Christmas & New Years

 I'm going to warn you now, this will probably be a long post.  I've been putting it off for that very reason.  I actually wanted to break it up into different posts but, I've been really enjoying my vacation.  But now, it is January 4, and it is time to get busy!

Here it is... my LAST Pumpkin Roll I will ever make for Great Harvest.  I saved it... thinking I might actually have a piece (I haven't eaten a single piece this year).  I gave a couple slices to my Home Teachers, and totally meant to bring it with us for Christmas, but alas it sat in our fridge.  I think I will take it out and smash it.....

We left for our Christmas break on Christmas Eve, so we opened a few gifts before we left.  Briant and I both got a nice warm comfy blanket that my mom made us.  My parents also gave us a patio cover for our camp stove :)Thanks!!  We bought ourselves a griddle for the camp stove (so we could grill steaks).  Thank you to Devin and Julie for the development book (Birth-5 years), totally perfect for us right now!!!  Oh and I got lots of fun stuff plus sweets from the girls at work.... THANK YOU!!!  I especially love the T-Shirt they made me that says... "I'm a sweet baker" on the back... even though I won't be baking anymore.

We flew down to Las Vegas to be with Briant's family (his parents flew in too).  Christmas was pretty chill.  We watched the kiddos, adults, and each other open presents.  Briant got some shirts, a ornament with a picture of the fetus for our tree, a book from me, golf balls, a vile for oil, a new pair of tennis shoes, a New York Calendar and lots of candy.  Melissa got a new 8 GB Memory Card (for her 20D), a movie, gift card, some fun scrap booking stuff, and lots of candy.  WHAT FUN!!  But guess what... we didn't get any pictures, just videos.  My bad.  We are very spoiled and had a great Christmas.  Here is a picture of us and our cute niece...

We stayed in Vegas for Sunday, but on Monday we all hopped in the car and drove to San Diego!  Despite all the rain they've had, it was very nice there, 60 degrees.  That night we all went down to Seaport Village.  Briant and I went here on our honeymoon, and loved it.  We walked around for a bit then had some dinner.  I found a really cute fleece jacket while we were there, I'm glad I got it because it was a little chilly.  Then on our way home we drove through the city and found the building that Briant's dad used to work at.  That night B & I went swimming.  It was chilly out but was really fun.

On Tuesday, Briant's parents went to Sea World with Tiffany (Briant's sister) and her family while Briant and I went to the San Diego Zoo.  We went to Sea World on our Honeymoon (good thing too because now they won't let the killer whale trainers in the pools with them anymore), but we never had enough time to go to the Zoo.  All I got to say is WOW!!!  There were a lot of animals.  We spent the whole day there, and that is where the majority of our pictures were taken.

 Koalas... their name means "without water" because they don't drink water.

Also another fun fact is they sleep 22 hours a day.  Some think this is because they are 'drunk' on eucalyptus leaves, but actually it's because it takes so long to digest the leaves. 

Briant having a great time at the Elephants...

Asian Elephant... he has smaller ears than the African Elephants.

Mister Lion... this is what he was doing both times we saw him.  Lazy beast.

Loved the Polar Bears... they look like gentle giants, so cute and cuddly.

Baby Panda Bear.  He is 16 months... or was it 19 months.  So cute!!

We saw Daddy and Mommy Panda too, but they weren't nearly as entertaining as this little fella.

We walked by just in time to see Giraffe feeding.  SO COOL!!!

Those tongues are 18-20 inches long.  They really were gentle little guys.... I want one!!!

Rhinos... they were awake the second time we saw them.

Gorillas... the king of the hill right here.  He doesn't look like someone you would want to mess with.

Crocodile.  He was being so sneaky, we couldn't even see him for the longest time.

Hippo yawning... these guys were seriously in my top five.

And here is why...


Orangutans were very entertaining!  At least this little guy was...



Tiger... he wasn't around when we made our first walk through.  But when we took the tour bus ride around (after we walked the whole thing) he was eating dinner.  A lot of animals started coming out when we were on the bus, because it was getting later and they are nocturnal.  This also meant my camera didn't take very good pictures (because of low light).


We also saw (after the sun went down), cougars, leopards, and hyenas.  The Zoo was awesome!!!  Totally worth it if you are ever in San Diego.  Oh but if you go, pack your own lunch.  Their food was expensive, and our Pizza really wasn't that good.

That night we went to Old Town, San Diego, for some food.  We went to Casa De Reyes, and it was delicious!!!   They even had some sort of show going on that we got to watch.  I was in the mood for Fajitas, and let me tell you, they were so good!!!  Again, no pictures... my bad.

Wednesday was RAINY!!!  But no worries, we found things to do.  First we went to Briant's house he lived in when he was 0-8years old.  We also saw the school he went to and the neighborhood.  Then, we went to La Jolla and saw the temple (Briant's parents have never seen it).  We also went over to the ocean there and explored some tide pools, saw some sea lions, and pelicans.

Some sea life

After that, we headed over to Point Loma.  This is where explorers first landed in San Diego.  It's up on a peninsula, so you can see quite a bit of the city.  Really neat!  After we hit the Visitor Center (during the downpour), we went to see the Tide Pools.  We saw a few crabs, but the tide had come in over most of them.  But the ocean was beautiful.  This rock fell in the ocean a few seconds after this picture was taken... guess I don't know my own strength... :-)

After Point Loma, and some lunch at Subway (one of my favorites right now), we made the long journey back to Vegas.  During the drive Briant and I watch this funny movie.

Thursday was pretty low key.  We did do some shopping at the mall... Briant got his shoes and I got maternity stuff :)  Then, later that day we went to the Bellagio on the strip to see their winter garden.  SO BEAUTIFUL!!!

Friday, we flew home.  The temp in Las Vegas when we left was 36 degrees vs. Idaho Falls temp when we flew in.... 1 degree.  Uncomfortable temperature to be in either way in my opinion.  After Briant got home from work, a bunch of laundry and some grocery shopping we sat down to enjoy the evening and to ring in the new year.  After about 10:00 I could barely keep my eyes open, so like always I feel asleep and Briant had to wake me up for the countdown and a smootch.  I promptly went to bed after that.  I've never been good at partying on New Years Eve.... unless we are at a LOUD dance party!

Along with the New Year comes Resolutions to be a better person.  I had an genius idea last year that I decided was very appropriate for me.  I always write down 5-6 things I want to work on.  I spend lots of time really pondering who I want to be, but I usually forget about them after March.  So this year, I am going to make 3 weekly goals each Sunday that can change depending on what is going on.  My life is going to change dramatically this year, and I really won't know what to fully expect until then.  So, I really feel this is going to work better for me.

Thanks Mom & Dad, for a great time hanging at your house New Year's Day!!!  We both had a blast!  Love you!!