Christmas with the Nyquists

The weekend before Christmas we got together with the whole Nyquist crew to celebrate.

It was wonderful.

We went to Alpharetta on Friday night and spent the night with Winky then Saturday the rest of the family came over for Christmas festivities.  We ate lots of good food, drank delicious cocktails (not me!) and then spoiled each other with lots of presents.

It was Kate's first gift opening "real christmas".  Don't think last year really counts.  She wasn't as excited about it as we thought she would be.  Thought she would at least like the paper and ribbons.  She was more interested in watching her cousins and walking laps around Tee Tah's house.

 She did love her new baby in a stroller

And of course she always loves anything that involves sitting with daddy

and uncle toe

Later that night, this happened....

First polar plunge into the Donges' new pool.
How did we not see this coming?

Boo Boos and Ouch Reports

Kate had her first "major" fall at school yesterday....

OUCH...

knot on the forehead and scraped up bloody nose

She was sent home with her "ouch report"

Don't worry..

Oreos make everything better!

So much for redoing Christmas pictures this weekend... 

Thanksgiving

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving.

We had the pleasure of hosting the whole Nyquist crew at our house in Athens this year.  I was on call for the weekend, so I wasn't able to leave town, so everyone made the trip to our house and we had a big ol sleepover on pallets and air mattresses.  It was perfect.  I hate that we can hardly fit all of our people, but man, I love having all of them under our roof.  

The Donges crew and Kel and Jen came up Wednesday night and then the grown ups (minus prego plus the stomach bug me..) went and ran in a Turkey Day race in the morning.  It was frigid outside, but they all rocked it.  

Me and Tee Tah held down the fort with all the littles.

After the race, everyone got decked out in their Bears gear and we got to cooking, drinking, and watching football. 

Ben fried a turkey..

I roasted one...

We had a blind taste test by all of the family members and guess who's turkey won?  Drumroll.... little ol me!  My first turkey!  I was so very proud.

It was a group effort for dinner and it was DELICIOUS

Sweet Charlie made us all turkey drawings which he handed out proudly when we sat down for dinner.  Kate loved her some turkey day food, especially mashed potatoes and stuffing.

It was a fantastic day.  We have so much to be grateful for and it was the perfect day to be reminded of that.  

Love this crazy family of mine.

By the Way.....

We have a little (HUGE) announcement

WE ARE A PREGNANT!!!

Kate is going to be a BIG sister!

Oh and also...

IT'S A BOY!!!

  

We have known since September (and I am just now writing this..!) and just found out a few weeks ago that this little one is a HE.  We surprised our friends and family with the big news at Kate's birthday party by putting her Big Sister picture at the end of the slideshow (the picture is from the day I told Ben the news) 

We are so overwhelmed and excited and surprised and blessed and I could go on and on about all the emotions.  We couldn't feel more lucky or grateful for this sweet little blessing growing inside of me.

Wedding Weekend

My sissy got married!!

November 14, 2014- Katie Guthrie became Katie Spencer.

It was the most perfect weekend.

I wish I was a better writer so I could fully capture and describe how perfect and beautiful Katie and Brendan's wedding weekend was.  It was a weekend filled with fun, laughter, family, and so much love.  

It was the wedding weekend that every girl dreams of having but can't always achieve. It was the perfect mix of elegance with whimsy, romantic but not over the top, unique without swaying too far from tradition.  It was a weekend filled with history and love.

It was perfectly Katie and Brendan. 

The rehearsal dinner was on Thursday.  We had a babysitter for Kate so we got to have a night to eat good food and catch up with family and friends that we don't get to see enough.  Ben and I made them a slideshow that hopefully they will enjoy as much as we still love going back and watching ours.  I did a horrible job taking pictures that night (and kind of the whole weekend) but I guess that means I was too busy having a blast and spending time with all of our people.

Friday (wedding day) was a whirlwind.  It is crazy being the maid of honor, husband being a groomsman, and daughter being the flower girl.  I barely saw Kate all day, but thank goodness for Ben, grandparents, and lots of friends stepping up to help with her throughout the day.  

This is the only picture I got of the most beautiful flower girl in her gorgeous dress handmade by her DiDi (crossing my fingers the photographer got a few good ones!)

The ceremony was gorgeous.  It was at 7:30pm, so there was lots of candles and beautiful lighting instead of flowers.  The bridesmaids carried lanterns which was so different and so cool.  The best part of the ceremony was the music.  Jason Mraz, Dixie Chicks, Foo Fighters... all sang by Uncle Gus.  Then in came Tess to sing Sarah Bareilles!  She did amazing, so impressed and proud of her.

And the reception was nothing short of what you expect a Guthrie wedding to be.  Lots of singing, TONS of dancing, and all of our quirky traditions were included.  It was an amazing night.  We were not ready for it to end.

As you can tell... it was a great time.

The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing, gathering at Katie and Brendan's house, and soaking up our last day or 2 together.

Such a fun (and fast!) weekend.  LOVE YOU KATIE AND BRENDINO!