Weekend Rewind

What a perfect Spring weekend! After a long week, it was definitely just what Hubby & I both needed.

Friday was an extremely casual girls' night with some of my good friends from high school. We ordered some pizza and just around the dining room table chatting about everything from babies to high school memories to crazy neighbors. We honestly don't get together all the often, but always have a nice time reminiscing when we do!

Saturday I caught up on my duties as housewife and did almost every domestic chore I could think of! I whipped up some banana muffins. This recipe was so easy & they are so delicious!

Next up was tackling the kitchen and bathroom...I cleaned as best I could, and wow did they both need it! Hopefully I finally got rid of all the germs so Hubby won't be picking up this horrible cold. I also managed to throw in a little bit of laundry and I got all this accomplished before Hubby got home at 12:30!

Saturday had been a scheduled yardwork day for awhile. The weather was supposed to be beautiful & we took advantage of it by preparing our front yard for Spring! We pruned all of our bushes, took out the old mulch, put down new mulch, and now we're ready for the gorgeous flowers to start blooming!

Before...

and after...

Thankfully I've already got some crocus making an appearance which means Spring is right around the corner! We decided to stay in for dinner and Hubby grilled up some hamburgers--the first of the season--while I was in charge of the homemade french fries; definitely one of my favorite homemade meals!

Today was a great service at church about sexual purity and the Christian view being so counter to the view the world holds of sexual purity. Some of our teenagers made the commitment for True Love Waits and it was so exciting to see these kids making such an important decision for the futures!

Hubby & I basically did absolutely nothing all afternoon and it was wonderful! A nap and a Spring thunderstorm make such a perfect combination!

It's time for another week and the weather is supposed to be mostly gorgeous again! The sunshine does such wonders for my attitude!

Weekend Rewind

Whew...do you ever have those weekends where you feel like you need to go back to work just to catch your breath? We had a pretty crazy weekend with tons of stuff going on that definitely included lots of fun. Friday night we took it easy due to the schedule for the rest of the weekend & also because Hubby had a medical procedure on Friday morning...it deserves it's own post so I'll have more on that later this week. We had dinner at our local "dairy queen" ...cheeseburgers, spicy curly q's & fried okra...it's the best. We came home and just spent the rest of the evening watching a movie before heading to bed.

Saturday morning we both had to work...but that didn't mean the rest of the day wasn't fabulous. Hubby drove home from work to basically pick up my mom & me so we could head back to Missouri State University (my college alma mater) for their ESPN Bracket Buster game...it was very exciting and even better because we won!!! After the game we ran a quick errand to pick up my wedding set from the jeweler...I've decided my fingers have gotten fat in the last 3 years. We met up again with my parents & my brother & sis-in-law for my brother's birthday dinner. He chose a sushi place, Kai & we had a great meal.

After dinner Hubby & I took advantage of my parents' season tickets to the local theater & watched STOMP! It was a great production & if you haven't seen it I highly recommend it. Some of our best friends were also at the show so we made plans to meet up for drinks & dessert after the show. We had a great dessert platter with a sampling of 8 different desserts...YUM!

Needless to say, after the extremely busy & long day we had on Saturday we were exhausted & I think Hubby probably over did himself after his procedure on Friday. So...when the alarm went off for church this morning we did something we have never done. I asked Hubby if he was getting up and he said no. We both went back to sleep for awhile and just managed to get a little bit refreshed before another busy day today. Our church has started having a live stream on the Web for sermons so with that along with our small group study from tonight I'll easily be able to continue on the Life's Healing Choice series later this week.

Around noon we headed down to my parents' house for a birthday party for my little brother. We took Bogey so he was able to burn off some energy. My brother & his wife live in KC while he attends law school and she is getting ready to start an accelerated nursing program so it's always great when they're able to come into town.

My little brother...who's definitely not so little anymore! Love ya bub!

My grandpa with Josie & Romo

Make A Wish!!!

Tonight we finished off our crazy-busy weekend with small group & as always it was so refreshing to spend time with such a wonderful group of people. Whew..I'm tired just writing about all we did this weekend. I guess we start all over again tomorrow...

See? Even poor Josie is worn out!

Weekend Rewind

Fortunately for me, our office is closed today for President's Day so I'm able to post the Valentine's Weekend Rewind from the comfy, cozy location of my bed. I don't really have any other plans for today except heading out to meet Hubby for lunch. The only thing that could make today any better was if Hubby was off work...however, no rest for accountants during tax season.

We had a great weekend that started out with a fun night on Friday. We had french toast for dinner (breakfast for dinner is one of my favorites) and then headed out to some friends' house for card night. We watched the Olympics Opening Ceremony and played pitch until a winner was declared. The boys were the winner this time, but I know for sure there will be a rematch.

Saturday Hubby had to work which gave me plenty of time to put together one of his Valentine's day gifts. He is obsessed with the cookie cakes from the Great American Cookie Company so when Bakerella posted this I knew I had to give it a try. My mom had the heart shaped pan already so I got all of my ingredients and got to work!

Valentine's Day M&M's...check!

Homemade heart-shaped chocolate chip cookie...check!

The finished product...Yum!! Hubby was thrilled and we still have plenty of cookie cake to enjoy for the rest of the week!

We decided to not go overboard on the Valentine's day gifts and save our money for a new set of patio furniture that we can enjoy together once the weather warms up. However, that doesn't mean we didn't do anything...while I made Hubby a cookie cake, he had these delivered to my office on Friday.

They are so delicious...and as you can see I didn't make it home from work with all 12. I just had to share with the girls at work!

We also got each other a practical gift...I bought Hubby a pink, long-sleeved Polo shirt that will be great for Spring & he bought me a pair of skinny jeans from Banana Republic. We also always exchange cards on Valentine's which is probably my favorite part. We drove to Branson on Saturday night for dinner at Cantina Laredo (more yummy food) and enjoyed the drive along with the fountain presentation at Branson Landing. This is certainly a tradition for us and I hope we can continue this for many years to come.

Before heading out to dinner...

Sunday morning I woke up and made Monkey Muffins from PW for breakfast with a little modification. Instead of the condensed milk, I made my own homemade glaze to put on the muffins. They were so delicious and so easy! We went to church, had lunch at Chili's and then ran a few more errands before coming home to relax. We also had small group last night which was a great end to such a wonderful weekend.

Guess I should probably get out of bed about now & join the world...nah...a few more minutes won't hurt! Happy President's Day for those of your enjoying a day off!

Weekend Rewind

What a great weekend! Friday night I met Hubby after he got off work for dinner at Macaroni Grill. Normally he comes home & we go back into town together, but after a long work week I figured he might just want to meet up to save some time. After dinner we made a few quick exchanges with my birthday clothes. Thank goodness they had the right size in everything he had picked out! We came on home so Hubby could try out his newest toy...a Wii bowling ball. He had some gift cards to Best Buy so he ordered an actual bowling ball & a new bowling game for the Wii. I simply observed while he played but I can tell it's going to make the game a whole lot more realistic. He certainly seemed to have a good time with it!

Saturday morning we both had to work and we spent the rest of Saturday afternoon doing random things around the house. Hubby worked in the office on filing & financial duties & I did some laundry along with some touch-up painting. It never fails, Bogey's feet & tail seem to throw small mud splatters all along our walls when he comes in for visits. Thank goodness for hardwood floors or we would have an outdoor only dog!

Saturday night we had our small group meeting. With the Super Bowl being last night we decided to reschedule so we could stay on track with the Sunday morning sermons but also enjoy the Super Bowl! It was such a fun evening--we had pizza & our regular lesson & then we finished up the evening with several rounds of Apples to Apples. We may have to plan on doing that more often because it was a blast!!!

Yesterday we had church (which was another awesome sermon--more to come tomorrow) and I had a quick meeting afterwards. As soon as I got home we loaded Bogey up and headed down to my parents' house to help out with any last minute prep before the Birthday/Super Bowl party. Plus I got to witness the artist in action...

My dad working on his masterpiece!

The finished product...I may or may not have been whining a bit that we always celebrate the Super Bowl & my birthday just gets thrown in. My parents were not about to let that happen this year! We had pink cups, plates, & napkins & notice the writing on the cake..."Super Bowl? Nope! Valentine's? No Way! It's Lauren's 27th Birthday!" Haha...I Love It!

All lit & ready for a wish!

Of course there were still a few presents to open!

After the birthday celebration, we got busy eating all the wonderful food. I think this was the best spread ever! Hot wings, stuffed mushrooms, bacon-wrapped chicken bites, cheesy bread squares, rotel & chips, spinach artichoke dip, beanie weenies, & huge fruit & vegetable trays. Oh, and of course homemade strawberry cake & apple dumplings for dessert! Wow...definitely a low-cal Super Bowl party! ;o)

Just a small part of the group resting after all the eating!

My mom broke out some old floor puzzles to entertain the girls!

There were 20-25 people there & we had such a great time hanging out watching the game & laughing at the commercials. Most of our crowd was routing for the Colts, but all in all we were just happy that it was a good game!

The weathermen were thinking we might get a bunch of snow again today...thankfully their forecast was a little off! I'm definitely ready for the snow to stop falling!!!

Weekend Rewind

Well, while the weathermen might have not been completely accurate in their forecast, we still had quite a bit of snow. We ended up with about 6" by the time it was all said & done. Most of the snow came on Friday during the day & then on into the evening hours. It was definitely beautiful to watch fall.

Friday night we didn't stray to far from home with all the snow so we grabbed dinner at a local pizza joint & came back to the house so Bogey could have some indoor time--we watched "The Invention of Lying." I can't really say that I would recommend it--definitely 2 hours of my life that I'll never get back.

Our frontyard landscaping all covered in snow...the funny thing is that below all that snow I've already got tulips & daffodils starting to come up! Bring on Spring!

Backyard as the snow continues to fall...

Bogey...why oh why wouldn't you let me take a good action shot?!?

The snow came down extremely fast on Friday--it just kept piling up!

Messing with the black & white...I love how the snowflakes stand out!

I was supposed to work on Saturday morning but thanks to my wonderful co-worker she called & said she could handle things on her own so I wouldn't have to drive down. It's only about a 15 minute drive, but with the roads it probably would have taken 35-45 minutes. Plus, we both knew that we most certainly wouldn't be busy...at least I got one snow day out of the winter storm. I took advantage of my unexpected morning off & did most of the laundry, shoveled off most of the back porch & caught up on a few other things around the house.

After Hubby got home from work we had a quick lunch & then headed to my college alma mater to watch a basketball game. Unfortunately it was a heartbreaker, but definitely entertaining. They were playing the #1 team in their conference so it would have been a great win if they could have pulled it off! After the game we wasted a little bit of time & then met up with some friends from church at Bandana's BBQ. We had a nice laid back dinner and then spent some time just visiting before heading home. We are so blessed to have so many great couples that we can spend time with on a regular basis.

Today we had church, ate lunch at a local Chinese spot, & then came home to work around the house a bit. Even though the sun is melting the snow quite a bit we decided to attempt to shovel off our driveway. As you can see we gave up before we were finished & decided to let the sun do the rest of the work. It's also warm enough that we played with Bogey a little outside. He LOVES the snow & loves to try and bite it. We definitely had some fun messing with him.

Our less than halfway shoveled driveway!

Hubby working hard on the front patio

My buddy year round, but definitely during tax season! Love you Bogey!

Bogey loved to watch Hubby shovel the snow & he also loves to eat the snow...

Hubby thought he would surprise him!

Poor Bogey!

I just loved this shot, with the snow & also the signs that Spring is coming soon!

Just me...

Another typical tax season work week ahead of us...ok, well that's not completely true because Thursday is MY BIRTHDAY!!! I'm a huge birthday person so I'm already excited.

Weekend Rewind

As has been the norm for us recently, we had a great weekend! I just love it when I can come back to work after a great weekend, feeling refreshed and ready to take on the next 5 days of the 8-5 schedule.

Friday night we had dinner with my Grandma & Grandpa Smart. First off, let me just tell you what incredible progress my grandma is making with her physical therapy following her stroke. She's still in her wheel chair but is able to walk with assistance when absolutely necessary. They have finally gotten into a routine that works for them & my grandpa is doing an amazing job of taking care of her & taking on all the duties of a housewife. He fixed us steaks, baked potatoes, salad & bread for dinner. YUM!!! I think I have a delayed New Year's resolution...I am so blessed to have both sets of grandparents still living and living within 20 minutes of our house. We need to do better at planning dinners with them at least once a month. They won't be around forever & I need to gather as much wisdom from them as possible. We had such a great night listening to their stories & talking about the most random things. Gaining advice from them is truly a treasure!

Saturday I worked around the house while Hubby worked and then we spent most of the afternoon just lounging around. Hubby still had a few returns to make from Christmas so we took care of those and then met up with our friends Shauna & Ryan for dinner. We had dinner at a great Mexican place, Maria's and then headed to Fedora's Social House for drinks & dessert fondue. While we were there, a photographer for a local entertainment website popped in & took pictures of us! It's not the greatest picture, but it's the best I can do. It was a yucky, rainy evening but the company made up for it & we had a great time. After spending the weeknights relaxing, it's so great to have plans with friends for the weekend!

Yesterday we went to church & then we had laundry on the to-do list for the afternoon. However, I did manage to squeeze in a quick nap before small group. Small group was wonderful as usual & I'll have a full update of our 2nd healing choice later this week. I always leave there feeling so blessed that we have such an awesome & supportive group of friends. It's truly a group that only God could have brought together...what a fabulous gift!

Weekend Rewind

Hubby & I had a great weekend & were able to spend plenty of time relaxing & hanging out with great friends. Friday night we had date night with dinner at Houlihan's followed by dessert & drinks at one of our favorite local places, Parlor 88 Lounge. They have great desserts & even have an indoor firepit that you can sit around. We were home fairly early but it was such a great time to spend with each other relaxing after a long week!

While Hubby was at work on Saturday morning I cooked & cleaned getting ready for a house full of friends on Saturday night. We had all of our college friends (which most of them are also Hubby's high school friends) over to our house for heavy appetizers, football & games. We had lots of yummy food including one of my favorite appetizers...

Crab Meat Appetizers

Ingredients:
1 stick butter
1 1/2 tsp mayonnaise
1 tsp garlic salt
1 6 oz jar of Old English cheese spread
6 oz crab meat
6 English Muffins split (so 12 muffin halves)

Have all ingredients at room temperature. Combine butter, mayonnaise, garlic salt, Old English cheese spread, & crab meat. Mix thoroughly. Spread onto English muffins & place on cookie sheet. Place in freezer for 1 hour or until ready to bake. When ready to serve, cut English muffins into quarters, place on cookie sheet & put under broiler for a few minutes until the top begins to turn brown. These are wonderful & one of our favorite appetizers!

I also had my first attempt at a chocolate cake...FROM SCRATCH!!! I found the recipe for "The Best Chocolate Sheet Cake Ever" on the The Pioneer Woman Cooks blog & I can definitely agree with the name! This was so rich & wonderful. Normally I just use boxed cakes & I probably still will for most occasions but this was definitley like a light & fluffy chocolate-frosted brownie...YUM! It was so easy so if you're looking for a cake from scratch, this is definitely one to try!


There were five couples at our house & three of them now have children. The kiddos are all within about 5 months of each other & they were so well-behaved. Of course I failed to take any pictures of the adults, but I got plenty of photos of the kids! Isn't that always how it happens when kids are involved?

Ok, is she not just absolutely adorable!

The 3 kiddos: Easton, Avery, & Sawyer--what a group!

Easton showing off his camo hat!

Three Men & 3 Babies...these 3 guys went to high school with Hubby & let me tell you...they are such great dads!

In between trying to watch football & take care of the kids, we also managed to get in a few games of Apples to Apples. I am happy to report that I won the last game! We had a great time with a group of people that we honestly don't get to see very often. We've been friends for what seems like forever, so it's always so easy when we get back together!

Yesterday Hubby & I had church & then came home to work some around the house. It was finally warm enough & the snow finally melted away so Hubby took down the last of our Christmas lights. We also had our first small group meeting of the year & I am SO excited for this study we are doing. It's called Life's Healing Choices and is an 8-week study that is corresponding with our sermons at church. I can't wait for the rest of the study--I just know that God is going to teach us all so much!

God has blessed Hubby with such an amazing small group, I can't imagine spending our Sunday nights any other way!

Weekend Rewind

With temperatures below zero, really the only thing Hubby & I had planned this weekend was to spend time at home so Bogey could be inside with us. He's now slept inside for the last 4 nights and has actually been a great house dog. It's certainly not a permanent thing because I can't stand all the dog hair in my house! However, I'm glad he's been warm inside instead of out in the freezing cold weather. Friday night we ran out and grabbed a quick dinner at Ruby Tuesday and then came back home, brought Bogey in the house, & watched The Hangover. Completely inappropriate...yes, pretty hilarious...also yes. Just definitely not one of those movies you would want to watch with your parents!

Saturday morning we both had to work--Yippee for us! After lunch we headed out to go see what all the whoopla is about Avatar. Neither one of us are big sci-fi fans, but so many people that we talk to absolutely loved it so we decided to give it a try. We paid a little extra to see the 3-D version and I'm definitely glad we did. The 3-D effects were pretty incredible & the whole movie was just amazing. I couldn't decide whether to pay attention to the story line or analyze the special effects. After the movie we grabbed dinner at one of our favorite local pizza places & then headed home. Yup, we had to come home to bring Bogey in for one last night sub-zero night.

Today we had church and after a quick meeting for me we've spent the rest of the day doing basically nothing. Sure, there's been a few loads of laundry done & Hubby did shovel off our driveway, but other than that our afternoon & evening has included a whole lot of sitting around. The temps actually got close to the freezing mark today & with the sun out, it was amazing how warm 30 degrees felt!

Back to the working world tomorrow...

Weekend Rewind

Ok so the weekend rewind actually consists of a rewind from about 4 days considering I've been off work since mid-afternoon on Thursday. Our offices closed early on New Year's Eve & Hubby & I have certainly been enjoying our New Years break. We had pretty simple plans to ring in the New Year consisting of dinner with one of our favorite couples, Derek & Andrea. We had a fabulous dinner at a local restaurant & then we came home for chocolate fondue and a few other snacks. Unfortunately Derek started feeling sick not too long after we got to our house so he headed home for a good night's sleep! Andrea stuck around to ring in the New Year (don't worry she tried to go home but Derek insisted she stick around & have fun with Hubby & I).


For New Year's Day Hubby & I had plans to do some shopping & then go see a basketball game at my college alma mater...Missouri State University. It was a fantastic day starting with Chick-fil-A for lunch & then I managed to hit the jackpot. Dillard's was having an incredible shoe sale & I was able to find a pair of BCBG boots--normally $150, marked down to $80 with an additional 50% off--which means I got a $150 pair of boots for $40! SCORE!!! I was also able to find another pair of shoes normally about $100 that I brought home for $25! Banana Republic was also having a great sale with an additional 30% off any sale items so Hubby & I were both able to bring some great things home. We had dinner with my parents at one of our favorite local Mexican restaurants & then took in a great basketball game. It was a super-exciting game & I know we'll be headed to more games this season.

On Saturday we ran some errands in the morning and then headed down to my great aunt & uncle's house for our last Christmas gathering. This celebrations is the one that used to be on Christmas Eve Eve and involves both sides of my family. It was a nice afternoon and then Hubby & I came home for a relaxing evening. Relaxing is a relative term because we also volunteered to dogsit. This normally only involves one dog but my parents' are dog-sitting my brother's dog so we had Josie & Romo for about 5 hours. It's also freezing cold outside so we brought Bogey in. Let's just say it was very entertaining to watch the 3 of them interact. Hubby & I managed to get in a quick pizza dinner & the dogs finally relaxed enough so that we could watch a movie...Night at the Museum 2: Return to the Smithsonian. It was definitely entertaining but not quite as good as the first.

Romo loves to pose for pictures...he is so adorable & such a great puppy! He & Bogey definitely had some fun when we had all 3 of the pups in the house.

I think Bogey was a little jealous...all he wanted to do was play & have fun!

If they're not sleeping, Josie & Romo spend most of their time wrestling & attacking each other. It's quite hilarious to see!

Sunday morning we woke up to about 3" of snow on the ground which turned into about 5" by the time the snow stopped falling. Church wasn't cancelled so we headed to church and then we loaded up our snow gear & Bogey & headed down to my parents' house for the afternoon. After a quick lunch we bundled up and headed outside to enjoy the winter wonderland. Bogey LOVES the snow. We hooked up a sled to the 4-wheelers and had a great time playing outside for the afternoon. Bogey came home and crashed so I think he had a great time!!!

All decked out for the cold!

Don't you love the outfit...at least he was warm!

Getting everything hooked up for the sledding festivities!

My dad and his "other" little girl, Josie.

Hubby holding on tight!

My view from the sled! It was sooo much fun!

My grandpa's pond...almost completely frozen over. I have no doubt it will be solid ice & maybe even thick enough to drive on after the freezing temps that are forecast for this week.

Bogey had tons of fun with his puppy friends! He absolutely loves the snow!

Self-portrait...pretty good with gloves on in the freezing cold!

My dad taking Hubby for one last ride. What a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon!

This week the weather forecast is less than desirable. The temperatures aren't supposed to get above 20 degrees and while we've already got 5" of snow on the ground they're calling for at least that much more on Wednesday. Bogey may get to spend a few nights inside if the temps are supposed to fall below zero! I'm all about a good snow, but this sub-zero temperature stuff is FOR THE BIRDS!!!!

Weekend Rewind~White Christmas Style

Wow...what an amazing Christmas Break!!! Hubby & I spent so much time with both of our families & we realized throughout the course of 4 days just how incredibly blessed we are. God has poured out countless blessings & we are in such awe of how He showers us with love everyday. Thank you God for sending your precious baby boy to this earth. What a priceless, sacrificial gift!

So...now on to all the gatherings--Christmas Eve morning we have always gone to my mom's parents for presents in the morning & pizza for lunch. Things were no different this year and we headed down about 9:30 for our first of many Christmas's.

Romo--Nick & Millie's precious dog...he is too cute!!

My Grandpa--he's a huge Dallas Cowboys fan! Don't you love his new stocking hat!

Hubby & his St. Louis Cardinals garden knome...I think it will be staying in the house during the winter months.

Christmas Eve afternoon we headed back home to prepare for the evening's festivities. We hosted Hubby's parents, sister & brother-in-law, & nephews for our family Christmas. I made chili & chicken tortilla soup which resulted in super-easy cleanup! We had a great evening & the boys loved all their gifts!

Jackson...the box boy!

Uncle Nicky & Aunt L got Hunter "The Tickle Monster" book & Laugh Kit. It comes complete with a fun box & Tickle Monster gloves. I highly recommend it for any small child on your list!

I started out with the gloves...but then Hunter took over! Isn't he just adorable!!

and again...
and again!


In addition to the Tickle Monster we also had a Dr. in the house. Hunter loves to play dress-up so this was the perfect gift from Mamaw & Pappy!


Hubby also got a new golf bag--he was very happy!

The big gift of the night went to Hunter...his first power-wheels Artic Cat. He was so surprised & we had cleaned out our garage so he could ride around in it. The temperatures were below freezing so no riding it outside!

He loved giving his little brother a ride!

After all the family left, Hubby & I were left to play Santa for each other. We stuffed each other's stockings and I know that I went to bed with visions of sugarplums dancing in my head. I have never been able to sleep in on Christmas morning & as a 26 (almost 27) year old woman it's no different. I woke up before 7, but forced myself to stay in bed until exactly 7:00 am. It was then that I realized Hubby was actually awake as well so we pulled on our robes & went to the living room to exchange our gifts. This is one of my favorite Christmas moments--Hubby & I opening our gifts to each other with no one else around.

Hubby and his wonderful self! Clothes & shoes were on his Christmas list so that's what he got! Don't you love the tongue sticking out?!?


Just so Hubby isn't the only one with a pre-shower photo on here, I give you my lovely greasy hair, greasy skin shot; however, it was more than worth it.

As I was finished opening my gifts Hubby mentioned that there might be one more present for me hidden in the tree. With my "Eagle Eyes (as he likes to call them)" I located the little black box tied with a red ribbon almost immediately. While I was certain it was jewelry I was not expecting what was inside! It was my other wedding band to go on the other side of my engagement ring. WOW!!! I was seriously speechless! We had gone to the jeweler to try it on back in the Summer but I was certainly not expecting it now! What a fantastic Christmas morning surprise from my wonderful Hubby!

Christmas morning also brought more excitement as about 3-4 inches of snow fell overnight. I honestly don't know if I've ever seen snow fall overnight on Christmas Eve to wake up to a white Christmas morning. It was incredibly cold so the windchill was in the single digits but it was certainly fun to have White Christmas!

Due to the snow, our lunch plans with my mother-in-law's family were cancelled so we packed up the car, Bogey jumped in the back, and we headed down to my parents' house several hours early. We helped get dinner ready, wrapped some last minute gifts, & played cards until my brother & his wife arrived late afternoon. We had such a great time & shared lots of laughs!

My parents' Christmas tree...yes it's real & yes it's about 14' tall!

One of the stacks of presents...we opened presents for what seemed like forever, but no complaints here!


Me in some of my new attire by my parents' fireplace!

My dad playing Santa with Romo on the left & Josie on the right. Bogey was outside enjoying playing in the snow with his doggy cousins!

One of the many laughs from the night came from this package....this was a gift to me from my parents. Hmmm...I wonder what's inside?!?

The other hysterical laughter came from poor Romo. My mom bought him some doggy booties & he was so tired he just let Millie put them on him while he went back to sleep.

He was not quite sure about the boots and it was hysterical to see him walk around in them. He looked like he was walking on his tiptoes! Poor Romo!

Saturday afternoon we had my dad's family Christmas that was back at my parents' house. We had a great time & everyone was able to make it except for my cousin Kevin who was celebrating with his wife's family in Tennessee. It's always a great time when we're all together & this time was no different.

My two very mature cousins...remember the Tickle Monster book? My mom also bought it for my 4-year old 2nd cousin Alyssa. I think my cousins had more fun with the gloves than she did.

At least Alyssa was able to enjoy the book.

Josie turned one on December 26th so we had to have a candle!

To complete our Christmas weekend celebrations we headed to Webb City with Hubby's parents to have Christmas with my father-in-law's family. We had a gift card exchange & we ended up with gift cards to Lowe's & Target...not too bad if you ask me! We spent most of the afternoon just hanging out, eating yummy food, & opening gifts.

Jackson is also starting to take a few steps...we all clapped & cheered for him!

Hunter also decided he needed to wrestle with me--I had to break out my Tickle Monster fingers even though I didn't have my gloves.

Whew...well there it is! Our Christmas recap. It was a wonderful 4-day weekend that flew by in a flash but the good thing is we have another long weekend with New Year's coming up on Friday! Woohoo! It's back to the real world of work for me today and trying to play catch up. Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas & were able to spend some quality time with those you love the most!