one whole year of being mr & mrs..

and it's been amazing!

i've always heard people say that the first year of marriage is the hardest. i'm not quite sure if it was because we were just so ready, but it wasn't hard for us. it was wonderful and full of adventures!!

we decided we are going to take turns planning what we do to celebrate our anniversary's. it was Justin's turn first even though he planned the honeymoon :) .. i never knew where we were going and sunday night after he got off work.. we were on our way! i ended up falling asleep like I do on every road trip, and j made me close my eyes and when I opened them at 2 am, i was in the parking lot of CAFE RIO! our very favorite mexican place that is NOT in ohio! oh how excited i was to go the next day! it ended up being 20 minutes from j's brother and family, so we called and asked if they could meet us! then off we went, i still had no idea where we were going.. and then we arrived in virgina beach! it was so nice to see palm trees again and I love an ocean view!! it really was similiar to our honeymoon in california!

right outside our hotel, there was a HUGE display of christmas lights along the boardwalk! it was so much fun to see them, it went on for miles!! hardly anyone was staying in virgina beach..j says compared to cleveland, it felt like hawaii:)

we enjoyed drinking hot chocolate on our balcony and listening to the waves! oh how peaceful and romantic the ocean is!

we woke up early to see the sun rise, of course we went back to bed for a couple of hours after. :)

we went downtown virgina for lunch, it was such a cute town!! we wen't to hell's kitchen.. it was soooo good! i got the yummiest spicy black bean veggie burger with the best asparagus! 

then we went to jamestown, we had never been! it was really cool to see where the first permanent settlement was! it was such a beautiful day! i recognized the statue of pochohontas right away, thanks to disney!

oh how i love this man. 

our shadows:)

j found out that his meeting was cancelled, so we ended up having an extra day! we couldn't help but stay the night  with his family! oh how i love my nieces! while ella went to school, jane wanted her hair curled like her auntie and glitter on her eyes. so cute:) 

we went to lunch downtown dc with j's childhood best friend and his wife. yummiest eggplant panini i've ever had! it was so much fun to catch up with them!! then we went downtown and went site seeing! oh how lovely DC is!

it was so much fun seeing it decorated for christmas!!

 us at the white house!!

 yes, the nutcraker is huge, or maybe i'm just small..

  we went to the american history museum. i could stay there forever and look at all the museum's! maybe we can transfer residency programs? haha. 

my very favorite thing to do.

it was so much fun to talk about this past year, laugh, talk, see friends/family and spend a few days together without working and just simply celebrate us!

on our actual anniversary, we both worked the night shifts, so we had all morning/afternoon together. we stayed up late watching the show we are into right now (lost) and then slept in, had breakfast and watched more of our show and cuddled while it was snowing outside!! such a perfect, lazy day!! i made a book for j of our love story from the very begining. such wonderful memories and so many more to come!!

it's beginning to look a lot like..

CHRISTMAS!

this is my favorite, favorite time of year! a little more kindness, a little more smiles, the chilly air that makes it impossible to do anything but cuddle, the beautiful lights and decorations. what a wonderful thing it is to have a whole holiday that focuses on the savior's birth. oohh and did i mention that it's our wedding month??! yay for a little first anniversary getaway soon!

we decided to put lights up in the house, since we spend most of our nights inside:)

  

  the mistletoe i made with left over cranberries from thanksgiving.

it will be put to good use, just saying:)

 got out the sweaters and hats.. okay honestly i had to get a whole new wardrobe. ask my husband 

 

 so far this month has been filled with rain, burning my pine candle, girl day with jill (we made apple cider and snicker doodles and watched the holiday!) and quality time with j.

i was so excited to get the christmas tree/decorations out the day after thanksgiving!! we had such a fun time listening to james taylor christmas and putting up the tree!

love the candles for our windows my cute mama sent us!! 

it snowed finally! i'm not going to lie, i was getting a little anxious waiting for the first fall! it melted after an hour. i love waking up to snow, it's so much fun!! 

 

 i'm thinking we will get a little more than this soon..

first thanksgiving away from home

and i survived! i sure missed my family but am pretty good at being content where i am. PLUS justin's brother, wife and four kids came from chicago to be with us! it was a very good relaxing day. oh how i have so much to be thankful for. oh so blessed.

the night before we crafted some flowers. rachel is so good at making things!! love when she calls me "ant" joslyn! so cute!

anna was so cute and loved showing off her cute toys!

justin was constantly playing with the kiddos. scavenger hunts, tickle fights and rachel's favorite where he wraps them up in blankets and they have to guess the room they end up in.

oh how they loved piggy back rides!!

thanksgiving morning started out watching cartoons in pj's :)

they relaxed and went to the park..

while em and i cooked the yummy thanksgiving dinner. i have to say stuffing the turkey's bum kinda grossed me out!

 j carved the turkey. was a proud wifey:)

love lit candles, so that's what we did.

our cranberry/orange centerpiece! i had to be creative to make a table for 8. craft table + tablecloth + every chair in the house including lawn chairs= creative table for 8.

it was a beautiful sunny day and the zoo was free, so the zoo it was!

loved the giraffes!

grizzly bears!! we got to see them eat their thanksgiving feast!

camels and cute anna.

tigers and my cute rach!

love this. he will be such a good daddy someday.

rachel loved looking at the animals with him

love the waterfall, the polar bear in the back and my man. :) 

he's a kid at heart and jumped over all of the posts also :)

cutest monkeys!

lions!

cutest animal of the whole zoo.. 

they might have liked the fake animals you can climb on better..

we wore the boys out!

we had such a fun time with the ryan pattee clan. love that we are only a couple hours away! emily and i experienced midnight madness and got some great deals! :) we also loved talking and finding out how alike our husbands are!! oh how i love that we have a holiday that causes us to reflect and be thankful for what we have. so grateful for a loving heavenly father that blesses each one of our lives. love this time of year!!