new year's eve

a couple of weeks ago, we were able to get together with my dad's side of the family to "do Christmas" and visit. we have loved getting to see them over the past few months--and they have been so helpful with hand-me-downs from their two boys! 

we met at my brother and sister-in-law's house, and their new dog, barley, was a big hit with everyone. davis got up close and personal with barley in his kennel :)

we also did a few small presents for the kids--will immediately got rachel involved with this uno farm game we got for him and joseph.

we also took advantage of this warm winter we're having and let the boys run off the energy outside. davis sat back and watched for a while...

and then he decided to get in on the action!

we made a quick stop at trader joe's before we headed home--can i say how much i love trader joe's? i so wish we had one close by! i used several of the ingredients i got in dinners last week, and they were delicious and super easy to make. next time we're close by, i will have to have a cooler ready and really do some shopping!

and then it was time to settle in for new year's eve. we decided to play it quiet and enjoy the evening in. so we poured a couple of glasses of sparkling wine (that was picked up from trader joe's, of course)

and tried out all of the chocolates that justin's sister, heather, brought from asheville. the chocolate fetish is apparently one of the best chocolate shops in the area, and the truffles she chose for us were delicious! it was a perfect way to ring in 2012.

i didn't make it until midnight (not when davis reguarly gets up at 6:30 or 7 on the weekends) but we enjoyed a relaxing day with church, football :), and a fun afternoon at sonic so davis could play in the sand. i was trying to soak in every minute of our vacation before going back to work and our regular routine!