The Holidays!

Considering I got to visit with almost ALL of my close family and friends over the holidays, I am not even sure why I am writing an update because you were probably there! But for the occassional blog-stalker (no shame, I am one myself) I figured I would post some fun pictures from our 10 day vacation to North Carolina over the holidays!

David and I started celebrating early....Tuesday night.....after realizing that we should open the stockings we made for each other at home rather than carrying all of that stuff to NC only to bring it back....so here is our own mini Christmas Eve....I, of course, got David the obligatory hygiene products (its just what my family does!) and he bought me an $8 Starbucks card (random) among other things...although we did buy each other the exact same cd. Guess who bought theirs cheaper? ME!

Although there was quite a lot of driving in NC - between Charlotte, High Point, Chapel Hill and Lake James, I was so excited to be in all of my favorite places during this extended holiday! We got to celebrate Christmas Eve and Christmas Morning with the Ellers and it was SO fun! I love being a part of such an inviting, large family!

loving my sister in law's new house! we soon retreated to the "man cave" for foosball and guitar hero.

We went back to Charlotte for the weekend and got to visit with LOTS of UNC friends at the bowl game. While I only stayed for the tailgate (so I could shop some with mom), David cheered on the heels until the

end of the game. Love those 4 cute people!

We celebrated my birthday a little bit early, and mom and I attempted to make Beef Bourguignon by Julia Childs. While it was quite tasty, it did take the entire afternoon to prepare.

My cute mom!

Then we headed back to Chapel Hill to watch UNC play Rutgers. It was so fun to be back in the Dean Dome, especially for a Tarheel victory!

Our time in High Point was relaxing...getting to visit with a lot of David's high school friends and a girls trip to Maxie B's bakery in Greensboro. Great time together.

And while we loved our time with family, it almost felt like our "holiday" was leading up to this New Years' party/weekend we were hosting....with 25 friends from both UNC (plus new spouses and signficant others) and Atlanta. While my parents were slightly concerned about the strength of the septic system, the weekend turned out to be a complete success. It was honestly one of the most fun weekends I have ever head - with just the right blend of frantic activity and relaxing conversations. Highlights included the huge New Years Eve dance party, intense tetherball tournment, Twister tournament, football games, and most importantly, all of my favorite people in the world becoming even greater friends. I took way too many pictures to count, but here is a random sampling of favorites.

The UNC original crowd.

atlanta friends meet unc friends. everyone becomes best friends.

We do like to sing and dance!!

Mornings are my favorite. The first morning we went through 7 full pots of coffee, 36 eggs, 20 biscuits, and 2 batches of grits.

To winter trip to the lake is complete without a Polar Plunge. And poor Stockton wore the Spidey Tighty Witey's we bought him for Christmas.

Lots of football.

And many, super intense tetherball games!

So, you get the picture ...it was pretty awesome. And now David and I are back in Houston, attempting to catch up on mail, sleep, work, etc! But it was all totally worth it!