Christmas Break

Christmas Break this year was the best break I've had in a long time. Most of it was spent with family and this picture was taken the Sunday after Christmas. Spencer, as you can tell, did not want to cooperate and so he was making faces in all of the pictures I took. But this one was the best. I did spend some of the break with friends; I went shopping with a friend from high school, who I haven't seen since she got married in August, went to the temple with another friend from high school, and I went to Olive Garden with some people in my stake who are also going to BYU. But the rest of the time I was Ice Blocking with Ben and Spencer, or playing board games, or teasing Toasty, our little dog. Ice Blocking was so much fun and I haven't done it in a while, so Ben, who's practically pro, had to remind me how to stay on the ice and stop myself from turning around and going backwards. We decided to be cheap and just froze the ice in bowls we had, but it turned out better because we had a wider surface to sit on. We started going down the normal way, but eventually got more creative and daring. We tried a train, going down backwards, Spencer rode on my back with my stomach on the ice, and so on. Toasty even tried it! What fun. I loved spending time with them and it's too bad I can't have family and college at the same time. I learned while I was at home, that Ben and Spencer are not only talented on ice, they're very photogenic. I got a new camera for Christmas and so I had to take pictures of them.

These are some of my favorties. :)

Another fun thing we did during break were going to the Bellagio on Christmas Eve to see the fountain show. It was fabulous and the water actually made it chilly, a little more like Christmas is supposed to be. Then we went home to eat cheese and crackers and drink egg nog. And interesting combination, but it was somehow better at home than it is at college. Chrsitmas Day was wonderful and I'm so glad I could be home. One of the best gifts I recieved was this camera. I took pictures of everyone in the family including Toasty who's too cute to not put a picture of him up here. I was really impressed with what a smart dog he is. He know's sit, kennel, watch me, walk (he get's really excited for that one), potty, toy, and bath. Whenever you say bath he'll stop what he's doing and look at you, to make sure you really said the word, then if you say it again he runs to his kennel as fast as he can to avoid it. He's pretty smart and right now he's going through puppy training. So, if there are any volunteers, he'll need a babysitter this summer because over the break our family learned that we're going to Nauvoo to be part of the Nauvoo Pageant! It was such great news and we'd love to have you all come see us. Well, that sums up my Christmas break. I hope that everyone else had a fantastic holiday and Happy New Year!