D turned the big 2.9.

Derek's birthday was Thursday. He turned the be 29. He has less than 365 days left in his 20's. For his birthday we went to his parents for dinner that night. We had steak, potatoes, and mushrooms. After that we went to Houlihan's for a drink or two.

As Derek's birthday is after Christmas, it is sometimes hard to think of gifts for him. He disliked hate my idea. It thought it was great, but he didn't. I thought I could get him a piece of luggage. He said no. So anyway's I gave him money towards a dirt bike (it is his obsession, but this is a whole other story on its own). I also gave him a bacon tray, thick bacon, and this.... A Bacon Bowl.

He saw a commercial for these and insisted on having it. He can't wait until it arrives. Anyways after doing dinner with his fan on Thursday, we celebrated more this weekend. Saturday we started with lunch at Murry's with a cocktail. He got a nap, then sushi and the casino. Just what he wanted to do :).  We went with one of his buddies and only lost 40.00. I forgot how much I dislike the casino. It was crowded and people can smoke in there. We can home and stunk...'

All in all I think it was a great birthday weekend. 

Christmas and Happy New Year!

Between being in Oklahoma and being sick, I have not been blogging. I'm feeling better and back at it.

For Christmas I got this beautiful watch from my love.

I also must have been really good because Santa left me another present at Derek's parents house. I got this beautiful cross necklace.

Derek got a TON of things. He got so many new clothes for his job, new USC hoodie, DVDs and of course SEE's candy :)

We had a great Christmas with Derek's family on the 30th. We even had a pianist come play for an hour. We exchanged gifts and ate wonderful appetizers. 

And being that I was super sick, we did NOTHING for NYE. Happy 2014 everyone! 

Engagement Photos Part 3

Last Christmas Apart

This is the last year we will be spending Christmas apart. I am trying to make every moment of it last. Not in a bad way, but this is the last year where I can go see my family for a week at Christmas. I know next year, we both won't have that much vacation time, and as we will be married we will want to not only spend the holiday together, but split our time between his family and mine. I am going to be in Oklahoma for a week and am so excited. I hope to put together lots of puzzles, play dominoes and cards, and make some great sweets. I'm sure he is looking forward to his time at the house, watching whatever he wants on tv, being lazy, and not picking up the house for one week. I am already preparing myself that when I get home I will have to clean my house from top to bottom. As we don't live together D likes to stay there when I am gone to "watch" the house. I am really convinced it's for the garage, food, and DVR.

In the christmas spirit here is a picture of our gingerbread houses we made with some awesome friends. The girl's is on the left and the boy's is on the right. I know ours is the best :)

More Engagement Photos!

Here are some more photos J edited for us. I cannot decide what I am going to print for the house! So many choices. I love them all!!

Nebraska

As I have mentioned we went to Bassett for Thanksgiving. Bassett's population is a whopping 618 people. It is very cold there and they even had snow on the ground while we were there. It wasn't much, just a dusting that was left from the snow a week before. While there we got a full tour of the town... We saw the grocery store, pizza parlor, post office, library, gas station and variety store. That pretty much sums up the town of Bassett. It is VERY small. It is one of those towns where you can leave your car running while in the grocery store and it will be okay. I enjoyed our visit (and lots of wine), but decided a small town is NOT for me. I can't imagine not being able to go to a movie or target without it being a 2+ drive!

Since there is not much to do in Bassett I put together a lot of puzzles, they watched football, we went on car rides, and I got to look at a lot of scrapbooks. It was so nice to see pictures of Derek's family. I feel like I know the extended family even though I have not met all of them :).

Here are some pictures of D I saw while looking through scrapbooks.

Isn't he just the cutest?! I have no doubt that if we are blessed enough to have a baby or two they will 

be just a cute as he is. 

And here is a picture of their house with all the lights on it. 

Our Trip

Thanksgiving was great. It was very low key. We had dinner at 1:00 with just Derek's grandparents. We opened a bottle of wine and we took naps around 3:00 :) Here are some action shots from Thanksgiving.

Derek carved the turkey, and did a fantastic job. Look at the little name tags Allie made for our spots for dinner. Aren't they so cute?!

And she made this awesome cranberry salad. The bottom was jello salad and the top was cranberry. She even gave me the recipe and little pans so I can make it at Christmas for my grandparents. I think they would love it!