Countdown to WDW! 13 days!

Now that Christmas is over, we can now start our countdown to Walt Disney World! (Yes we are going AGAIN) We leave on the 10th and will be back home on the 17th. Since we were there on Christmas last year, we are looking forward to the lesser crowds during this trip. There shouldn't be near the volume of people which should make it a little more pleasant, even though we did LOVE being there on Christmas last year. I will leave you with a pic of us from last Christmas in WDW!

Have a Holly, Jolly Christmas

Rob and I spent Christmas in Oneonta with my family this year. We went down on Wednesday (Christmas Eve) and stayed until Sunday. It was great seeing everyone and enjoying a relaxing weekend with the people that we love.

Merry Christmas!

Sibling love...wow it took a long time :)

Opening one last present!

Dad, Jacob and Sadie acting like...well I really don't know what they were acting like?

Smith Family Christmas

On Saturday we celebrated Christmas with the Smiths (my dad's family). We had a really wonderful day and after a stressful week with my grandfather we all realized just how blessed we are to have such a wonderful family. Here's a slideshow with some highlights.

Crafty Crafty!

First off let me say I LOVE MONOGRAMMED stuff! Rob is really tired of seeing our initials but I just can't get enough of it! I would paint our monogram on the walls if I didn't think Rob would leave me. ;) I mean I have my initials on almost every tote bag that I own, my key chain, and even a monogrammed sticker on the back of my car! Well, Karla and I have decided we want to be crafty so we keep making Michael's and Hobby Lobby runs. This is my first real craft and for a novice I think I did pretty well! AND IT HAS MY INITIALS SO IT'S WONDERFUL!

Please excuse the picture quality because it was dark in my living room and it was taken with my blackberry because I was too lazy to track down the camera! :)

Happy Birthday Karla!

We celebrated Karla's birthday Friday night with dinner at P.F. Changs and then listened to music at Humphrey's. It was a great night away from thinking about finals and all of the Christmas shopping still left to do!

I LOVE Christmas!

We finally got the outdoor decorations up, which include a snowman and wreath with a spotlight. I'm so impressed with our neighborhood! We are usually the only ones that do anything (and goodness knows we don't do much) but this year quite a few houses actually decorated outside. Thank goodness the ones close to our house aren't too cheesy! Looks like everyone's got the Christmas spirit this year!

Going to the Movies!

Last night, Rob and I went to see "Four Christmases" with Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon. It is a very cute and VERY funny movie, with a good holiday message! Of course, I am a huge fan of both Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon!!! It was a very nice escape from the crappy work and school week I have had! Everyone should go see the movie and ENJOY!

I need...

I need this lamp in our computer room! I found it at 2modern.com! Isn't it so cute and it would match our computer room, which is blue and green!

People are amazing!

Wednesday night when we got into Oneonta we had dinner at Mi Casita. After dinner Dad needed gas and when we pulled up to the pump this is what we saw. If you can't tell what is going on in the picture let me explain. This lady apparently either forgot which side of the car her gas tank was on OR doesn't understand how easy it is to pump gas. Instead of turning her car around OR going to another pump, she chose to reach the gas nozzle OVER her car. This was one of the funniest things I have ever seen! Can we say WOW? Notice her license plate is from TENNESSEE, not Alabama....what a relief!

What a weekend!

Rob and I had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend with GREAT family and friends! We left for Oneonta on Wednesday night and drove home early Saturday morning. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with LOTS of great food! Apparently, we were too busy eating to worry about taking pictures.
Saturday night we attended an Alabama/Auburn/Mark's 40th birthday party at Mark and Sharry's. We had a good time, even though there were some sad faces at the end of the game...but MY FACE WAS HAPPY!! RTR!!!

Mark's "trying to be sad face"

Rob's SAD face!

Finally!!!!!!

Are you ready for some FOOTBALL?

As you can see, Buster and Sam have chosen their teams for the Iron Bowl! (Naturally, Buster says RTR and Sam is sticking with the Tigers)

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

I am really getting into the Christmas spirit! (and possibly getting on Rob's nerves) I decided to go ahead and knock out all the Christmas decorating since next weekend will be so busy with Thanksgiving and the Iron Bowl! This is the first Christmas I have gotten to decorate since we remodeled the living room and our first Christmas tree in two years. (We didn't put up a tree last year since we were in Disney World on Christmas) Anyway, I finally got it the way I wanted it so here are a few pics...Enjoy!

Too Doggone Cute!

Buster and Sam are really getting into the Christmas spirit! Rob and I bought them these cute tees at PetsMart. In case you can't read the messages on them, Buster's says "I ate Santa's cookies," and Sam's says "Gimme a present or I'll pee on your tree." (These are SO fitting for both of them) And yes, they also have Christmas mats for their dog bowls!

Thanks for everyone's help!

As a lot of you know, Rob and I decided to sponsor a child for Christmas this year. We were given a five-year-old girl's wishlist and MANY of you helped by giving us tips and suggestions on what to buy her! This was SO helpful since we were rather clueless. Our hope is that she has a wonderful Christmas! We have always talked about doing something like this but just never took the time to do it! We learned this year how much fun it can be and how rewarding it is as well. Our goal is to continue this tradition each year even when we have children. I think this is a wonderful thing for families to do together! Thanks again to everyone who helped us with ideas and input and here's what the little girl's Christmas will look like.

Trying Times in the Akins House! :)

As most of you know, Rob and I do not pull for the same team on Iron Bowl Saturday. We have been together for 6 years and you know what that means? As long as we have been together, Alabama has NOT won an Iron Bowl. So, I don't even know what it feels like to have the satisfaction of coming out on top in this huge game! For the past 6 years, Rob has been a great winner and hasn't rubbed it in too much. However, I'm not a great winner so who knows what Iron Bowl Saturday holds for us. Either way, whichever team comes out on top, we are very excited and can't wait! We also love that it is occurring during Thanksgiving weekend too!

P.S. RTR!!!

Into the Wild

Rob and I both had trips to the Smokey Mountains over the Veteran's Day weekend. I went on my annual girls' trip with the girls from Oneonta, while Rob went on his first hiking/camping guys' trip. The girls left on Friday and spent the weekend lounging around, going to Dollywood, and shopping. However, the guys left on Friday, hiked 6.2 miles into the mountins, set up camp and spent 3 nights, then hiked the 6.2 miles out. Hope you enjoy the slideshows- one of my relaxing weekend and one of Rob's hiking/camping trip!

Get In Line!

This morning Rob and I went to our polling place before they opened and were still in line behind about 400 other people. I was very impressed with voter turnout in Monrovia!!! It only took us about an hour and a half so it wasn't bad and hopefully it was well worth it! ;) Here are a few pics from my cell phone (not the best quality)

Our polling place- the Monrovia Community Center- the line was wrapped around the parking lot. We are actually in the line, but MUCH farther back!

Showing off my sticker right after voting!

Finally...a free weekend!

This was our first free weekend in what feels like months of going nonstop! We finally got to enjoy some sushi, which we have been craving for a while, but haven't had the time to go! The rest of the weekend was spent shopping for our trips coming up next weekend. I'm going on the annual girls' trip with the girls from Oneonta, while Rob goes on a hiking/camping trip with the guys! (Buster and Sam will be staying at home- thanks to Karla who is housesitting! They actually love her maybe more than us!) Hopefully Rob and I will have pictures of our trips to post when we get home.

Finally! It has been way too long since we have gotten to feast on sushi!


Rob about to enjoy his fave - scallop special!

Taste of Huntsville

Last night Rob and I attended the annual "Taste of Huntsville" event. It was our first time and we will definitely attend this event again! Over 50 restaurants set up at the VBC and give out samples, so you get to try an array of foods. Who knew we would be so stuffed when we left? (Sorry no pictures of the event)

Tailgating!

Rob and I went to Tuscaloosa on Saturday to tailgate with my family for the Alabama/Ole Miss game. We ended up hanging out at Donny and Kristy Ray's tent on the Quad. They definitely know how to do it right! We had a great time!

My family

Taking shots before the game!

This is tailgating at its best!

Kristy Ray and me

Mom and Dad

Rob and me

Bryant-Denny

All fenced in!

Well it only took us six years to fence in our backyard. And can I say, our dogs have never been happier. We still have to do some landscaping work but as you can see by the pictures, we are loving our new FENCED backyard!

Maybe now we will actually utilize our great patio table!

Just enjoying the great Fall weather!

Sam

Buster refuses to look at the camera. He's like a child who

has had his picture taken so many times that he knows

what I want him to do so he looks the other way! (yes,

he's a complete brat)

Our "new" yard