full of thanks

I spent Thanksgiving at home in my beloved hometown of Carlsbad, New Mexico. It was wonderful...here are some highlights....

My mom scheduled my sister and I massages. Massages in Carlsbad aren't at fancy spas, but rather in intimate massage studios. The one we went to is actually a house turned into a massage studio. Is studio the right word? I don't know. I do know the massage was awesome. Whew. It felt good. I think my massage lady is also some sort of Indian healer. Lots of Indian paraphernalia all over the studio, complete with Indian inspired music. So great. I was totally "feeling it". 

Here's my cousin Blair and I. She is a firecracker. She wants an iPhone for Christmas and has a bunny named Snowball. I'm pretty obsessed with her :). She was the flower girl in my wedding and danced harder than anyone at the reception. The girl has moves!! 

Here's me with my stylish sister, who blogs here, and my incredible mother, who doesn't blog. Can't imagine my life without these two.

What is a trip home without looking at old pictures?? My mom always has some classics out and I love looking through them. Here's a pic of me at age 13....15 years ago. Goodness. How awkward am I? How cute is my sis? Why are my parents dressed matching like contestants on Dancing with the Stars? 

More old pics. Here I am on my first Christmas!!! This is the Christmas card my parents sent out the Christmas of '83. Kind of cool how though Christmas card designs have advanced, they are still pretty much the same. My mom is a total babe. I already feel like I look 10 years older than she did in that picture!

Here's Roberto with my cousin Blair's dog, Bella. Isn't she pretty??! We love bullies, almost as much as Jamie over at Velcro Dog :). 

Hi Daddy! Yes, I call my dad, Daddy. Deal with it. There he is after an unsuccessful morning of hunting. Very uncharacteristic for him, he is usually successful! Actually we had quail one morning for breakfast that he shot. It's a Neal family Christmas tradition, but we are not going to be there for Christmas, so we just had them over Thanksgiving break. They were yummy. Every meal I had at home was yummy! Why is food so good at home?

Check out this wrapping paper. I don't think words can really describe how much I love it. I got to open a Christmas present early and it was wrapped in this. #ilovedisney My mom got me this gorgeous fur stole that I want to wear everyday. It's beautiful!

Last but not least, a blurry pic of my pug son, Doug. For some reason we have this dog Harley Davidson hat and we put it on him. He's so cute and entertaining. I miss him!! Even though he has a really bad habit of peeing everywhere. 

So concludes the highlights of Thanksgiving. I am thankful for that break. I think all the love from home and from my family will be enough to power me through December!! Yay Christmas season!