New York!

The day after Christmas we got ready for a little road trip to New York! We were planning on staying for about 4 days. Blake was in Utah for Christmas, and he sent me the key to his apartment and we were going to stay there. 

In his defense, he warned me that it was, "hood," and, "not nice." But let me tell you, it was a new level. Zach said it was comparable to his Russia mission apartments. Haha!

That night we went to dinner, and went and walked around Time Square a little bit! It was great weather! 

We slept very little that night, it basically was so loud it sounded like the windows were wide open. So we got up pretty early and started our day. We went and walked around Central Park, walked around the city, and went to lunch on Times Square!

Later in the afternoon we attempted going to the 9/11 museum which ended up being sold out. So instead we went shopping and walked around the brooklyn bridge. 

After that we went to magnolia bakery and got the infamous banana pudding... soooo yummy! At that point it was around 7:00 pm, and we decided we couldn't sleep another night in the apartment, so we drove home... hahaha! Very nice of Blake to offer his place, but we couldn't do it. My friend Mckenzie was going to be in New York a few days later, and I texted her and said that we could no longer meet up. Perks of living close to New York!

We still enjoyed the rest of our break at home. Such a nice relaxing break!

Christmas 2016

For Christmas Zach and I stayed in DC and we had our first Christmas with just our little family. We loved it. 

Zach gave a talk in church, did amazing obviously. 

We made all of our favorite Christmas treats, and ate way too much. Zach was especially proud that his fudge turned out perfectly his first time ever making it. 

 On Christmas Eve we went and saw How the Grinch Stole Christmas at National Theater. It was actually pretty warm so it was a nice day to walk around. The play was good, it probably would have been a huge hit for little kids. 

 After the play we went and walked around the city and saw the National Christmas Tree. We were a little disappointed, turns out it is very small! It was fun to walk around! 

On Christmas Eve night we made our gingerbread house, and watched some Christmas movies!

On Christmas we made breakfast, opened presents, and went to church! Church was about 45 min, which was perfect for a holiday!

 I had my mom send us sodalicious cups, and I ordered our favorite syrup flavors so that we could make our own sodalicious drinks! A little piece of our old home!

It was a great Christmas. It helped us to realize even more how happy we are just being together and thats all we really need! Love this boy!

December happenings

Here are some of the random December happenings around our home!

 First and foremost, December has arrived, and that means, the Christmas Sweaters are back! Someone at the grocery store stopped Zach and I and asked if we were going to a Christmas Party... Nope, just a regular day! haha! 

 We committed to real christmas decorations (aka a big tree) since we will be away from our families this year for Christmas! And we are pretty proud of what we put together. We love our cozy house!

 Already making plans for our new years diet because..... Christmas treats have begun. 

 We have really taken an interest in puzzles lately. This one we finished pretty quick, but the one pictured below is still on the table 2 weeks later!

Had to expand my winter coat collection due to the FREEZING weather (thank you Camille)! 

 We went to zoo lights with a group of our friends here! I'm SO grateful for the friends and this pic (and their husbands of course)!! Having friends like this make it feel like you have family when you live far away. They seriously are the best group! We love them!

My hubs is the best! I asked him if he wanted to take a picture with me and he said, "eh, thats ok." That changed quickly!

Our horrifying uber driver. We had to guide her the entire way. But, she was entertaining! Haha!

 Zach and I went and saw WICKED at the Kennedy Center... and to say we were obsessed would be an understatement!! We have been listening to the music nonstop ever since!... and are a little tempted to see it again when we go to New York in a few weeks!

Some of the other happenings not pictured: we had the missionaries over for dinner. Zach has been working lots, but doing an awesome job! Zach's Mission President and his wife, The Bennett's, were in town and we got to hang out with them for a little while which was fun! Zach gets to speak in church on Sunday which he is SUPER excited about! And we cant wait for Christmas to be here! 

And just because I love him. hahah!

Thanksgiving!

Our Nelson Fam came to town for Thanksgiving! It was so fun to be able to show them our new home! On Monday afternoon Mom and Dad flew in so we went in and met Zach for dinner! The next day before Taylor and Kitti got in we went and got all of the grocery shopping done for Thanksgiving. 

Once everyone got here we went and had dinner in Georgetown and walked around there. We walked over to Baked & Wired (obviously) and we had missed them closing by 5 min! Zach was VERY sad. After that we went and walked the monuments. We didnt intend on walking them all, but once we started we just kept going!

The next day was Thanksgiving! We got started slowly that day! Ray and Kitti stayed with us, and we didnt see either of them until 11am I'm pretty sure. We went and walked around Arlington Cemetery before dinner. Ray said he was going to run there and meet us. He got lost and it turned into an 8 mile run.. haha! No guilt for him for Thanksgiving Dinner!

 The next day was our museum day! Zach and I have been to all of the museums, so we met them half way through with donuts from our favorite donut place, Sugar Shack! Taylor did not fully (or at all) appreciate the museums! haha!

 Saturday was their last day! We went to breakfast at Founding Farmers.. YUM! And then went by the temple. This was my moms temple growing up so she wanted to go see it again! It was so fun having the fam here, cant wait until the next visit guys!!

Friendsgiving!

The Saturday before Thanksgiving we decided to have a Friendsgiving Dinner! Everyone brought a couple of dishes (and desserts) and it was SO yummy! Zach made homemade rolls which were delish. Carley is awesome and made homemade pies that were so stunning... and delicious. I was pretty impressed for a bunch of people who have never made their own Thanksgiving Dinner before!

 Pearl girl was loving the rolls. She is our favorite.

 After dinner we played games of course. Our new thing is to play catch phrase with accents... and it is hilarious! That should always be a rule.

We also played reverse charades and we were very committed to our acting. 

It was so much fun and we are so grateful for the friends we have made out here! They are the best!