My two weeks off were excellent. I do believe it was probably one of the best 2 weeks off I've had in a few years anyway. I stayed here the first few days of the break and did some shopping. I met Susan and Will at at Allen Premium Outlets one of those days. First of all, I think that would be a great place to shop but would not recommend it or any other place for that matter the week before Christmas. I did have a great time catching up with Susan and Will. Hopefully, we can work on getting together more often. Funny but when I first met Susan, I really did not think I would like her and she has turned out to be a pretty amazing friend!!
I went to my parents house on the 23rd and stayed through Jan 2. I really enjoyed the time I spent there. The drama was kept at a minimum which was good because there always seems to be some sort of drama in my family. Obviously, I was a big part of that over the summer with my injured body. Dad was off the whole 2 weeks and I was a little leery of that at first. I love my dad but sometimes we are too much a like and too much together time is not a good thing. It really was not bad this time. For the first year in many, we were almost all able to get together with Aunt Barbara and her family for Christmas Eve Brunch. Christmas Eve was spent as a family at the Christmas Eve Candlelight Service and then Gramma's annual Christmas Eve Steak dinner. Christmas Day all four of us siblings and families were able to get together to open presents. Then we started a new Christmas Day tradition by grilling hamburgers. They were very yummy and we were not left with days and days of leftovers.
During the break, I was able to spend time getting to know my new sister-in-law. Adreal, Mom, and I along with Jayden spent a day in Texarkana shopping. It was great to finally be able to spend some time with her and get to know her a little bit better. I enjoyed her company and Jayden is just adorable. On Wednesday, Drake was able to stay home from school and spend the day with Mom, Dad, and I. He will be 4 next month and is a lot of fun. He loves trains, cars, tools, and anything that is most definitely boyish.
I remember when I last got my driver's license renewed 6 years ago, the date of my next renewal was in 2010. At the time, that seemed so far away and so unreal because that would be the year I turned 30. At 24, that seemed like a long way off. 2010 is now here and I look for it to be a great year!! My New Year's celebration this year was low key but I greatly enjoyed it. DeWayne came out for New Year's and after going to Texarkana with Amanda, Jake and Abigail for dinner, we spent the evening hanging out with Mom and Dad. We played the game Apples to Apples which I highly recommend for some good fun and laughter. On New Year's Day we went back to Texarkana to meet up with Whitney, Shawn and Campbell for dinner. It was great to be able to catch up with old friends.
As you can tell, I really had a great time off visiting with family and friends. I still have a good many friends I was not able to catch up with but, knock on wood, no major catastrophes this summer and I can make my way to see those friends I have missed. Of course, this will have to be worked around work as I plan to work on curriculum again this summer and then hopefully a trip to Cozumel with Mom, Dad, and Phillip. I have never left the country before and am very much looking forward to the trip and being able to do that before I turn 30!!! :)
On a little bit of a different note, my sister went back to the doctor on Friday and they found out that they are expecting another boy at the beginning of June. She said that Drake is excited about a little brother. I think he will make a great big brother and can teach his little brother lots of awesome things!!!
