out with the old, in with the new

Happy New Year!! It seems crazy that we're already celebrating 2015, it feels like yesterday that it was 2014 (haha I'm hilarious...seriously though, I am). Time has flown by and we had such a great year. It brought excitement, travel, a new niece, a little stress, a lot of fun and some changes.

Last January, Alex and I were able to being working together full time at AW Insurance. I would be lying if I said that it was a walk in the park and that we agreed about everything, but it has been very good and a lot of fun. We are still navigating our roles at the office as we evolve and grow, but it is exciting to see our hard work paying off.

This year we were able to go on a few adventures to see more of our great big world. We went to Jamaica, Michigan, Indiana, Arkansas, Washington and Missouri (several times). Also, we were able to buy half season Cardinals tickets so we spent half of our summer at Busch Stadium. It was such a fun summer at the ball park, but we decided that it was a one summer special. Summer 2015 will be busy enough, however we will still make it to the ball park as much as we can.

In September my sister, Becky, had a sweet little girl just 7 days after my birthday! Atley Jane is the perfect addition to their family and lucky number 13 for Alex and I (as far as nieces and nephews go).

Here is a quick look back at 2014

We have been able to spend time with our friends and families this year and we've gotten to make some great memories. 2014 treated us very well and we are so thankful for the provisions and blessings God has given us. He is so good and I'm excited to see what He has in store for us in 2015.

May the Lord bless you and keep you; 

make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; 

and may He give you peace

Numbers 6:24-26

Happy New Year!

christmas recap

We had a wonderful Christmas this year! We left for Salem on Tuesday afternoon to spend the week at my parent's house. They were gracious hosts and fed us, entertained us and fed us some more!

On Christmas Eve we got an early start to our day and met my two best friends from high school (and their fiancé's) for breakfast. It was so good to catch up with them and see them again. I wish they lived closer and that we could be together more often. They have and will always have a special place in my heart! After breakfast we picked up my dad and went to see The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies. My mom was very glad that he had someone else to go with because she does not enjoy any of the LOTR or Hobbit movies (she's lame, but we love her). After the movie, we got to go to the Christmas Eve service at FCC. It was great to be able to worship and celebrate Christ's birth with a community of believers. It is one of my favorite things about the Christmas season.

Me, Megan and Amanda at breakfast

 We were ready to see The Hobbit with our 3D glasses

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When Christmas morning arrived, Alex's head popped of his pillow like a first grader's. He was so excited to get up and give each other our gifts. I was a little less enthusiastic and slept for another half hour... After we were all awake we enjoyed sausage twirls and sticky buns, which are a mandatory tradition that I make sure my mom and aunt don't get complacent about. We opened our gifts and just enjoyed each others company. It was a fun, relaxing morning. That afternoon we went to Alex's sister's house to celebrate with his family. We had a good time and all ate way too much.

Jansen is at the perfect age right now (14ish months) and is so fun to watch play, walk and try to keep up with everyone else.

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On the 26th Jim and his family all arrived in Salem (Becky and crew came on the 25th later in the evening) and we did our family gift exchange with the kids and played. The on the 27th my Grandpa and his lady friend Jeanne arrived and so did my dad's brother Bruce and family. Before we could do any gift exchanging, Alex and I enacted a new family tradition:

The Blair Family Ping Pong Tournament  

It was so much fun and everyone played (not all played well, but they played). We played doubles to 11 and then the championship round was played to 21. Becky was my partner and we were out the first round. I was a little disappointed, but we had fun regardless. The champions were my mom and Jared!

Alex and I headed home Sunday afternoon and were exhausted, but I don't think either of us were as tired as Moose...he hasn't done anything but sleep since we've gotten home. We had a great Christmas and are so thankful for our family and friends and for the opportunity to get to spend time with them. Now we're getting ready to ring in the new year.

santa hustled

Christmas is less than 24 hours away!! We wanted to celebrate the holiday all week so we started last weekend with Josh, Libby and Alaina. We drove to Indianapolis for the Santa Hustle on Friday after work. On Saturday we slept in, ate,  then shopped, ate, shopped some more and then we explored downtown Indy. The race was on Sunday morning and we were up and at 'em bright and early.

Libby ran her first 5k and did fantastic! We are all very proud of her and her willingness to train and endure the cold. Alaina ran her very first half marathon and she did great too! I had my best time so far and am pleased with our results. I don't think I'm going to hang up my running shoes just yet, I still have a few more races left in me.

Our official time was two hours and 16 minutes and our pace was 10 minutes 28 seconds. We had so much fun training and I really enjoyed this race. I listened to Christmas music the whole race and my favorite song that came up on Pandora was Run, Run, Rudolph (I thought it was quite applicable)! We headed home on Sunday after the race a little more sore than we started but glad that we ran.

(We don't know that other neon man...just a coincidence)

life lately

I have been so excited for Christmas since August. Why? I do not know. I always love Christmastime, but this year I've been especially excited. We completed all (well, 98%) of our shopping within the first week of December and all of our gifts are wrapped and ready.

I'm ready to run my Santa themed half marathon on Sunday and we've been listening to Christmas music since December 1st. Last week we went to see Straight No Chaser perform at the Fox for our annual Christmas culture.

Every time we drive by a house that is decorated, we slow down to gawk. Christmas movies are on a constant loop and our little tree twinkles at all times.  To say that this is my favorite time of year is probably an understatement.

Merry (almost) Christmas!