Christmas in Athens

Howdy Ya'll. It's been a long and wintery winter with a lot more cold weather and snow than I remember having last year. Boo. But now basketball season is in full swing, the semester is finally OVER, and Christmas will be here in 5 days. I love everything about Christmas: the spirit of Christ, Christmas lights, Christmas trees, Christmas music, snow, hot herbal tea, buying and giving Christmas presents, and the fact that I get another whole week off of work for the holidays! Too bad we can't make a last minute trip home again like we got away with last year...But, I am pretty excited to celebrate a romantic Christmas with just me and the hubs. We will be moving home in May for life and so this year will be the only year we will celebrate a Christmas alone together. Not that we don't want to be home and around our family, but this way we can go venture out and do some pretty cool local Christmas things that we wouldn't do otherwise. 

So here's our Christmas Agenda:

--go see the Christmas lights at the Columbus zoo

--ride the horse carriage around downtown Athens

--go shopping at Polaris mall in Columbus which is huge and awesome

--go Christmas caroling at a nursing home with a group from our church

--make Christmas cookies!!

--go see a movie on Christmas day

--make a Christmas FEAST for just the two of us 

and finally

--gain 50 pounds. 

Since we won't be home for the holidays this year, we sent out a little Christmas love to our family and friends. Since we weren't able to send a card out to everyone we wanted to, here's what we sent out this year. I wanted to get them done through Shutterfly but they are so stinkin expensive so I just went with Walmart because they were cheap cheap and they turned out super cute anyway! So Merry Christmas everyone from the Wilkins!

This was the first time we'd gotten professional pictures taken since we got married over two years ago. We had a guy from church do them for us and I thought they turned out great! It was FREEZING though. Our noses kept running so every time Travis would kiss me on my forehead or cheek his snot would be all over my face ha ha. So here are some of the pics we took. The landscape was kind of ugly but he got some shots with us in front of some cool trees and made it work.

Although I did love these pictures, they just don't compare to the Christmas pictures I took with Travis' sister a few years ago when Travis and I were dating.....

HAHAHAHAHA!! I actually just rediscovered these a couple days ago and am still rolling on the ground over them. Oh how I miss her!

 Why did Travis marry me you ask? Ha ha, I have no idea.

Go Bobcats!!

Basketball season is finally here! First game is Saturday, November 2nd here in Athens against Ashland. I am sooo excited! I love the atmosphere, I love screaming and cheering, and I love watching Travis play! I can't believe he's a senior this year so I hope they do awesome! Go Bobcats!

2013-2014 SCHEDULE Overall 0-0 Conf. 0-0 Home 0-0 Away 0-0 Neutral 0-0

Date	Opponent / Event	Location	Time / Result
11/02/13	vs. Ashland #	Athens, Ohio	2:00 p.m. ET
11/09/13	vs. Northern Iowa	Athens, Ohio	2:00 p.m. ET
11/12/13	at Ohio State	Columbus, Ohio	8:00 p.m. ET
11/17/13	vs. Valparaiso	Athens, Ohio	2:00 p.m. ET
11/20/13	at Morgan State	Baltimore, Md.	7:30 p.m. ET
11/23/13	vs. Heidelberg	Athens, Ohio	2:00 p.m. ET
11/26/13	vs. Mercer	Athens, Ohio	7:00 p.m. ET
11/30/13	vs. Evansville	Athens, Ohio	2:00 p.m. ET
12/07/13	at Oakland	Rochester, Mich.	6:00 p.m. ET
12/14/13	vs. Alabama A&M	Athens, Ohio	2:00 p.m. ET
12/18/13	vs. Massachusetts	Athens, Ohio	7:00 p.m. ET
12/22/13	at Richmond	Richmond, Va.	1:00 p.m. ET
12/30/13	vs. Longwood	Athens, Ohio	7:00 p.m. ET
01/04/14	at UNC Asheville	Asheville, N.C.	2:00 p.m. ET
01/08/14	at Kent State *	Kent, Ohio	7:00 p.m. ET
01/12/14	vs. Akron *	Athens, Ohio	6:00 p.m. ET
01/15/14	vs. Ball State *	Athens, Ohio	8:00 p.m. ET
01/18/14	at Northern Illinois *	DeKalb, Ill.	8:00 p.m. ET
01/22/14	vs. Bowling Green *	Athens, Ohio	7:00 p.m. ET
01/25/14	at Eastern Michigan *	Ypsilanti, Mich.	2:00 p.m. ET
01/29/14	vs. Central Michigan *	Athens, Ohio	7:00 p.m. ET
02/01/14	vs. Toledo *	Athens, Ohio	TBA
02/05/14	at Western Michigan *	Kalamazoo, Mich.	7:00 p.m. ET
02/08/14	vs. Miami (Oh) *	Athens, Ohio	2:00 p.m. ET
02/12/14	at Toledo *	Toledo, Ohio	7:00 p.m. ET
02/15/14	at Buffalo *	Buffalo, N.Y.	2:30 p.m. ET
02/19/14	vs. Western Michigan *	Athens, Ohio	7:00 p.m. ET
02/22/14	at Akron *	Akron, Ohio	6:00 p.m. ET
02/26/14	vs. Buffalo *	Athens, Ohio	7:00 p.m. ET
03/01/14	vs. Kent State *	Athens, Ohio	2:00 p.m. ET
03/04/14	at Bowling Green *	Bowling Green, Ohio	7:00 p.m. ET
03/08/14	at Miami (Oh) *	Oxford, Ohio	TBA
First Energy MAC Championship
03/10/14	First Round	Campus Sites	TBA
03/12/14	Second Round	Cleveland, Ohio	TBA
03/13/14	Quarterfinals	Cleveland, Ohio	TBA
03/14/14	Semifinals	Cleveland, Ohio	TBA
03/15/14	Final	Cleveland, Ohio	TBA

Cinnamon Rolls

All I have to say is Oh. My. Gosh. Once you get a pack, you'll never go back! I have made cinnamon rolls from scratch countless times and I have never had any that are more amazing than these. Best part of it all, you buy them frozen and they only cost 3.50!!! wuuuuhh?!?! 

You're Welcome :)

October in Missouri

I’m just going to cut right to the chase- - I’m not going to bore you with why I haven’t posted in sooo long. However, so many things have happened the past couple weeks, so I will bore you with that :)

Two weeks ago I took a trip home to Missouri, and it was awesome. SINCE we can’t go home for Christmas AND my brother was getting married, it was the perfect opportunity for me to come home. Unfortunately Travis couldn't come with me, so I missed him dearly. But I will say, I enjoyed every second I was there. I seriously LOVE Missouri. Not only do all my friends and family live there, but it’s beautiful, and I’m familiar with everything, and it just straight up makes me happy! And it’s the future Zion, right?? :)

So here’s a quick run-through of all my adventures (that I at least took pictures of)- - -

Down the home stretch!!

My new sister-n-law Bailey

I hadn't ridden horses for about 2 years, so this was easily one of the biggest highlights of my whole trip!!

 The other Bailey, my cousin. She's awesome, I love her!

Got to spend some quality time on the farm. Bulls for sale people!! Only the best.

            Cats are so weird, that's why I love them...                 Can't leave without a cat selfie!

Me and my seester, Lili, can't believe how big she's gotten!

 Cutest baby ever!

 

 For those of you who definitely cannot tell what mine is, which is probably everyone, it's the Miami Dolphins logo. Ha ha, not my best. 

 Have to give a shout out to my Granny! She is so sweet, loving, hilarious, and the hardest working person I've ever met. When I grow up, I want to be JUST like her. 

__________________________________________________________________________

The grand finale of my trip was of course, my big brother's wedding. It was a beautiful wedding and I am so happy for him and his new bride! It was totally unexpected but I teared up so many times, they looked so happy together. I am so glad my brother found someone as beautiful and nice as Bailey and I hope they live a happily ever after! 

 

                       Cousin Shaner.                                                     My old man and I

He's single, ladies. 

Bride-to-be!

Last shot I got with my brother as a single man! 

Although those 10 days felt like 10 minutes, I am so glad I got to go home. Can't wait to move home permanently in 7 months!! Woo hoo!!