Ringing in the New Year

On New Year's Eve we went to dinner at Maggiano's with Ryan's family. Afterward we planned to head down to The Landing to ring in the new year and watch some fireworks. Unfortunately....The Landing didn't end up being the classiest of places. Fortunately for us, we have some awesome friends that live close by! We called them up and they invited us over to hang out and watch the ball drop and say cheers to the new year! So thankful for great friends!

 Down at The Landing

Happy New Year!

Jingle all the way

On Christmas Eve our church has a live nativity before & after the services with shepards, wise men, horses, sheep, a cow, and of course Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus. This year Ryan & I got to be Mary & Joseph! I held a baby doll for nativity when we were outside around the hay and animals, but inside for the service (Ryan & I didn't have any speaking parts, just held the baby and sat on the stage!) we had a real baby! She (yes, we only had a girl for the part) was the perfect baby Jesus & slept through BOTH services!

       Afterward we all went to Ryan's aunt & uncle's house for Christmas Eve together. We had dinner together, watched the younger cousins open gifts, and then exchange gifts with the adults. My family & Ryan's family both have a tradition of getting pajamas on Christmas Eve and this year it kept going! Ryan's parents got all four of us UT pajamas in honor of young Nathaniel!

       We spent Christmas morning together opening gifts (which we already knew about) & stockings (that we surprised each other with) at our place. Later we went down to my parents house to spend Christmas & a few days with my family. We had such a great first Christmas together & are so thankful for both families we got to share it with!

 My awesome Gator scarfs from the Flemings! 

 One of Ryan's stocking stuffers & quite possibly his favorite!

He's been a big fan of TMNT forever!

Christmas at Mom & Dad's!

Ryan turns 24!

        Ryan's birthday was on a Monday this year, so naturally we celebrated it Saturday, Sunday, & Monday!
On Saturday we went to the Jacksonville Giants basketball game at the Veterans Memorial Arena. We had never been to a game before, but we wanted to do something fun and different!

Here is Ryan with the Giant's mascot, Mr. Biggs!

(Please note the guy in the background picking his nose!)

        On Sunday we celebrated with his family. We went to La Nop for lunch after church and then went back to his parents house for cake, ice cream, and some football watching! I was so excited to make Ryan's cake for his birthday! I had never made a cake before (only cupcakes) so I kept it pretty simple....3 layers of funfetti cake & icing, and some cute decor on top! :)

        Finally on Ryan's REAL birthday we went to a Japanese Steakhouse Restaurant because you can your meal for free on your actual birthday! It was yummmmy! Afterward we went to see Sherlock Holmes; Ryan is  a big movie fan & he couldn't wait to see it!

We had a great time celebrating my sweet sweet hubby!

Here's to many more years!

Thanksgiving & Black Friday

          For our first Thanksgiving together Ryan & I stayed in town and celebrated with his side of the family. We all went over to his aunt & uncle's house and (since there are around 30 people) they set up long tables in the back yard so we can all sit together! His aunt is a VERY crafty woman so the tables and decorations looked great! It was a neat experience to have Thanksgiving dinner outside, but I clearly wasn't thinking about the weather when I got dressed that morning! It was a pretty cold day this year AND it was windy, but between borrowing a jacket and a blanket, I was covered! ;) 

          Ryan has 5 little cousins and each year the older 4 (the youngest one just turned 2 so he's not old enough yet) put on a Thanksgiving play for the family each year. This year they did "Stone Soup" which was a witty story about 2 soldiers coming to a town and all the townspeople hid their food because they didn't want to share. The clever soldiers told the towns people they could make soup from stones but they just needed a few things....the people were so interested in how to make soup from stones that the soldiers were able to trick them into bringing out their food...."all we need for stone soup is a few carrots, 3 potatoes, 2 onions...." and so on. It was fun watching the kids act it out and remember their lines! Ryan's aunt hinted that they will need "more actors" soon...haha but we're not quite ready for that yet! Chelsea could always join in though!

        Later that night Ryan & I went out on out first Black Friday adventure. And adventure it was! We left at 9pm and stayed out until 7am! Walmart was our first and craziest stop! There were hundreds of people there and they were definitely on a mission! Three fights broke out while we were there from 9:30pm-12am! We also hit Best Buy, the mall, and Jo Ann Fabrics (got a great deal on a Christmas tree!). It was a fun experience together but we decided we might not do it again together since we couldn't surprise each other with our gifts on Christmas since we bought them together haha!