Christmas Eve was a bit hectic for both Jeff and I... we had driven down to Ogden on Wed morning to help Sally with stuff around the house, and it was a chance for me to finally get to work on the crocheting projects/gifts I was trying to finish before Christmas (at least I finished Jesse's on time)...
Plus, my parents were supposedly flying into town Thursday morning, so we wanted to already be close enough so we didn't have to drive very far.
Well, Jeff got a lot done at his parents' house, he stayed up till like 5am cleaning and organizing their downstairs... After Jeff woke up on Thursday around 2pm, we got up, dressed, ate breakfast, and cleaned up some more around the house, then ran some errands around town, one of which being D.I., both his parents accepted the fact that they have way too much crap and they ought to give some of it away to people who don't have any crap at all... then went to Costco to buy most of our groceries for our Christmas Eve dinner I was going to make for our Party out in Richmond.
My parents didn't get into town until 6:30 or so pm, we drove down to Bountiful to meet up with Dustin, Travis, Mom, and Dad so we could go to Dad's new favorite restaurant: Texas Roadhouse!
Yummy... everyone got just about the same thing: sirloin steak with shrimp, Jeff got an 18oz prime rib, and I got some type of steak kabob...yummy.
It was here that Dustin presented to me my gift, since he drew my name for Christmas, an hour and a half massage at Massage Envy! AWESOME! I so am going to enjoy this gift! THANK YOU DUSTIN! of course there isn't a massage envy in Logan, the closest one is in Layton, but I'll be needing to come down that way in the next few weeks for my baby shower in Provo, so it is all good.
So why was Christmas Eve so hectic? Mostly it was the logistics, driving, and lack of communication.
Well my parent's flight didn't leave the next day (Xmas Eve) till 8pm, and we had already driven back to Ogden the night before, and of course I want to spend time with my family, who doesn't, but with the time crunch on having to be back up in Logan by at least 4pm, to finish the shopping, to start cooking, and just making sure everything was right for the party... didn't seem to happen or work out the way I wanted (and I feel bad a bit for complaining because I really did want to spend time with my parents, because I won't be seeing them again til the baby comes - sometimes I wish my parents lived closer, like down the street!)
Jeff and I drove back down to Bountiful to meet up with Trav and the parents to go to lunch at Ho Ho Gourmet (in lite of the season festivities) Chinese Restaurant. Then we drove around town to run a few errands. I suppose we didn't communicate very well, Jeff and I to each other, and us to my parents or to Travis, but apparently Travis was going to leave his car at Jeff's parents' house and carpool up to Logan with us... If I had known this, to make matters better, Travis would have driven up to Ogden with the folks, we do all the stuff we did in Bountiful there, he would leave to take them to the airport while Jeff and I finished up our shopping and put together our secret santa gifts... but no, we stayed in bountiful way too late and just about had to cancel our plans in Logan, when Jeff, my wonderful husband, came up with a brilliant plan: for us to have our Shin Dig at Ashley's house- she did our last minute shopping for us and cooked what she could before we got there. It worked out perfectly! And I didn't have to stress anymore.
The food was good, the company was great, we talked, played some wii (the cow jumping race is by far the most fun to play and to watch), and then we watched Joy to the World. Jo didn't seem too interested in the movie, but it was nice to welcome in the REAL reason for the season!
I am so grateful for my Savior, for his Birth, Life, Death, and Resurrection. I am so grateful to be apart of the True and Everlasting Gospel, to know that Joseph Smith saw and spoke with God and Jesus Christ, Restored His church on the earth, that because of Joseph we can know that God and Jesus are two separate individuals both working for the same purpose (to save us), that we are created in their image, and that the Book of Mormon is really another Testament of Jesus Christ. Joseph Smith was a prophet called of God, and Thomas S. Monson is our living prophet today who guides and receives revelation not only the church, but the world. I know that it is ONLY through Jesus Christ that we can have faith, repent, and be saved! I love my Savior, my Heavenly Father, and my family!
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Christmas Day
Christmas this year was small, but it was fun. It was Me, Jeff, and Travis. We weren't sure if Jo was going to be with us or not, so my parents and I got him gifts anyway. However, those gifts, as well as the ones for Travis, didn't arrive until Sunday. This year we drew names so we didn't have any presents for Travis- only the gift I've been making him, but didn't finish on time, the gifts mom and dad sent us, but were late, and the stocking stuffers we both got for him. Favorite of all the stocking stuffers was the "Purple Drank" we made and got for Trav. :)
Jeff was in charge of the camera, hence why there aren't very many photos...
Travis opening up is stocking stuffer gift wrap from us!....
bootie socks I got from my mom....
a scarf that looks fairly Indian and crocheted gloves, I honestly don't know when or where I will wear either of them- they are far too classy for me, but Thanks Mom, I love them!
What we don't have pictures of is the look on Travis' face when he opened up his "purple drank" and all the chocolate and other goodies he got in his stocking....
the look on Jeff's face after he opened up all my random candy gifts, his new Gillette razor and deodorant gift, foot scrub, and stocking stuffers... and then the gifts from my parents... from my dad, a new electric razor for his beard and head...
Jeff just says, "I guess I get the point, I'm hairy, what can I say?"
Later, after we ate breakfast or rather lunch we cleaned up and made our Santa Secret gifts to drop off to our friends and family along the way out of town...
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Christmas at Kent and Sally's (Jeff's parents')
it was fun, different because Meischa, Kurt, and the kids weren't there, and this time there was actually room on the couch to sit and enough seating for everyone, including Brenda, Jenni's friend, and Travis.
Kent and Sally had gone out of there way to get all of us gifts, including Travis and Brenda. Jeff and I got our first box of Diapers... yeah for baby! (we have got to decide on a name so I can stop calling him baby or "the baby").... and Sally made car scrapers out of fleece to keep your hands warm, we got two, because we have two cars, but I hope she doesn't mind, we gave Jo one of them... he totally dug it and thought it was the coolest gift ever! We really did enjoy ourselves, lots of good food, good company, and Mya was a riot to watch.
Ashley got Jeff and I the perfect gift... an Epilator! another hair removal product in the form of an electric razor. Perfect for Jeff because he is hairy, and once the hair is removed he will be smooth as butter (my gift) and when the hair does grow back in it will come in more fine and sparse (Jeff's gift)
One of the activities we did while at their house was "Flavor Trip" as Jeff would call it, we hosted yet another Miracle Berry Party (the mberry)... this berry originates from West Africa, which has been turned into a powder pill. What you do is take this pill and suck on it, covering as much area of the tongue as possible before it dissolves. Once it dissolves you are good to go to eat all the bitter, sour, and tart foods you want, because the fruit neutralizes your bitter tastebuds, almost deadening for a time your sour, tart, and bitter tastebuds and enhancing the sweet ones. So when you eat dark chocolate it will taste like milk chocolate, or when you eat lemons it will taste like lemonade, same with grapefruit, a mango, kiwis, limes, dill pickles (will taste like bread n butter pickles), and salt n vinegar chips (sweet potato chips). The experiment only lasts from 20min to 2 hrs, depending on the person.
