New Years Eve

Where has the year gone?! I can't believe we're hours away from 2011. Adam and I are finally back from our Christmas vacation to Florida and man-oh-man, is it good to be home. Don't get me wrong, I loved seeing my family and friends and I definitely enjoyed the Florida weather but nothing beats the comfort of home.

Michelle (from work) and John watched our pups, which I am insanely grateful for. Our flight ended up getting canceled & traveling with dogs is a huuuuge hassle so I cant thank those guys enough. They are life savers. The Flyboy and I drove through the night and got into Jacksonville around 4am on Wednesday, the 22nd. Minutes after getting into town we crashed and slept forever. When we woke up, Nanny was there with homemade breakfast and fresh squeezed oj for Adam. What a welcome! Little did I know I was about to eat more in a week than I have in my entire life!

Christmas Eve-day was spent with Adam's two sisters and their families. It was my first Christmas spent with little ones and it was a blast. We had a great time watching the kids open presents and get excited over the funniest little things. It's cool to say that I have neices and a nephew! Spending time with Tara and Beth was wonderful. I wish we could see them more often. The food was phenomenal and I ate waaay too much (again). Unfortunately, Adam's parents decided to vacation the same time we did so we missed them. Of course, if I had the opportunity to go to South Beach for Christmas, I would NOT turn it down! That night we went to my parents house and opened presents with them, my little brother and his current girlfriend. We ended up getting some pretty awesome stuff...including new UF ornaments for our tree and a Gator head cake pan!! My dad's parents ended up stopping by for a while and we munched on appetizer-like foods and caught up with everyone. Christmas day we had our traditional lunch at Nanny & Papa's house (mom's side of the family) We had a White Elephant Gift Exchange then we left and went straight to a light appetizer feast with my Uncle and his family, my parents, brother, and grandparents (dad's side). It was a lot more low-key than previous years because everyone is getting older. It was hard NOT to eat because everywhere we went, there was a massive spread of delicious food and desserts. After Christmas, we were able to spend time with different friends who I've missed dearly. It's always difficult coming into town...especially now that it happens less and less often. So many people want to hang out and we always end up hurting feelings because it's impossible to see everyone in such a short time! Sorry if we missed you this year.

Tuesday the28th, we left for Orlando but we took the scenic route. Adam and I went through Gainesville and did a little shopping for Outback bowl Gator-gear. We also found even more ornaments for our tree next year. We spent most of our time just driving around and enjoying the buzz of the town. It's not far from Orlando so we made it to our hotel in no time. Wednesday was theme park day and it was busy, busy, busy! We woke up early, ate breakfast and headed straight to Islands of Adventure so that I could (FINALLY) see The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The fact that it was Christmastime must have slipped my mind. I also forgot that Orlando has TWO bowl games. UGH. Needless to say, the park was beyond packed. There was a two hour wait just to get into the Harry Potter area of the park so we decided to do everything else except HP Land. We hopped back and forth between Universal Studios and IOA riding coasters and rides, watching shows, and eating terrible, over-priced, fried foods. Universal closed down the HP area of the park at 4 and scheduled it to reopen at 9. My favorite part of the night was when I convinced Adam to go on Dr Doom's Fear Fall. I've never heard a grown man scream harder! :D Eventually (after much nagging on my part) I convinced Adam to go back to HP Land at 730 and THANK GOODNESS I did that. There was another line waiting to get in...except this time it was a THREE hour wait. This was crazy but my whole purpose of going to IOA was to see HP Land so I whined like a toddler until Adam caved and waited in line with me. Eventually we got into the park to discover (surprise, surprise) more lines. It was worth it, though. Adam and I tried Butterbeer and Pumpkin Juice. We went into HoneyDukes and saw so many wonderful, nerdy things. It shocked me the amount of people in HP Land that didn't even LIKE Harry Potter. They hadn't read the books or seen the movies and had no desire to be there....which infuriated me because I waited forever. We rode the motion simulator in the castle and my mind was blown. I would love to go back once the newness has worn off. Adam and I have decided NO MORE theme parks during peak season. The parks are decorated beautifully and the ambiance is stirring but droves of inconsiderate people are enough to make a person go mad!

We had planned on spending tonight with Allison and Bobby at their new home in Macon, GA but Adam and I were pooped from the holiday hassle and went home after we checked out of the hotel Thursday morning. I really wanted to go and see the new house but my energy levels had been drained for days. I just didn't have it in me. I hope they're having a wonderful time. Adam and I drove through the night and arrived in Norfolk around 3(ish)AM. (As difficult as it is staying awake all night, we made pretty good time by avoiding day-time traffic.)

We heard about the "blizzard" Norfolk got on Christmas while we were gone. The guy next door said there was something like two FEET of snowfall. I'm pretty bummed about missing my first "White Christmas". When Adam and I got home, the whole city was covered in blankets of snow and ice. It's really awesome to see....especially for a Florida girl, like me. Adam and I have collectively decided that as soon as we have the guts (or whenever we have children) we will be inviting family up to see US for the holidays. Hopefully we'll have a house by then so we can host a feast of deliciousness for everyone we love. I'm envisioning a warm fireplace and a giant tree with both of our families hanging out. (Probably closer to a fairy tale....but let me enjoy my vision!)

Well, as I've been writing this, Adam has been outside playing with explosives we bought somewhere South of Hilton Head. I keep hearing all kinds of booms and bangs followed by insane laughter. I swear he's the definition of a "man-child". He bought mortars and refuses to find a vacant lot to shoot them so he's made our neighbors really angry. We've only shot off two or three but our neighborhood has nice houses that are super close together. Let's hope the cops don't get called.

Unfortunately, I dropped my camera in the toilet my FIRST night in Jacksonville so I have zero pictures to show for our trip. The camera works just fine but i took it apart in order to dry it out and ended up losing the memory card. Just my luck, eh. Just make sure to keep reading (and/or Facebook stalking me) in 2011. One of my dozen resolutions is to take more photos of my life and the people in it. Maybe I'll get a new camera for my birthday....which I promise NOT to drop in any body of water (or on any hard surface).

2010 has been one crazy year. Adam graduated flight school and got his wings after two years of ridiculously hard work!!!! Adam and I got engaged during the summer then married on our 4 year anniversary! We moved 800 miles away from our old home and said goodbye to great friends. Adam is closer than ever to joining an official helo squadron and I am moving up at work and going to school (slowly...but still going!) We've had our struggles but it's been memorable and we're making new friends and getting settled into the Virginia lifestyle. 2011 will be a difficult and amazing year but I'm happy to say that I am beyond blessed with everything and everyone in my life. THANK GOD for my health, happiness, faith, family and friends!

Best wishes and love from your favorite Peeps!

Bring it on 2011...