We Spent our Holidays...

(First of all, I apologize for the serious lack of photos. It totally slipped my mind!)

...spending time with the Haws family - We spent the holidays with Zach's family, but because we were flying out of Houston, and not until Christmas Eve, we decided to spend a few days with my family before we set off for North Carolina. I'm really glad we got to do this because two of my sisters came out to spend Christmas at my parent's house. It was so much fun to see them and their families again. Their kids have all grown up soo much!! It was crazy over there though. There were 15 people total staying in the house while we were there! Talk about jam packed!

...spending time with the Athans family - On the morning of Christmas Eve, we flew to North Carolina to spend Christmas and New Year's with Zach's side of the family. It was definitely time to go back to North Carolina because we hadn't been back since we first had gotten married! I really enjoyed getting to know everyone better, especially Zach's extended Athans family, who all live in the same area. And Zach loved being home and seeing all of the people he's missed for the past year and a half. And he especially loved seeing his dog, Tazie haha. 

...doing white elephant gift exchanges - This year we participated in two white elephant gift exchanges! The first one was on Christmas Eve. Liz and Steve have a tradition of inviting a few families from their ward over for Christmas Eve dinner and we decided to do a little white elephant game that night. Zach and I both got pretty lucky with our gifts! I got a nice pair of fuzzy, Christmas socks, and Zach ended up with a package of mega-stuffed Oreos! Then on Christmas Day, the entire extended Athans family came over for dinner and presents and, again, we did a white elephant gift exchange. Zach and I both lucked out with our gifts again! I got a device that helps find your lost keys (perfect for me!), and Zach got a vintage Superman comic book (perfect for him!). 

...opening presents, of course! - On Christmas Day, we had to wait to open our presents until the afternoon because our brother-in-law, Keith, unfortunately had to work all day. So we finally got to open presents around 4 or 5 o'clock! We were very blessed this year, and got many wonderful things, but I think I'm most excited about my new sewing machine that I received from my in-laws! I've only sewed a handful of things in the past, so I can't wait to learn more about it and start working on lots of projects! Zach was excited about a really nice new tool kit his parents gave him and also a photo book I made for him filled with pictures from his mission. He had no idea I had done that and loved reminiscing about Brazil. 

...spending time with Keith and Amy - I'm really happy we got to spend so much time with Zach's sister, Amy, and her husband, Keith. They are so fun and easy-going. We had dinner with them a few nights and hung out and played games at their apartment, along with their cute and funny dog, Dexter. We also went to see The Hobbit with them, which Zach and I thought was a big thumbs down. Don't get me wrong, if you know us at all, you'll know we love all Middle-earth related things! But this movie was just all sorts of ridiculous haha. But we still had a good time going to the movies with Amy and Keith. Unfortunately, Zach's brother, TJ, recently moved to Washington with some friends so he was unable to come home for the holidays. We wish we could have gotten to see him and spend some time with him too. 

...road tripping to Charlotte - Zach's family spent a few years living down in Charlotte when Zach was in high school. So he really wanted to show me around and see some of his friends from there. It was really fun getting to know them better after hearing so much about these people from Zach! Everyone was so nice and friendly and I really liked the area! Zach always says he would love to move back there some day and now I understand why. 

...attending the temple - One night we decided to go to the temple in Raleigh with Zach's parents. I always love going to the temple with friends and family members because it's just so nice being in such a sacred place with those you love. It was fun going through a new temple (it's only the 4th temple I've gone through!) and, of course, it really brought the spirit into our hearts and minds. Afterwards we all went out to Chili's and had a great time laughing, talking, and eating. 

...having pictures taken - One of my big Christmas surprises this year was a photo shoot gift certificate from Zach! I'm always telling him I want nice new pictures of us taken, so he decided to do that for me for Christmas! We had our pictures taken while in North Carolina by a girl in his parent's ward, Rebekah Baker. She's only 18, but already an amazing photographer. Even though it was a chilly morning, we got some great shots and had a really fun time having our pictures taken. I can't wait to see the rest of them!

...spending a few more days in Houston - We flew back to Houston on January 2nd and were picked up by my parents. We spent a few more days at their house with them and with my brother, who had just returned from spending the New Year's with his girlfriend in Florida. The house was definitely a lot quieter than it had been when we left! We opened our Christmas presents from them while we were there and, again, we were very blessed! Finally, on sunday, the 4th, we drove back home to Austin, and man, we were wiped! 

It was certainly a fun-filled, eventful holiday season for us Athans and now it's back to reality. We hope everyone enjoyed the holidays and are ready for a great 2015! Love to you all!