Christmas 2011

What a wonderful holiday Christmas turned out to be! Joe and I were able to spend lots of time with the people we love and the celebrations kept on coming! The entire holiday consisted of Pre-Christmas Eve, Christmas Eve, Christmas1, and then Christmas2...


We began our Christmas festivities with Pre-Christmas Eve! This was our time to celebrate the holiday with my dad and Kurstin! They to us to Carefree Station in Carefree, Arizona. The place was AMAZING!! Wonderful food, atmosphere, and service. We had a great time chatting and exchanging gifts. Christmas was off to a good start!

The next day was Christmas Eve. Joe and I went to my mom and David's house around 4:30pm. The evening was spent eating Red Devil (amazing BBQ chicken pizza), opening our Christmas PJs, decorating cookies, and sitting outside by the firepit. 

The next day was Christmas1! Joe, Cody, and I headed to my mom's house around 8:00. We spend some time making a delicious breakfast and then it was time to open presents! My mom always goes OVERBOARD when it comes to Christmas... and this year was no different! We had so many gifts to open and spent the entire morning doing so.

Joe got a NEW guitar from SANTA!!

Christmas1 was magical. Thank you mom and David for all the hard work you put into such a special day!

Then we were off to Christmas2! On Christmas night, Meghan Lee came into town! Meghan is Mitch's awesome room-mate in Ohio. She has tons of energy and is great to have around. Since Meghan was here we decided to have another Christmas morning on Monday! It was so nice to extend the holiday :)

After Christmas2 we went to As You Wish to paint some pottery! It was so nice to sit with the entire family and paint. I won the award for most creative :)

In all, Christmas 2011 was amazing! I am so grateful to have such a wonderful family and loving husband. I am looking forward to seeing what 2012 has in store for us!

Cookie Craziness

Do I love drinks with friends?.... YES

Do I love yummy appetizers?..... YES

Do I love cookies?.....YES

Than I should have known right away that a Holiday Cookie Exchange Party would be right up my alley!

Last Friday I was invited to attend a Holiday Cookie Exchange at the Baker house. You may ask what is a cookie exchange???

A cookie exchange gives you the chance to enjoy the treats of the holiday season without the hassle of baking them all. You invite your close friends over and ask them to each bring a half dozen cookies for each guest. The evening is spent enjoying beverages, appitizers, and some great company.
The goal: Everyone takes home an array of delicious desserts for a fraction of the effort. Now that's a sweet deal!

I spent much of last week preparing for the BIG event! The "cookie" I chose to bring were my delicious cake balls! I decided to make 3 different flavors... lemon dipped in white chocolate, red velvet dipped in white chocolate, and chocolate mint dipped in milk chocolate.

It took forever to roll and dip each cake ball... but in the end I was very happy with the result!

As we bagan to pick up our cookie containers I was in shock! There were SO many cookies and each container was adorable. I felt as if I was on a shopping spree. I walked by each area and grabbed each yummy treat. It was so FUN!!

Joe's eyes lit up as I arrived home! There were so many new treats to try. Many them are now on a try waiting to be shared with my family on Christmas Day!

It was so nice to see all the girls! I love "girl" time and the evening with filled with wonderful women. I spent much of the night smiling and laughing!

I cannot wait until next year. Thank you to Katie for being such a wonderful host and thank you to all the ladies for a fun holiday celebration!!

 

Checking In

WOW!!!! I have not had the chance to blog in quite awhile!
Life has been very busy. I have been trying to get ready for Christmas… Shopping, shopping, more shopping, and a little baking.

Things in the Suarez House are great!

Joe just received another promotion within Wells Fargo. I am so very proud of him! He went up one more step as a manager and I know he is going to do great. In Joe's words, "I am really doing the same job, so it's not that big of a deal." I would have to disagree! I think anytime your good work is recognized... you should CELEBRATE. He is now the second in command at the branch and I think that is a pretty big deal!

I am very proud of my husband!!!

In other news... I went on a field trip today with my 4th graders!

We spent the day at the Arizona Science Center and had tons of fun! It was so nice to see my students outside of the classroom. They were so excited and their exuberance could be felt by everyone around them.

We were able to spend the morning exploring all the wonderful science exhibits. The best part of the day was the IMAX 3-D movie about the Hubble telescope up in space. I was so impressed with the movie and I just LOVED the glasses!

Can you tell.....??

I am very happy to report that LIFE IS GOOD! I am looking forward to Christmas and my 2 week break from school. Joe and I cannot wait to celebrate another holiday season together.... :)



Brotherly/Sisterly Love

I love my Brother and Sister! 

This past weekend was so enjoyable. I love spending time with my siblings. We are all very different and that is what makes our time together so special. 

I am so glad that we were able to spend some quality time together over the long weekend!

I love you two very much :)

Thanksgiving 2011

I am thankful for a PERFECT Thanksgiving!!

This Thanksgiving had to be one of the best yet. The company, quality time, and food were all excellent!!

Joe and I arrived at my Mom and David’s house early that morning. I was going to be cooking the turkey but wanted to do it all at her house. So, I needed time!

My mom and I cooked a delicious breakfast and the eating began!

After breakfast, I had to get the turkey in and cooking! This was my FIRST year making the turkey and I must say it was fabulous. I had used a herb and maple brine and the turkey soaked in these great flavors for almost 2 days. The flavors made the turkey so moist and gave it a great taste!

As the turkey cooked away, we all spent some time together! We played a fun game of Apples to Apples, worked on the GIANT crossword puzzle, played some chess, and watched some football!

I love a house filled with laughs, smiles, and happiness! That was how the house felt this Thanksgiving!

When the turkey was done we pulled out all the side dishes and dug in! The family ate outside and enjoyed the perfect Arizona weather. We enjoyed chatting at dinner… Mitch of course made silly remarks and we spent much of dinner laughing!

After dinner and dishes we headed back outside for some time by the firepit. The boys smoked a cigar and the ladies had some coffee. Mitch gave us a lesson on Twitter and how much he loves it, Joe and David tweeted, and I took pictures J

I could have not asked for a better day. I have so many things to be thankful for (as you saw in my earlier post) and I was so glad to spend the day with many of those people!

There was so much love in the house Thanksgiving Day and I am so happy we shared it together!

A 26th Birthday to Remember!

Wednesday, November 23^rd was a very special day!

Joe and I celebrated 3 years since we became engaged in Santa Barbara, California and 2 years of owning our home in Anthem. November 23^rd was also my 26^th Birthday!!

A picture from our engagement in 2008!

It was such a wonderful day filled with all the most important people in my life.

Joe had set our alarm for 2:26 am… the exact time I was born. The screeching alarm scared me, but it helped start the day off just right. Joe rolled over and gave me a giant birthday kiss! Since Wednesday there was no school for the Thanksgiving Holiday, we were able to roll back over and drift back to sleep.

When the time came to wake up for the day, Joe asked me to get ready and we went out to The Place for a Birthday Breakfast. If you have never been to The Place… you must check it out! The best breakfast in Glendale, Arizona!

After an amazing breakfast, Joe and I headed down to Sky Harbor Airport to pick up my brother Mitch. He was flying in from Columbus, Ohio to celebrate Thanksgiving with the family. I was very excited to see him… but I think he was more excited to see the new Jeep Wrangler he just purchased.

He will be driving it back to Ohio over the Christmas holiday and all the ladies in Ohio will swoon! He is in love!!

After some time catching up with Mitch, we all got ready for a night out! My mom and dad had planned on taking everyone to El Charro, a very nice restaurant in Paradise Valley.  Our family has many memories of dinner out on El Charro’s Patio as children. They are memories that always bring a smile to my face, so I was very excited to create a new memory there!

We sat around the table and enjoyed each other. Anyone who knows me knows that quality time is way more important to me then any gift you could buy. I just love spending time with the people I love!!

I did however get some wonderful gifts… J

I am so grateful that my family took the time to make my 26^th Birthday so special! Thank you Joe, Macy, Mitch, Mom, David, Dad, Kurstin, and Grams for all the wonderful presents and memories…

I love you all!