Life Through the Eyes of a BYU Cougar!: Merry Christmas!

I am sorry that I have been MIA lately. Here is how Christmas break has gone so far.

Friday after finals were over, the family headed to Salt Lake to see some of our cousins perform in the Nutcracker ballet. It was very good and they did an awesome job. Mom and Dad decided to just spend the night at a hotel in SLC so that we could enjoy the lights instead of worrying about what time we would be getting home. It was beautiful and we had a great time!

Madeline and I at the Nutcracker!

One of my favorite things about downtown would be the candy windows at Macey's. They are so clever and cute!

The Lights on Temple Square were beautiful, like usual

Sisters

CHRISTMAS DAY: This year Christmas was a little different for us. Joseph wasn't here to celebrate it with us. We spent the usual Christmas Eve at Oma and Opa's house. I have pictures, but haven't downloaded them yet. We had a delicious meal, great company, performed the nativity, Santa stopped by and hung out with cousins and Aunts and Uncles. It was great fun!

We got home and opened our Christmas pajamas. I said something to the effect of, "Oh! It's weird that there are only 4 boxes instead of 5." Mom quickly replied that it was happy because Joseph was on a mission.

The best part of Christmas was Christmas morning when we got to talk to him. He called at 8 so we ate breakfast before hand and ran to the computer when it started ringing. We only got 30 min to talk to him, but he was so happy and doing very well. He quoted Nephi 3:7 in German and that was really cool. He was just happy and it was so good to talk to him. It was hard to hang up and we were all in tears, but I am so grateful that we got to talk to him. After talking to him, we didn't really feel like opening presents, but we did and it was fun.

Joseph on Skype

When we woke up Christmas morning there was a lot of snow on the ground and it was still snowing. After opening presents and hanging out, the kids dawned on their snow gear and headed outside.

Dad joined in on the fun and built a fort for an airsoft war.

Christmas was just great. This year I really tried hard to focus on the true meaning of Christmas. It was much easier to focus knowing that Joseph was teaching about Christ to others. With that perspective, I think that Christmas meant a lot more. It was probably one of my favorite Christmases and one that I will never forget.

Today: Today, Dad and I went cross country skiing up the canyon. It was a beautiful day and the exercise was needed greatly! Dad was in his own little world and kept commenting that this was his paradise. I wouldn't say it was paradise, but it was very enjoyable and am excited to go again!