Christmas 2013

Hey there! We hope you all had a very merry Christmas! :)

Check out this amazing ornament I found on the Neuffers' Christmas tree. This picture is currently my iPhone background pic. It's so funny!

Baby Matt!

We celebrated the holiday in Oregon with Matt's fam this year, while my parents and sisters were away on vacation. I was happy to go back to Corvallis because after spending 4 years there for school, it definitely feels like one of my homes!

OSU's MU quad during an early morning run 

We arrived in Oregon last Sunday after a 14 drive from Provo.

Barkley spent most of the ride in the back, and seemed pretty happy!

It was so good to get back to Oregon. :)

Mt. Hood in the distance

Our first full day with the Neuffers was the day before Christmas Eve, and the holiday fun started right away :)

soo maaaany cooookies... and we ate all of them :)

I went on a run every day starting the very first morning we were there. Running on the beautiful trails in and around Corvallis is one of my favorite things in the world! Barkley thought it was pretty great too :)

One morning we even saw coyotes out by the covered bridge near OSU. I'd never seen or heard coyotes in Corvallis before, so this was a first for me! I was surprised they came so close to campus. Matt had to grab Barkley, who was off leash, when Barkley started running towards them. He probably thought they were fun doggy friends!

Coyotes in the fog

But he was able to meet some llamas later on...

On Christmas Eve the Neuffers had 10 or so family friends over for dinner.

In addition to the seven of us, the crowd was big enough that we were spread between two tables!

After dinner we all moved into the family room and sat around the Christmas tree. We listened as Mike read the nativity story. Every few verses, we'd stop and sing a song that had to do with what he just read. It was so, so lovely!!

On Christmas morning we all got up early and had a family prayer before opening presents. 

I was so amazed by how generous everyone was! (Thanks again, you guys!!)

With my Christmas haul!

 Heidi Santa even made me my own stocking :D I loved it!

Barkley loved his present too: a huge raw hide candy cane :) We're pretty sure he ate the whole thing in one day.

It was a perfect Christmas morning :) After opening presents the living room looked like this:

Beautiful. :)

Next we all sat down together for a big Christmas breakfast.

The rest of the day was low key. The biggest event was a foggy, chilly, and lovely hike.

It was a wonderful Christmas day. :)

The following morning, all seven of us piled into the suburban for an afternoon at the coast!

We went tide pooling...

Played on the beach...

Relaxed...

Visited Devil's Punchbowl...

And eventually headed to downtown Newport for dinner and shopping.

Matt and I visited this cute dog boutique that even had a doggy bakery. :)

We caved and got Barkley his very own cupcake ;)

Which he gobbled up in 2 seconds.

Dinner was at the one and only Mo's for their famous clam chowder and garlic bread!

 I was so glad we got to go to the beach, because living in Utah makes me miss the ocean like crazy. 

Last event... the drive-through Christmas display on the Corvallis fair grounds.

Last Christmas activity of 2013!

Over the weekend, other family events included all going to see the movie Frozen (which I loved!) and getting Thai food at one of the best restaurants in Corvallis. 

Yummmmmmmm

On Friday night Matt and I had date night in downtown Corvallis.

One day we also visited a dog park and then gave Barkley a bath...

This picture cracks me up! Thanks for washing him Jenica!

Matt and I also met up with some of my best college friends. We went to Dar + Trevor's for a game night...

And had Saturday morning breakfast with Steph + Brent at The Broken Yolk (my favorite breakfast place in town!)

On Sunday morning we met up with them and other friends at the University Ward for sacrament meeting and the welcome home talk of a friend of ours who just returned from his two-year LDS mission. It was so good to see so many of our old friends all in one place!

Tonight we're having dinner with some family friends of the Neuffers. Then we're headed to a get-together at the house of a friend of ours to round out the weekend!

Our time in Oregon has been amazing as always, and it's sad to think that it's almost time to go. Matt's family has been so, incredibly welcoming to me (this was my first Christmas with them), and they even welcomed our dog :) We'll be fitting in as much fun with them as possible before we have to go!

We hope you all have a great New Years! :)