Christmas and so many other things

So, after the last couple days I'm very thankful that I have now moved south! Right now Des Moines is under about 14 inches of snow and have snow drifts up to 10 feet!!! They say it's one of the worst snow storms in about 20 years. Craziness!

But speaking of DSM, I was just there last week! I got to take a week off work and go home and it was a great trip! I left the Saturday after Thanksgiving and came home this past Sunday, so I was there for an entire week. Sat when I got into town, I headed straight to my Aunt Joyce and Uncle Denny's house for our Brown family Christmas. It was a great way to see everyone all at the same time... including my brother! That night was the only time that all 5 of us (including Drew) were together. So we got some great pictures taken. One of these days I'll put some pics up on this blog so everyone can see the things I'm talking about!

Sunday was a great day. I went to church at Berean in the morning and then to a small church in Mitchellville that my friend Andrew is now going to. I got to see a lot of my old friends and other people. Sunday night I went to my friend Torrie's house and spent some quality time with my Torrie and Dallas, Andrew, Jen, Mike and Taylor and Drake! I love those kids and was so happy to see them! Monday I ran some errands and then went to Adrian and Drew's to celebrate Drew's birthday. I got to see both sets of his parents and spend some time with my Grandpa Tonsi. Plus spend some time with my crazy little niece! She's so cute and I miss her a lot!

Tuesday put me, Dad, Sue, Courtney and Grandma Howard in the car to Mankato, MN to see Morgan play in his first jazz band concert as a college student. He had a solo in the song O Holy Night (which is my favorite Christmas song!) and did a WONDERFUL job! I was very proud of him! It was a fun little trip to take and to spend some time with everyone in the car. Wednesday I spent the morning at my friend Vanessa's, just catching up on life. She does day care in her home and it was fun to see how all her kiddos have grown. Wed night I went to youth at Berean. It was great to see some familiar faces and to see all the changes that have happened since I've moved. I had the chance after church to go to my friends Bill and Mary's house and hang out with them, Katie, James and Becky. I didn't leave until almost 2am on Thursday! I was tired and thankful for the ability to sleep in on Thursday!

Thursday afternoon I spent the afternoon shopping with Sue. Well, she shopped and I just hung out with her. It was a fun time just spending some one on one time with her. Thursday night I had dinner with my Aunt Sherry and it was great to catch up with her too. Up until Thursday, I had been staying at my parents house, but Thurs night I went to stay with my sister. Got to have some great cuddle time with Jules! I just love her!! Friday, Adrian and I did a little shopping and I went to get my hair done. My Aunt Netty is in cosmetology school, so I went to her and she did a GREAT job! I've gotten so many compliments on it since then! Friday night I went out with my friends to Cheesecake Factory. Fun times! I did buy a piece of cheesecake to eat on Saturday because Sat was my cheat day on my diet! It was yummy too!

On Saturday I spent the day cooking a meal for my family. We had our Christmas on Saturday night and had a lot of people over to my parents house. It was so much fun. I got some really great things from everyone, but the best part was just seeing everyone and spending time with them. We were supposed to have it at Adrian and Drew's but Drew and Julianna were pretty sick so we moved it to my parents. They didn't end up coming that night, so that was a bummer because I would have loved some more time with Jules, but they didn't need to make anyone else sick. It was a great night. I stayed at my parents on Sat night and left about 7:45 Sunday morning. And after 12 hours in the car, I made it home! I was happy to see my puppies! They missed me, I know they did. You can just ask them. Lol!

Anyway, that's pretty much the rundown of my trip! It was a wonderful time and I was able to spend quality time with several groups of people and got to rest some too. It did make me a little more homesick, but I know it's mainly because I hadn't been home in 5 months. So, I'm looking forward to my next trip home. Hopefully that will be sometime in the spring!

Thanks for reading my book! lol!