2013!

so, hey. it's 2013 now. has been for a day. and since austin and i actually got together with bri and josh for new year's eve i thought i would share a few pictures from the night.

and just because i never really made a post about our christmas decorations/tree/allthatjazz, a quick look at how our house was decked out for the holidays.

you can see the three ornaments we've picked out for each married christmas starting with the wedding cake ornament for 2010, the heart ornament for 2011, and our first christmas in our new home ornament for 2012. i like this little tradition of having an ornament to kind of represent the biggest thing that happened during that year.

so. anyway, happy 2013!

2012 wrap up.

whoa man. can you believe today is the last day of 2012? and to think, we were all told we'd never make it past the 21st. just like past years, here's a recap of the year in my life/blog.

apparently the month of january was less than eventful. but the year did start off with champagne, so... no compaints.

in february we bought a house. kind of a big deal.

read all about our house projects here and check out our checklist here.

we also celebrated austin's birthday in february.

march was somewhat uneventful too. work on the house, go to school, work on the house.

we got lots of work done on the outside of our house in april when momma and my timmy came to see us!

and miss juliet turned seven!

school's out for summer in may. which, of course, meant more work on the house.

june is always a good month. this year kasey came to visit.

i blogged everyday through wedding week 2012 leading up to our second wedding anniversary.

austin and i took a little trip back home in july to visit the family.

dad and robin came out to tennessee to see our new house in august.

and lindsy and katie surprised me by coming in town for the adpi beta beta house opening. bri came, too!

september was a fun month, too. austin and i took a trip to gatlinburg!

you guys know my favorite month of the year is october. always. austin took me camping and i wore lots of camo.

and he made me a cake!

we did the usual thanksgiving thing in november.

and obviously december was full of christmas, family, and friends.

so that's that. 2012 in summary. i'd say it was a pretty good year. but i have to say i've got a lot to look forward to in 2013. big things. like graduation. and a job.

p.s. here you can see my year-end posts from 2010 and 2011.

happy holidays.

i know it's already after christmas, but i guess i just got too busy/forgot to post the 2012 edition of our holiday card for you all to see.

so here it is:

hope you all had holly jolly christmases!

you can see our 2011 christmas card here and our card from 2010 here.

holiday happenings.

austin and i just got back from a big trip to virginia to see my family for the holidays. but first, we started with a few christmas celebrations here in tennessee.

austin and i did our christmas gift exchange on the 22nd, just the two of us. and juliet, of course.

on sunday, we actually hosted austin's family for the first time for christmas lunch. i pulled some red and green stuff together from around the house in attempt to create a christmas-y table.

after that, we headed over to ben's house where their family always has the heards over for christmas dinner.

then on christmas eve, we crammed everything in to packed the car to head to virginia. we arrived just in time for dinner at tim's sister's house. and then later on that we went to see my dad's side of the family.

{i don't know why we continue to take group pictures in this terribly lighted room... next year i'll try to remember to set up elsewhere}.

christmas day started with lunch at mom's with the whole gang.

followed by some target practice.

and more food at robin's parent's house. and i got to see my cousin jj who i haven't seen in forever because she moved to california!

{please ignore my frizzy hair from being outside shooting guns all day}

the rest of the week in virginia was spent just hanging out with my family, going bowling, out to eat, and finally watching the twilight series. don't judge. i just felt like i needed to see what i have been missing out on. spoiler alert: not much.

it was so good to see all of my family for the holidays. hopefully i won't have to wait an entire year to see them all again!

a week's worth of christmas.

when your families are spread out across two or three states, christmas doesn't just last a day. more like a week.

austin and i had our christmas gift exchanging early in the week. here's our {arguably} beautiful little pink tree, packed with presents underneath.

austin got new pajama pants, a shovel, a 2012 calendar, a nerf gun, and a new cordless power tool set {and, of course, juliet helped open all our presents}.

and i got a dvd i wanted, a slap chop {because i shouldn't be allowed to use sharp knives}, a gift certificate to a painting class, and a new coat!

and then there were the critters. juliet got treats and a new favorite toy.

it's a blue spotted lizard. or something. she loves it though, whatever it is.

and after the kitties put on their festive outfits, they got a new cat toy!

{my cats aren't very photogenic...}

on thursday, we headed up to austin's parent's house for another early christmas dinner and gift exchange. here's their tree with a whole lotta presents underneath.

austin got a new robe, a tool chest and accessories, new jeans, socks and we got new bedsheets. and i got a purse and some jewelry, new shoes, a tripod for my camera!

then we packed up the car and drove the six hours to virginia to see all of my side of the family. we started by going over to tim's sister's for christmas eve lunch. we had a biiiig meal and then gathered around to watch my cousin morgan open her presents. this was one of those times i was a loser and didn't get any pictures for whatever stupid reason...

later on christmas eve, we drove to over to see dad's side of the family. and we had some awkward family photo fun.

and then. this happened. seth picked me up. chris picked seth up. i was trying to not crack my skull open on walls.

there's a picture of the events that happened after this. but i promised i wouldn't post. because things got weird. and hilarious. all in the name of safety, though. and fortunately my skull is not shattered in to a zillion pieces. but it could have been.

and then, finally, it was christmas morning! and here's mom and tim's adorable little {puppy proof} tree, with alphie underneath.

family picture.

everyone up at grandma and granddad's for christmas day lunch.

oh, and meet tucker. mom and tim's new boxer boy.

can you imagine how difficult it is to get six people and four dogs to pose for a picture together?

i think we got a pretty good one though. here's me, juliet and austin, obviously. and chris and jenna in the middle with their puppies mylee and laila. and tim and mom and tucker on the right.

and just for cuteness sake, laila and tucker cuddled up in the dog bed together. they quickly became bffs.

so. to sum it up. days and days of presents + waaay to much food {still not enough pecan rolls} + a little awkward family-ness + lots of puppy playing + some nintendo wii action + lots of driving + the best family a girl could ask for = one very awesome christmas. hope you all had a great christmas and hope santa was good to you, too!