Family Fun During The Holidays

Right before Christmas we made a mad dash to Utah for Dan's wedding. It was beautiful! We were so foruntate to be able to fit in a trip to Temple Square. Considering it had been years since I had been there at Christmas, I had forgotten just how breathtaking it is when it's all lit up and ready for Christmas. There was such a great feeling there as we all walked around, bundled up and enjoying the terrific scenery and the beautiful spirit. It was the perfect way to begin the Christmas season.






The day after Thanksgiving, I always begin putting up the Christmas decorations. This involves the dreaded Christmas tree; don't get me wrong - the tree is AMAZINGLY beautiful....once it gets up, but getting it untangled from whatever baffoon put it away the year before almost always requires a merit badge in untying knots and Judge Judy to make a ruling. It's never pretty. Fortunately, this year we had "E" who is the most calming influence any household can have. If she hadn't been around, I might have shoved the tree somewhere...and not up the chimney. Anyway, she helped from start to finish - which was more than can be said for any of our male counterparts who disappeared when they saw she had a handle on the whole thing. All I can say is, "Thank heavens for Miss E"!!!!




I LOVE Thanksgiving....it's definitely my favorite holiday of the year. To make it even more wonderful, our whole family was together this year. YAY times a million!!!!!!! We had our amazing sister missionaries join us, along with one of our great friends and former missionaries, Elder Lopez. Probably my favorite part of the day is when everyone has eaten and we're all sitting around the table, unbelievably full and we start sharing stories. It always evolves into hysterical laughter. Definitely a day I am grateful for.