A Look Back...and Ahead

We rang in the New Year with some of our closest friends and family at our house.  Andrea & Matt, Stacey & Richie, and Ang & Joey celebrated with us for New Year's.  Lots of laughs, good food, and bubbly drinks were had by all! 

 Check out all three faces....what in the world was going on here??

 B.F.F.'s :-)

 

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1....

 Happy New Year 2012! 

 You would never know that this girl is 13 weeks preggo...

She still knows how to have a good time...sparkling grape juice and all!

 Of course, we pulled out the Guitar Hero...we had a full band!  

Andrea and I were the groupies!

 Aw....friends!  

 Matt loves Putter...and I think the feeling is mutual.  

The Putter-Man and Lambchop

2011 was a great year for us.  Here's a look back:

• January:  We moved into a small apartment in Raleigh after selling our house in December 2010.  I am SO glad to be out of that place!
• February:  JB took me on a surprise trip to Nashville for my birthday.  He even arranged for me to have a long weekend and take time off of work...with the help of my principal and awesome co-workers.  What a guy!
• March:   I was tracked-out of school, and we made a trip to NJ to begin house-hunting.  While we were home, we made a few trips to NYC to meet up with our friends Chris & Laura and Paul & Lauren.  We're so happy we get to see them more often now.
• April:  We went to Mexico for President's Club...3rd year in a row.  My hubby works so hard---and I love him for that!  I especially loved our hotel during this trip...an infinity pool in our hotel villa=heaven.
• May:   JB traveled almost the whole month of May for work.  I felt like a single wife....living in a small box of an apartment.  We did a lot of house-searching online, and my parents helped by making many trips out with the realtor in New Jersey...narrowing down the list.
• June:  I said a tearful goodbye to all of my friends and coworkers at Durant Elementary...It was the BEST school.  I don't think I will ever find a place where I will love going to work as much as DRES.   
• Late June:  We packed up our apartment, and made the trek back to New Jersey:  2 cars loaded up with stuff and 11+ hours later, we moved into our room at my parents' house.  It's such a nice hotel to visit...the accommodations are incredible.  I spent the rest of the month sitting by the pool.  
• July: We were hard-core house-shoppers.  We were shown over 100 houses in person, and probably hundreds more online. We put an offer on 2 different houses in July.  Neither one of them were meant to be, and I'm so glad that they didn't work out.  Everything happens for a reason.
• August:  We settled on our new house and got the keys on August 8th!  That Friday, the moving trucks arrived from Raleigh with the contents of both of our storage units.  I had forgotten how much stuff we had...it was like Christmas!
• September:  JB had to take a business trip to Raleigh for work, and I got to go along.  It was SO nice to spend a few days with R.B., Melissa, and my two favorite ladies, Elli and Livi.  I miss them everyday!
• October:  We went to Boston to celebrate the wedding of Alli and Tony Rosso, and enjoyed a Melrose high school reunion at the wedding.  JB is still close to many of his friends from high school, and it's so fun to see them all together.
• November:  I hosted my first ever holiday...in our new house!  Thanksgiving dinner was a success, and I loved giving my mom a chance to enjoy it without having to do all of the work.  :-)
• December:  We decorated our very first Christmas tree, and I hosted my first Christmas Cookie Exchange.  We spent a weekend in NYC with Michael, Michelle, Andrea, and Matt---seeing THE tree, watching M&M skate at Rockefellar Center, and enjoying a night out on the town.  We spent lots of time with family in Boston and New Jersey celebrating Christmas.  Finally, we rang in the New Year with great friends and family!

I have a feeling that 2012 is going to be filled with lots of exciting things, and I can't wait!