Welcome to the Big Show

Joel and I went to the circus the first night it came to town. We were both very excited about going because neither of us had been since we were kids. We had great seats and so much fun watching all of the different acts. We loved watching the tigers and elephants perform and were amazed with how well they are trained. Joel is now considering going to clown school in hopes of joining Ringling Brothers now that his time in Marine Corps is over.

Papa John's Bowl Game

On January 2nd, Joel, my parents and I went to the Papa John's Bowl at Legion Field in hopes that South Carolina would pull out a win for the SEC. When we got to the stadium, we met up with Joel's Master Sargent and his girlfriend and they were able to sit with us. Although South Carolina lost to UConn and we froze, we had a lot of fun cheering on another SEC team.

Happy New Year

After a busy and chaotic week of Christmas, Joel and I decided to stay home and relax for New Years Eve. My dad grilled steaks and mom and I made baked potatoes and salads. After we ate, we went out to the field next to my parents house and shot fireworks.

Merry Christmas

This year, Joel and I decided not to "go all out" decorating for Christmas since we would be packing it up almost as soon as we got everything out since we were moving before Christmas. I was able to talk Joel into letting me buy a small Christmas tree to put up and decorate so we would at least have a tree and a few decorations. Here is a picture minus the tree skirt!

Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve, Joel and I went to his Memaw and Big Daddy's to celebrate Christmas with all of the Warren's. Once everyone got there, we ate some delicious finger foods, sang a few Christmas carols, Joel's cousin, Alli, read the Christmas passage from the Bible and we watched and helped all the little kids open presents. It was so funny seeing their reactions to each of the presents they opened. We left Joel's grandparents and came back to my parent's house to make room for more delicious food and desserts and spend time with both sides of my family. After everyone left, Joel and I handed out all of the presents and opened presents from my parents and each other. We both received lots of great gifts and are very thankful for everything. Here are just a few pictures of the presents we all received.

Christmas Day

On Christmas Day, we started the day by celebrating Christmas with the Smith's, my mom's side of the family. My grandmother made us a fantastic lunch that included all of our favorite things she has always cooked for us. After everyone finished eating, my cousin, Erin, and I passed out the gifts to everyone. Joel and I racked up on gift cards and my grandmother gave each couple a very special gift that we will all cherish. She gave us all a cookbook with several of her homemade family recipes that we have all wanted to have.

Our next stop on Christmas Day was Joel's parents house. When we got there, our neices and nephew were so excited to tell us what Santa had brought them and show us a few of the things he brought. Once we got settled in, we all exchanged presents with each other. We got some really great gifts and I cannot wait until we have a house so I can decorate with the things my sister and brother-in-law gave me. Afterwards, we all ate dinner and spent time catching up.






The weekend after Christmas, we celebrated Christmas with my Dad's side of the family. We went to my Aunt Debbie and Uncle Neil's house to eat lunch. After lunch we watched the kids open presents and heard about everything they had gotten for Christmas.

Troy's 2nd Birthday

Troy celebrated his second birthday on November, 11. Joel and I were both off work for Veteran's Day so we took Troy to Pet Smart to pick out a toy and a bone. When we got back home, Joel cooked him a small steak and I baked him a doggie birthday cake. Happy Birthday Lil Man!

234th Marine Corps Ball

On November 7th, Joel and I drove to New Bern, North Carolina to attend the 234th Marine Corps Birthday Ball. Going to this year's Birthday Ball was bitter sweet for both of us since it was Joel's last to attend and participate in while serving active duty. We had a lot of fun getting dressed up and hanging out with other Marines in Joel's unit and their spouses.

My Birthday Surprise

My birthday was without a doubt an unforgettable day. The day started by Joel cooking french toast and bacon for me for breakfast. As soon as we finished eating, Joel told me that I had to be completely ready to leave by 2:00. I asked if I needed to wear anything special which was a big mistake. He told me I needed to wear blue jeans and closed toed shoes because we may get dirty. At this point a million different things are running through my head and this "surprise" is not sounding like something I would want to do. After a little negotiating, I talked him into letting me wear capri pants since it has been extremely hot. It is finally time to leave and Joel informs me that I have to wear a blindfold until we get to where we are going. He puts the blindfold on me after we have gotten gas and proceeded to drive in circles to confuse me so I have no clue which direction we are going. After riding blindfolded for a little over a hour and a half, we finally get to where we were going which ended up being a hotel parking lot. I still have absolutely no clue what is going on, but we have to wait here for someone to come get us. My surprise finally comes and I found out that I am going on a hot air balloon ride and I was completely speechless, but so excited. We were able to watch the crew put the balloon together, inflate the balloon, and blow cold air as well as hot air into the balloon to make it rise. Joel and I get into the balloon with our guide Tom and float over the city of Burlington, NC. We were able to float a mile high in the sky and where eye level with clouds and actually went through a few clouds. The best part of the ride was floating level with the trees where we saw two deer and were able to see everything a lot better. We were able to ride for almost a hour and ended up landing in someone's backyard. Joel and I help disassemble the balloon and at the end had a small ceremony where we both received certificates for going on a hot air balloon ride.