And so 2012 begins!

I have been meaning to post for a few weeks but 2012 has been off to a busy start!

January 3rd, 2012 officially marked day 1 of our marathon training! Nathan and I are very excited to run in the Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon on May 6th and are lucky enough to be doing so with a few family members. My dad will be running the marathon with us as well as my cousin Joey (correction- Joey will most definitely be ahead of us!). My grandfather was going to run with us as well but he may be doing the half now with my sister.  Training has been challenging so far but we really enjoy getting to do it together. We ran 7 miles on Saturday which was our longest run so far. We both felt great but exhausted. The hardest part has been giving up our fun Friday nights!

Last weekend we threw our friends Jenn & Jesse a surprise engagement party and rented a party bus. It was a great time for them to celebrate with their Houston friends and I know Jessi girl, Laci and I had a blast planning it. Trust me when I say that it was very impressive that we were able to keep it a secret from Jenn! A good time was had by all and we all are so happy for Jenn and Jesse. We wish them all the best as they begin married life and can't wait for their wedding in Atlanta in February!

We tricked Jenn by making her think it was her Houston Bachelorette party!

The surprised couple, Jenn and Jesse!

Love party planning with Laci and Jessi!

All of the girls!

Nathan with the bride to be!

We had another big adventure this weekend. After our run Saturday Nathan convinced me to go to the shooting range with him. He has been trying to get me to go since he got his gun last year. Our friends Thomas and Laci went as well which made me feel better to have one of my best friends there! It actually was very fun and I am very excited to learn how to safely handle and shoot the gun. I got more comfortable the more I shot it and actually didn't have terrible aim :) Maybe one day I will get a small pink gun for my own - until then I will happily accompany my husband to the shooting range!

Nathan in all of his glory- he really had a great shot and was a great teacher!

Laci and I looking good in our protective gear!

Home For The Holidays!

After 5 cities and 6 Christmases we are one happy couple! We learned from last year that we needed more vacation time around the holidays and this year we were excited to get to spend 10 days at home! It's been so fun the past few years combining Christmas traditions and this year was no different.  It was perfect getting to actually be "home" and simply enjoy being together with our families.

Nathan and I love each others families so much and we have such a great time with all of them! Nothing is better than getting to spend time with our parents, sisters, one and only brother, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. So much laughter, good food, fun games and plenty of catching up - it was awesome!  Now the race is on to see who we convinced to come to see us in Houston, we definitely put the word out there that we love to have visitors!

Another highlight of our trip was getting to see our friends for New Year's Eve in Nashville! After all of the fun we had, we have decided that spending NYE with Kaitlin, Katherine, Laura and Johnny is now a tradition! We also got to spend the night celebrating with some of my college best friends which was amazing. We had the best time and it was the perfect way to end a perfect trip.

As sad as we were to leave our families and friends we are so thankful for the time we got to spend with them and are ready to start 2012! It is sure to be a great year!

We however seem to have gotten bad about forgetting to take pictures so I only have a few, we will borrow some of our families as we see them and post them on here as we get them :) 

Cousin's on the Jameson Side. (P.S. Nicole has heels on, she is actually the shortest, not me!)

Love our family!

Handsome bros. But honestly- don't you think they are starting to look alike?

Mom was so happy to have her favorite girls together!

Our favorite nephew- Mr. Calvin Borel.

Reunited and it feels so good! Very lucky to have these girls in my life!

We love getting to spend time with Kaitlin! I am so lucky to have her as my sister in law!

Nathan, Katherin, Kaitlin, Laura and Johnny. Can't wait for more NYE memories together!