Christmas moments, part 3: the final edition

Wow, if you can't tell, it was a busy 3 weeks over the holidays! So many fun things to jot down, so I don't forget.

*Brandon and Grandma(Andrew's mom) making a "store" together in the basement. This is one of B's favorite things to do with her. Every time we visit, he asks her to make another one. They collect little trinkets and goodies from around the house, arrange them to be visually pleasing, then invite us downstairs to buy stuff (with money they provide!). This time, B even made snow cones for all of his customers (me, Drew, Whit, and Grandpa) with a hand-cranked snow cone machine. Now that's customer service! (I'm bummed because I didn't get a picture this time.)

*Visiting Temple Square in downtown Salt Lake City. What a magical place--all lit up with Christmas lights.

Nice face, B-train!

*Playing Settlers of Cataan with Angie, Forrest, Mindy, and Pete. I actually felt like I had a chance of winning, until Forrest came out with the surprise attack on the longest road!

*Just hanging out at Tony and Cindy's, relaxing, talking, eating pizza, and watching the kids play together. (Except when Whitney decided to bully Eli around. What's up with that?)

Brandon, Reagan, and Lauren

*Seeing lots of relatives on my side of the family at a reunion. It was especially good to see Mark & Taylor (we hadn't seen them when we were with my parents); my cousins Maresha, Lissa, and Jeanne; and my Uncle Harry and Aunt Julene. Definitely worth the 4 hours in the car round trip.

Here we are with most of my family members.
Celeste and Destiny are missing.

Me with my two brothers, Mark and Paul

*Going with all 20 members(10 adults, 10 kids ages 0-10) of Andrew's side of the family to a Utah Jazz NBA game. What a blast! The kids were really good. The girls and Brandon would get up and dance during the breaks when they would play music. They've got moves! It was a good game, too. The Jazz beat the Trailblazers, but it wasn't a blow-out. Brandon made posters before we went and they were awesome.

Here is one of the Jazz Bear--his favorite mascot.
One of his others said, "Dfans Dfans" (his interpretations of Defense!)

Go Jazz! (We're allowed to cheer for them now that
we live outside of Utah and don't get heckled by
anti-Laker fans all the time.)

*Meeting Emma--Andrew's new cousin--for the first time. She is an adorable, loveable little girl. Ok, so this wasn't Emma's finest picture-taking moment.
She's always on the go and it was hard to get a good one!

*New Year's Eve at Angie and Forrest's house. Lots of Taboo, Scrabble, and my new personal favorite--Singstar. We stayed up until 2 am singing out voices out! (Well at least 4 of the six of us did.)

*Getting together with my Dental Hygiene friends. We graduated six years ago, but most of manage to stay in touch. They are an awesome bunch of women and when you go through boards, administering anesthesia, learning to take X-rays, and Dr. Arzola's lectures together, you really form a bond!

Cheese! Look at those healthy smiles. :)

*Watching the Fiesta Bowl w/Andrew's parents--What a game! I LOVE football. Sometimes when I watch, it makes me want to play. I want to see what it feels like to tackle someone in the name of competition. I'll probably never have that opportunity, though.

*Annual trip to BYU. They had an awesome exhibit at the Museum of Art called "Beholding Salvation: Images of Christ." It was a really cool experience. Went bowling with the kids--they both tied at 92. Pretty impressive. After the 8th frame, they were both beating me and Brandon had no help. I pulled out a strike on the 9th and barely beat them. Phew.

Outside the Museum of Art

Don't drop it!

Whitney was a very cute bowler.

*Having a GREAT visit with my friend, Anna. We've been friends since high school, but haven't talked in probably 3 years or so. We visited for 2 hours straight with no awkward silences. Now that's a sign of true friendship.

Anna and Me