How Christmas Went For Us + A Year in Review // 2012

How was your Christmas?

Oh it was fine.

No. Back up.

It. Was. Awesome.

A Christmas for the records.

So many moments that made me literally stop in my tracks and give thanks for the blessings in my life.

A recap of the year is probably in order, so let's start:

December 31, 2011 // A Proposal

Spring // A Graduation

Summer // A Big Purchase

Vacation // A Camping Trip 

August 11, 2012 // A Wedding

Other notable but not pictured events of the year included:

A trip to visit Dave and Steffi in Portland

Wedding dress shopping in Phoenix with Ashley 

Hunting trips with the Hubby

A relaxed 4th of July with our good friends, Eli and Jamie

Sam's desert big horn sheep hunt

 And more recently a handful of engagements of our close friends, Chad and Bethany, Dave and Steffi, and Emily and Chris! Congrats to all of you! 

And here's the only pictures I have of our awesome Christmas Family Vacation to Telluride, CO:

Here's the girls playing fetch with the boys while we picked up our lift tickets.  Honey (the dog that's not in the air) had never been to the snow, she LOVED it. 

The next day (Christmas Day) we hit the mountain. Here's Dad tearin' it up.

The only group picture I took the entire trip. 1. I'm not in it. 2. Oh wait, that's my finger.

We took a much needed rest for midday beverages.  

And the gondola ride back to the condo made for a good time for pictures together!

The next day our beverage break included $2 Snowy Day's (appropriately named). The boys discovered that their thumbholes made for the perfect "beer mitten".

And back at the condo that night, the girls got rowdy, right on top of Mom and Dad.

On the way out of town, we drove up the canyon to show Mom and Dad the waterfall and mining house. 

When we got home, we were greeted to fresh snow, and helpful shovelers. Thanks guys!

The puppies were zonked after the week's festivities. (Clockwise from the tall picture is Kona, Honey, and Rusty.)

 And finally, a picture of Dad and I. 

It was a fabulous trip. One I most certainly will never forget. I'm so grateful that we were all able to make it up there, healthy and joyous, just the way Christmas should be. I'm looking forward to what next year will bring us - maybe another ski trip? Lots of weddings, and happiness, that's for sure. 

Anyway, Happy New Years folks! Be safe out there!

DIY: Circle Scarf

Yikes, it's been a while since I've been around here! Lot's of festivities going on! But I'm back now and I'm excited to bring you my first DIY, complete with pictures!  If you're anything like me, I've got a pretty impressive collection of scarves, but the cool thing these days are circle scarves or infinity scarves. I didn't want to buy myself anymore so I thought I'd show you how I turned my long, straight scarf into a pretty and trendy circle scarf! It's pretty simple, here's what you'll need:

old scarf 

sewing machine 

scissors

coordinating thread

I chose this green strippy scarf with fringe. I haven't worn it in years because it's kind of blah.  

Fold your scarf in half, long ways, so the ends line up. My scarf is the same on each side, so there was no right side/wrong side. If your scarf is different on each side, be sure to fold the scarf right side to right side. If your scarf has fringe, like mine does, be sure that all the strings are hanging out to the right, as shown. 

Get all of your sewing necessities ready to go. I was lazy about the coordinating thread and used black, because that was already loaded in my machine. Don't judge me. 

Before you begin sewing, be sure that the fringe isn't caught under where you'll be sewing. Also, my scarf was very stretchy, so I chose a longer stitch length.

Since my scarf was stretchy, I pulled it a bit while I sewed my straight line to be sure it went back to the right shape when I was finished. Be sure to back stitch at the beginning and end of your scarf. 

Cut off the excess fringe or fabric close to the seam. 

Disregard my horrible self portrait skills. And my outfit. 

Gosh these pictures make me blush, they're so bad.