Belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas boys and girls! I hope you all had a fabulous holiday season—I know I sure did!  For some reason, I still associate December with “Christmas break”, and though I’m no longer in college (tear) I’m fortunate to have enough vacation days that I can take quite a bit of time off for the holidays.

I spent seven days with my family in Tennessee, which included lots of relaxing, movies, baking, and time with Ava, my adorable neice.

Pretty adorable!

Ava and I are just a like...we both like to eat batter, wear crowns, and tutus.

I taught her how to jump on the bed...oops!

With Mamaw on Christmas day

SNOW!

My pretty Mom



Trav and I were scheduled to fly back to DC on the 26^th, but the snowstorm in the north prevented us from getting out on time L. Luckily we did catch a red-eye out the following day, spent a day and a half in the city, and then got back on a plane and headed to Andrews, Texas, to visit Trav’s Gran and his immediate family. The Greaves spent Christmas in Texas this year so they could be with Amber—she  is a reporter at the CW Dallas and doesn’t exactly have a lot of vacation days at this point in her career.  I am so proud of how hard she is working. Check her out on-air here!

Anyway, I unfortunately didn’t get a lot of pictures of our trip to Andrews….except for this one:



Trav and I got the flu, and spent a good part of our trip sick! We had to go to the Andrews hospital on New Years Eve to get medicine, and didn’t get to spend New Years in Dallas as planned with Amber and the rest of the family. SIGH! So sad. The flu is the pits so get your flu shot!

Happy 2011!

Carve me!

For me, the most wonderful time of the year is most certainly THANKSGIVING! Ahhh… the stuffing, the bread, the mac n’ cheese, the pie…..

And oh yes, the real reason for the season: What a wonderful time of celebratation with family and loved ones! Trav and I were fortunate this year to spend a long weekend in Tennessee, and although it was busy, we were thankful to get to see most of our family members and eat THREE Thanksgivings (and I’m not going to lie, I felt fortunate that leggings were an acceptable fashion choice in 2010. Leggings + Thanksgiving = Bliss)!



Meal #1



Jackson and his girlfriend, Shaylee

Pa, Trav, me, and Ma at my grandmother's house



Trav and Momma Jan at the UT game

So what are you thankful for? For me, this year has made me incredibly aware of the importance of focusing on the things in life that matter, and especially the importance of cherishing every moment with the people that matter. Here is my (brief) list of some things I am most thankful for:

·         My faith.

·         Travis. Enough said.

·         My amazing, loving, supportive family. And in conjunction with item 1 above, my hubby’s amazing, loving, supportive family.

·         Friends who make me laugh, and especially my long-distance amigas who keep it real, despite the miles that separate us.

·          My health.

·         My job, especially the fact that it’s only a 10 minute walk from home! And thankful busy season only happens once a year!

·         Washington DC. Ok, it’s realllly cold for part of the year, but I really love living in such a pretty city, getting to meet interesting people, and yes, most of the time I actually enjoy the extra exercise I get from walking!



Tennessee Weekend

April and May have been busy busy busy. I had to be in Knoxville on April 16th for the University of Tennessee Young Alumni Council’s bi-annual meeting. Although the meeting coincided with the Spring Young Alumni weekend and Orange and White football game, I skipped out on the festivities to spend some much needed time with my family and dear friends. I spent Thursday night with Travis’s sweet family, and got to see my adorable niece, sister, brother-in-law, and dear friend Valerie after my Friday meeting.

              

My wonderful parents (who are by far the best chauffeurs a girl could have) then whisked me away to Cookeville, where I spent some time with my cousin and grandmother. It was so nice to be “home” and see some of my favorite folks!



Before I flew out on Sunday, I got to meet my new “nephew”, the precious son of Lauren and Casey Beaman. Isn’t this little guy just a doll?! His name is Baylor and he is such a sweet baby.

Mom and Dad Visit DC

My Dad had to attend a conference at the University of Maryland last week, so he and Mom decided to fly up to DC early to visit me and Trav. Although their visit was just one week shy of the National Cherry Blossom Festival, we still had a fantastic (and eventful!) time.....

It was fun hanging out with President Obama and the First Lady.....at Madame Tussauds Wax Museum! However, we had a bit of a scare when Travis realized he lost his wallet. We were so thankful when a very honest employee discovered it and returned it!

We also visited the U.S. National Arboretum, which was a first for both me and Travis. It is a bit off the beaten path, but is a neat place to explore and get away from the throngs of tourists that visit the city this time of year. Unfortunately, it was a bit premature for many of the spring flowers and plants, but I think we all really enjoyed being outside and seeing something different.

The best part of the park (in my opinion) is that it is home of the National Capitol Columns. These huge columns were an original part of the U.S. Capitol, but were replaced after the construction of the massive Dome in 1864.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is my Mom's birthday, but her real celebration occurred this weekend. She babysat my niece Ava while my sister and brother in law spent some time in Nashville with friends. Mom couldn't have asked for a better present!

I am looking forward to giving her a big hug and telling her "Happy Birthday" in person this weekend--she and Dad are coming to DC for a visit! Woo hoo!

Happy Birthday pretty lady!