Christmas 2016

Hey y'all! I hope each of you had a very Merry Christmas. We loved getting to celebrate Jesus' birthday with our family this year. The holidays are always a whirlwind for us since we travel so much, but it is always worth it. We started our celebration the day before Christmas Eve. I worked until 5:00, and then we hopped in the car and headed to Lexington to spend the night with Tyler's mom and Kip. Rhonda made several yummy appetizers and some delicious peach tea. After we ate, we opened gifts and watched Christmas Vacation. Rhonda got me a BEAUTIFUL bedroom comforter with all of the matching pillows. I told her about this cream bedding set that I had seen online at Macy's, and she asked to see a picture. We both got so tickled when I showed it to her because she has the exact same one. She also got me a few other things including the softest Vera Bradley pajamas. I've already had to wash them three times since Christmas because I want to wear them every chance I get! 

All of Ty's mom's decorations were so beautiful. 

Little Emmie being a good girl.

The next morning we woke up bright and early to head to Inez where Rhonda's parents live. One Chik-fil-A stop and a bathroom break later, we arrived at our second Christmas celebration. We had a great dinner and got to watch baby Emma open up all of her gifts. Having little ones around makes everything so much more fun!

This is Mo with her great granddaughter. How sweet! 

Tyler's aunt Michelle and her granddaughter Emma. 

Trying to get a picture with the wild child LOL

Rhonda with her two babies! 

Notice Emmie behind the chair.. She never leaves Rhonda's side. 

After spending some time at Ty's grandparents' house, we got back in the car and headed to my maw maw and pawpaw's house. We had another delicious dinner there, and then we opened up gifts. I hadn't seen my cousin Emilee for many months, so it was good to get to spend some time with her and Ross. I always love when we can all get together. 

Look at my maw maw's beautiful tree! I love it! Her decorations were so pretty. 

All of the grandkids with maw maw and pawpaw. 

For Christmas this year, I wanted to do something special. I schemed with my pawpaw Fred to make the women in our family a cookbook with recipes from my maw maw's recipe box. These are recipes that we have grown up on, and I wanted everyone to have a copy of them. I began working on this back in the summer. It took a long time to scan in all of the handwritten recipes and old family photos. I also typed out all of the recipes so they would be easy to read. The cookbook ended up being over seventy pages long. It was a labor of love. I think my maw maw, Aunt Michelle, and mom loved it so much, and that made all the work worth it! 

I snapped pictures of each of them opening it up.

Love these three women so much!

After spending time at my maw maw and pawpaw's house, we headed to my mom's to spend the night. Mom also had some yummy snacks made for us. Yes, we ate something at every single house we went to LOL Every year, we open gifts at my mom's on Christmas Eve, and then Christmas morning we get our stockings. I was so excited for Tyler to see what my parents got for him.

Look at my little sweetie and her new Lilly Pulitzer dress I got her in the print Southern Charm.

Mom got Kelly a pair of pants in the same print that I got in her dress LOL Can you tell we like Southern Charm?! 

Dad got Ty an awesome tool set with some accessories. 

Look at that grin LOL

He was tickled to death with his Apple watch!

Okay, so here is the most exciting gift I got for Christmas. If you follow me on Pinterest, you've probably seen the countless pins on my Salt Life board of blue townie bikes. I have always wanted one but never bought it for myself. When it was time to open gifts at my mom's, my sister told me to turn around and hide my eyes. When she said to open them, I spun around to see her wheeling this beautiful thing out of my parents' bedroom LOL I was ecstatic. Honestly, I was in shock at first. I immediately hopped on it only to find my bike riding skills have gotten a little rusty over the years LOL I can't wait until it warms up so I can ride it around. I hope Tyler knows we will now have to get a bike hitch for my car because this thing is definitely coming to Myrtle Beach with me! Thank you so much Kelly! This was the best gift ever!! 

Now, don't think Kelly didn't get an awesome gift too. That sweet little thing had been looking at fur coats/wraps/capes everywhere we went for the last three months, but she could never find exactly what she wanted. When I found this fur cape online at Dillard's, I just knew it would be perfect for her. She loved it, and she looks absolutely beautiful in it! 

My mom surprised me with a few things that I did not know I would be getting. I had sent her a picture of this nativity scene from Hobby Lobby back in the fall when they first put it out. She remembered me wanting that and got it for me. I cannot wait to start using this every Christmas. How special! 

She also got me a hand mixer and mini food processor that match my mixer.

I accidentally broke the box (oops) BUT she also got me this white cast iron pot. I LOVE it! I can't wait to make some Hoppin' John in it for the New Year!

On Christmas Day, we woke up and had a delicious breakfast that my mom made.  After breakfast and opening our stockings, we got ready for another day of traveling and visiting with family.

We had a wonderful time at my grandmother's house. Seeing Bo open all of his gifts was so much fun. Listen y'all, that baby is just everything. He is the cutest, sweetest, smartest baby boy in the world. He entertained us the entire time we were there! 

Kelly did it again with giving an awesome gift. She had this beautiful picture of my grandmother and pawpaw Peanut framed. Gran loved it so much that she cried. It was such a thoughtful gift.

Gran got Bo a vacuum cleaner because he loves to help around the house while Tay cleans. That sweet boy vacuumed all day long LOL Tyler asked Tay if he could come to our house and visit with his new toy!

After visiting with my grandmother, we loaded up the car to head to one last Christmas gathering. We  loved getting to see everyone at Doug and Barbara's house!

Brooke got everyone awesome gifts. She got Barbara and Robin glass pineapples that were beautiful. She was opening it up in this picture, and I think her expression says it all! 

We finally made it back to our house around six that evening. We carried everything up into our apartment and then crashed. We loved getting to see everyone and spend time with our families. Christmas can be a hectic time with traveling and trying to buy everyone the perfect gift, but it is important to remember the reason for the season: the birth of our Savior. 

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Until next time.. Take care y'all! 

Thirty Never Looked So Good!

Hey y'all! So yesterday was my sweet husband's 30th birthday.  I feel like turning 30 is a big deal, so I wanted to celebrate accordingly. Tyler had a four day birthday bash LOL

It all started on Friday evening after work. Tyler thought we were going to dinner with his mom and Kip to a restaurant downtown called Jefferson Davis Inn. I had spent many nights preparing for this dinner. I booked the restaurant, picked the menu, invited the guests, and had a big birthday banner made. Needless to say, he was very surprised when he walked into the restaurant and saw his family and friends at the table! We loved getting to spend the evening with some of our friends that we don't get to see as often as we would like. Everyone that came traveled from out of town, so we appreciated that so much. It was a wonderful evening with great food and even better company! After eating dinner and having some birthday cake, Ty opened up his gifts and cards. He knew that we were taking a birthday trip on Saturday, but he didn't know where. In his card, I wrote him a letter wishing him a happy birthday and laying out the itinerary for the next day.. (I mean would you expect anything else from me?! LOL) After we got home from the birthday dinner, it was time to pack! We headed out bright and early the next morning for The Greenbrier!

It was Chippy's birthday too! We were so happy to see him and Melissa! 

My Pooter and her sweet boyfriend Tyler.. He traveled a long way for this party!

So glad Matt and Jill came!

Sistas!

Kelly got Tyler a card that listed alllll the things that can happen over a thirty year span LOL We laughed so hard at this.. and by we, I mean Kelly and me.. Tyler didn't think it was very funny haha!

Tyler has always talked about going to The Greenbrier to do the tour of the bunker there. It is a very interesting piece of history! We both really love to learn about historical things, and y'all know I'm a sucker for a good tour! Ty has never stayed at The Greenbrier, so I thought his birthday was the perfect opportunity to go. We had so much fun! When we first arrived, we went to the scheduled bunker tour. After the tour, we had lunch at Draper's. I had a BLT with sweet tea, and Ty got the club sandwich. We didn't want to get too full because we had dinner reservations for Prime 44 West that evening. After lunch, we went through all of the shops. I always love looking at the dishes there. I think the pink rhododendron is so beautiful! Ty also wanted to check out the casino, so we spent a little time there. We walked around the entire resort just taking it all in. Every room is so different from the next yet they all coincide. I love the pattern mixing and bright colors! Later that evening, we headed to dinner. Ty was so excited to get a big steak! The restaurant sent out a piece of birthday cake that was absolutely delicious! The hotel also left a note and a box of chocolates in the room wishing him a happy birthday. That was a nice little surprise! We spent the rest of our night just relaxing together. We are always so busy it seems like. It was nice to just spend time together and enjoy each other's company. 

My favorite room at The Greenbrier

Chandelier from Gone With The Wind!

On Sunday, Tyler had one last birthday party to attend. My mom hosted a joint birthday party for Tyler and my cousin Erick. Erick will be 13 years old on the 9th. It is hard for me to believe he will be a teenager! The whole family came up to visit, and we had so. much. food. My maw maw made her famous dumplings, and my grandmother whipped up some of her amazing punch. Ty got several gifts and cards from everyone. My grandmother had him a corn hole board set custom made. Y'all, they are awesome. They are UK themed boards, and even the bags have UK material on them. The holes on the boards are trimmed in UK blue lights, so you can play in the dark! She also got his name put on one of the boards.. and y'all know you just can't go wrong with a little personalization! I love them! Mom said it will be okay to bring them to some Marshall tailgates since they aren't WVU! LOL We can use them at cook outs, get togethers, and ballgames. I thought my gran did a great job picking that gift out, and Tyler certainly loves them!

As you may or may not be able to tell, baby Bo has brought so much joy to our family!

On Monday, we met my cousin and good friend Peggy in Charleston. We had lunch at a Mexican restaurant to celebrate Tyler's actual birthday (as if the last three days weren't enough LOL). She had the waiters bring out the sombrero and sing to him. His face was so red the entire time! 

They put a dollop of ice cream on his nose LOL

We both had such a great weekend celebrating Tyler's birthday with our family and friends. I always love spending time with those that mean the most. Of course, I also enjoyed celebrating my amazing husband. He is such a wonderful man. I know all girls think their husbands are the best. My Tyler is so caring, thoughtful, and considerate of me all the time. I am so glad I was able to spoil him for a change. He is a hard worker and takes such good care of me. I am so thankful that God blessed me with such a wonderful man! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TYLER! THIRTY NEVER LOOKED SO GOOD!

Until next time.. Take care y'all!