Goodbye 2014, hello 2015!

We've had a busy couple of weeks starting with Thanksgiving and our birthdays and rolling right through into the New Year. But isn't that always the way? I always look forward to the holidays, but I am always happy to see them go and normalcy return afterward, too. That being said, I figured I'd do a little summary of our holidays and all the craziness that ensued. :)

So for starters my parents visited us here in Clovis for Christmas. For my Mom it was a second trip, but for my Dad it was his first time to the wonderful town of Clovis. They planned the trip months ago, so it was something I had been looking forward to for awhile. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to my parents, they brought a stomach bug along with them for the trip. For my mother it kicked in right when she landed in Lubbock, Texas. Then it hit me on Christmas Eve and my father on Christmas day. My poor parents literally never left our house because throughout their whole stay someone was always sick. :( We made the best of it, though, and still had a really nice Christmas together, just with a few germs in tow. And luckily, my boys never caught the sickness (whew!).

The fort Ethan and Matt made on Christmas Eve

Pop and Ethan with his new Hess truck

The beautiful centerpiece Pam and Kerry sent us, along with the hot milk cake I made (that no one ate because it actually didn't cook all the way through - stupid altitude...)

"Nothing says Christmas Eve like High Life in a Hooter's mug."

 Christmas morning, opening Buzz Lightyear :)

"Big Buzz Lightyear flies!"

Playing with his new Christmas toys

After my parents left bright and early on the 27th, we got out of the house and went bowling, which Ethan absolutely loved. We hadn't taken him since moving here and were super impressed with how well he did. Not only did he carry his own ball, set it down at the foul line and push it down the lane, he also patiently sat and waited for his turn every time. It was awesome.

Patiently waiting his turn and clapping for Matt; Jumping up and down when his ball hit the pins :)

Then on the 30th, we were lucky enough that some of our best friends made the trip to Clovis on their way home to Montana from Texas! We hadn't seen them in over a year and a half so it was absolutely wonderful to have them here with us for two nights. :)

After all the fun and excitement of having an extra five people and one dog in our house ended, everything slowed down and got really quiet around here. I've taken down most of the Christmas decorations (all except the tree that just needs to be packed up and put in the garage). And we even got about 7 inches of snow last night, which always gives the world that peaceful, clean, fresh look (until it gets ugly and slushy in about a day, lol). So yay to a busy end to 2014, and here's to a wonderful start to 2015. Crazy to think in just another 6 weeks or so we'll be our own little family of four, instead of three. I guess things never really do slow down, do they? :)