Christmas + Hoopla + New Year's

Christmas highlights included...
...talking to Marty (I guess that technically was Christmas Eve) and planning for him to come home next month!
...Kershaw's adorable shark bed.

Other highlights included...
...waking up to snow.
...Lucy's baptism.
...Mom and Meesh watching a YouTube video learning how to floss (the dance).
...sitting at the living room table with Tessa doing a puzzle.
...looking through old photos with Mom.
...Cafe Rio and drives with Carine.
...hosting the Holiday Hoopla with Carine.
...Holiday Hoopla? <-- party with all our friends from Utah, Seattle, and NYC
...celebrating Rinny Rin Rin's birthday.
...snow shoeing with the Pauls.
...New Year's Eve torchlight parade at Alta.
...hot tubbing in beanies.

FINALLY DONE WITH FINALS

(for this semester that is... if you thought I was a mess this semester aka if you were with me this semester at all and saw first hand, then we better all prepare ourselves for the quals next May)

Some of the best things about being in Utah include:
skiing
my family
home
kershaw
driving

Within my first few days of being home, I got all of those :) Wow, I love Christmas at home.

Simply Having a Wonderful Christmas Time

Did I write that title because Carine hates that song because it's extremely catchy and gets stuck in her head all the time?

Yes.

Does it describe my Christmas season perfectly?

Yes.

Do I have incredible friends who make me food and bring me ice cream and keep me sane during finals?

Yes. A million times yes.

M&M Store

There's a special kind of bond and friendship formed from experiencing the ups and downs of high school together. It is the type of bond where you allow these friends to drag you to the M&M store without putting up a fight or even rolling your eyes more than once. These friends for me? Carl & Shlynny. In fact, I'd have a full tourist weekend with these two. I would go to Times Square and Macy's for them. Even Black Tap to get the crazy shakes.

So that's just what we did.

NYC Thanksgiving

I love that my family loves where I live. We find every excuse possible for everyone to come out to New York. The fun part about having everyone out here is that they've been here many times before and we are all done doing the "touristy" things. Instead we go to movies, hang out at the hotel, eat food, go to basketball games, and shop. This trip was particularly freezing (did someone say the coldest Thanksgiving Day Parade in 100 years??) so we went to a movie every night. Okay, it wasn't every single night, but it started getting to feel that way until I began to protest and Dad suggested going to a game instead (which everyone loved, so it worked out well for all of us).

Mom made sure we had a hotel that overlooked the parade so that we could watch in our pajamas. Megan, Carine, and Steph (Carine's sister) joined us for parade viewing, which was fun! Mom and Dad ventured outside for a few minutes to say they watched it from the street, but the rest of us were perfectly content in the warmth of the hotel room. I feel no regrets.

Thanksgiving dinner was hosted by Carmine's and wow what a perfect meal...all the food, none of the work. We just showed up and they started bringing out huge dishes full of potatoes, stuffing, turkey, more potatoes, veggies, etc. etc. and even pumpkin pie. Megan and I will have leftovers for weeks (or at least until they begin to rot).

Thankful for...

... my family

... my friends

... and the feeling of being at home in this amazing city.

Knicks game and hair braiding.

Megan was taking care of Dorito the lizard while John and Michael were out of town, so Rin and I snuck in to practice
the piano (thanks, Michael!).

Hahah I love this one of Mom. (Also don't Christopher and Nicholas look so cute?)

Tay-J no longer (but yay!!!)

Ahhh this weekend my best friend forever got married and everything was perfect. So perfect that I really don't have that many photos of the wedding itself. I spent the entire day with Taylor and it was EXACTLY what I wanted. I loved every moment. The night before we had a mini bachelorette party with just the two of us, meaning I had her wear her "bride to be" paraphernalia and we packed for her honeymoon. The next day, I picked Tay up early and we went to get her makeup done, then headed to Provo to meet up with Cole and the rest of her family. Their sealing wasn't until 3 pm, so we had the whole morning to slowly get ready and just chill. After making sure that everything was set at the reception center (we hardly had to do anything; everyone else was so on top of it!), Cole and Taylor went to take Cole to drop off a final exam (rough...wedding day finals) and I picked up Cafe Rio. The three of us sat and ate Cafe Rio all together discussing how nice it was to have a leisurely morning rather than an entire stressful day. I felt honored that they would let me third wheel with them all day.

Soon enough, it was time to get ready for the wedding! Taylor and Cole left earlier and I hung out with the rest of the family until it was time for us to leave as well. I love their family so much!! They really are like my second family and I love that I can comfortably hang out with them even without Tay around. After the sealing (beautiful!!) and pictures (freezing! but fun), our friends and Cole's friends, both families, and of course Tay and Cole, all hung out at the reception center together until it was actually time for the reception. Those 30 minutes, or however long it was, were some of my favorite. Everyone was happy and peaceful and at ease even while prepping for the reception. Taylor was happy and calm and just in love. I loved it.

The reception was perfect. Everything went without a hitch. Food, friends, family, dancing, and everything was beautiful.

Tessa and I on "Tide-to-Go" duty

The only non-professional photo we got together that night hahaha.

My People Here

Hey, Mom... I'm being well taken care of here by some pretty amazing people that I love a whole lot and I'm really happy.