Super Bowl XLV

Chris and I had a fun filled Super Bowl week. We had been working non-stop on this event for months and all the events leading up to it were stressful so it was nice to enjoy the actual game. Chris and I had the opportunity to attend the Owners Party on Thursday night. There were countless industry celebs there so Chris was pretty excited. Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Hudson were the entertainment.

Super Bowl Sunday is finally here...

Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long & Jimmie Johnson

Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Green Bay Packers

National Anthem

Coin toss

Kick off

Black Eyed Peas - Halftime Show

Fergie

Fergie & Slash

Usher

Halftime finale

Let it Snow

Savor the moment - it won't last long

Paco went crazy ... once we convinced him to go outside

Wet mess

Ringing in the New Year

Chris and I celebrated the New Year with John, Cheryl and Caeden. We went out for sushi then went back to their house and played games until the clock struck midnight.

Before bedtime, we played in Caed-man's new playroom. Amongst all the toys, he elected to crawl in and out of the dog kennel.

Check out his new chair! It spins and also has a canopy that closes!

We played Wii to keep us entertained. Sadly my arms were sore from all the "rowing". Chris and I had never played Wii before and it was quite fun. Cheryl and I were laughing hysterically because we felt so silly. Chris took video of us rowing but it's too embarrassing to post!

We woke up and had donuts and kolache's for breakfast - great nutritional start to the New Year!

Chris and I went to see Vanessa, Jeff and baby Haley after we left John and Cheryl's. Haley is now almost 4 weeks old and as cute as can be!

All I want for Christmas...

...is to be surrounded by my family!

There's nothing more comforting than being surrounded by those you cherish the most. Christmas came and went quickly this year but having both families in town was such a blessing. We wasted no time and immediately started cooking.

Lisa started in on the real stuff...

while mom and I attempted to make cake balls.

which didn't turn out so well :(

Dad and Shawn made beautiful pie crusts (who knew)!

One thing I learned quickly after getting married is the Gilmans love the tradition of stuffing stockings full of goodies...so we did!

The boys thought long and hard while writing in their Christmas cards

After Chris read the Christmas story we began unwrapping

We ended the evening at my parent's house for a delicious dinner with the whole family!

Christmas Decorations

I was especially excited to put up our Christmas decorations this year since it's our first year in the new house. I had intentions of simply taking stock of what we had one day BEFORE Thanksgiving and got so excited, all the decorations were up before the day was over. Christmas decorations are definitely one of my favorite things about this joyous time of year.

Cake Balls

The Paul family came to visit last weekend and Monica introduced me to cake balls and I'm hooked! They were so much fun to make and a great treat for holiday parties.

Yummy!

Birthday Wishes

Thanks to my wonderful family and friends, I had an amazing birthday yesterday! I was showered with two birthday cakes, an edible arrangement, freshly baked cookies, gorgeous flowers from my boss and had a great dinner with my family at Dakota's Steakhouse.