on holiday

What to say, what to say... The holidays are over, it's a new year, and it's back to work! Christmas break was such a great time spent with family. It was our first Christmas being married, and Chandler and I spent it up in Boise, Idaho with his family. Chandler's younger brother Jonah lent us his room for the week and half that we were there. It was really nice of him to do that and Chandler's family was so great to have us as guests for so long. There were times when I missed my family, but it didn't last long because I realized I was WITH family - it was just the other half!

We got up there the Friday before Christmas and we stayed until the day after New Years. And boy was it a good vacation! We drove several hours to get there and I read "Total Money Makeover" to Chandler while we were in the car. We were both about half way through on our own, and I just read out loud so we could finish it. It was so entertaining and I am so grateful Chandler and I are on the same page with our finances. We can talk about anything. That book was the gift we gave to both sets of our parents this Christmas.

While we were in Boise on holiday we... went sight-seeing in downtown Boise in the falling snow one evening, watched good movies, watched home videos of Chandler and his siblings as little kids, played dirty board (Chandler and I won 2/3 games!), played the ball game (trying to keep the beach ball up in the air with the fan going and without knocking the Christmas tree down!), watched my favorite movie "It's a Wonderful Life", went to church, got sick, stayed up late, played the couch game, played mafia, played basketball at the church (there are so many plus sides to having a big family like Chandler does - there are always enough people to play games!), went on a sleigh ride in a valley surrounded by beautiful mountains, saw Les Miserables on Christmas day, ate good food, I made homemade pizza and it turned out great!, played a bunch of rounds of Ruzzle (a word game like Boggle) and I won a bunch of them!, started reading some books, met Chandler's brother Landon who is on a mission (met him over Skype on Christmas day), opened presents (more than we thought we would, thanks so much to Chandler's family!), gave presents, tried out our new camera, went to the mall (many times), got Chandler a new phone, watched youtube videos, ate sweets brought over by the neighbors, checked out the neighbors' koi fish (some of them were worth 10K), did a session at the Boise Temple, watched Chandler play some video games, taught Brooke some dance moves, made pipe chimes and practiced playing Christmas songs (so fun!), started reading to Kill a Mockingbird again (it's been years since I read it), laughed a lot, cried a little, went to the Boise State Broncos stadium, went to the candy store Powells (ate some yummy gelato and got some BYU colored sixlets candy from Chandler's dad), enjoyed conversations with family, called my family, built gingerbread houses, worked out (only once ha ha), watched the new year ring in with Chandler (everyone else had fallen asleep in the front room while we were watching the Times Square new year program), stayed up late, watched some football, and many more small things. It was a fun, and relaxing, break.

Now, since time is so good at continuing on, so much has happened already in this new year! But those thoughts will have to wait until later. I hope you enjoyed your holiday too!