Q4 2011

I had the opportunity to visit my friend Kendra in Virginia for a quick weekend at the beginning of October. The highlight of the trip (besides seeing Kendra of course) was apple picking. It was a gorgeous day, we became pros at using the picker, only one bag was broken & we made some scrumptious apple donuts with our winnings! So great to spend some quality girl time with my friend!

For Halloween this year, our friends Ressie & Philip hosted a costume party - I'm pretty sure I hadn't been to a costume party since high school.  David came up with a great idea for our costumes & we endeavored the entire week prior to make our costumes.  Can you guess what we were? 

We enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving together, just the two of us.  Sleeping in, wearing pajamas most all day, football, games, movie, simple turkey dinner together, giving thanks for all the many ways God has blessed & provided for us - it was the perfect day. 

As soon as Thanksgiving was over, out came the daily Christmas music, Christmas decorations & yes, a Christmas tree. It's taller than me, our biggest yet, so fun!! 

Christmas in California is always a requirement (as far as I am concerned) & I am so grateful that we are able to make the trip each year.  We flew into San Diego on Thursday, December 22 (after a delayed flight..), took a trip to the beach and spent Christmas Eve & Christmas morning with the Thornhill's.  Brett was able to come home from Arroyo Grande (yay!) & she planned a "Thornhill Extravaganza" event for all of us: Minute to Win It.  We each participated in 10 events (ex: carrying 5 clothespins between your knees across the room & dropping them into a jar) & the person with the best overall time was the winner.  It was so much fun & I was crowned the victor, with bragging rights for the whole year!  Mom & Dad also created a trivia game where we climbed the steps of the Mayan Temple of Doom.  It involved many gift cards, which is always fun =) 

After stockings on Christmas morning, we traveled up to LA for Christmas with my parents & extended family. Activities were slightly delayed, due to a gas shut-off that morning, but we had a great time - it is always so good to catch-up with my family & see how much my little cousins have grown!  We had Christmas brunch on the 26th with my parents & Grandma, exchanged gifts, then went to Cheesecake for dinner & saw Sherlock Holmes for a second time =)  We enjoyed a few very relaxing days with my parents - sleeping in, playing with our new toys, loving on their cat Bob (& trying to spot Paige), playing ping-pong, staying up late playing games, going out to dinner (yes, El Torito is a tradition) & movies - then headed back to San Diego on the 29th.  

We had a Murder Mystery dinner night with family friends, The Devries, which was lots of fun, and had lunch at Acapulco before departing for Dallas on the 31st.  The weather was beautiful the entire time & not many people can say they went to the beach on Christmas break =) Soo great to see our family - thank you for everything!!

We arrived home to an angry little kitty (she was a little scared with all the New Years noises in our apartment complex), who quickly became delighted in our return & voluntarily stuck close to us all night (usually I have to enforce mandatory cuddle time!).  We ate In-N-Out, drank Martinelli's & watched Parts 1 & 2 of Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows to welcome in the New Year. What a great end to 2011.