Then what….

SO in Statesboro there’s only one thing to do after the family bonding of Christmas gets old sadly comes to an end…

Ohh Family Game night…. thank you Taboo for keeping us entertained this year :)

above- daddy fussing at alex and billy for not guessing what “stick and ball” so obviously must be??? any guesses? YEAH us either?

SO on to bigger and better for entertainment… EL SOM of course!

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Lee's infamous "under the wing" story....

Ohh How i love this story... thanks for taking my lou under your wing Lee :)

SO anyway like I said on to the next.. in boro "bigger and better" =Mill House :) .....where we had a small high school reunion from both Alex’s and my high school!!

What a night it was….. Keep in mind we did spend a record time of 4 hours at El Som before this…. If that is any constellation?

We have… holding hands, grabbing bubbies, giving the finger, holding elbow, and an arm around lance’s neck… LOVE.

I love seeing those boys giggle smile when they get together!!

Here’s a few more pics……. to help everyone remember the night of course :)

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Just call us Betty Crocker :)

So I think mom and I lived in the Kitchen for a few days but how can you blame us…Fingers, Pralines, Chocolate covered pretzels and best of all, our first attempt at Monkey Bread!!!

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Ohh How we LOVE the Holidays… and STRETCHY pajama pants!!

Angela and Billy wanted to try out Vegan Monkey bread… so just substitute the cream cheese with icing!

Look at our beautiful goodies!!

After our 10th Christmas together we get to start over and say " Our First christmas" :)

Starting out with A Christmas Eve get together*

Jane has to incorporate PINK into Christmas of course!! :) Very festive!! LOVE it.

Christmas Morning at mama and daddys!! Santa was very generous this year!!Christmas morning at the Francisco's always looks like a disaster area, which only means we must have been extra good this year!! and yes... that is my new NETBOOK from Lou and Tara!! Photoshop and all my pictures on my own laptop that I refuse to share!! :) Is that spoiled?? (thanks again!! I'm on it now ;)) YAY for no more breaking my back walking to class with the big dell in my book bag!!

Christmas afternoon at Alex's mom's house,
with Jewels all dolled up! She loves presents and seeing all her aunts and uncle's!! Autumn was teaching her how to lay on the floor and swim like ariel and she instantly went and got her Ariel doll!! She's in the "sponge" age and remembers everything!! So smart and cute!!

Look what else i found... yummy!

There's nothing' like a walk in the woods in your pajamas with your best friend!!
Mommy's sweet girl!

Tucker loves their "manly" walks in the woods, until....

TJ decided to go in the pond TWICE, and after getting fussed at twice he then accidentally stepped in a bed of ants! So we then had to beg him to get in the pond to wash them off which was suprisingly the hardest task ever!!

So yes this was I believe our 10th Christmas together and I get to say FIRST everything!! I believe I said "Merry first Christmas", or "take a picture of our first Christmas together" over 300 times or best of all we bought and received a ton of "first year" Christmas ornaments (much harder to find in the stores than you would think!!) LOVED IT ALL!! We are 2 lucky kids and had a great "first" Christmas together as two married love birds!!
Merry Christmas Followers!!

Getting ready for Santa...

Getting Ready to go home for Christmas means....

baking and packing, and wrapping!Tucker and Milly love when mommy bakes.... they get to help with cleaning up!

Rice crispy treats and bluberry muffins for alex to bring to his last day of work before Christmas.... I can't lie there is some selfishness in this.... I love to bake yummy things but if they stay in my house I will eat them all myself, so his work is the perfect way to bake and not have to see them on my kitchen counter for days :)
Santa Milly had been good all year, we swear!Our itty bitty Christmas tree we had to get us by until we go home for Christmas!! So all the shopping got done and wrapped in time for Christmas Eve in Hilton Head and Christmas with both our families!! Whew!

I'm soooo good at being the birthday girl!!

.... however i'm becoming a bad blogger. I blame it on my newly re-discovered account of free time! I'm out of school and have nothing to procrastinate about... why BLOG!! haha ok just kidding! Well i know i promised to update on the Big birthday..... so this is what turning 24 looks like when you have wonderful family, friends and a Husband who loves to help me spoil myself :)He's a keeper!!

Loved all my wonderful, tacky, tape stuck everywhere you look, birthday house being full of decorations!!! :)

This was night two of celebrating.... at Bahama Breeze WITH...

Mama and daddy, They met us in Kennesaw from Tennessee on their way to statesboro. So of course i talked them into staying the night so mom and I could go shopping the next day :)Night 3 of birthday celebrating with Lou and my favorite people....SO many reasons to celebrate.....Tina (left) graduated from GSU, Cara has will begin attending GSU for photography, Jessica also graduated as well as having a birthday like me and Laura is.... A good celebrating helper!!

Jessica and I have decided to make Carlito's our birthday tradition, this was our second birthday there!!

I think I want to be 24 FOREVER!! :) Time, you can stop now :)

So other than birthday celebrations what has real life been like??? Some recaps...
This was our (almost) entire class after finals!! A wonderful group of future Social Workers!! To think, just a few months ago we were all strangers and now we are like family!However these two gillies have been the best part, Ali and Shannon!! Ohh the Hell we have been through, haha, I love our"self-therapy" sessions!! haha Alex and I just got home from dinner with them and their s.o tonight! Love them!

So anyway, after I finished my finals we headed to the boro to Surprise Alex's mom for her birthday and congratulate Tina and Jessica and graduation, we had so much fun with little miss piglet, Julian! I was sooooo excited... she sais "jen" SEVERAL times!! I had to rub it in Lou's face ;) that's what he get's for giving BIG request... he wanted her to say "Uncle Alex"
I love this picture!!
(3 generations helping decorate the tree :))
We were so excited to be there for Julian's first time decorating the tree!
Look at that SWEET BOY! hahaha ohh I love homemade ornaments on a tree!! So sweet of her to keep them all of these years!!He lovesssss his mama!!
SO... we attempted to suprise her on her Birthday by making a suprise visit down, which was quickly ruined (secrets don't go over well in that house :)) but she was still happy to see us!!
Note: I am also starting to blog things for laura so doesn't have to do it herself :) Note to laura: Remember to make your first dance at your wedding, "Everything" by Michael buble :} your welcome!! and no i haven't heard it yet!

One last thing i have to write because I will definetly need to look back on it one day.... Love this story!!
So when Alex and I were heading back to Atlanta from the weekend of festivities I somehow started thinking of what I wanted to feed our children for breakfast on weekends when I assume I will have time to actually cook them a real breakfast.... (We are so lame i know) I guess it's from the Christmas spirit and all the traditions coming into play during this time of year?? BUT! I said Lou do you like blueberry pancakes? (of course he said) "no" and I said yeah, me neither.... how about we make our kids grow up eating them and then they will grow up and like them as appose to normal pancakes :) My thinking was sneaking fruit in with a yummy fattening breakfast! So Lou says Ok and I will figure out a way to sneak a sensor in them to make sure they are eating them!He never fails I guess!! and he is definetly a consistent weirdo!! Our poor kids!!! They have no clue what they are in for! Minnicks' unborn babies look out!

We've learned to adjust.

So yes, I have been extremely slack in blog world, but it's only because I have actually been the exact opposite in "school life"!!! I stated in the last blog the first two weeks after Thanksgiving were full of final exams, group project deadlines and paper due dates..... As of today... I DID IT!!! I have completed all test and turned in all assignments, I have officially finished my first semester of GRAD school!!! whew!I do believe it is the hardest most intense thing I have ever attempted but it feels amazing knowing it's all behind me.... kinda like being on a treadmill for an entire semester... haha.... you are miserable the whole time but when you finish you are so proud and can't believe you got through it!! Alex tells me every night (when he goes to bed and I am wide awake on the laptop typing or with my head in a book) that he never imagined how studious I could be! It's so true.....I have to say i surprised myself!! I have adapted to no life,and am quite used to the idea of studying on a Friday night.....and Saturday, Grad school has officially made me a loser.... and a bad wifey!!

So during all my studying what have i not informed you of.....

1) A Thanksgiving disaster...... which amazingly still turned out quite nice.

Yes the car was packed for an entire week at the cabin.... this is her "I never know what we're doing" face.

SO.... A Francisco Thanksgiving would just not be the same if everything went according to plan... "luckily" it didn't.... We had a wonderful cabin in Asheville waiting for us and Wednesday morning when we were all packed up to go the phone rang..... The man called and said the power was out in the area of the cabin.... naturally dad called the power company and found out the power was not even connected in the first place!! So we were left with a packed car and the man who needed to be called back and CUSSED out was now MIA, he turned his phone off knowing we were ready to hop in the car and head to the cabin!! Alex tracked down the mans work place in colorado and hours later when we finally heard back from him, he asked if we wanted our money back (which suprisingly we did get!) but at the time, ofcourse we didn't want .... we wanted the cabin!! UGHH ohh typical family times!! It was one of those times when you better LAUGH and SMILEEE about it so ya don't lose it..... So mom, dad and Tara came to our house!!! It was too far for poor B and angela to travel though.
Luckily Tucker and Milly were not too upset they were just glad their grama came to visit...This is Milly's what ELSE did you bring me look....
In our house the word "grama" is the same as "treat" and "baby" hmm wonder why????
However, this is what Thanksgiving looks like in a two bedroom apartment....... Like I said we adjust!!The up side of no Asheville vacation was spreading it out among the rest of the family......
Ohh Family Functions.... I LOVE rachels face!!!
So we scarfed it down to race to Amaras and did it all over again, Minnicks style.....

Dessert and card games!!!

.....Jane's in charge of the money and Autumn's in control of the WINE!

So yes it nothing short of the PITTS to look forward to something and it not happen but we did have a lot to be THANKFUL for this year!!

2) Alex's mom coming for her first visit to see us....She wanted to go hiking and Kennesaw Mountain was the closest spot... BEAUTIFUL, however, exercise is once again, not my thing. SO, I complained the WHOLE time!!

But it was a nice walk..... on the way DOWN atleast!!

Last but not Least My 24th BDAY..... Of course!!! So lets see, so far we have celebrated 3 times for my bday BUT this weekend will be 4th and it's the big SHA- Bang so I may just have to wait until Monday to give you the WHOlE picture of what that looks like!! We will be in Statesboro to do me and Jessicas 3rd annual bday celebration together as well as her and Christina's graduation!! Look out Savannah, another year has come and we are once again... READY!