decided to vote at the same time this morning. I was almost at the door and they started calling all last names except A - F. Go figure. It was very organized though.

This past Sunday our preacher talked briefly about the election, and he made a point to say that no matter who is elected, God is in control! That is something I think a lot of people need to hear, including me. It is so easy to get wrapped up in all the hype of politics, especially when that is ALL that is on t.v., radio, even calling my cell phone!

So, go vote! Hope your wait is shorter than mine was :)

Costume Party...

We had a lot of fun on Halloween! We didn't get any trick-or-treaters before we left for the party, so I have a TON of candy left! We were White Trash

Garet had some fun teeth, but I didn't get a picture of him wearing them... There were soo many creative outfits! We had a sponge and a shower, Uncle Rico and Deb (if you've seen Napoleon Dynamite), Fred and Wilma Flintstone, the planet Saturn and a martian.... It was a lot of fun, I didn't get too many pictures but you can see what I did get here. You can see some friends posts with pictures here and here.

I can't believe it is November already! This year has flown by!

Happy Halloween...

Tonight Garet and I were invited to a Halloween party! I am excited - we haven't gotten all dressed up for Halloween since we lived on St. John. We finally finished our costumes last night - I won't tell what we're being yet though!

For the party tonight we have to bring a pumpkin (to carve) and a treat. I enjoy cooking and baking, but I enjoy cooking and baking new and fun recipes more! So I looked all over to find something fun and halloweenie. I finally decided to make "witch fingers" and here they are:

Aren't they funny?! I think they turned out pretty good! They were really easy to make - the nails are almonds, and the blood (under the nails) is just gel food coloring. After these were finished Garet said they needed something more. Like more blood. He suggested that I put some blood (food coloring) at the bottom of the fingers. Well we got a little carried away...

how gross! :)

Hope everyone has a fun and safe Halloween!