Throwback Thursday

Our Christmas tree is decorated with funky ornaments from our past.....well, mainly *my* ornaments, as this is the first regular-sized Christmas tree Brandon has ever had at his own place (his mom puts one in almost every room, but somehow the Christmas tree bug didn't get passed to him).

His mom did get this tree for him last year, which he jokes has *the* ornament for it:

Anywho, each ornament on our tree has significance, represents a person, place or thing and just makes me nostalgic.  So for today's Throwback Thursday, I thought it'd be fun to share some of these.

The very first ornament we placed on our tree was one we got on our
Honeymoon in Gatlinburg (May/June 2011):

We purchased this one on our trip to Chicago (Feb. 2011), when we got engaged:

And this one is from our most recent vacation to Colonial Williamsburg (Oct. 2011):

Also in October of this year we visited Brandon's friends and their daughter and I made this together....it's not really an ornament, but I made it into one:

Last October, Brandon and I went to visit his Aunt & Uncle in North Carolina.  I went a little ornament crazy on that trip.  This is a fishing boat from Beaufort, NC:

The Lighthouse at Cape Lookout at the south part of the Outer Banks:

And one more from that trip - Korner's Folly - this really cool house in Kernersville, NC:

In August of 2010, Brandon and I went to visit Suzanne, a friend that I grew up with in Youth Group, and her husband, Joel, in Denver, CO - they took us to several places around the Denver area and we went camping too.  This ornament is from Breckenridge, CO and is part of a tree that was killed by the Emerald Ash Borer Beetle.

Before I met and married Brandon, I used to take all my trips with Shannon.  In May of 2007, we went to Atlanta, GA and nearby Stone Mountain:

In May of 2008, we went to Fripp Island, SC - we love Fripp!  And I love this ornament - Santa riding a couple dolphins.....I mean Santa needs a vacation too, right?

In February of 2009, Shannon and I went out west to Las Vegas, NV.  We also visited the Hoover Dam, saw a Chris Tomlin concert and took a helicopter to the floor of the Grand Canyon where we had lunch:

In June of 2009, I went to Honduras for the first time for a mission trip.  Shannon was a seasoned mission-tripper there and showed me the ropes.  This ornament is from a little shop in one of the towns:

Then we went on our European Adventure in October of 2009 (where I also celebrated my 30th Birthday).  My favorite spot on that trip was Paris:

But I also enjoyed London.  "Mind The Gap" is announced repeatedly when you're waiting for the "Tube" (subway), reminding you not to step in the empty space between the platform and the train:

This ornament was a gift from Shannon for being a part of her wedding in November 2010:

Alisha gave me this ornament back in college.  You can't see from here, but he has a very long carrot nose:

Alisha also gave me this little guy in college.  Well, actually he's not all that little - although he's an ornament, he's too heavy for our little tree, so I use him to decorate otherwise:

Another item from Lish is this snow ball.  You can throw him into something and he's says several different phrases.  We used to scare each other with this thing....and now I just scare Brandon with it: 

For several years in a row (from around 2002-2006), my Momma and I would travel to Ft. Myers, FL for a Mother/Daughter getaway.  This is from nearby Sanibel Island where we always went to the beach on those trips:

In July 2007, my parents, my brother and his family (only 2 kids at that point) and I all went to Cooperstown, NY to the Baseball Hall of Fame Induction.  Along with about 70,000 other people, we watched Cal Ripken and Tony Gwynn enter Baseball History:

Then in October of 2008, my parents and I went on a fun, whirlwind 4 day trip to Baltimore, New York City & Boston to tour Major League Ball Parks (we saw Camden Yards, the Old Yankee Stadium - and the outside of the new one in construction, and Fenway Park):

Speaking of baseball.....if you can't tell, I come from a baseball family.  My tree wouldn't be complete without a couple of these:

My Granny, who is a very talented artist, painted this barn for Brandon on his birthday this year - it's reminiscent of the barn that our wedding reception was held:

Granny also painted this one:

And this one (the paint is swirled on the inside of this one):

My Alma Mater - I graduated in 2003 & 2004 from MSU - GO RACERS!

My cousin, Katie, and I used to put on ballet performances for our family to the music from the Nutcracker.  We charged admission and everything.  She sent me a set of Nutcracker ornaments when we were in middle school.  They always remind me of those fun times:

Growing up, a sweet lady named Flora lived across the street from us.  She loved making Christmas crafts.  I made these with her as a kid:

My great grandmother inspired me to make this reindeer candy cane. I actually still have one that she made (she passed away in 1998).  It's getting pretty raggedy, but I still put it on the tree.

My entrepreneurial niece, Goose, made these items and sold them in her "store" to me (and several other family members:

And Tank followed suit and made this:

My Aunt Nancy gave me this to commemorate all the work I out into my first house:

This is me in kindergarten, in an ornament I made that year....and a ginger bread ornament I made then too:

Then there's those ornaments that have been around since the 70's....

Of course, I do have a couple normal/modern ornaments too:

Oh - and Brandon does have *one* ornament on our tree: