Top 5 Favorite Christmas Moments of 2018

Happy Friday and happy New Year's Eve weekend! This will be my last post about Christmas of 2018 (I promise), but this was seriously our best Christmas with Brayden to date and so many fun memories were made! This was the first year that he understood about the true reason we celebrate Christmas. This was also the fist year he really got into ripping the paper off of his presents!

It was hard, but I managed to narrow everything down to a "top 5" favorite moments of the weekend and although I already blogged about our Christmas twice already, I just had to do so one last time!

#1 Spending Time With Family

This is almost always a given, but I really truly enjoyed spending time with all of our family over the holiday weekend! We were able to visit with my brother and his wife in Texas as well as Jason's family and extended family here back at home. It truly was a great time! 

#2 Christmas Eve Orangetheory

This might sound kind of silly, but I had the opportunity to work out at Orangetheory on Christmas Eve with my sister-in-law and although the workout was TOUGH, I enjoyed the challenge and working up a sweat on Christmas Eve! This workout was different in a way that made it challenging but fun. Everyone pulled cards from a tin throughout the class and the card told you what workout to complete. Some cards were harder than others (coal) and some were a little less challenging (present).  I pulled so many coal cards it wasn't funny. Mine even included the treadmill with a run at a pretty decent pace with a 12% incline. (I might have been holding on for dear life!) My sister-in-law ended up pulling a 2,000 m row card and she completed 55 burpees by the time it was all said and done. Needless to say, it was a great workout and I enjoyed the change!

#3 Brayden's First Gingerbread House 

Although this was Brayden's third Christmas, we still had a few "firsts" for him, including his first gingerbread house! This gingerbread house was themed towards The Grinch (of course) which made it even more fun! He mostly helped his Aunt put the decorations on the house and I was amazed at how long this task captivated his attention. In all, I'd say this was a successful first for him! 

#4 Cookie Contest

Speaking of gingerbread, our family did a really fun Gingerbread decorating contest where we asked our Facebook friends to help us vote! In the end, Kayla's "Mrs. Santa Claus" (top right) ended up with the most likes for the win! This was a really fun activity to do with all of our family together!

#5 "Grinch Cakes"

On Saturday, we took Brayden to Ihop for breakfast and the look on his face when this plate of "Grinch cakes" was set in front of him was hilarious! They were a HUGE hit and he loved them! This was such a fun morning for all of us! 

Memories like these are what make the Christmas season so much fun! As the years continue on, I can't wait to see what they have to bring! 

If you'd like to see more from our Christmas weekend, check out the video below!

I hope this Christmas season brought lots of fun memories for you, too! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

My Top 5 Favorite “Life” Moments

As a runner, I typically use time on the road for thinking. My thoughts have a tendency to drift all over the place, but running really gives me a chance to sort through my thoughts and emotions.

Yesterday, I ran a few unplanned miles (this week is going to be busy so I wanted to knock them out while I could) and my thoughts took me to a different place. I spent most of the mileage looking back over my life, sorting through my  favorite life moments and I thought it would be fun to share a “top 5” with you today!

Here’s what I came up with!

My Top 5 Favorite Life Moments

1. Wedding Day

I planned this day for an entire year (minus two days) to the tee. I knew every in and out of my wedding and how I wanted it all to come together. This day was incredibly magical and our wedding day was one of the best days of my life!

2. 1st Marathon – WDW

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again – the 2011 Walt Disney World Marathon (my first Full) was hands down the second best day of my life (second to my wedding day, of course).  I had SO MUCH FUN running this race and I definitely cherish all of the memories made out on that course. There will never be another first Marathon for me and I’m so glad I got to spend it with these guys!!

 

3. 2013 VMA’s and Joey at Disneyland

Since we’re on the runDisney topic, it’s fitting to discuss this next one here – 2013’s Disneyland Half Marathon weekend. The week began with us leaving for vacation (that’s always a great start to a week, yes?) and the 2013 VMA’s. Justin Timberlake was being honored with the Vanguard Award and rumor had it that NSYNC might make an appearance. Boy did they ever…and after spending my birthday in San Diego (it also fell on that week), we traveled to Anaheim for the Disneyland Half Marathon weekend. I ran into Joey Fatone in Downtown Disney (OMG), then ran into him again several times on the course! I still talk about this week with excitement in my voice. It was seriously one of the most exciting weeks of my life! (Hard to believe it was exactly a year ago this week! Time flies!)

 

4. Graduating College

This one’s a doozy. After working my tail off through college, I graduated from Nursing school! Receiving my diploma (and later passing the very tough NCLEX test to become an RN) was an incredible feeling – especially after putting so much work and effort towards my goal. I am so happy I chose my career path and can’t wait to see where the future leads!

 

5. Hitting my first Home Run in High School softball

Growing up, baseball/softball was my life. I played softball from about 7th grade through age 20, then city league after that. I hit my very first home run my senior year in high school. It was an amazing feeling to hit home plate, knowing I gave it my all! Those were very special days in my life and I will cherish the memories forever!

I had fun travelling down memory lane, thanks for coming along with me! If you had to name one of the best days of your life, what would you say?