Our Christmas Break so Far

Hello everyone! I hope you are all having a magical Christmas. I know that I am!

Before I get into the bulk of my post, I wanted to share a few pictures from Hollidazzle in Minneapolis. This event is a light parade that goes through downtown. I am glad we got to enjoy this festive event with some good friends before we left for the holidays. We also visited Santa Town in Macy's. Santa Town is an array of displays staged around Christmas. The displays were amazing! They were very detailed and had moving parts to bring the magic to life. I really enjoyed letting the kid in me get excited!

A Christmas tree caroling!

good thing our mail isn't delivered by balloon. It could be dangerous. 

Entering Santa's Workshop! Oh boy!

If I were an elf, I would work in this section.

Santa's sleigh rollin through downtown Minneapolis!  We got to watch the parade from the warmth of a skyway :)

Christmas truly is the most wonderful time of the year. This year I have learned even more about the magic of Christmas. Being near family has taken on an even greater meaning for me. I have always loved being with my family and in-laws, but this year having been so far away from them all for six months, I have learned to appreciate my time with them even more deeply. It has been so nice to just be near them.

So far we have spent most of our time with Pedro's family. They leave for a "warm" Christmas trip to Florida tomorrow so we have been getting as much time in with them as possible. After they leave, we will be spending time with my family down in Utah. I cannot wait to see them all. Especially my brother Scott, his wife Abby, and baby Joseph. I haven't seen them for a year and a half! (and I'll be meeting Joseph for the first time.)

When we first flew into the Salt Lake valley, my heart began to race. The mountains were gorgeous! I had missed seeing the elevation shifts so much. But more than that, I was so excited that my sister would be picking us up from the airport. I love my sister so much and can't wait to spend more time with her this week. I was also excited to hold little Andi, my new little niece. She is a month old now and sweet as can be. I also got to see my brother A.J. before we headed off to Pocatello. He is such a great brother and gives the best hugs! I am looking forward to our little family reunion this week and will cherish every minute of it.

This past week we have played a lot of Xbox Kinect Sports and Just Dance with Pedro's family. It has been a blast! I love playing games with them, and having the Kinect this year just enhanced the laughter and fun. Here is a little Birthday present I took for myself:

Also for my Birthday we saw a movie I have been dying to see ever since they announced it's making:

The Hobbit was amazing! I wanted to watch it again right after it ended (I still want to watch it again). I am a sucker for the Lord of the Rings/Hobbit world, and secretly wish I could live in it. Love.

Before the Hobbit, I went to  a birthday lunch with my mom. It was so much fun, and we ate at Costa Vida, my favorite! I always enjoy spending time with my mom. It felt like old times. :)

Blurry Birthday picture! We were in line for lunch and it started moving as we were posing. oops!

This past weekend we headed up to my Dad's place in Driggs and spent a couple of days with him. We had fun playing games, watching movies, eating fabulous food, and meeting Jane's (my dad's girlfriend) family. I always love spending time with my dad and am glad we got to see him.

We made snowmen with Jane's grandkids. I gave this one to Dad. (I got a little glitter happy)

Yesterday we opened gifts with Pedro's family. It is always a blast, as always! I just like laughing with them. This year, Elisabeth was in Tennessee so we were missing her, but got to Skype with her and Jake (her boyfriend) before the festivities. Our good friend Tom got to spend Christmas with us for the third year in a row. We always enjoy having him around. Here are some photos I snapped:

Getting ready for crazy town

This will come in good use in Minnesota. 

Like two little boys :)

I guess we killed Tom :)

Today we are hoping (well I am) to go see Les Miserable. I cannot wait! I have anticipated this since the first trailer I saw. I love this musical and from what I have seen in the previews, they have captured the raw emotion of the story very well. I guess we will see!

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy new year! May your hearts and feet stay warm, and your hands stay busy with family, friends, and service! Love you all!