Home! (and more)

I'm home!! I've been in the great state of Texas since Sunday and have been having a great time. It's so good to see my sweet family. We've been busy non-stop. So far I've gotten to eat lots of Mexican food, watch the Cowboys beat the Giants, shop with my mom, watch a movie with my sister (Made of Honor, not that great), and cheer for Conner at a basketball game!

Finals ended last Thursday and then Anne and I went to Raleigh for two nights. I went to Natalie's shower and got to spend a couple days hanging out with her. It was great to see her and it was so fun to talk about all the crazy things we used to do...her friendship has been such a blessing to me over the years!

After leaving Raleigh we headed to Gatlinburg for my office's Christmas party. Carli and I brought Anne and Sarah with us. The company rented hotel rooms at The Lodge at Buckberry Creek and it was wonderful! We had a fireplace in our room, free hot chocolate, tea, and coffee, and a massive room that overlooked the mountains, which had snow on them! It was a great way to wrap up the craziness of finals before heading home the next day! Here's a picture of us after dinner:

Now to add to the craziness of this post, I almost forgot what happened Monday morning. I was joyously awoken by my dear sister and her friends getting back from camping at 7:00 in the morning. Not only were they screaming, but I also had a wet nose pressed against my face at the same time. Why, you ask? Well, they had found two puppies while camping and had brought them home. The two puppies, Dakota, and three screaming girls woke me up early Monday morning. The puppies have since found homes with someone else, but they were very cute and we had fun playing with them all day Monday. I really wanted to bring one home with me to Knoxville, but I already knew that plan would not be approved by one of my roommates, so I sadly had to let them go to someone else. :-( Here's a picture we took of them, although it doesn't even begin to give you a true picture of their cuteness:






Today's Conner's birthday. He's 15, which means he can start driving now...crazy!! He's also 6'2", which means he towers over me and the rest of the family, and has been doing an incredible job playing for his high school basketball team. He's an awesome brother and I respect him greatly. Here is a picture of him and me from this summer.

Well, I've got to go run errands, bake a cake, and clean the house with my mom and sister, but hopefully I will be more on top of blogging. However, I make no promises!