A New Year Off To A Good Start

We drove down to Lexington, KY to visit some good friends to celebrate New Years Eve. Hey, I am not even a month late, so stop the "holy crap, is she just now writing about New Years Eve?"!! Brian and I left on Saturday the 29th and made the drive down to Lexington in just over four hours (and no speeding ticket!). Johanna did great and even slept in her car seat for almost an hour!! We stayed with our good friends Shawn and Erika and got to visit with them and their three kids- Bryce (just turn two last week), Vaugn (one) and Eva (one-yes, they are twins). We also got to see our friends Scott and Erin and their daughter Annabelle who live down there as well. We did a lot of fun stuff while we were down there, but here is my top ten....
10. had fun listening to all the kids jam on the piano
9. Johanna had a great time obsessing over their dog Woodrow. She perfected her use of the word "dog"
8. We drank lots of peppermint hot chocolate with special marshmellows...yum!!
7. We got to enjoy some Beef Schloggin!!
6. Johanna did great during the car trips. Woohoo- what a relief!
5. We played a couple rousing games of Battle of the Sexes. Women- 2 , Men- 0
4. Great fellowship with great friends.
3. Erika and I got to go out for a manicure and pedicure!
2. We ate at my all-time favorite restaurant- Jonathan at Gratz Park. Sooooo tasty!
1. More great times with great friends!!

Brian holding Eva and Johanna who are wearing matching shirts!

Me and Bryce! He mostly just wanted to see himself after I took the picture!

Brian with Johanna and Bryce. I am not sure why Johanna is making such a silly face, but it's really cute!

Friends Scott and Erin with their daughter at midnight on New Years Eve. No, they're not crazy parents who kept their kid up! They were there for the evening and were about to go home, so they had to wake Annabelle up to leave. They also managed to be the only adults I got in a picture the entire weekend!

old friends= good times

So, I know that it has been forever since I have posted, and I'm really far behind on what is going on. I will keep my reasons for not posting as often short..

1. I am still going to school
2. I am student teaching full time
3. I have an almost one year old
4. I have a husband (does that count as another child? hehe!)
5. I need to start looking for a job

All I have to say is AHHHHHH!! Now that I have had a very appropriate pity party, I will try to get caught up which will make posting seem less over whelming.

I got to reconnect with an old friend from high school (Amanda West) through myspace. She is also the one who got me into this whole blog thing (thanks Amanda!) and the link to her blog is at the side of my page. Anyhoo, she came into town on Christmas and shortly thereafter we got some folks together for an evening at the olde jaol- the favorite Wooster friends reuniting location. Here are some photos.





It was cracking me up to see how our conversations have changed since high school. From boys and drama to babies (including their poop) and drama (hey some things never change!!). I had a BLAST! It was great to see Amanda and to meet Chad.

I also got to briefly stop by Amanda's house for a get together the next evening (kids were invited to this one!) . I was so excited to hold baby Brynn!! Here are some pics from that...

Amanda with Johanna
Me with Brynn
Two mommies!! Holy Cow!!
All in all it was a great couple of days, and I can't wait until the next time!

Christmas at my Sister's House

After a kinda crazy but fun Christmas morning we headed to my sister's house to celebrate Christmas with my family. Johanna had to take her afternoon nap, but everyone else opened presents while she was sleeping.
Raquel (2) enjoyed her chicken dance elmo. The second photo is of her practicing the chicken dance!
Sierra (4) liked her Color Wonder art set
Johanna woke up from her nap

and was able to get in on the action
Here she is thinking "Hmmmmm, what else can I chew on, rip up and destroy today??"
We then had a wonderful dinner with all the trimmings. It was a blast and everything tasted delicious. I only wish that I had taken a picture of the table because it was beautiful (good job sis!). After dinner we all got to sit in the living room and read from the bible and discuss the reason for the season. Then, Brian and I, along with our sleepy child, headed home for bed. However, I saved the best for last. This is the absolute best Christmas present I have been blessed with..
Only 361 days until next Christmas!

Christmas with Brian's Fam

We celebrated Christmas with Brian's family on Christmas Eve morning. It was wonderful and low key which was nice. We opened presents once everyone arrived.
James (2) patiently waited his turn to open a present


He especially loved someones finger in the last picture, but also seemed to enjoy his new truck




and Claire (7) liked her DVD

Johanna had fun opening presents, although she kept wanted to steal James' truck.
Yes, I am wearing the crazy but comfy pajama pants!

Stephanie seemed to like her gifts. However, Carrie (Brian's only older sis) loved her "Corn Poop" shirt that Brian bought her for her birthday (the 22nd) which she is sporting in this photo. It says "Corn Poop. One of life's great mysteries (or something like that)!
James also really liked his new train set (his parents got him). Brian's dad built the table it is on, which I think is pretty cool.
After a great potato soup lunch and a good game of Apples to Apples, it was time to go home. It was a fun and relaxing day! It's kind of weird to think that since then we have another member of the family- Evelyn Grace who was born to Margaret (Brian's sis) and Mike (her husband) on December 28th. I have blogged about her (welcome to this world), so check it out!

Time for a change...

Things have been changing a lot around here, and I felt it was time to do a little face lift for the good ol' blog. Hope you like the changes. It is taking me awhile to get used to it, but I'm getting there.

I have so much to blog about and not enough time to do it!! So, I will post bits at a time and hopefully be caught up by next Christmas.

It is somewhat sad that the Christmas and New Years are over. They were CRAZY busy, but I still seem to be experiencing some "post-holiday let down." Today is Brian's first full day back at work since last Friday, and we just got back from a trip to Lexington, KY to visit some friends. However, I am getting ahead of myself. To cheer me up, I will start at the beginning...Christmas Day!!
Well, here is Christmas Eve when Brian and I were being Mr. and Mrs. Clause for the first time. Yes, we are that cheesy. We opened and set up all of Johanna's gifts the night before which was a REALLY great idea.



Johanna arose at her usual 8 am, but was unaware of what was about to take place. Here is a synopsis...

This is how we found her at 8 am when we entered her room. Notice the puddle of drool and the pajamas that are almost too small.

We then got her dressed for the day including her "My First Christmas" booties since she was too big to fit into any of the "My First Christmas" outfits.
We headed downstairs (pics taken before the toy bomb exploded)




where we opened presents
and ate our Christmas morning cinnamon rolls!

We (meaning Johanna even though I wanted to) then took a morning nap while Brian and I prepared food and belongings to head over to my sister's for a family Christmas celebration after Johanna got up...which is a whole other post.
I have to leave you wanting more ya know!