Christmas 2009

Merry Christmas!

Our townhouse is on the left. Our neighbors are the ones with all the lights, the inflatables, and other decor. We look very non-festive, but how can we compete with three inflatables??

I made myself an advent calendar just like the one we had growing up. My grandma and my mom both made one when they were young adults, so it was my turn.

We only got an inch of snow until Christmas Eve. It melted two days later too. But on Christmas Eve, it snowed a lot! We left Christmas morning, but it snowed all week here.

My favorite Christmas tradition is making sugar cookies. I made them all by myself. I made a batch to send to a friend on his mission. I also gave some to the missionaries in our ward, Elder Olive and Elder Calquin.

For our missionaries; Elder Calquin is a University of Utah student and Elder Olive is a BYU student.

I sewed a Christmas dress for myself. It didn't take me that long and I did most of it without my mom's help.

We had dinner with Aubre, Eran, and the kids on Christmas Eve. Then we opened our presents for each other.

Christmas morning. I got mostly movies which I always fill my list with, new black Converse All-Stars, a couple CD's, and some other great things.

Andrew gathered his presents and the first thing he did was shake them. He separated the ones he knew were Legos from the ones he knew weren't Lego's. He was so excited to get an Ipod Shuffle and I helped him put some music on there. Of course, I added some Jonas Brothers :)

After opening presents and packing the car, we stopped by Aubre's to eat cinnamon rolls and see the kids with their presents before leaving to Utah. I got Ethan a bag of suckers and loved seeing this on the table.

Utah

We left Missouri on Christmas morning at 10:00. We got to Lincoln, Nebraska and they closed down I-80. So we took the side roads and got stuck right past Seward as it was getting dark. We started sleeping in our car parked at a gas pump, but got rescued by two cops and a plow. They took us back to Seward and we got a hotel. The interstate was still closed in the morning but we went on it anyway. We got to Yok and got stopped. We stayed the day in York, in a hotel room. Then they opened I-80 at 8:00 P.M., so we hit the road and drove the rest of the 12 hours to Utah. We got there two days after Christmas at 9:00 A.M. Jeb and Britney came down from Idaho and the whole family came over for dinner and an ornament exchange.

Here is my sister-in-law Britney with her newest baby, Eamyn and my grandma.

My brother, Jeb and his daughter, Teaghan.


Me and my newest nephew, Eamyn. I can't believe I have 6 nieces and nephews now!

Me and my youngest niece, Teaghan.

Our family minus Aubre, Eran, and their kids.

All the grandchildren that were present and available to take a picture.

My grandma, mom, and I went to Deseret Book and I got a dinner roll and BYU chocolate milk...what could be better?!

We met up with the Calquin family at Temple Square. They have 5 boys including Elder Calquin. The girl was a friend from Chile who got there that day to learn English at BYU. They are such an awesome family. It has been a privilege getting to know them.

We stayed in Utah for a week and then drove home without any problems.

My plans now?
I need to get a job. I want to work and be home till August. Then I will visit Alaska, move to Utah, and start working there. I'm not ready to leave here yet. I want to start going to Single's Ward activities too...I think I'm ready for that now.
Happy New Year everyone! I hope 2010 is a great year full of wonderful adventures!

Trip to Utah

After completing a 9 week job with my friend and her mom, I took a short trip to Provo and visited my old roommates at BYU. I went on November 6-11th.

Here is Raquel, me, Holly, Carrie, and Kristen at lunch at Mimi's Cafe. We couldn't get a hold of Lindie or Sarah but I'm so glad that Carrie was able to make it down.

These are the lovely ladies that I stayed with. Kristen, Raquel, and Holly. They have another roommate too but she wasn't home when we walked to Wendy's.

I met up with Elder Calquin's parents. He is a missionary in our ward in Missouri from North Salt Lake. He gave us his dad's number and I called him. We met up on my way to the airport to go home and they gave me a box to take home to their son. It has been really fun getting to know Elder Calquin and his parents are incredible!

I spent a lot of my time at BYU walking around campus. It was so weird being back there! I loved it though...BYU is a great place.

My old home. Extremely weird being there. I can't believe I lived there for 9 months. It feels so familiar but so distant.

I needed this trip so badly. It helped me get closure on some painful memories, helped me realize what I want to do with my life a little, and it was incredible being with Holly, Kristen, and Raquel again. They are the greatest friends!

20th Birthday

Happy Birthday to me! I'm 20 years old now...no longer a teenager.

Princess Party!

I've gotta admit, it was one of my favorite birthdays. The girls loved my tiara! They kept asking to touch it. Knowing that they were having fun made it worth it.
I also want to thank my wonderful sister, Aubre, for the pictures. They are great!