Julep's first Christmas

Blake's brother, Ross, has a sweet dog named Julep. She was flown here to become his on Derby weekend last May.  The famous Mint Julep is the official drink of the Kentucky Derby.....so "Julep" became her name:)

I'm allergic to dogs (and cats for that matter!), so we can never have one as a pet, especially in the house. But  the boys do LOVE her, so we get to visit her, and love on her.....but then - she goes back home. It's a win win!

She is the best dog. Ever. If I did want a dog, she would be it.

She enjoyed her first Christmas with her "cousins", Layton and Luke. 

Hmmmmmm, how could I convince my mommy to let me keep her?

Merry Christmas, Julep!

 

Christmas, the conclusion

Our Christmas celebrations continued for an entire week.  

Literally, one week.  

Four cities in six days.  

This was our last stop.  Nashville. 

I think the boys were completely exhausted....and so were we.  

But I was excited about this last leg of our Christmas.

The conclusion was an amazing trip to Nashville with Blake's family to meet his uncle, aunt and cousins from Georgia.  We even got to stay at the beautiful Opryland Hotel, and we had balcony rooms overlooking the Cascades.  Eek!

I would randomly wake up in the middle of the night and peek out just to see if I was really there! There was a waterfall that would lull me to sleep.  Fabulous.

Did I mention that this place is 288,000 square feet? Huge and fabulous. 

We all met up and went to eat at the Palm for our (fancy) dinner, followed by a light show that was coordinated with Christmas music.

Then we went back to the hotel for some play with cousins.

The next day we all decided to go to "ICE!" which is a exhibit of 2 million lbs of ice that is made by Chinese master carvers.  They spend nearly a month of 12-hour shifts inside a 9-degree freezer, transforming the ice into a breathtaking winter wonderland. It's amazing.

It's cold, so everyone has to wear these very BIG coats....even the little ones:)

They have ice slides for adults and kids...Layton and Luke both wanted to slide!  Layton LOVED it, and actually went twice, beaming from ear to ear.  Luke slid down the baby slide and got stuck!  Poor baby!  He just sit there, waiting for someone to help.

At the end, there is a beautiful nativity....wow!

On the last day, some of the group went on a tour of the stars homes  (Country singers like Taylor Swift, Alan Jackson, Dolly Parton, Keith Urban)....while some of us just relaxed, napped and hung out together.
Later that night we went eat at the infamous Loveless Cafe.

They have the BEST biscuits (in the world!) made they the "Biscuit Lady" who has been on Paula Deen and the Today Show!  Let me tell you -- delicious!

The end of Christmas came with snuggles in a comfy bed with my two boys listening to the waterfall and starring at the beautiful lights outside of the balcony.
 
Doesn't get much better than that?

On to 2012......

Christmas Day

was spent with my family....



and my love of 9 years...but if you count our dating years this makes our 13th Christmas together!

There were immediate hugs and thanks.....

and smiles with the girls....

and while everyone anticipated the opening of presents.....


the kids decided that the process should BEGIN!

(I love Layton's face - it's blurry, but it captured how excited he was!)

Yay for remote control tractors:)

Mady and Luke needed a little help with their packages...

but discovered lots of toys for boys...

and girls!

My beautiful grandmother

my brother and  his new fiance

Dad finally got a new iPad...he is entering into the technology age:)

while Mimi and Pops, also, got to snuggle with my sleepy boy.

The dinner table was ready and waiting for us.....

and so were three little munchkins.

After dinner, Christmas PJ's were worn, and Pops got some hugs...



and Momma got a picture with her boys!


More some cousin love...

 

and sweet chubby hands,

then wrestling with Daddy in Christmas PJ's...

and quality time with Pops and Uncle Blake

Our Christmas consists of lots of visiting....

and LOTS of play...

and while it was tempting to stare at the beauty of this...

I couldn't help but stare at the sweethess of this...