Country Roads

I went for a visit home during the last week in March. My trips home always seem to go by quickly and this one went extremely quick because there was quite a bit going on. 

My niece greeted me @ the airport with a BIG hug and kiss and then she was able to spend a few days @ the house with us. While she was there, we dyed Easter eggs together. She is so much fun.

My friend is getting married in St. Thomas in May (another exciting trip to look forward to) and I am the Matron of Honor so I threw her a bridal shower while I was home. It was fun seeing everyone and I'll see them all again in about a month.

 With the Bride

All the ladies

  The wedding party

Saturday & Sunday I was @ my sister's house. We watched WV play in the NCAA tournament, had a baptism for my nephew, and celebrated my niece's 3rd birthday. 

They got a bunny for Easter. Poor bunny..It probably wishes another house would've bought it instead after spending a few hours with Brooklyn. 

 With my sister cheering for the Mountaineers!

Happy Birthday Brooklyn!

 She wanted to paint my nails : ) 

Mommy & Ryan. It's great to be eight!!

I love my trips home and the time I get to spend with my family. I miss every single one of them so much.

Let's Go...

....MOUNTAINEERS

 Most of those that will read this will either: 1) have no clue as to what I am talking about or 2) will not have the same amount of enthusiasm as I have right now. Either way, it's okay, I still feel the need to blog.

I've always loved my home state of WV and now that I've moved away, I think I love it even more.  In about 45 minutes, the Mountaineers will be playing in the final four of the NCAA tournament in hopes of moving on to play for the national title and I will be watching every minute of that game. Yes! I do get into the games. Yes! I do scream and yell at the television. Yes! I do get very nervous and can hardly stand to watch at times. Yes! I love college basketball. Rob thinks I'm crazy, but I think deep down he finds it to be cute. Ha! Although I can't be in WV sitting in the living room watching this game with my family, I will be wearing the blue & gold, showing my support, and cheering on the Mountaineers because.. It's a great day to be a Mountaineer wherever you are. 

Unexpected gifts are the best

This weekend brought a few surprises and they were all so fun. On Friday my doorbell rang and I found a box at my door. As soon as I saw the hearts drawn on the outside of the box tears came to my eyes. Inside I found a musical card that said "even though we're far apart, there's no distance between our hearts... I miss you so much and I love you even more." Along with that was a fun message from my nephew and a valentine teddy bear from my niece. It made me cry and cry. I miss them both so much. 

My next surprise came about 30 minutes later when my doorbell rang again and standing outside were two cute Curren boys with a Valentine treat for me. So fun! 

My last fun surprise was on Sunday evening while I was making dinner. My doorbell rang and 3 beautiful young ladies and 1 super cute little lady delivered a singing gram and a single red rose to me from my secret admirer. Ha! It was a great last surprise. 
Happy Valentine's Day! 

  The picture my nephew drew for me on the cover of the card. Love it!

Facials are a must

Being pampered in a warm bed with comfy blankets should be a must for women. Amanda and I were treated to facials on Saturday as part of our Valentine gifts from our wonderful husbands. It felt absolutely amazing. Everything about it was so relaxing. My favorite part was some chocolate mixture she put all over my face. Loved it! As we left and walked out the door Amanda looks at me and says something like this, "Oh there is a world out here after all." Ha! Great job Briant & Rob. I guess we'll keep you around. ( ;

-30..YIKES!

We took a trip to Yellowstone with Rob's family during the first week in January. After flying to Utah, we drove to Idaho to meet Christine and then traveled on to Yellowstone. When we arrived that night the temperature outside was about -20. It seriously took your breath away the minute you stepped outside. We were scheduled to start our snowmobiling session through Yellowstone around 8:00 in the morning, but they called to let us know they had to push it back a couple hours because it was -30 outside. Way too cold for us to be on snowmobiles. Ha! When the time came to go you definitely wanted A LOT of layers on and make sure no skin was exposed to the outside air. I knew this was going to be an exciting time. ( : 

It really was an awesome experience. I had such a blast. It was absolutely gorgeous and I was so excited to see what might be waiting around the next turn. I would recommend this to anyone. Don't let the insanely cold temperature stop you.

 

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

First Christmas!

Our first Christmas was so much fun. I love Christmas time as it is, but being married made it even more fun. I love everything about Christmas: lights, cards, decorating the tree, wrapping presents, and esp. family time. Rob and I spent Christmas this year in WV with my family. On Christmas Eve we all piled in dad's truck and went looking at all the Christmas lights. Afterward we came home and baked cookies and finished wrapping Christmas gifts. After opening Christmas presents the next morning, we drove 2 hours to my sisters house to open presents with my niece and nephew and have dinner with everyone. Christmas weekend brought all the aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers, and sisters together at our house. (oh yes and 6 puppies and ESPN) So let's just say that the Kimble home was VERY loud, but it was wonderful having everyone together.

The night Rob and I returned to Napa we opened presents with each other. One of my gifts was tickets to see WICKED!! We go this Saturday and I am very excited.

 

My nephew with his most favorite Christmas gift Kayce Jo

With my niece Brooklyn. She's one of the hardest reasons to be away from WV.

love my husband

My sister Natalie with her husband Seth

My sister Monica with her husband Chris

Every year my nephew shops at the Santa store at school. He is very particular about what he wants to get for everyone. Watching everyone open their gift from him is one of my most favorite parts about Christmas. It's exciting to see what thought he put into buying for everyone and how excited he gets to watch us open the gifts. These next few pictures show some of the gifts this year. I love it!!

Natalie with her gift

Darren wearing his gift

Opening my gift

Christmas was great and the year 2009 was absolutely wonderful. Now I'm ready to see what 2010 brings!!

Festival of Lights

Rob flew in on Wednesday before Christmas and since his flight didn't land until 11:30 that night, we decided to spend the day in D.C.

We shopped and also decided to go the D.C. temple to look at the Christmas lights. What should have been a 30 minute drive to the temple ended up taking almost 2 hours because of traffic. It was absolutely insane. There were a few moments when my brother almost turned around, but after arriving and seeing how beautiful the lights were, we all decided it was worth it.