December 2015

Hello Blogland, it has been too long! As usual, December came and went at the speed of light (and now January seems to be doing the same)! We had a blast from start to finish and wanted to fill you in on our month of celebrating, which involved around 2,000 miles on the road!

The first Saturday of December we spent the evening at good ole Buffaloe Lanes for my parents' company Christmas party. I've been lucky to have been invited since high school, and it's so fun to get back and visit with everyone! The party is a fun BBQ-catered-competitive-bowling-arcade-game-playing-prize-wheel-spinning event each year. Especially two years ago when I took home the big screen tv... I'm so glad we can watch that sleek flat screen now rather than the hefty $50 Craigslist tv we had up until then.

The next Friday, I had my eight hour Payroll Tax and 1099 course in Raleigh, which made for a very long day. I was on the road from before light to after dark, but the trip went smoothly and I had fun with my old pal Mr. Bill at the class!

Then on Saturday morning we were up early getting things ready for our annual Harward-Pierce family Christmas party. Both of our families traveled to us, and we were so excited to have everyone able to join us this year! The weather was gorgeous and we even had a table out on the patio during lunch.

4th Annual Harward-Pierce Christmas Extravaganza

 We had several fun small group gatherings, including building gingerbread houses and baking cookies! These were a little sad as we also said goodbye to my sweet friend Leah who had just accepted a new job in Raleigh and moved away. One thing we've learned about Greenville is it's quite a transient town--it seems that, like us, lots of our friends don't plan to stay around town for long, so that is a little bittersweet when we consider life after dental school.

Some of my small group girls

Stephen started his break early on the 17th and had a couple days to relax around the house! On Sunday, we took our first trip to the Angus Barn to celebrate Mema and Grandaddy's 55th anniversary. Just like their big 50th anniversary party, this was a special time for our family to be together and celebrate such a momentous occasion!

Happy 55th, Mema and Grandaddy!

Stephen's break was rather short-lived, as he drove back to Raleigh and worked Monday and Tuesday. He was able to catch up with his best friend from high school, as well as visit with his parents while he was there. Flinty and I spent our first night in Greenville alone, but it wasn't bad at all and I didn't even have to break out the Rambo knife during the night! Once he arrived back home we ate dinner and began our four day long Christmas extravaganza! We mostly did our shopping for one another together this year but we had fun opening presents and being home after he had been out of town.

I spent Wendesday morning tying up my work for 2015, then we packed up and headed west! The Captain has become quite the pessimistic traveler lately and isn't much fun to ride with. Thankfully this time his agonizing meows did not lead to him leaving his own little Christmas presents at my feet, and when we finally made it he was very happy to get out of the car.

Flinty trying to break out at the gas station, meowing at random strangers for help then panting in the floor

We had a fun evening with my family opening presents and playing with my Ladybug; she was definitely the highlight of Christmas this year! Even with rainy/humid weather and temperatures in the mid-70s, this year felt more like Christmas to me than it has in a long time just having her around! After our sleepover, we headed to the annual Christmas Eve brunch at Mema and Grandaddy's to celebrate with with all the cousins and enjoyed the morning together. The girls' homemade gifts were really great this year! Then Stephen's parents and brother came over and we all visited while the boys rode 4-wheelers. We had dinner with Stephen's dad's side of the family and that is always hilarious; this year may have taken the cake but such funny things can't be posted online.

On Christmas morning, we had breakfast and opened presents with Stephen's family and I'm pretty sure it took two hours to open everything. So. Many. Presents! I'm too lazy to wrap everything individually, but everyone else does a great job of that there! We traveled on to Fuquay for another yummy lunch at Papa and Nita's and enjoyed the unique gift exchange... Stephen and I both hit the jackpot on presents--he stole a knife made out of a nail from Papa and I got a wooden bowl with a sea turtle carved into the side. Super unique and perfect for us! By the time we finished up there we were pretty zonked and enjoyed a nice lazy evening and early bedtime.

The annual West Bowling happened on Saturday morning, and we both had very mediocre scores but a good time. My Ladybug was sleepy and I got to rock her to sleep and had lots of sweet snuggles which will make any day the best! We had a fun early dinner at her house and stocked up on more snuggles, then it was time to pick up the Captain and head home.

I came down with an icky cold and wasn't feeling well for several days, but we still managed to have our truck windshield replaced, visit Kinston with our friends, and put away all of the Christmas decorations and deep clean the house. Isn't it always a little sad to say goodbye to the decorations? But it feels really good when everything is clean again and there are no more needles for the kitty to scatter around. I do miss many of my blue decorations during Thanksgiving and Christmas and am enjoying having those back too!

Wednesday we were back on the road! Flinty was very unhappy on the drive back to Grammie and Grandpa's but seemed to be quite pleased when we arrived. They were very sweet to keep him while we traveled on to Knoxville, TN with Stephen's family! We were able to have dinner with his aunt and uncle in Asheville, then spent New Year's Eve preparing for a fun steak dinner at his brother's house with friends! We went to five grocery stores and still managed to forget hamburger buns, but the meal was delicious and so fun! Sam even made homemade ice cream for dessert--now that's how you ring in the new year! After sleeping in, we spent Friday hiking at old rock quarries which were so cool! My new Garmin tracker was very happy with all our activity that day.

Stephen and Sam in the marble quarry

That little hole at the bottom is actually plenty big to walk through, but a little scary!

Buzzy and Buckwheat :)

We were sad to have to drive home Saturday, but the kitty seemed relatively happy to see us (although he cried more than ever on the way home so I'm pretty sure he would've happily stayed with his grandparents forever). We were able to celebrate Hilary's birthday when we passed through and it was the perfect way to wrap up two wonderful weeks! {How did my little sister turn 25??}

Going back to work and school was a bit of a drag, but we had such an awesome break and were refreshed as we got back into the routine. Since then we've been able to settle back into G-vegas and we are looking forward to see what all 2016 has in store... it should be interesting!