Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

So as usual, my post about my Christmas is sadly overdue. However, I have gotten everything under control and I am ready to post about the fun that was my Christmas season!

My wonderful break from work and the general craziness of my life began with yet more hunting. Garrett took this one about 10 minutes after I missed/nicked my first deer. We looked around for almost two hours after this with no success at finding her. We had been following the trail of blood through the woods when abruptly the trail ended. We continued to look around, even called in the help of Cyle, but we never did find her. The guys decided that I merely nicked her and that she would be fine. More days of hunting followed this but alas, no deer were shot, by myself or Garrett. (And that's not making him overly happy...plus we'll have a much smaller supply of deer for the year....bummer)

Before too long it was Christmas Eve! Everyone got many wonderful things, but the funniest was still the very first present! We gave Garrett's nephews, who are on a Toy Story kick, this trunk of Woody and Buzz costumes to play with. They absolutely loved it. Clayton wore the Buzz costume almost all day, but poor Levi was a little tired still and had the sweetest/saddest look on his face ever. I think that he wanted to be Buzz...

After opening presents we spent a fun-filled day playing pool on the new table that the Hucks got for Christmas. Later in the afternoon, Garrett and I packed up some of our stuff and headed back up to St. Louis through quite a little snow storm. I'm completely bummed that I didn't get a picture since for the first time, since I can remember, we legitimately had a white Christmas. Everything was so picturesque!

We made it back through the snow and spent a wonderful Christmas Eve evening with my family. There was lots of delicious food and entertainment to be had. Such a pretty bunch of girls! We had a lovely evening!

My family and I. I think for the first time in a long time, I have the shortest hair of my sisters! That's different...

Garrett and I at my aunt's table, looking lovely! :)

Later in the week, after a wonderful Christmas, I made the most delightful cake ever! Okay, so I'll have to back up a little for this story. Garrett got me the Julia Child "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" cookbook for Christmas. Ever since I saw the "Julie/Julia" movie, I have been dying for the Julia Child cookbook and I finally got it for Christmas. My first concoction was Reine de Saba, which is a chocolate & almond cake. It was quite simply one of the most delicious things I have tasted in a long time. It is this glorious combination of chocolate, rum, and butter. Yes, lots of butter! You can almost hear your arteries clogging as you eat the cake. (Hint: If anyone does decide to make this tasty little cake, you must be prepared with a large glass of milk. You will need one as this is an incredibly rich cake!)

We finished out the week with New Years. We had Abby, Dan, and Ted over and took shockingly few pictures! In fact, the only one I have from the evening is the one of Garrett and I at midnight. The evening was filled with tasty snacks, a few drinks, and may laughs. It was a lovely way to ring in the New Year.

The rest of our break, all two days, we spent some time with my family before Lara headed back to school for Recruitment and her final semester of college, cheater. We gave Achilles a much needed bath. After nearly two weeks of complete freedom outside in Jackson, he was definitely in sore need of that bath. We also spent some quality Anna/Garrett time.

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas and a Happy New Year! I can hardly wait to see what's in store for 2011!!!

Until Next Time!

Lots of Love!!

~A