happy christmas.

  

jokes!

When I was ordering our Christmas cards I sent that proof to my brother Price. He didn't find it funny at all. Everyone else did.

Though I may laugh and call him names, I still let him join in reindeer games. And actually I really appreciate his height because that means he is coming to BYU in the fall to be a volleyballer, so we can be best friends and I can mooch off his meal card. Maybe I will learn to cook something decent so I can feed him sometimes too. I really should learn to harness my domesticity into something more than a kitchen floor scrubbing every couple of weeks. 

Where was I?

Christmas cheer. I got way ahead of myself this year with our cute tree in the apt (read a.p.t.), endless holiday playlists, peppermint crunch junior mints, Christmas socks at least three times a week, Christmas classic movie nights...

plus:

-basketball games & date nights in snowy SLC

-First Presidency Christmas Devotional and pretty lights on Temple Square

-outdoor ice skating in Christmas sweaters

-Uganda reunion white elephant Christmas party

-surprise going away party for me and my two fellow Spaniards

-secret santa-ing with my favorite cute friends

-our yummy potluck goodbye lunch of roast & mashed potatoes (which were made by me and somehow managed to turn out delicious) & gravy & salad & homemade rolls & sooo many heavenly gingersnaps, followed by all ten of us snuggled up on the couch laughing

-ward service activity singing carols and hanging out with a bunch of sweethearts at a care center 

-a Christmas light tour of Provo/Orem with the most excellent tour guide in existence

Then, after surviving finals with the help of every sugary food product known to man, Matt and I hopped in a '93 Cherokee belonging to a friendly BYU student who was headed in the right direction, and at 3 am we began our two-lane highway trek to Colorado. I spent less than 24 hours there, but loved it nonetheless. The gentle snowfall on our afternoon walk around Matt's tiny little hometown was utterly magical. At one point we stopped and warmed our noses in the public library and read a lovely Christmas book, and then we went to his favorite thrift store and had incredible success. I bought a few dresses and the lady at the register begged me to try one on for her, so I obliged. It was amusing. Also I ate so much Mexican food it wasn't even funny, and we watched Fantastic Mr. Fox, which I enjoyed as well. The next morning we woke early to drive to Albuquerque. I've wanted to go to New Mexico ever since I did my state report on it in the fourth grade, so I was real excited. The football game was quite fun. Sweater weather. I much preferred it to how the Las Vegas Bowl always is. Then, before I knew what was happening, I got on a plane that magically delivered me directly to the Thomas & Mack. My first time seeing the Rebels live and in action this year and I loved it. It was a short but wonderful trip, and I'm glad our spontaneous planning skills made it happen.


Home is good. Christmas is good. Church is good. Pretty music is good. Our Savior is extra good. Family is good. Friends are good. Boyfriends are good. This rain-out of Las Vegas is good. Life is good. 

 

(this is the real picture. via harry potter land over thanksgiving. that's Hogwarts behind the trees.) 

Merry Christmas! I hope your life is full of so much Christmas cheer that you don't quite know what to do with it all.