The Holidays!

I am finally updating the blog from the holidays! I would say I was so busy I just couldn't get to it but we had four and a half weeks off of school for Christmas break so I really have no excuses. We finished finals on the 12th of December and we had a couple of days before we flew out to Utah to visit Scott's family so my parents came down to Tucson to have a pre-Christmas with us. This is a picture of us with all of our presents in front of our miniature Christmas tree, you know its small when your presents tower over it but since we live in a shoe box of an apartment the 3 foot tree is size appropriate. My parents like to do present themes for the married children and our theme was kitchen this year! I have loved experimenting in the kitchen so it was fun to get new toys to play with. They also took us out to one of our favorite lunch places Beyond Bread and went on a short hike. It was so fun to see them and we were really glad they were able to come down.
On the 15th we headed off to the airport to go to Utah! Well we tried anyways...but we were actually stuck in the airport all day and ended up having to fly out the next day because of snow in Vegas (our connecting flight). So after our long journey we finally made it to Utah and enjoyed a long stay at the Stephens' house. We don't get to see them as often as we would like so we were glad they didn't mind us moving in over the break. It was my first Christmas at their house and it was so fun to see all of their traditions and enjoy the holidays with them. Scott put the lights on the tree this year and I helped him, it was pretty funny to see how particular he is about putting on the lights but I think it turned out looking pretty good!

Scott's family has this tradition that they are allowed to open their stockings when they wake up but they can't wake their parents until at least 7:00am. The stocking normally includes a book to keep you occupied until it's time to open presents. I thought this was a cute tradition, and I might just have to copy it! I just thought it would be fun to include some pictures of us with our presents, I love Scott's morning hair in this picture! We were so spoiled by both of our families! We got so many fun things. The funny thing is Scott just wanted to play with his little brothers' toys all day and kept saying "Christmas isn't the same without toys" I think he has already started planning what toys our "kids" will be getting in the future, we all know they will really be for him. I got lots of fun scrapbooking accessories and tools for Christmas which I have been thoroughly enjoying. Just in case anyone was wondering why I got a nail gun, it is actually a scrapbooking tool that punches holes and sets eyelets. Scott thinks my scrapbooking tools are funny because a lot of them are mini versions of real tools but this one looks pretty tough! We also did a lot of fun activities while we were in Utah. Scott and I went snow shoeing in Little Cottonwood Canyon. It was so pretty and it was fun to try snow shoeing for the first time. We also got to go to Body World which was amazing I would recommend it to anyone, unless you are the type to get squeamish at those types of things. Scott and I have been wanting to go for awhile and it was so nice of Scott's parents to take us! Thank you!

Scott's Grandma also treated the whole family to dinner at the Roof restaurant on the top floor of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. Unfortunately she ended up not being able to come because she was sick which was a bummer but it was an amazing restaurant. It was so fun to try all the different types of foods they had to offer, especially the dessert! It also had an amazing view of the Salt Lake Temple, unfortunately I did not get a good picture of it.
We also got to see some good friends of ours from BYU-Idaho. It was so good to see them and meet their new baby girl MacKenzie! We had so much fun visiting with you guys, we miss hanging out with you! I also got to go to dinner with one of my good friends from high school, Sydney. It was really fun to catch up and talk about old times, even though she moved to Utah, I am glad we still get to see each other regularly. I just liked this picture except I cut Scott's head off. I was holding it up over my head so it's the best I could do. I just think it is funny because it seems every time we visit, Scott try's to beat his brothers up to put them in their "place" assuming his position as the oldest. I think this one was started by Scott attacking Judson but everyone got in on it! We had so much fun visiting and we can't wait to see you guys again!
It is funny as you get older and you begin to realize the important things in life, especially around the holidays. Although we definitely appreciate the gifts, the true meaning of Christmas has really become more of our focus. I love this time of year because overall there is a greater focus on Christ and what he did for us. I also become more and more grateful for my family all the time and I feel so lucky to have married into such a wonderful family as well. We really are so blessed to have all of you in our lives and we love you all. So even though this is late I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season!