Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow

We had our first snow of the season and nobody is more excited than Stella...and maybe me.

It started Friday morning and by Friday afternoon, it was really coming down. As soon as Brad came home from work, we bundled up, grabbed the camera and took Stella out for her first experience in the snow.

She loved it! We'd make snowballs for her to chase down the sidewalk and as soon as she'd catch them she'd stomp it then eat the rest.

As soon as she was tired, we jumped in the car to head to the store around the corner. It was predicted we'd have snow all weekend and we weren't about to be stuck in the house for several days without wine and cheese (which is what we ate for dinner that first night). Don't worry, I also made a homemade lasagna that we ate on all weekend to keep us warm and happy.

It didn't snow anymore on Saturday but there was still plenty of snow on the ground to go play in.

Again, she wore herself out.

We ventured into town that afternoon, and by "ventured" I mean we walked down the street a couple of blocks. We finished up our last minute Christmas shopping and enjoyed some gluhwein along the way. The high was only 20 degrees and before we knew it, our faces were frozen. Couldn't help but think of Mr. Griswold himself.

"The most enjoying traditions of the season are best enjoyed in the warm embrace of kith and kin. Thith tree is a thymbol of the thpirit of the Griswold family Chrithmath."

Tomorrow should be even more fun as it has not stopped snowing all day today! You'd think I was 6 years old; always a kid at heart! I can tell you one thing, this girl is definitely dreaming of a white Christmas.

Ghost of Christmas Past

All time classic...

I don't know what's funnier - the fact that Baby has no problem wearing reindeer antlers or that Hailey's head is on fire.

And how cute is this?

Christmas Is In The Air

To say that Christmas is my favorite time of year would be an understatement. Even that sentence is an understatement...I'm borderline (overly) obsessed. Do they have medication for something like this? Picture something like this:

I realize not everyone shares my excitment so Brad and I agreed no Christmas music until after Thanksgiving which I was able to stick to...when he was around. Between you and me, I started about two weeks before that. Shhh, don't tell.

As this is our first Christmas as a married couple, we had the exciting task of finding a new tree. We decided to take the artifical route due to Brad's allergies and the fact that I can't keep the floors clean as it is (thank you, Stella). Well, you'd better believe that tree was up the Friday following Thanksgiving. I will admit we had a bit of a Clark Griswald moment. Once the tree was out of the box and all fluffed up, it was "a bit" larger than expected. Okay, quite a bit larger. I think the quote "little full, lotta sap" was used several times.

But once it was decorated, lit up and pushed back into the corner, I couldn't have been happier. It makes our house feel like it should at Christmas. And over the next few years, we'll continue to add to our collection of ornaments from all of our travels.


Our bookshelf is doubling as a mantle since we don't have a fireplace. Stella is officially part of the family.

Not only is this our first Christmas as a married couple but it's also our first Christmas living in Germany which means....drumroll please.....CHRISTMAS MARKETS! I'd heard about them but had no idea what to expect. For our first experience, Brad and I ventured out to our local market in downtown Mainz and it was amazing! Set in the middle of a big sqaure near the cathedral, there were rows and rows of vendors and decorations and lights. We enjoyed a glass of gluhwein (basically spiced wine)and a bratwurst with pommes (fries). You would not believe all the food you can try. Delish!

After round one, we were ready to tackle a big one and I had my heart set on Cologne. They were expected to have the biggest Christmas Market in all of Germany this year. So why not, right? Eh. Not so much. In addition to being cold, rainy, and windy it was packed! I'm talking you could hardly move, much less get up to a booth to actually see anything. It was neat to see as a whole but I think I'll pass next year.



One of our favorites was a bit of a shocker - Frankfurt. The city is not a tourist favorite because it's mostly financial buildings and in comparison to other towns can be a bit boring. However, they had a fantastic market! Great vendors, great food, and we just loved the atmosphere.


And last but not least, I hit up the Wiesbaden market during the middle of the week and middle of the day. Less crowded and much more enjoyable. This market had a HUGE ferris wheel in the middle of it. I can only imagine the view you can see from the top of it. But I didn't have my camera or my husband so I passed.

And that's it...so far. I've been back to the Mainz market one more time and I'm sure we'll go at least once more. It really is such an amazing atmosphere. We've met people from all over; it's pretty easy to spot the American's(a Starter jacket with your favorite NFL team is a dead giveaway).

Most of our gifts will be late because we wanted them to come from the Christmas markets making it difficult to ship home. So we apologize now but we hope it's worth the wait!

In other news, my sister-in-law, Stephanie, will be here the day after Christmas to spend New Year's and Brad's Birthday with us. We are soooo excited! Our first family visitor! Wooohooo! As for the rest of ya - 2010 is YOUR year to make a trip to Europe so start planning. We're ready!

Happy Holidays!

Family Time

The trip is not over yet! Just getting started.

I spent Sunday morning with my Mom and sister shopping before heading over to my Dad's house to celebrate his birthday. My Grandmother and Granddad surprised my Dad too by coming for a visit. I may have tipped them off that I'd be in town. Carmen made an amazing Mexican lunch with tamales, enchiladas, and pasole (have you figured out that I'm a little crazy when it comes to Mexican food?) and we ate and ate and ate. We could hardly move at this point so we parked it in front of the tube to watch the Dallas Cowboys embarrass themselves against the Packers.

On Monday, me, my Mom, and Riley hit the road to Bridgeport to see my Grandma and Grandpa. Fortunately, we made it just in time for the sunset over the water. My favorite part of the day out there. A glass of Prosecco in hand doesn't hurt either. I was introduced to their new little addition, Bella. She is the sweetest little squirt; they're lucky I didn't walk right out of there with her in my purse.

Tuesday was a fun day! Girls day at the Galleria! (You know, I'm learning a lot about myself writing this blog. I like to shop and I like to eat. A lot. Hmmmm.) We did some damage in Nordstroms before having lunch at Mi Cocina and since it was "Girls Day" we had margaritas. It was 5 o'clock somewhere. Micah joined us for a bit before heading back to work. We'll pretend like I didn't start crying outside of Williams Sonoma when we had to say goodbye.

We timed our trip just right so we had the pleasure of sitting in rush hour traffic for what seemed like forever. Twenty minutes on an on-ramp, really? Don't miss that. But it was worth the wait. Next stop was The Gonzales' house and the boys were in the yard waiting when we pulled up.

And just like old times, we grazed on munchies and drank wine while catching up. There was only one thing missing....Brad. The boys were sure to let me know they wished he could be there which made me miss him all the more. Tear. :*(

I'll give you two guesses on what Traci and I did on Wednesday......if you said shopping you'd be correct. Hey! It wasn't all for me.

My Aunt Kelli and cousin, Joel, were able to swing by before church so I was able to catch up with them, too. I can't believe how grown up Joel is getting.

We surprised the boys when they got home from school - we were going to see A Christmas Carol in 3D (and on a school night, waaahooo). Standing in line at the automatic machine went something like this:

Traci: Woah! $12.50 per ticket!!??

Me: Are they serious?!

Aaron: Why don't you just buy all Child tickets? They'll never know. They don't check.
Traci: Aaron! I don't think so! That would be stealing! I can't believe you said that.

*Micheal walks up from parking the car.

Michael: What's going on?

Traci: The tickets are $12.50 a piece.

Micheal: Woah! We should just get the Child tickets then. (Kidding, of course.)

It was classic. The conversation, not the movie. It was just eh. 3D effects were amazing but it's not exactly a Christmas movie where you leaving feeling all warm and fuzzy.

Since Brad and I aren't going to be around for the holidays, Michael decided he'd make a full out Thanksgiving Dinner. And he did. A big turkey, dressing, green bean casserole, pumpkin pie, the works. And it was absolutely amazing! We figured we'd try to cram in as much as we could while I was with them. So we had a big Thanksgiving meal with Christmas music on in the background and (jokingly) told the kids they were going to have to stay up until midnight to celebrate New Year's, too. But in sticking with tradition, we popped in The Grinch for a good laugh. We would have watched A Christmas Vacation too but it just didn't feel right without Brad. Maybe next year.

And that was the end of my trip. I gave the boys a big hug before they left for school. It makes it easier knowing I'll see them all in a few months.

Well, with the huge exception that Brad was unable to join me, that was quite possibly the best trip home. Ever.

Now Christmas is right around the corner which makes me a very happy girl. Pictures of our place to come soon!

Surprise!

If you know me, you know I love a good surprise especially if I'm the one doing the surprising. So on top of it being gameday in Stillwater (which I've missed greatly), I was beyond excited to surprise my Dad at the tailgate party.

The day kicked off with a good WalMart run. A tailgate wouldn't be a tailgate without Amy's famous Seven Layer Bean Dip. If you haven't had it, you're missing out so get there early because it goes fast no matter how much there is.

The weather was chilly and overcast but that made it all the more fun. And it certainly didn't seem to stop my Dad from fitting in a round of golf that morning so the big surprise would have to wait. In the meantime, I was able to catch up with my family, in-laws, sister-in-law, friends and of course stuff my face with delicious food.

Then it was time for the big surprise. My mom was getting updates from my Dad's buddy who he played golf with on where they were and when they would be arriving. So when it was time, I went and made friends with another group of tailgaters and hid in their tent. When I saw my Dad walking up I came up behind him and said "Happy Birthday, Dad." It took a good 3 seconds for him to process what he was looking at. "Heeeeeeeey! What are you doing here!"

We had a few more hours until kick off which meant plenty of time for eating, chatting, and my new favorite game - Lifesize Jenga. That's right, Jenga blocks made out of 2x4's and for the record, I won.

This may be one of the greatest pictures of all time (with the execption that Stephanie disappeared right when we were about to take it). Check out my Dad. I love it! Just one of the girls.

So we ran with it. (He's going to kill me for this.)

Stephanie and I went to the first half of the game then watched the rest at the tailgate sitting around the fire with the rest of the group.

The Cowboys beat the Raiders 24 - 17 which meant the night would not be complete without a trip to "The Strip." So for old times sake me, Amy, and Micah ventured to our old stomping ground, Willies, for a couple of drinks and reminiscing.

And that is where the night ended. The day was quite a success!

I'd love to do it again next year but next time Brad HAS to come with me. He was missed by all...especially me.