Christmas, Mexico & Weddings...

It was sure good to be back in the US for Christmas! It was great to see all of our family and friends! On December 19th, our good friends Mike & Lorena, had their baby Isabella Sofia. We were so happy to get to meet her! She is so sweet! Here are some pictures of her!

Baby Isabella @ 2 Days old:

Me, Mike, Isabella, Lorena & Mike Z:

We had the opportunity to have everyone over to our house for Christmas, which was really great. We all just hung out, ate, opened presents, ate, drank wine, ate and just had a great time. It was very relaxing and for me, a really special Christmas. In the catering/restaurant business, this is usually our busiest time. But, because I got back so late, I didn't have a lot of catering to do. So this year, I really got to spend a lot of time with the family. It was just perfect and very needed!

Here is a picture of just some of the family:

Raul & I during a competitive game of Continental:

For New Year's we went to Ciudad Juarez, Mexico to visit Mike'e mom's family. This is the first time that I had met most of them and the first time that Mike has seen many of them in many, many years. In fact, they remember him as little Mikey. Aww... We had a great time, of course, centering our time and company around the dinner table. We ate so much good food from barbacoa to albondigas (Mike's favorite) and tamales. Not only did I bring some corn tortillas back with me, I also brought back a 5-pack of pounds.

Mike enjoying his barbacoa and Mexican coke.... YUM!:

Despite the issues that are occuring in Juarez, we had a great time and I was grateful to be able to meet some of his family. Heading back to Austin, we stopped in El Paso and had the chance to meet up with a friend, Ana. We had a great time catching up on old and new gossip over a few tasty margaritas!

Lastly, we headed over to Dallas to celebrate the wedding of Dain and Vail. We were so glad to be a part of it and to be there for their special occasion. It was also great to catch up with a bunch of Delts (and, their wives/girlfriends!). We all had such a great time and we are so happy for the new, fab couple! At the end of the evening, we continued the party with some more drinks and cookies (Lorena!! haha)! We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of baby Tolbert! Here is a picture of some of the wives/girlfriends and a group shot of the Delts!
We are all situated back in Denmark and getting through these short days of what they call "sunshine"... I call it daylight, grey daylight. I am also learning how to live in the snow and cold weather! Being back in Denmark makes me long for the Texas weather and sunshine again. But, I should be careful what I ask for... the long spring/summers are right around the corner... I am ready!