Happy Holidays!

Wow! What a wonderful Christmas! Dave and I had such a great time in Utah. I only wish that we could have stayed longer.
We flew in late on Saturday night and my dad and Pat were there waiting for us as we got off of the plane. My dad greeted me with a great big hug! We spent that evening at my dad's house in the "blue room".
On the 23rd we spent the day at the Holman's house where we finally got to see Dave's younger sister Marianne. It had been almost 2 years since we've seen her because she had been serving a mission in Ohio. It was so nice to finally be able to talk to her and give her a welcome home hug, except for Dave who gave her a welcome home "tackle" I guess you could call it. What else are big brothers for?
Christmas Eve was spent back at my dad's house for the annual pajama party. This year we exchanged socks which was a lot of fun. We played bingo and ate a lot of Christmas favorites.
Christmas morning was spent at my dad's then at my Grandma and Grandpa Hartwell's homes. We spent the rest of the day with the Holmans and at the home of the Manning's where we did the annual family gift exchange.
We spent the day after Christmas at my mom's house where we had a late Christmas celebration. We were able to meet our newest nephew Braxton (Ren and Kallie's baby).
On the 27th we spent the day with the Holmans and we went to see The Nutcracker. It's a tradition that Dave's family has been doing for years and I really enjoy being a part of it now.
Needless to say we spent a lot of time with family and we really feel so blessed to have so many wonderful people in our life! I just wish that we could have spent another more time with everyone.

This is on the plane right before we took off for Salt Lake City.

Alyssa and Marianne. This is a great photo!

Miles and Alyssa. Can you tell what a proud Grandpa he is?

Dave & James at the annual Christmas Dinner. This year it was spent at the Bekker's.

Nathan and Meg. Doesn't Nathan look nice with his braces off?

Please keep checking back, I have SO many more pictures to post of our wonderful trip.

Poinsettia Bowl

Tonight we went to the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl. The Utes and the Navy played and Utah won!

Pre-Game

Dave is really excited to be here. He made sure to wear his red shirt over his jacket. We sat in the Navy section so there weren't that many of us in red.

Sean and Sara are friends of ours and they are in the Navy. Sara was supporting the Navy and Sean was supporting the Utes.

Half time. This is the Utah band performing.

I'm warming up the winter coat here. It was COLD!

I wore as much red as I could.

My run in with the police

so today i left the library around 3 pm and was not 50 feet from the exit when a cop car stops and tells me to stay right there. he asks me if i had just come from Ash street which is behind my law school on the other side of the freeway. i said no, i just came out of the law school. he then told me that someone had been stabbed on Ash street and that i fit the description. apparently some guy in a brown hoodie with a black hat and a backpack full of law books has become fed up with finals and is stabbing people. so after a full pat down with my hands held behind my back, he hears on his radio that the stabber got on a bus and left the scene already. he left me at that.
my question is, what hoodlum is dressing like me and stabbing people?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today's Menu:

Turkey
Mashed Potatoes
Sweet Potatoes (Holman recipe - thanks to Meg.)
Asparagus
Deviled Eggs
Cranberry Relish
Cherry Pie (Grandma Hartwell's recipe - a must have Thanksgiving treat.)
Biscuits

Pros of having Thanksgiving in San Diego:
I was able to sleep in and cook in my pajamas.

Cons of having Thanksgiving in San Diego:
We miss our family. It would have been so nice to be with everyone.

Here are some pictures of our lovely dinner.

This is the worst picture EVER but Dave and I laughed so hard when we saw it that I had to put it up. It's horrible. I hope it makes you laugh just as hard as we did.

First time using the china.

One more picture before we dig in.

Dessert. YUM!!!

Tag

Tag I'm it, (Thanks Meg!). Here are 6 random facts about me.

1. I have a lot of random irrational fears. I'm still afraid of the dark. I've been afraid of the dark ever since I was a little girl. I handle it much better now though. I always make Dave wait until I'm already in bed before he can turn the lights off. If I am alone I always have a light on. I'm also afraid of people being in the shower when I go into a restroom. I won't close the door until I do a shower check to make sure I'm absolutely alone.

2. The first movie that ever made me cry was Follow That Bird. It's a Sesame Street movie that came out in 1985 where Big Bird gets kidnapped by scam artists. They paint him blue and make him perform in a carnival. It really upset me to see Big Bird painted blue, sitting in a cage crying and singing. Apparently I was inconsolable.

3. I had the same the same photography teacher in high school as my dad, mom and brother. We all went to Kearns High School. (Dad - Class of 1977. Mom - Class of 1979. Jarid - Class of 1997. Me - Class of 2000.) Mr. Tatton was our photography teacher. It was one of my favorite classes.

4. My best friend Deryk and I had an imaginary restaurant/company when we were in elementary school. It was called S & D Incorporated. We ran it out of my parents' trailer and we served Tang with giant spoons. It's such a funny memory.

5. I absolutely LOVE music! When I'm alone in the car I play music as loud as possible and I completely rock out. I wish that I had some kind of musical talent. I would love to be able to play acoustic guitar or piano.

6. I was born with sky blue eyes. They started to change color when I was around 3 and are now green.

Maryjane's Pictures

Time to get in shape!

I met with a personal trainer a couple of days ago for a fitness assessment and again today for a work out. It was tough!! Actually working out at the rate I am supposed to be working out left me out of breath and drenched in sweat. I'm excited to get back into shape and will hopefully be at my goal come next summer. Wish me luck!

Shandie