California and Such

Nicole and I were able to fly out to California for a week to see my brother Johnathon get home from serving a 2 year mission for the LDS church! I've never waited in an airport lobby for someone to get off an airplane before, and it was fun to see him come striding down the hall in his suit with his hands in his pockets while my mommy cried (and, let's face it, she definitely wasn't the only one).

^^^First time meeting Uncle Johnathon

Reunions are so sweet. It was great to spend so much time with my family. There were lots of family dinners and Me'n'Eds pizza and All-American Chocolate Cake from Costco and Nicole demanded to keep me in her sights at (almost) all times. Someone's developed some stranger/separation anxiety! Sweet baby.

Speaking of Nicole, she was much more receptive to going swimming this time around. We were also able to put her in this super handy baby tube, so she spent half the time chilling in that... but we all love holding her, so she didn't stay in there for long.

Aaaaaand now you get to see my beautiful farmers tan. Whoot.

 ^^^The only downside to splashing... sometimes, you get water in your face :P

Nicole's hands and feet got so wrinkly in the pool! I just about died. Cute, wrinkly baby feet and fingers. GAH!

We went to Morro Bay the very next day after Johnathon got home. It was Nicole's second time going to the beach, actually. I never mentioned on this blog that we joined Doug at the end of his latest business trip a couple weeks ago and stayed in a beachfront hotel in Pacifica for a day. It was rather chilly there, but it was very hot and sunny at Morro Bay.

And I neglected to put on sunscreen.

The backs of my legs were on fire for several days. You'd think that after living in California for 18+ years of my life, I would know to never skimp on sunscreen.

Oops.

On the plus side, we found lots of sand dollars and sand crabs, and I got clam chowder for dinner! Nom.

 ^^^HUGE sand crab!

The trip was worth every minute, even with the pain from the sunburn. Ha. Those ultra white legs of mine needed some sun anyways.

It was Ryan's (most likely) last time seeing Nicole and me in person before leaving for his mission in October to North Dakota. We all keep telling him that he's going to be freezing! He doesn't even know. I mean, it never snows during the winter in Fresno! He doesn't even know.

I went home for Christmas

So I'm finally back in Provo after spending nearly 2 weeks in Fresno, CA. And my blog was neglected in the process. But I have NO regrets about that because it was nice to not have to worry about posting this or that.

Going back home reminds me of how much I love my family. This was my first time seeing them since I got married. A new record. So... it was nice to catch up on things and relax. Poke fun at siblings and not worry about housework. The Christmas season is all about family, and I'm so glad I got to spend the holidays back home.

From depleting my grandpa's supply of Starbucks Hot Cocoa, to attending my little sister's baptism, to Christmas festivities, the whole vacation was wonderful. I am so glad I have a loving family and that they all get along with my husband so well! It was our first Christmas together as husband and wife, and his first Christmas with my family. I'd say that it all went very smoothly.

Plus... we got to go spend a day on the coast.
The beach? At Christmastime? Heck. Yes.

A little bit of salty sea air never hurts. Especially when you get to eat at Jockos Steakhouse at the end of the day. I'm not much of a steak person. Unless the steak is cooked by someone who knows what they are doing. And at Jockos, they know. I wouldn't mind having steak from that place all the time.

I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas and that you're just as excited for a new year as I am!