1. Thanksgiving was spent with the Nelson/Smack crew. I can still taste the delicious turkey my mom's stuffing and oh yes, the Pumpkin pie!We had dinner in Twin Falls at my Grandpa and Grandma Smack's home with my Uncle and Aunt and their kids from Eagle, ID. We got to spend some really good time with them and with my cousin and his cute wife who got married two weeks after us. For Black Friday we went shopping with with the Andersons and ate more pie of course. We went on our first Black Friday last year and had a blast. We got some awesome deals on a TV and a comforter for bed. We weren't shoping for much this year, we were so blessed with all our wedding gifts that we were pretty much stocked up for a while! For Thanksgiving break (we had about 4 days) my cousin, Kara, went through the temple before leaving on her mission in Anaheim, CA. I absolutly adore Kara and we were always known as Sara bear and Kara bear growing up. I was so happy to be with her that day and incredibly proud of who she is.
2. In December Brady's family came and stayed with us for a weekend. That is right, 4 couples in our tiny 550 square foot apartment! It was a little squished but we had a blast and hope everyone else did too and they come again. We did some baby shopping for Ainsley, a little Christmas shopping, went to dinner, made yummy waffles and paninis, everyone went to church with us (which was fun to fill up a whole bench) and of course we saw the lights at Temple Square and City Creek. It was one of the best weekends and Brady and I can't wait to do it again.
3. Christmas! Oh Christmas truly was the best. We got time off work for a 5 day vacation at home and it felt so good to be in Burley! Brady got to spend some time with his buddies from high school and I got time with my sisters, Emily and Abby. We ate a TON of food and had two Christmas Eve parties with my family and "Grandpa" Bob on Sunday, my mom spoiled us all with prime rib and twice baked potatos (see kicking self HERE for not remembering the rest of this fabulous meal). We sang lots of Christmas songs at the top of our lungs, one of my favorite Nelson christmas traditions and got to visit with Bob and Eleanor. Our second Christmas Eve was spent on the true day and we had delicious soup bowls and corn chowder at the Andersons and fell asleep watching Christmas movies. Christmas morning reminded me that I made good choice in marrying Brady when he woke me up at 6 a.m. shouting Merry Christmas! Santa sure loved us and our stocking were filled with goodies and presents under the tree. We ate a yummy breakfast and opened presents. Brady sure spoiled this girl. He knows me too well and gave me 4 pairs of shoes, clothes, and jewlery. My favorite present was for sure though my glue gun and I have been workng on pinterest crafts I was dying to make.
I learned that Christmas shopping for Brady is not the easiest thing but in the end I think I did alright. He got a giftcard that can be used at any golf course around SLC, clothes, a back massager, work out clothes and shoes. The best part was just being able to spend time with our family because we are always missing them like crazy.
The holidays are for sure one of my favorite times of the year and it meant even more this year because we miss our families and hometown. I seriously can't wait for the day when we are done with school and at a place where we can live in Burley forever! We plan on being a happy little couple in our little town and raising our kids in the best place we know. But that seems a ways down the road...for now we are just making te most of our adventures in the city.
