Christmas Part 1

So I got the whole week of Christmas off! It was amazing :) We went to St. George to be with Dahl's family. These next 2 posts are pretty much direct copies from what I wrote Nicole on her mission, so hopefully it's not too travel-loggish. I started with the day she left. We dropped her off on a Wednesday, and I went straight to work right afterwards, so we start there: 

Wednesday 12/18:

We had a bridal shower for Alyssa at work. I got free Zupas! That night, Dahl and I took Julie to dinner and we watched a new movie, "The Way, Way Back". We really liked it! She spent the night at our house.

Thursday 12/19:

Julie hung out with Dahl while I worked. He took her to the mall while he ran errands. They went to the library as well. Dahl, Julie, and I went over to Amy's house to make gingerbread houses. They turned out better than ever! Amy's fiance (Brooks) was super nice, and some of his friends came over too. It was a lovely evening. 

Friday 12/20:

We got down to 0 calls in the phone queue at work! I was so happy I almost cried. Seriously. The guys at work got a little worried. Then, we played on the X-Box. I actually won a game called Takedown! It's a driving game where the only goal is to take out as many other cars as possible. The first person to reach 10 wins! I got 10 and Kyle only had 8, so I won!! I lost everything else, but I was ecstatic to win something! Chris and Lance were very entertained by my reaction.

I also showed the guys some Star Wars snowflakes I made (Yoda and Darth Vader). They were pretty impressed! Travis even had me forward him the templates so he could make some. 

Lance (my manager) gave us some hot chocolate for Christmas. He let me pick first because I'm the favorite (his words :) ). I picked marshmallow. Being the only girl comes with its perks! After work, Julie and I went to get some free pearl necklaces because I have 2 starving students cards and they each have one free one on it. We got her dinner again, and dropped her back off at Heather's apartment. That night, Dahl drove to St. George for Christmas. We chatted the whole way and had a really great time! When we arrived, we watched "National Treasure" with Dahl's parents.

Saturday 12/21:

We hung out with Eric and Brenley. We went to Coyote Charro, a Mexican restaurant. We got these amazing carne asada fries and a couple tacos. It was SO good! We looked at a house that Ivory homes is building. Brenley could give us a tour because she works for Ivory Homes. It is VERY unfinished- lots of dirt still and none of the appliances were in. It will be a home in the Parade of Homes, so we are excited to come back and look at the transformation. We did some shopping and started watching "The Hobbit". Brenley and Eric have never seen it, and they needed to watch it before we went to see the second one later this week.

Sunday 12/22:

We went to church. The choir in this ward is HILARIOUS! Dahl and I always forget about it until we go. It is so awesomely horrible. Gets us every time! We can't help but giggle while they sing all sorts of off notes. That was more often than usual this time because it was the Christmas program, and there were lots of special musical numbers. They didn't sing even one traditional song, it was all weird arrangements. It would probably be okay if they sang normal songs and kicked a few people out, but we are hoping that never happens because it is so entertaining as it is! 

We went on a nice walk on a trail near their house and chatted. We finished "The Hobbit", and Jacob and Tori arrived. We went to a Missionary Christmas Concert at the Tabernacle! It was very nice. They had much better singing voices. We also watched "Home Alone". It was Tori's first time!

Monday 12/23: 

We started out the day by going on another walk, this time around Eric and Brenley's neighborhood. We then did some more shopping and wrapping. We went to lunch at Irmita's. It was amazing, as usual. 

Savana arrived! We went to Tuacahn to see the Live Nativity. It was really cool. They read the Christmas story in Luke 2 and acted it out with music. They had live camels, a live donkey, and live goats.

I made sweet and sour chicken for dinner. It was pretty good if I do saw so myself! 

Tuesday: 12/24:

We went to Orange Peel for breakfast. Their Citraberry smoothie is the best thing ever!! I got a pedicure with Brenley and Tori while Savana got a manicure. 

That night, we did a Christmas program where we sang songs, read the Christmas story, shared memories, and read "That Thine Alms May be in Secret" and "A Christmas Dress for Ellen". We ate some yummy food and watched "It's a Wonderful Life". 

We lit "Tangled" lanterns that Jacob and Tori brought, and it was really cool!

And that's just the beginning! It gets even more exciting after Christmas, so I'll talk about that in my next post!