Creating new traditions

Recently I went over to my other blog and read some of the posts I had written last year at this time. Boy was I angry, depressed and feeling hopeless. I am so glad that time is over. So happy to say that we are here and loving it. With the holidays of course comes a little loneliness, a little aching for what we used to have. Friends, family, traditions...

We have made some great friends here and we are so blessed to have done so. Chris's parents are here too so of course having them here is a huge plus this Christmas. However, as I said before I am used to a big shindig on Christmas Eve. I love having everyone over. I am not a fancy girl. I don't set a table. I don't dress fancy when people come over. I like to be comfortable. I like to feel like I am at home, not like I am at a 'party'. I love when people walk in our home and say 'your house is so warm'. I am missing those Christmas get togethers this year. I am missing opening our home to friends and planning a big Christmas Eve spread. This has been bothering me a lot. All I can think of is how lonely it is going to be here this Saturday when it is Christmas Eve and it's just us. I asked some of our friends to come over but of course they are all new friends and have all been doing the same thing for years. I totally understand that. So I thought since they can't come over Saturday maybe we would try to do something a little more low key on Friday. Like maybe cookie decorating and pizza. I might throw a little craft into the mix too. I also thought that maybe on Christmas Eve we could drive down to Main St. in downtown Greenville and see all the lights and check out the ice skating rink. Maybe drive around and try to find good Christmas lights. It's not the party we are used to, we will be missing our CA friends and family so much but we will be creating new traditions.

Last week we had a new adventure with our friends. They called and asked if we wanted to go to "Hollywild", which of course we had no idea what it was but we said sure! My girlfriend Kathryn said "it will be really cold, bundle up!" Holy cow, she wasn't kidding.

This is my husband all bundled up. I told him he looked like Rocky going to train so he did a little pose for me.

 Hollywild is a zoo here in South Carolina. They put up a gazillion lights and decorate real nice....but y'all that's not the best part. The highlight of the evening is that after you drive through an open field and all the animals are just walking around. They walk right up to your car and eat out of your hands. There are deer, cows, zebra and ponies.

This guy was literally at the door of their van. He was eating the hamburger buns the kids were feeding him.

The zebra was my favorite. I don't think I have ever been this up close and personal with a zebra before!

Here we are all bundled up in the backseat of the van ready to see the lights and all of the cool animals.

After you drive through and check out all the free roaming animals you get to park your car and REALLY freeze!! Lol. They have a petting zoo, hot chocolate and hot dogs for sale, a couple of bonfires and some other stuff that I didn't really look at on account of the fact that I was so cold I had to go sit in the car!

I am such a California wimp with the cold this year. It hasn't even snowed here yet and I am being such a baby!

Here are the young'uns...shoot, they were 10 x tougher than I was about the cold weather! They were just so happy to be feeding all of those animals!

I hate to say it, but I am not even sure what this is? A buffalo? I guess. I just know he was real big!

This was right before I went to the car...I look like I am in pain because I am!

Well thanks for stopping by and reading. I appreciate it! If you get the chance and are interested go check ou all of my stuff that I put on sale tonight on etsy.