Christmas #3- Greensboro

Our third (and final) Christmas took place in Greensboro with my family.  On Christmas Eve we had dinner and dessert at my aunt and uncles house.  My aunt made a fabulous dinner and we had the best time catching up with my little (not so little anymore) cousins.  

Christmas morning we woke up to go to High Point (to my other aunts house) for breakfast with my cousins and grandparents.  I love this tradition- we have been doing it as long as I can remember.  I took a few pictures of the cousins (we missed you Anna and Kyle!) but we looked pretty rough.  I think Laurie and Blair will thank me for not posting them :)  As we were leaving, it started snowing and did not stop for the rest of the day!  We ended up with almost six inches of snow and a white Christmas!  The rest of the day was spent doing presents with my dad and sister, seeing True Grit (we recommend it by the way- it was great!)  and having bbq with my grandmother.   That night we drove around Greensboro to see some Christmas lights.  There is one neighborhood that puts these lighted balls in the trees.  So many houses participate- it's beautiful.  Although it's pretty hard to take a decent picture of lights and night, but here's my attempt-

We have spent the rest of the week enjoying more family and friends.  My family also got completely sucked  into Lost on Netflix. I'm not sure how I missed it the first time around, but we are definitely hooked now.

We feel so blessed to be able to celebrate with everyone that we love.  It has been a wonderful break!

Christmas #2- Raleigh

For Christmas number two we packed up and headed to Raleigh.  We spent the week with Nick's parents, and his sister Cait, her husband Josh, and our three cute nieces.  They were in town all the way from London.  We had the best time just hanging out, being entertained by these three cutie pies-

The girls decided we should act out a Nativity scene (or "activity scene") as they called it.  Before we left Blacksburg they called to see if Uncle Nick would be the sheep- because of course he would make a good one!  We had a practice one night and Annie was the director.  She had two complaints- that all Nick did was just lay on the ground and that Papa (the angel of the Lord) did not know his lines and maybe he should write them down.  Ha!  A few nights later, we tried again.  Here is the new and improved sheep- in costume I might add-

I am happy to report he took the directors advice to heart and did a much better job as a sheep the second time around!  Annie and Elle took turns being Mary (with a baby in her tummy of course!) and an angel.

The girls got these little cars called plasma cars from Grammy and Papa.  When they went down for their naps, guess who took them for a spin?

I think we enjoyed them just as much as the kids!  Christmas in Raleigh was so much fun, and we loved catching up with family and friends!

Christmas # 1- Blacksburg

Friday after Nick and I both finished school for Christmas Break (woo hoo!) we decided to celebrate our Christmas.  The end of the semester is always crazy for Nick- long, late nights, lost of projects, etc.  We were really needing a date night, so we kicked off our Christmas with dinner out at one of our favorite restaurants- thanks to a gift card from Cait and Josh- thanks again!  

On Saturday morning we woke up and had a delicious breakfast.  We had pumpkin cinnamon rolls, a spinach and caramelized onion frittata and fruit.  

We decided to just do stockings for each other this year, so after breakfast we opened those.  It was so relaxing to enjoy our morning full of lots of coffee, Christmas music and quality time together!

 

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas....

We have decked the halls, got several inches of snow this weekend, and it has been frigid the past few days (the wind chill is 5 degrees right now!)  It feels like Christmas!

Here is the "after" shot of our tree-

This is Nick's "nicktivity" as his parents call it.  This was his job to set up every year growing up.  We inherited it when we got married, so he still gets to set it up!

 

I love having our house all decorated!  We are going to curl up with a bowl of soup by the Christmas tree and try to stay warm! 

 Have a great night!

Birthday Celebration

Last week was Nick's birthday.  I wanted to make sure he had a special day even though we couldn't spend the whole day together, as we both had school.  This is what he woke up to on Monday morning- I think its becoming our standard birthday breakfast around here.  Its yummy, but easy enough for a school morning!

When Nick got home from class on Monday, I had the car all packed and ready to go for our surprise.  We went out to one of our favorite spots, the New River.  I had made steak chili and cornbread and packed everything we would need for a fire.

It was a beautiful but cold night.  We had a great time just sitting around the fire, enjoying the river right beside us!  Nick even got to test out his present- his new jacket.  

Christmas Tree Cutting

Another awesome benefit to living in the mountains is being able to drive 10 minutes and cut down your own Christmas tree.   We found a place last year on a whim and decided to revisit it this year.  

Step 1-  negotiate with the nice man by telling him you came here last year and that you are a poor college student/ teacher

Step 2-  take the hand saw he offers you and set off on your search for the perfect tree

Step 3-  have your big, strong husband saw down your perfect tree

Step 4-  take your beautiful, fresh tree home to decorate!

Thanksgiving Wrap Up

Since Nick and I got married, we have really enjoyed starting our own holiday traditions.  One thing we have loved is cooking our own Thanksgiving dinner, for just the two of us.  Since we spend so much of our holidays traveling to see family (which we love doing) we have our meal a few days before Thanksgiving.   

Here is our feast-  I made herb roasted chicken breasts (no need for a turkey for just us), gravy, garlic and parmesan mashed potatoes, green bean bundles, apple and onion stuffing, and cranberry sauce.  We also had pumpkin bourbon cheesecake for dessert, but I didn't get a picture of that.

Over our break, we visited Pinehurst, Raleigh and Greensboro- whew!  We had Thanksgiving dinner in Pinehurst with Nick's parents and Nan and Pops.  Friday morning we were in Raleigh and woke up to this beautiful table set up for Nick's birthday.  And yes, it was as good as it looks!

Friday night we drove to Greensboro and enjoyed a relaxing weekend catching up with family and friends.   We loved being in NC and seeing everyone!  Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays- we have so much to be thankful for!

Happy Birthday Nick!!

Happy 27th Birthday Nick!!!  I am so thankful for you.  You are the best thing that ever happened to me!  I love you!

Wisconsin- Part 3

Throughout our weekend, Nick and I kept hearing about Hankerson's bakery.  Nick's parents can find a delicious bakery anywhere they go.  When I first started going on family trips with the Scheuers, I started to notice they tended to center around food, and there was always a delicious bakery to visit!  Well, this one did not disappoint.  We stopped by on our way to the airport Monday to grab breakfast.  The smell was heavenly. 

What a way to leave!  We thoroughly enjoyed our time in the dairy state, but more importantly loved getting to spend time with family.  I feel like I really got to know more of Nick's family and we are both so thankful to have spent that precious time with Grandma Haen.  

Wisconsin-Part 2

 Whats a trip to Wisconsin without sampling cheese?  On Saturday Nick's cousin Steve and his girlfriend drove in for the day from Chicago to hang out.  We ended up driving all over the countryside and through the Kettle Moraine (which is where the glacier came through- how cool!) and visited two small cheese factories.  We all stocked up on cheese, summer sausage and bacon- yum!  

 On Sunday after church, we took a drive to the farm where Grandma grew up.  Her sister-in-law still lives there.  It was breathtakingly beautiful- I couldn't stop taking pictures!  It was also quite COLD.  But what else would you expect from WI in November?

This is the view from the farm- a whole different kind of beautiful.  The sky seems huge and the soil is black and rich.  Because it is so flat, you can see forever.

  

    

 

I had heard that this area was heavily influenced by the Germans, but it was crazy experiencing it.  Nick's grandmother did not speak English until she was 6 years old!  Her first language was German.  The town's newspaper was published in German until 1917.   It was fascinating learning about her life. 

Of course I had to capture the dairy cows and the typical red barn. 

                      

We came home to make another typical Midwestern/ German meal-  brats, German potato salad, slaw and relish.  Chris was sad (but she was the only one) that we didn't break out the sauerkraut. 

Wisconsin- Part 1

This past weekend, Nick and I went with his parents to visit Grandma Haen in cheese state- Wisconsin.   We were so excited to go and spend time with family we don't get to see that often and to experience a (new to me) part of the country.  We flew in Thursday night and went to Aunt Marlene's for dessert- we had so much fun we ended up not getting to Grandma's until 1 am.   We stayed in the house that Chris (Nick's mom) grew up in and that Grandma still lives in.  She raised six kids in this house.  There is a boys room with two twin beds and a girls room with four twin beds.  Since I met Nick I have heard so many stories about this side of the family, so I loved looking around and putting a picture with the stories.  

On Friday, we enjoyed exploring the neighborhood and the greenway nearby.  Later that afternoon we drove into Milwaukee and through UWM's campus.  This is where Scott and Chris met while they were taking a summer school class. It was love at first sight- really! Although their special tree is no longer there it was so fun to see where it all began.  We drove around downtown Milwaukee, taking in the art museum and Lake Michigan.  

in front of the building where they met

We stopped for a beer in downtown.  Here is the whole group-

Friday night we went to a fish fry.  Apparently this is a very typical Midwestern thing to do.  I saw signs everywhere for Friday night fish fries.  It was delicious- and very similar to fish and chips in London!

First Snow...

Yes, it is November and yes, it snowed.  After school on Friday we drove up to Mountain Lake which is a good 1,000 feet higher than Blacksburg to see the snow.  Nick and I were thinking about going camping this weekend-  you would think I might have learned my lesson last time we went camping in the snow (a blizzard in fact) but somehow it still seemed like a good idea.  Once we got to the top and saw how wet everything was and that we wouldn't be able to build a fire we decided to come back home to our nice warm house.  

It was really coming down for a while.  Winter is thankfully not here to stay- it's supposed to get back up into the 60's this week.  It was still fun though!

Boone Weekend

Last weekend Nick and I headed back to our alma mater to spend some time with our college friends and watch a football game.  Boone and the surrounding area holds a special place in our hearts-  its where we met, fell in love, got engaged and then got married.  We loved our time at App and Boone has so much to offer.  It was a fabulous place to live.  Our good friends Luke and Taylor met us in Blacksburg and we all road together.  Taylor and I have taken many road trips together, but this was the first one with the boys.  

 We had to introduce them to Nerd Ropes, of course-  

It was wonderful to be back in Boone.  We enjoyed some of our favorite places to eat (Dos Amigos and Black Cat- yum!) and seeing everything new that's happening on campus.  On Saturday we tailgated before the game.  The weather was perfect.  App killed Furman-  they are still undefeated this year! Here's hoping for four national championships!

Here is the beautiful view of Howard's Knob and campus.  Saturday night we went to the top of Howard'd Knob.  You can see the whole campus and town of Boone lit up- its beautiful!  We had such a great weekend- hopefully it won't be a whole year before we get back there.

The Avett Brothers and VT vs. Duke

                     

Part of my birthday present from Nick was tickets to see one of our favorite bands - The Avett Brothers!  They played in Roanoke last Friday night.  We have been wanting to see them for a while, and I have to say- they did not disappoint!  They are awesome performers and so much fun to see live.  Laurie and Pat came with us-  it was such a fun night out!

On Saturday we finally went to see a VT football game.  Football is the culture here and we had clearly been missing out.  My dad was able to come up for the day and go to the game with us.  If you know my dad, you know he is a huge Duke fan.  He didn't have very high hopes for the Blue Devils on Saturday, so he wasn't disappointed too badly.  Basketball season is a different story! The weather could not have been more perfect and we enjoyed the quality time with family.    

My dad in his Duke blue and his girls.