Christmas Recap.

Happy 2011! My husband is so good looking!

Beachside Bar for the New Year. Low Key, Fun, Loved it! In bed by 12:30!

After dinner at the beach bar.

Wine, reading and sister.

The family on NYE.

Mama's favorite kind of day (me too).

Gorgeous. I never get tired of sun, sand, water and palm trees!

Christmas Day: Jarrell cousins with Grandmommy. 6 cousins, 3 of us have spouses and Grandmommy has 3 great grandchildren. She is beautiful and full of grace (and humor) in her late 80's.

Traditional Christmas morning at Campbell St. with the fam.

Well, for my bah hum bug attitude, we had a very wonderful holiday.

It's nice to be treated like royalty at my parents at the Orlando home. We enter into a beautifully decorated home (remember: no decorations at our place, no room for storage) to my Mom and Dad who have goodies waiting, the pantry stocked with all of our favorites, Dad's breakfasts every morning, cozy wood burning fires (it was cool enough this year), and yet enough sunshine to go on long walks, which we really miss this time of the year in DC (not enough to freeze our faces off, apparently). The house is big enough to spread out on a couch where its quiet, or to join around the kitchen table, its the perfect amount of togetherness, you can have a little bit of what you are in the mood for at the moment, which I appreciate for family holidays!

*Bonus: My Mom got an "insta-king" so we had a bed to sleep in, together! After 4 years of marriage, they are getting used to the idea that we sleep together (before it was twin beds, seriously! Or we'd kick my sister our of her room for her double bed and she didn't like that.) Next year's goal : Getting Jonathan an embroidered stocking! After 5 years of marriage (by then), hopefully they will make the leap.

Then we went down to Little Cayman Island for a few days of beaches, sunshine, swimming and great friends. Some of Jonathan and I's dearest friends in DC are actually the granddaughters (and one grandson in-law) of one of my Dad's friends. We met because of my Dad and their Granddad, and the chances of that resulting in a friendship are SO rare, but we really hit gold in meeting these girls and one husband. It's hard to make GOOD friends and we have found three!

Our friend's family are from the Cayman Islands (they are a colony of England) and they have some property down there so we went as their guests and it was amazing. We were treated again like royalty and loved the BEAUTIFUL views and to have sun and sand in December was quite a treat. So, I'm feeling quite spoiled and thankful for the holidays.

Here are some pictures (above)!