Not just 1 or 2, but 3 dancing machines!

Our week of thanksgiving bliss was trucking right along. I had good food and traditions with the Turner’s and lots of rest and cooking in Dwood with the boys, so the only thing left was turkey time with the Birney’s (Sniperjess’ family). For those of you that know us…the Birney house is always an interesting experience. It’s untraditional, and slightly unorthodox…but it’s always a good time with genuine intentions from all. My growing time in Dwood lately lead to what I would call a “catch up” session when we got there. The adult beverages were poured and we chatted about the previous week and just life in general. SniperBen had leftovers, but I was somewhat tired of turkey so I passed (which I would later regret…aLOT). SniperBen got yet another look into the life I grew up in. Our holidays are about celebration and believe me…we celebrate. There was laughing and jump roping and Madonna tunes blaring and dancing. I won’t sugar coat it…things get a lil crazy. It’s a lot for a person to take in if they are not accustomed to the Birney house, but SniperBen held his own. (and later held my own….blegghh). I will admit I may have over done the turkey day festivities, but I was still very thankful to have my guy there to load us up and take us home at the end of the night. (Sorry you had to tomtom your way back to my apartment babe…I owe you one! ..or two.)

Aww, we found our perfect tree!

The next morning (after some much needed Tylenol on my part), we had plans to get our tree! Going to the tree farm and cutting down the perfect tree is tradition I have always had and I could not wait to share with the boys. Believe it or not, this was the first time SniperBen had experienced this tradition! That made it all the more exciting for me. Chase ran around pointing out his favorites, and we scoped the place for the best tree. Of course…we found it! Ben cut down his first tree like a pro and we headed home to watch some football and trim the tree…sounds simple, right?

Um… no. We got to my apartment and fought with the #$*& tree for about an hour (at least). We put it in the stand, everything looks great, let go and…wait for it…lean. Try again! Loosen this part…tighten this part..wait for it..it looks great!…wait…lean! GRRRR! This is a classic scenario where SniperBen’s patience is just what I need to keep me from throwing the damn spruce out the back door and getting another one.

Merry Christmas from the Snipers

A deep breathe, and big ol’ hug, and that smile of his and I was laughing about it with him. He suggested dinner and a new, snazzier tree stand. While we were at it…I decided to switch up my boring ol’ theme and have a multicolored party tree!! And that we did…in addition to jazzing up the outside of the apartment too! I love our Milner tree and I love the decorations. We finally rested that night in a warm, cozy apartment filled with the glow of our hard work from the day. It’s the first Christmas I’ve had in a few years now that hasn’t felt like a chore. It’s an absolutely awesome feeling and I can’t wait to make more Sniper adventures this holiday season! (and believe me…stay tuned b/c they are coming!!)

You know we can’t do anything with out taking a ton of photos. So here’s the rest of the photos that help tell the tale of our very first Thanksgiving week together.

SniperBen Edit:
This is what she meant by “cartwheels down the streets of downtown Athens”

Click here to view the embedded video.

Jess isn’t the biggest fan of horror movies. In fact, she pretty much refuses to watch them. However, over the past year I have slowly warmed her up to the idea that they are where it’s at. They are my jam, and will be her’s one day as well. So with fall and October here, what better movie to get things started than with the original Halloween! She was rather apprehensive at first, but once it got going she really enjoyed herself and the movie. I mean, that movie is a classic and it’s just a lot of fun. So she was really excited after and actually wanted to see the second one. That will have to wait for this weekend…or sooner, depending on what all is going on.

On Saturday, we got up, had a stellar breakfast then pretty much just farted around the house. Jess slept most of the day on the couch, despite the UGA game (though it was a rather boring and disappointing game). That afternoon we grilled up some burgers and then set off to Fun Bowl!!! It was a hike to get there and Chase dozed off in the car, but once we got there, everyone perked up and we had a blast. We knocked out three games and it was a total blast. Jess did great for 1 of the games, I dominated one, and the other we kinda were on par wit one another. I reckon that’s how it usually goes with awesome families like ours. All equal parts.

Back home, we were all tired and I helped put Chase to bed, then Jess and I headed off to bed. Sunday was going to be a packed day. After breakfast, we set off to my folks house so Chase could meet my mom, Jess could see the house I grew up in, and we could get my Halloween decorations. We ate a quick lunch, then loaded up the decor and headed off to my apartment. Jess and I set up Spooky Town (pics coming soon) while chase helped and played on the couch. The house looks great and it finally feels like Halloween in here. I can’t wait to get all the candles lit and the lights going and have some people to enjoy fall here.

We headed home and by that time the rain had started to come down pretty hard. We were both exhausted from decorating and driving around all day so we called it an early night. I have to say, that her bed right by the windows that were open with the rain and the freshly cleaned sheets and the cool fall breeze, made for one of the best night sleeps I’ve had in a while. I didn’t want to get out of bed this morning, but I did. Dems the breaks.

So yeah, that was a pretty low key weekend, but damn if it didn’t turn out to be totally epic. I mean, it seems everything that she and I do, from washing dishes to making burgers turns out to be the most awesome thing on the planet. Maybe it’s the “new love” that all relationships get in the early stages, or maybe this really is that true love that most couples strive for. I’m gonna go with the latter because this feels like nothing I’ve ever felt before. This woman, this child, this family that I have in my life now, this is what I want, this is where I want to be, this is what makes me whole.