50 and counting...

As long as I've been around and gotten to know Cody's family, it might come as a surprise that this year marked my very first Johnson Christmas. And let me tell you, this bunch sure doesn't mess around. Cody's parents hosted this year's festivities, and all 50 of us celebrated the opportunity to be together at the most wonderful time of the year. It's hard to believe that this amount of people could fit comfortably in any space, but Tami did a fantastic job of arranging things and hostessing. There was a bouncy house for the ever increasing group of little ones, a tent outside complete with a hula hoop chandelier (thank you Pinterest!), and way too many yummy things to eat. Ironically, I was put in charge of the dessert buffet, and as each sweet treat entered the house I got to sample put it on display. I had so much fun visiting with everyone, as the wedding was the last time that I have really gotten to spend time with Grandma, Grandpa, and all of the aunts, uncles and cousins at once. I am so blessed to not only have one close-knit family, but two. The Johnsons truly have made me feel like I have always been a part of their family, and I am so thankful for the love that they have shown me over the years. I can't wait for all of the gatherings to come!

 The hubs and me

 Brother-in-law, Cale, and me

 My brother-in-law, Jason, was a great sport and played Santa for all of the kids. He looked great in that red suit.

 Shelby, Kim and Taylor

Cousin Kristi and me. I had so much fun catching up with this girl!

 Charlie and Macie with Santa. Let the gift opening begin!

 Ross with Taylor

 Miss Bailey, who picked out the most fabulous little clutch and statement necklace for my gift. I love them!

 Josh, Maddie and Santa

 Cade, the oldest of the kids, and Santa

 Sweet Leeane and Santa. She is such a cutie!

 Micah was so excited to show me his new phone.

 Tyler loved his visit with Santa.

 Presley's turn

 Tami, Aunt Cheryl and Grandma with sweet baby Taylor

 Claire really wasn't sure about the big guy in red. Poor thing!

 Aunt Sherry looking fabulous as usual!

 Santa and his gorgeous wife and the best sis-in-law ever!

 The whole fam

Grandpa and Cody

 Birthday buddies! Cousin Kelsey was so sweet and made Charlie and me a special chocolate birthday cake.

 Johnson girls

 Little Buckwheat! We were amazed at how small he looks next to our Rio monster. Although this one certainly wins for plumpness. Pretty sure his belly drags the ground!

 Cody was so excited about his new binoculars.

 Katie received a beautiful diamond cross pendant necklace and Jason received a new iPhone. So fun!

 We had to laugh when Cale accidentally opened one of Katie's gifts. That sweater dress is his color, don't you think?

 My super creative in-laws created a scavenger hunt for me. It was so much fun and led me to my big gift...a money tree! Just what I needed to purchase the only gift I asked for this year, a new Mac laptop. They are so wonderful!

 Who says money doesn't grow on trees? Might I add that those are real branches, too!

Tami and her orchestra level tickets to Wicked, the best musical ever. Go Lynn!

My long weekend definitely went way too quickly, and I had to return to New Mexico right after Christmas due to a lack of vacation time. That's ok when you love your job though. :) Can't wait to spend more time with everyone at the next Christmas gathering. It was definitely another holiday season full of blessings and love. Hopefully you were able to feel joy as you spent time with your loved ones, too. Now it's on to another new year!

There's no place like home for the holidays

It's hard to believe that once again, Christmas has come and gone. I know I tend to think that each year it passes at the speed of light, but I really think this year deserves some sort of trophy or Olympic record. As usual, the holidays were jam-packed with lots of driving, family and fun. We started the "tour of Texas" in San Antonio, where we celebrated Christmas and my birthday with my parents and Kirby. Rio was pretty excited to have a big grass backyard to play in for his Christmas present, and has made it very clear that he prefers the lush feel of the green stuff over our gravel backyard. Cody and I think that makes it even more exciting for him to get to visit his "grandparents" in SA and Harlingen, so we'll just let him enjoy those occasional grassy getaways when he can.

Since this was our year to spend Christmas with the Johnson clan, I was very excited to get to stop on the way for a couple of days with my fam. We of course did some shopping (yes, we have a sickness...but when Anthropologie has a 50% off sale two days before Christmas, who doesn't go?), saw Sherlock Holmes, and just enjoyed each other's company. I think I adjusted well to the slight change in my usual holiday routine this year, though I did miss seeing all of my extended family in Comanche and San Angelo. That just means it will be even more fun next year!

Here are a few pics from our San Antonio celebration...

 The traditional Christmas sister picture

 So happy to celebrate our second Christmas as an old married couple!

 Little man wasn't feeling as photogenic this trip, but I took advantage of the opportunity nonetheless.

 "No pictures please" says Rio. "More pictures, yeah!" says Kirby.

 The best parents in all the land. Boy am I one lucky gal!

 These two are really good at acting like they love each other... :)

 Stocking time! Rio wasn't all that interested, but at least he sat with us.

 We sure had you fooled with our good behavior. That's more like it!

 Dad and his girls

 Yep, that's right. Another birthday celebration. We're getting closer to the big day...

One step closer to my quarter life crisis!

Stay tuned for even more Christmas fun and excitement!

A Very Wilson Binkley Christmas

As I've said before, I was very blessed to join a company with a very, very fun group of people upon moving to Las Cruces. I'd just like to announce that this hasn't changed. In fact, I typically use the level of a group's holiday enthusiasm to judge their amount of "fun-ness" (sorry Mom), and both my bosses and co-workers certainly did not disappoint. From a golden birthday cake that addressed me as the Birthday Princess in hot pink icing (don't they know me so well?) to a fabulous Christmas party with one yummy steak and a very entertaining white elephant gift exchange, the Wilson Binkley Advertising group truly outdid themselves for the holidays. How nice that even at the workplace Christmas time gets to be the most wonderful time of the year!

 Being the wonderful hubby that he is, Cody left right before the food came out to go to the airport and pick up my sister. He convinced me that this was OK because he eats steak regularly, but I still felt horrible that this amazing, choice cut ribeye hit the table not even 5 minutes after his departure. Naturally, Jay and Vic decided to take full photographic advantage of the situation by "enjoying" Cody's lonely steak. *No steak was harmed in the production of this photo shoot.

 The aftermath...Cody was such a good sport.

 Danette and Nick--their first night away from their precious little man!

 Do you see why I love going to work? These are my bosses, sporting the gag gift part of their Christmas presents. 

 Cody taking his turn with the shake weight. He could clearly feel the burn at this point...

 Sister and me. We loved having another chance to get sassed up!

 We clean up pretty nicely if I do say so myself.

Yvonne, Danette and me. I have them to thank for my amazing golden/hot pink birthday cake! 

Get ready, because I'm just going to warn you now that there is fixin' to be an overflow of blogging up in here. (Channelling my Texan girl and inner gangster just felt right I suppose.) Until next time!