Holidays with L!

Hey there, everyone! Hope you had a very Merry Christmas! :) The past two years have been a little different for me not spending Christmas Eve and Day with my family, but as our family expands and changes, I suppose it's okay to switch things up a bit. ;) This year, I spent the holidays with L's family, and it was a blast. I think he and I have both been really in the holiday spirit in the past few weeks, and it's just been really nice to enjoy it with each other. I was sad not to be in Colby for the actual holiday, but L and I get to go spend time with my family tomorrow and through the weekend, so it's all good. Prior to Christmas, we did a few things that really got us in the mood to celebrate. First, we went to our old stomping grounds (La Crosse) and did a holiday-themed weekend with our friends where we watched several Christmas movies and checked out the Rotary Lights down by the Mississippi River. Beautiful as always! We also participated in a holiday decorating contest for our apartment complexes, so that was fun. We really went all out, and we got 3rd place ($50 off rent for next month) in the contest. I was really happy to place, but I also felt like we should have done better given the time and effort put into our decorations. I think ours took on a more 'serious' tone versus fun and playful, so I imagine that just from a quick glance without people fully seeing all the small details of our decorations, others may have looked better. Perhaps our strategy will change a bit for next year. ;) Regardless, it was a blast, and it was really the first time I've decorated like this for the holidays. Love it! I was pretty lucky, because I had off this past Monday (the day before Christmas Eve), so it felt like a longer 'vacation' given that I worked on Friday and didn't have to work again until today (Thursday). We spent a lot of time cooking and baking and just enjoying a relaxing weekend together before jumping into the full holiday swing the past couple of days. I just really loved it all and am happy to have experienced everything I did so far. Can't wait to have more fun when we go back to Colby!!!!! Until then, take a look at our Christmas adventures to date!

 Heading out to see the lights in LAX!

 Rotary Lights!

 In the sleigh!

A few of us UW-L alums posing in front of the L!

 <3

 Now onto adventures in Madison. Just for the night of the decorating contest, we brought out the Christmas tree after I swept the snow off my deck. I thought it looked so pretty. Yay Christmas!:)

 

 We also decided to bring out my table and real presents to add to the effect!

And why not have L dress up as Santa to complete the look! Ho ho ho! :)

 Hanging out as we wait for the contest to begin!

 A couple views of me out with all the beautiful decorations!

 

Over the weekend, I made homemade Chex Mix...

 

And chicken wild rice soup....

 And Christmas cookies!

 (Recipes to follow for all of these things soon!:)

 On Christmas Eve day, we went over to L's sister T's and prepped all the food for dinner at his other sister's house that night. We had a great time cooking and watching Disney movies (Meet the Robinsons, Up, and Tangled) that day before going over for the big Christmas Eve feast!

 Going into the oven!

And now she's done. YUM!

 Me and L on Christmas Eve!

 Me and L on Christmas morning!

 L and his adorable nephew!

Drinking a little coffee and Bailey's out of a sweet owl mug!

In front of the tree!

 

Me and L's nephew!

 L dressed up as Santa for the little ones. To say they didn't enjoy it much might be an understatement;).

Yes, we all stood there and took pictures for a few seconds before 'saving' them. ;)

Me and Santa! :)

Happy holidays, everyone! Hope you enjoyed as much as I did!