Jesus is the Reason for the Season

I can't believe that Christmas is only 5 days away! My oh my...where did December go?

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Ugly Christmas Sweater Party

A couple of weeks ago Doug and I hosted an Ugly Christmas Sweater Party. We thought about doing one last year, but just couldn't fit it into our schedule. We had such as blast that it will definitely become a holiday tradition for us. I already have a snow machine in the budget for next year's party.

We moved both cars out of the garage and hung red tablecloths on the walls to hide all of our storage space. I bought tons of tacky Christmas decorations from the dollar store and told Doug to have a ball putting them all up. He did a great job tackifying the garage! With the beer pong table in place we were ready for guest to arrive.

I also set up a little area for people to take pics with there sweaters. I bought plenty of props for people to use in their photos, including a Santa beard. I thought it would be a great place to get people there Christmas Card photos. We put up a Christmas Tree that we found at goodwill and put out our fireplace heater that we use to keep our room warm. The photo area was a great hit!

We had an awesome time and hope that all of our friends enjoyed themselves. We have so much beer left over that I have already started thinking of other parties that we can have in the future...in February I think we should have an 80's inspired Sweetheart Ball!!! I am ready to find how big my hair can get!

Christmas is in the Air...

And on the house!

Three Years Ago Today...

I met the man of my dreams, my soulmate, and my best friend!

November 17th, 2006 is when our love story began. I was out celebrating a friend’s birthday and Doug was out, well, because it was Friday. I saw Doug across the bar at Surrey Tavern during the beginning of the night and noticed that my friend Julie was talking to him. I asked Julie who she was talking to and she said, “Oh, that’s Doug. Come on over and you can meet him.” She dragged me to the bar where Doug was standing. She introduced me to him and we spent the entire night talking. We would break apart and go join our friends, only to find ourselves somehow talking to each other again. I gave him my number because I was going to “clean his teeth” when we returned from Christmas break. It was just an excuse for me to give him my phone number of course. I am permanently in his phone as “Courtney Hygiene.” Luckily I didn’t have to wait for the next semester to talk to him. He called me the next week and we went out a few times over Christmas break. School started back up and we have been inseparable since the beginning of 2007.

This photo was taken before we went out. Happy Birthday Brandi!

Pictures from over 3 fabulous years!

I am a super lucky girl!

Happy Halloween!

Family Tradition

Doug has been carving really cool pumpkins every Halloween that we have been together. This year I even carved one!

He always does it with his serious face on...

Happy Halloween...

Even Wrecks wanted in on the fun. I carved a pumpkin that would match his costume.

He was such a good dog. He hates it when I put this hat on him, but he actually posed for a really long time for us to get a few pictures. I know that I have said it before, but I love this dog!

Doug's masterpiece...

My first carved pumpkin...

Love this time of year!

Love this Dog!

I never thought that I could love a dog as much as I love Wrecks! He is my little buddy and we have been spending a lot of time together with just me and him with all of this call that Doug has been taking.

Here is his newest trick...he is super smart!

Give Me Five

Wrecks' new trick....

Happy Fall Yall!

The Weeks in Review

Before we left for Mexico we picked out new furniture for our living room. When we got back it was delivered and we absolutely love it. It matches the dinning room table so well. When we picked out the TV stand we decided that we would put the TV on the wall. I knew that this would be a project that Doug would have to do and who knows when he would have time to get around to it. To my surprise the furniture was delivered on a Saturday and Doug had the TV up on the wall on Sunday...record time for scratching something off of Doug's honey do list!

The TV Stand...(haven't quite found the perfect decor to go on top of it)

The Coffee Table...

The Sofa Table...

Last weekend we attempted to go sailing with Foley and the wind did not coorperate...aka no wind at all.

And since there was no wind, the only other way to stay cool was taking a dip in the Sound.

This weekend Doug and all the other Ortho Residents went to a course in California leaving me here with my buddy Wrecks. We went for a couple of runs, played outside, and Wrecks got a bath. This was my first time giving Wrecks a bath all by myself and he did awesome. His hair is getting long and he sat for me to blow dry his hair for probably 15 minutes. We have the best dog in the world!!!!

Just Another Day in Paradise...

We arrived in Mexico on Monday afternoon and have had a blast ever since. We have met two really nice couples on their honeymoon, and have enjoyed our time with them. We went out to the ocean when we arrived, and Doug was mad because there was red flag, meaning the conditions were too bad to swim. We had brought our snorkel gear with us thinking that we could snorkel at the resort. Doug went into the ocean, with a red flag mind you, and came back a couple of minutes later saying that now he knew what a red flag meant. He had had his butt kicked by the ocean and was returning to lounge by the pool with me. There are always plenty of vendors on the beach to harrass you and Doug amused one of them by getting a henna tattoo. I just had to have a hat that Doug told me I didn't need. I promised to wear it every day. I only wore it on the first day and Doug got to say a big I told you so. This isn't the first time I have bought something that i didn't need and it probably want be the last.

The Riu resorts are beautiful. We stayed at the same hotel in Puerto Vallerta and absolutely loved it. This is the view from our room!

On Tuesday we met back up with our honeymooning friends and had a ball hanging out in the pool and at the swim up bar. At night we all ventured into Cabo and ate Mexican at Mi Casa. There was an awesome mariachi band that stayed forever at our table. After we ate we went and partied at Cabo Wabo. Good times with our new friends.

On Wednesday we went on a mini sub excursion. We rode on a boat that took us out to see Lover’s Beach, the famous rock arch, the sea lion colony, and then took us to snorkel/mini sub. We were the only people that were doing the mini subs and had the scuba diver guides all to ourselves. They would swim with us and then dive to the bottom of the ocean looking for interesting sea life for us to see and hold. They brought up blowfish, a sea urchin, and a starfish for us to get a better look. We also got to see a huge school of fish. When we first got in the water they surrounded Doug and he said that he was completely blacked out by the fish. The guides that we were with said that they have never seen a school of fish get that close to the subs.

We laid low on Thursday, just having another lazy/relaxing day out by the pool. Our trip was going by way to fast.

Friday we went and drove Dune Buggies through a dry river bed. It only rains maybe 4 to 5 days out of the year, and when it does flash flooding occurs. Luckily we missed the hurricane that came ashore just after we left. We also drove to the oldest town in Baja California. The people of the town all work down in the hotels and charge a $5 fee to let you drive through the town, which is in a National Park. After a short walk through the town we drove back down and had a blast driving on the beach. Doug scares me to death when he is driving…I just held on and let him have fun slinging me around and throwing dirt and sand up in my lap. Thank goodness they provided mask and bandanas to keep all the stuff out of our faces. We enjoyed our day away from the resort.

We hated to leave on Saturday, but were really excited to get back and see Wrecks. I think that he grew 10 pounds while we were gone!