1. Christmas started off in Birmingham with our fantastic friends. We were all able to go to Saw's Barbeque then the Alabama Theater to see White Christmas (a personal favorite of mine). I adore these sweet friends and have no idea what Luke and I would do without them! We only wish Andy, Hillary, and Danny could have joined us!
2. We spent up until Christmas day with my family. Highlights of the time include a Christmas outing with my dad (Milo's then back to the Alabama Theater to see Miracle on 34th Street), lots of Christmas shopping, and hanging out with Mom, Amy, and Austin. It's always great to be home for an extended amount of time.
Have I mentioned that I LOVE my siblings and think they are so amazing!3. Christmas Eve we went to the Christmas Eve service at Shades then spiced up our tradition by going to Bright Star in Bessemer (usually it's Outback). Food was great and despite the torrential downpour, we managed to have a good time.
4. Christmas Day: I have always loved Christmas, and I have no idea what we're going to do if we're ever able to stay in one place on Christmas day. Christmas morning started off at my house where we opened gifts and ate breakfast. Followed by Luke's extended family Christmas (dirty santa and more brunch) at his house. Next came my extended family's Christmas swap and yet more food. We finished off the night with the new Sherlock Holmes movie. Despite the chaotic nature of Christmas day, it was so fun being able to see both of our families - they all mean so much to us and have shaped our lives in so many ways - what a blessing they are to us!
We went camping with my brother after the hurricane hit this fall and had major difficulty starting a fire. So what did he get Luke for Christmas? Fire sticks and matches. Perfect. I love his sense of humor!
5. Day after Christmas: Christmas gifts and brunch with Luke's small family followed by Christmas lunch with Luke's other extended family. Good times and good food with lots of Super Mario Brothers for the Wii - it's been years since we've played, yet we became addicted so easily!6. The rest of Christmas until New Years consisted mainly of relaxation. We spent this time with Luke's family, and loved every second of it. We saw Avatar in 3D (which we both highly recommend) and were able to spend quality time with Luke's aunt and uncle from Virginia.
7. I celebrated another birthday - thanks for all of the birthday wishes and even a special birthday singing voicemail! The older I get the more difficult it is for me to remember my age. I remember when I was young and people would ask me how old I was, and the response would be "12 and 3/4" - now it's "22... I mean twenty.....five?" We went to Dreamcakes (a new cupcake place in Homewood that Toria suggested, which I also highly recommend), then Vulcan park. For dinner, Luke took me to Kobe (have I mentioned that I love Japanese food) then Zoolight Safari. It was freezing! Luke became obsessed with this llama pictured below (we had to go back and take a picture of him). This was a petting zoo portion, yet the llama was situated directly between the two gates so no one could begin to touch him....needless, to say, he did not look happy about any of his petting zoo experience.
8. Birthday, continued: The day after my birthday consisted of breakfast at Cracker Barrel then dinner with the Edwards at Rojo (southwest quesadilla = amazing) and an Edgar's cake! Highlight of the birthday experience - Luke's gift, which was tickets to see Brad Paisley in Birmingham in February - I can't wait!!!9. For New Years, we headed up to Huntsville and spent time with Travis and Gina. During the weekend Ben Thomason got married - crazy fun wedding that was so sweet. Travis took me and Luke around to look at potential neighborhoods if we move to Huntsville in the summer. I was able to shadow a pediatric pharmacist at Huntsville Hospital, and I absolutely LOVED it! Luke was able to visit 2 companies he's interested in. Overall, a very productive and fun trip. During which we (and Travis), as complete nuts, decided to run in 10-20 degree weather (sweat was turning into ice on my headband - that tells you it's too cold to be running!).
10. Watched Auburn barely pull off a victory over Northwestern. But hey, it's a win. We only wish we could have been there.
11. Now we're back in Auburn and glad to not be living out of a suitcase anymore. Luke took the week off of work, and we're on a "staycation" (vacation but staying at home) - enjoying the time off before hectic spring begins.
So that's our break so far, and we're enjoying every last second of it! Back to the real world on Monday. For our last Christmas break ever, it's been really good.
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