Christmas Bells Are Ringing...!

Here's how Christmas break has been for me so far this year. I flew from the Honolulu airport in Hawaii to the Portland airport in Oregon. As soon as I got off the plane, I ran outside to bask in the FREEZING cold air - and boy, was it freezing! I then went inside to get some hot chocolate... My two friends from high school, Keara Moyle and Tracey Steinmetz, picked me up from the airport, and I stayed a couple nights with them. We had a blast! We went to the Beaver Creek Ward Christmas party, Payton Ottom's reunion party dealie, we all slept in one bed... Tehehe... It was a good time. And I got to see my other best friend, JEWELL MAGALLANES, whom I love and miss too too much! I also got to visit the other ward I grew up in (when I was born, we were in Beaver Creek, then the ward split when I was 8 and we were in the new ward, Quatama, until we moved when I was 16). It was so nice to see everyone! Gabrielle Loftus is freaking MARRIED now, so I got to meet Isaac, her man. And Gabrielle's sister Danielle now has the most adorable baby! The ward choir performed in church, and I got to sit with the lovely Carroll children (only Zach and Hailey because Shaylin stayed home to babysit a sick little Ethan). I was shocked and excited to see Rob Robertson conducting! He has been a faithful member of the Quatama Ward Choir for as long as there has BEEN a Quatama Ward Choir. :) On Monday morning, Evelyn Robertson was so kind as to take me to meet my uncle Lester, who took me to Grandma Tovey's in Hermiston, which was covered in snow. Mom and Mar came to pick me up from there, and it was so nice to finally see them! We stayed and chatted with family for a while, then Fester and fam went to visit Moses Lake because "Big Jordan" was coming home from his mission! We headed off to Walmart, then we FINALLY went home. I was pooped and relieved, and I was so excited to sleep in MY BED. There were about 5 inches of snow on the ground in Lexington, something I did not enjoy as I now ONLY own slippers (flip flops). Kaylee and Samm came to see me almost immediately, and we ended up Skyping my dear friend Marcus Christensen, who gets to spend this lovely holiday season on the beautiful island of O'ahu (though he'd rather be with his family on the mainland). All of my Heppner friends were having all sorts of festivities and fun in town, but the roads sucked, it was my sister's birthday, I had JUST gotten home, blah blah, so I missed all that fun (but I had plenty of fun at home). My dear friend Ashley, however, didn't want me to miss out on all the fun, so she brought the fun to me! She came by as I was dying my hair (it doesn't look that different, there's just a wee bit of red in it). We had a good time catching up! I always love to see Ashley. :) The next day, Kaylee, Samm and I headed to Tricities, WA to do some last-minute shopping. Kaylee's car overheated, and we stayed in a hotel room that night! We met up with my friends Carter and Spencer (Carter goes to BYUH and is on the Spirit Team; I met Spencer when he came to visit Carter) and their friend McKay, and we all saw Tron. They are a lively bunch, and I really enjoyed spending some time with them, though it was very limited because my lovely cousins felt awkward and wanted to go back to the hotel room to watch TV and do nothing. LAME!

The next day, we took Kaylee's psycho car home, though it was so foggy we barely made it. Once again, I was happy to be home, and I never wanted to leave again! Brian and Avery had arrived while I was gone, so I was very excited to see them; however, upon arrival, Avery was so excited, she went running down our slippery stairs in her slick socks (bad combination!), and she fell and REALLY hurt her tail bone. She has been sitting on a butt donut ever since (or just not sitting at all). She's also prego, so any serious pain-killer was pretty much off-limits. Mom went to the Shell station down the street and got some Tylenol, which I don't think is very affective, but it is baby-friendly.

On Christmas Eve, Will's family came over and we all had a big dinner! It was a good time; gotta love extended family! After we said goodbye to

them, we watched some TV, sat around, talked, whatever, then we decided to open presents... On Christmas Eve... Instead of Christmas... We were breaking tradition... I was distraught (see picture). In all reality, all our Christmas traditions were ruined when we moved (another reason I was very angry at that time in life).

On Christmas morning, I went to the Smith home to hear from a certain Elder who is currently serving a mission in Sao Paulo, Brazil (Sao Paulo Interlagos Mission). Grant is doing very well, and it was very exciting to hear from him! He is focusing very intensely on his mission, and we're all very proud.

As always, Christmas is a great time of year. I have been so blessed throughout my life, and one of the best blessings I've been given is my wonderful family. We're all sarcastic and often rude, but I wouldn't change a thing! We had a whole conversation at our fancy Christmas dinner, which was on the good china, about poop and puke. My brothers are disgusting, and they're big bullies - but for some reason, I love them. Jared and I have become closer since I left for college, and I just wish I could be around to see him in high school, especially in all of his VARSITY high school sports - as a freshman! But Sandy Matthews always get amazing pictures for me, so I don't miss too much!

Marlaina is one of my best friends in the world, and I wish we could live closer now (and forever!). I tell her everything. Alyssa is everybody's favorite; she's always been the cutest (although she's on new medication that makes her gain wait, plus birth control, so she is a FAT little kid!). She's also a bit more irritable now than she used to be, but hopefully these new drugs will help her out. Avery is my favorite sister-in-law! Haha. She really is a ton of fun, and she's going to be a great mom. I also wish I could see her more often, but we have facebook and texting, so all is well.

Welp, this was only my first week of Christmas break! I guess I'll have to post something else about next week... I'm very excited to go back to paradise, where I can bask in the sun and enjoy Hawaii, but it will be VERY sad to say goodbye to my family again! I don't get homesick when I'm in Hawaii, but saying goodbye is like the worst thing in the world.

I LOVE CHRISTMAS! I love my family and friends so much, and I have been incredibly blessed. Mele Kalikimaka (Hawaiian)! Feliz Navidad (Spanish)! God Jul (Swedish, Danish, Norwegian)! Frohe Weihnachten (German)! Joyeux Noel (French)! Feliz Natal (Portuguese)! Happy Christmas (English)! Merry Christmas (American)! WOO!