Silence...

My camera broke! That is why you haven't heard much from me... of course a lot has happened since the last post... Thanksgiving, moving, Christmas, the New Year, and much more, but I don't have the pictures to prove it. So hopefully you don't mind the recap with only a few pictures that I will hijack from Clea's blog... (check Clea and Joe's blog for the extended version http://www.joeandclea.blogspot.com/)

Thanksgiving was fun! The whole family went to Madison, WI to meet Joe's family... I had met Joe's sister, Ann, and Joe's dad, Dan, but I hadn't met Joe's mom, Kay. We loved everyone (of course!) and had a lot of fun eating and playing games and eating some more...

Here is a picture of the group:

And then before I knew it, it was time to move! I moved in with Alexis mid-December and I love the new house. It's been fun to make the switch from urban back to suburban... I was ready to move on from apartment living, so hopefully I don't ever have to go back. Alexis and I joke that I will live here till one of us gets married, which is probably the truth!!

And then of course Christmas came and went in a flash. Unfortunately the holiday season started off on a very, very sad note. About a week before Christmas we got news that my parent's best friend, I.D., who had been battling colon cancer and then liver cancer for about 3 years passed away. It felt too soon and too sudden... we saw I.D. on his 57th birthday just a few weeks before. He shares a birthday with Alexis - November 22nd - and we all went to Hibachi for dinner... I'm so happy we had that night because we all had so much fun and you would have never known that I.D. was sick. I.D. never let the disease take over his life and hobbies. He continued to hunt with my Dad and his friends basically up until the very end. It was amazing to see him stand up against the cancer and do everything he could to fight it. I.D. was in my life from the very beginning... I was just a little baby and so many of my memories include him and his son, Isaiah. They are an amazing family and I am blessed to have them in my life.

Here is a great group shot the night of Alexis and I.D.'s birthday:

After flying to Denver for I.D.'s memorial service, I think we were all pretty exhausted once we got back to KC... so Christmas consisted of a lot of laying around and sleeping in and relaxing. And New Year's Eve was pretty uneventful as well, but I was happy to have the time at home saving money and catching up on sleep. Made my time off work creep by which was great!

Erik and me at Alexis's Holiday party:

And now here were are -- over halfway through the month of January and I'm still trying to jumpstart my new year's resolutions. Of course we have the typical "get in shape" and "save money". I feel good about both, though!

Erik and I are heading to San Diego in a couple weeks so stay tuned for that post. I am still without a working camera, but Erik got a new camera for Christmas and I'll be sure to take plenty of pictures. He has never been to San Diego so I can't wait to show him my old stomping grounds.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful New Year! And Grandma, hope the new black text makes my blog easier to read :) I love you all!!