Merry Christmas Eve

Wanted to share pictures from a home near us in Augusta that is decorated for Christmas.

Santa's Camper

And those are poinsettas planted along the walkway.
I think they've got the Christmas spirit! Hope you do, too!

Baby Goats

There were 2 new baby goats born in Camak this week. Due to the rain on Saturday, we were limited in our pictures and only able to tell the sex of 1 of them (a female). Below are the pictures we have so far.

Crazy Time of Year

I can't believe that Christmas is almost here! Now that Cary and I are working full time, it makes for a different holiday season. We no longer get weeks off for finishing finals. Nor do I have plenty of free time to shop. We will be working right up until Christmas like the rest of the real world.
This past week, Cary and I attended some Christmas parties with friends, family, and co-workers. First up, Our small group from Stevens Creek Church held a tacky Christmas party. We all donned our favorite tacky sweaters/Christmas wear and got together for some food, karaoke, and fellowship.

The crazy gang {love ya'll!}

We all exchanged gifts...

And J.T. even fit in a little time for exercise...

Friday night was busy as we stopped by my "office" party and also Cary's party for his department. We spent Saturday between two parties as well. The early afternoon was spent at my parents' house with my Mom's side of the family. In the evening, we traveled back to Augusta to my brother and sister-in-law's Christmas drop-in. We aren't done yet with family get-togethers. Christmas day will hold a lot of traveling for us! It's been a crazy week, but a ton of fun.

Our First Christmas Tree!

This past Saturday we took a trip to Gay's Christmas Tree Farm in south Augusta. The owner is the father of one of our small group members. They grow several different breeds of Christmas tress...you can walk out to the field and pick and cut your own.

We could have chosen to cut our own tree, but instead chose an 8 ft. Fraser Fur from the pre-cut ones {Fraser Furs are native to North Carolina and only grow at high elevation, by the way}.

This is Cary's first year of having a live Christmas tree.

Mr. Gay is shaking out the tree, getting rid of any loose needles. And I can attest, that little shaker machine works! We did not drop a single needle in the apartment putting that tree into our stand.

Up and in the stand {hopefully safely secured} and full of water!

Now to decorate...
We decided to decorate the tree with our ornaments from childhood. So every ornament on the tree was either handmade by (or for) us, given as a gift, or acquired over the years.

Oh, yeah. What do you think of the tree skirt? It cost me $1 from the Dollar Tree. Ha ha!

The first ornament to go on the tree was a gift from my Mom and Dad {the Lenox Wedding Cake ornament}. It says "Our First Christmas Together."


Adding more....

Cary helped, too...

The Finished Product:

Close up:

One of the homemade ornaments from when Cary was young:

Santa uses Shutterfly

Well, I don't know that for a fact, but I bet he does!
As most of you all know, I am a big fan of Shutterfly. I have made several of their photo books chronicling our engagement, our wedding, and even our recent trip to Tuscaloosa. I think that they make great keepsakes as well as wonderful gifts for family and friends. But Shutterfly is more than just photo books and prints.

Some of their other photo products would make great gifts as well. Shutterfly’s photo calendars are easy to put together and offer an entire year of fun and memories for the recipient. We made one for a family member last year, and he loved it. It displayed pictures of his newborn babies during their first year. He put it up at his office and proudly showed it off to his friends and co-workers.

Speaking of great gifts for new dads, check out Shutterfly’s coffee mugs. You can display multiple photos on one mug, or choose a single photo to showcase. Either way, photo coffee mugs are a great way for new parents or grandparents to brag about the latest addition to the family.

Their Christmas cards are amazing. They have so many styles and designs, the possibilities are endless.

Cary and I decided to go with a Shutterfly design this year instead of sending out generic Christmas cards. We wanted to be able to include a photo or two from the wedding, and Shutterfly helps us do just that! Every card is easy to personalize and make your own. I am happy that we will be able to share multiple photos on one card and still have a great design.

This card in particular could be in your mailbox very soon!!

Happy Thanksgiving

I saw this political cartoon last week and I had to post it...

Happy Thanksgiving and Go Dawgs.

Tuscaloosa Trip

This past weekend, Kelly and I took a trip to Tuscaloosa to visit with our family. The timing was perfect as Thursday was Veterans Day, and we both took Friday off. We left early Thursday morning and spent the day with my cousin and the twins (our ring bearer & flower girl) for a little while. We visited the Bama football facilities on Friday morning, toured campus in the afternoon, and kept the twins Friday night to give my cousin some free time and keep us entertained for the night while gaining some valuable experience (dinnertime, bath time, and bedtime). Quite the experience!

A whole bunch of pictures of our trip below:

We asked several friends for recommendations and decided to check out Dreamland Bar-B-Q. We visited the original but chose to eat at the newer one as the original restaurant only has two menu options: half or full slab of ribs.

We also took a self-guided tour of the campus of the University of Alabama and saw the President's Mansion, Denny Chimes, and the Quad.

The fraternity and sorority houses really are that close to the stadium.

Of course, a trip to Tuscaloosa would not be complete without going to a game.

Kelly and I have both been to several SEC stadiums, and it's always a treat. It was a fun weekend with many great pictures and experiences.

(Thanks MB and Roll Tide!)