Life Within the Cuckoo's Nest: Christmas 2013 and Ringing in the New Year!

Christmas 2013

This was Austin's first Christmas and despite the lack of time, it was great! The Sunday before Christmas we went over to Grandma Helm's house and celebrated with her. My Uncle Kenneth was there as well so he got to meet Josh and Austin for the first time. It was a lot of fun! We hung out and talked and then went to the Railroad Pass Casino to eat dinner. Austin has become much easier to take places now that he is so interested in his surroundings. This means I actually get to EAT the food that I order when we go out now! Grandma just loves Austin and he thinks she's pretty great too :). He loves cuddling with her and becomes a little flirt when she holds him. After dinner we opened presents at Grandma's house which is always a lot of fun because she spoils us rotten!

"Grandma can we open presents yet?"

Meeting Uncle Ken for the first time

Yay!! New toys!

Great Grandma has all sorts of fun things to play with.

Mommy and Austi rocking our stripes!

I had to work Christmas Eve so Josh and Austin spent that evening alone watching football :(. But Christmas morning we all woke up early and went downstairs to see what Santa had brought! We were in a bit of a time crunch because we had to drive out to Logandale to eat lunch with my parents and grandparents so we didn't have much time to play with our new toys but it was still a really fun moment watching Austin play and drinking Egg Nog that for some reason had chunks floating in it even though it was brand new and not expired (well, Josh drank it and I almost puked but it was all good).

Our sleepy baby on Christmas morning

Playing with the wrapping paper

Dad opening up his stocking gifts

Mom with her crazy bed-hair checking out her stocking

Baby playing with his new toys!

After that we got ready and headed out to my parent's house for some more fun! We ate a yummy lunch/dinner, opened more presents, and had a great time talking and catching up with family.

Opening up more presents with Grandma

I love my little family so much!

playing with Great Grandma Wiegel

Family is the best!

Auntie Sadie

Auntie Briana

Playing Wheel of Fortune on the Playstation after eating wayyy too much food!

We drove home later that night very full, very happy, and very tired. It was an exhausting Christmas but it was totally worth it!

New Years Eve/Day

2013 has been an insane year for us. We moved from North Carolina to Nevada, were homeless for a while, built a house, had our first baby, Josh has had 2 different jobs, I have struggled with juggling my job and my new calling as a mother, and we bought a second car and came sooooo close to getting it all paid off by the end of the year (dang it). We have laughed and we have cried. We have enjoyed all of our family and there have been days when we have wished we lived far far away from them. If I could sum up the year in one word, I would say it was CRAZY. Every day was its own adventure and for two people who are anal about stability, it has been one of the most challenging years of our lives. But it has also been a year of so much growth and so much love. Who knew that two kids in their 20's could accomplish so much in one year? We sure didn't!

I had to work on New Years Eve so, again, I missed out on all that fun. My Mom, sisters, and cousin Jessica stayed the night at our house and rocked New Years Eve with Josh and Austin. They played board games, ate snacks, and watched the ball drop in NYC. I made it home by 11:30pm, just in time to ring in the new year! We went outside for a few minutes and watched the fireworks go off on the strip and then it was off to bed for this party bunch.

This man is ready for 2014!!

New Years Day was a "girls day". Josh watched Austin while we girls went to Starbucks and sat out on the deck there and talked while we soaked up the sun and drank our yummy drinks. Then we went to a nail salon and got pedicures! It was so fun and so nice to just hang out with my girls! We ate Pho soup for lunch at our favorite Vietnamese restaurant and then everybody headed home :(. Josh and I spent the rest of the night watching movies and recovering from the holidays.

I never make New Years resolutions because I know I won't ever keep them but this year is different. I am ready.

1) I am going to exercise every week and tone up my body. I can't promise it will be every day but at least 2-3 times/week. I am 17 pounds lighter than I was before I got pregnant with Austin but none of that is muscle so it is time for me to get back on that treadmill and get my booty into shape! Josh also wants to be in on this resolution so we are going to have to figure out the best way to get both of us to the gym when we have a 5 month old at home wanting constant love and attention. It's not as easy as it sounds.

2) We are going to strive to be more spiritual. That means going to church every week (even if it interferes with nap time), doing personal scripture study daily, and getting back into the groove of having a weekly family home evening.

3) I'm not going to bridle my passions just because I am scared of the unknown. I am the type of person who likes consistency. I stick with the same job because it is something I know and I am good at it. However, is it something that I am passionate about? Hmmm..... maybe it's time for a change. We will see!