Santa Came To Town.....

Christmas was great this year. It started off with all the business and craziness of getting ready for the holidays, then we had a great time on Christmas Eve, and Christmas day was a great in & of itself!!

Christmas Eve was great this year. There was lots of laughter, good food, a spiritual message, and lots of great memories. We started the day by doing lots of baking & goody making (that's one of the great things about the holidays, all the treats you get to eat along with the delicious food!! We made some brownies, congo bars, heavy duties, chocolate covered pretzels, and some rolo-nut pretzels my friend Ryan made for me once. After all day baking was done a few hours later, we all got cleaned up for the day to do the rest of our fun activities we had planned.

Kara, Jason, & their kids were spending Christmas eve with Jason's family at night, so while Jason was at work Kara & the kids came up to the house to play some fun games. Christmas Twister was first on the agenda, followed by playing songs on the bells, & lastly we played some Christmas bingo with some awesome prizes!!

When it was time for Kara & the kids to head out to Bischoff's, we got dinner ready. There were so many different types of good food that I had some of everything because there was simply no way to choose. This year just us as a family had an FHE after dinner. We shared Christmas stories and talked about the Savior, the real meaning of the season. Of course we had to have some music because Christmas music is the best. At the end of the night we opened up some pajamas & a bonus pair of slippers :) Of course we had to have a photo shoot. We have a bit of a rivalry in our house because each one us of likes different players & teams so we had a bit of debate about who was the best.

Christmas morning, we actually slept in until 8:45. Dani & Emi were talking all sorts of nonsense the night before about waking up at 6:00, I knew better that that would not be the case because they enjoy sleeping way too much! After opening presents, getting everything cleaned up & taken to our rooms, we started to make dinner. Kara & everyone were coming up to eat turkey dinner with us. We spent the rest of the night hanging out, being lazy, and enjoying the time together. We moved the party out to Kara's house so the kids could show us all their toys. We left their house between 8:00 & 9:00, and spent the rest of the night hanging out at home. It was a great end to such an amazing time of the year!

Christmas Vacation.....

My Christmas break has been great so far. I was officially done with this semester on the 8th. After my finals were over I gave our apartment a much needed cleaning job, got everything ready to come home (laundry, packing, etc.), and got everything out of the extra room so it's ready for Kaia when she moves down this next semester. Dani had a final Thursday morning and then we took off for Lovell that afternoon. I got good news on the way home that I had passed all my classes, so I've been able to relax without worrying about anything that has to do with school right from the start.

Monday (the 13th) was my birthday, the big 21! It was a nice, quiet day. I hung out at home, helped my mom with dinner & other things. After my dad got off of work we at dinner (lasagna - my request) and then I opened presents. Kara & Jacob came to join in the fun, but they were the only ones who could make it because everyone else at their house wasn't feeling well. I ended the night riding around with Emi, cruisin' the big town of Lovell & Cowley after they went home.

Most of my break so far has been spent hanging out at home or at the drug store, shopping in Billings or Cody, watching movies, reading books (which I totally miss during the semester), spending time with friends & family, and getting things ready for Christmas. So far I've hung out with Michael Bernard, Katie-Bob, Michael Montanez, and Thomas Bridges, and we had lots of fun doing all the different things that we did. I really miss my friends & family when I'm down in Laramie, so it's been nice to get to see everyone and spend time with them again. It's been busy, busy, busy & going nonstop so far, but that's a good thing. I love having stuff to do & I love this time of year! After the holidays are over I'm going to be working more down at the drug store, which is great because I've missed that place, & I don't want to get too rusty on the tech skills!! I couldn't ask for a better start to a much needed break, luckily there's lots of break left, which means even more fun to come!!

Our Very Own.....

Well it's my third year being down in Laramie and finally I got a Christmas tree for the house. I've always wanted to but never did it. On Monday Dani and I went to Kmart and were looking at all the Christmas decorations and we both wanted a tree.

We just got a small one (3 ft.) because there's not much room in our house for a bigger one. It was a lot of fun picking out all the stuff for it. When we got home we put on some Christmas music, decorated the tree, and hung up some lights in our living room windows.

Now it really does feel like Christmas and got me really excited for the holidays. It made it seem so real that the semester is over. Tomorrow is my last day of classes and it feels great to have made it through my first semester of Pharmacy school!! Thankfully I'll be able to truly enjoy the Christmas season in just a few short days!!

Thanksgiving....

I finally got some time to catch up on what's been going on. Ever since I got back from my break I've been studying because I had four exams this week and at least two finals next week. Thanksgiving break was great, and I definitely needed a nice break to make it through the last two weeks of school because they've definitely been the most stressful of this semester.

My classes got cancelled on Tuesday so I headed home Monday. It turned out to be really good because the roads weren't the best but were even worse Tuesday. I spent the break hanging out with my family & friends, sleeping, and eating great food.

Tuesday I spent the afternoon at Kara's house. We played some Wii, took some pictures, and had lots of fun. I got to their house before Katelyn got home from school so I went with Kara and the kids to go get her. She didn't know I was in town, let alone in her car. I decided to surprise her so I laid down in the seat so she wouldn't see me until after we were on our way. She leaned up to give my seat a hug, I sat up with her about 3 inches from my face and said boo. Needless to say I scared her a little more then I surprised her, she screamed really loud, and then she gave me a huge hug! We got a good laugh out of it, and it was the best surprise ever!!

Wednesday afternoon Michael Bernard and Wendy came over to visit for a bit. We listened to music and listened to Emi play the guitar. After they left I headed to Michael Montanez's house. We played Just Dance and Guitar Hero.

Thursday I spent the day with the family. I love Thanksgiving, it's great to take time and think of everything that I have to be thankful for in my life. I'm especially grateful for my family. It's nice to stop with my busy schedule and think about everything that I've been blessed with in my life. We ate some great food and played the Wii for awhile.

Friday night Emi, her friend Jessi, Jason, and I went up to Powell and watched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1. It was excellent! I've seen it twice already and can't wait for it to come out on video. Emi and me hung out the rest of the night and just talked and watched a movie.

Saturday I went to lunch with Thomas Bridges. Later that night I hung out with Michael Bernard. To finish off the last day I was in town Emi and I watched another movie and stayed up late.

Sunday I headed back to Laramie. It was a pretty long, hard drive. Luckily, I had people to ride back with and followed Derik back.

It was a great break, not nearly long enough but just enough to get me through the last weeks.