December in Oregon....

Spending the month of December in Oregon with my family and friends has been amazing! I have enjoyed reconnecting with people and spending so much quality time with my family. I started out my time back in the states with a trip to CT to visit my friend Shannon! Her husband Kris had a conference in Chicago and so I joined Shannon to spend some time together and help out with her new little one! She has two little ones that immediately won my heart over...I just love them both! Grayson is the newest baby and is definitely a snuggler....we enjoyed relaxing days and it was great to catch up! You can see the pictures of the visit at the Spinning Family Blog.

After arriving back in Oregon from CT- I went to visit Grant in Corvallis for the day. We had a great day and even had pizza at my old favorite college place- Dream Pizza. Not much has changed in his cleanliness levels- although the floor of his room was clean- if you opened his closet, this is what you found.....awesome.

The next weekend we were lucky enough to have our friend Kara visit us from Denver....and her sweet little girl Avery. Ang and I were definitely excited to catch up with one of our Denver girls that we hadn't seen in months! We have NO pictures of the weekend- because it gets old documenting us sitting around in our pajamas....eating. BUT, we had a wonderful time! Mr. and Mrs. Yost were wonderful hosts and even entertained Avery to allow for further catch up time for us!

Here are the Herron Family kids getting ready for a Christmas Eve run. Gabe and his wife are really getting into running and the rest of us (mom included) agreed to do a 10K on January 2nd. Here we are leaving for a "training run"- which was one of 6 that I have done in preparation for the festivities on Sunday....fingers crossed that this goes well....

Gabe and Kristin- enjoying Christmas Eve.
Christmas dinner- which we eat on Christmas Eve to allow for leftovers on Christmas day!

Gabe assumed the role of Santa this year at our house- this is the person that hands out gifts during Christmas morning. No, the outfit is not required- but my dad always wore it....It was a bitter-sweet transition having Gabe be Santa- bitter to not have my dad there ..... but sweet that Gabe will start the tradition of Santa next year with their son who will be born at the end of March. He did a GREAT JOB....even ringing the bell up and down the stairs at 6 a.m.- just to get the day off to a chipper start.

My mom made us quilts this year. This has been on my list for several years and I was SO excited to finally have a quilt made by my mom! I LOVE my quilt and can't wait to put it on my bed in Colorado! It is a perfect fit!

Here we are with our quilts.

I had bought a few things in India that were under the tree. This balloon was a stocking stuffer and was sold to me with the idea that it would grow to be as tall as me when it was blown up. The guy selling them had one that was as big as me! Needless to say- I was duped by India again when the balloon was just a normal balloon....Oh India.....

We had a wonderful Christmas and were blessed to be together. Looking forward to what 2011 is bringing my way...headed back to Denver on Monday to start nursing school and I am excited to get started! Happy New Year Everyone!!!