Traditions

Christmas is always a wonderful time of year!

The holidays are full of family and traditions. 

My family has lots of wonderful traditions that make Christmas extra special!

Every year right before Christmas my family heads to see A Christmas Carol at Hale Center Theater.

For Christmas Eve my family heads to Temple Square to stuff our faces with yummy food from The Roof Restaurant. This is followed by walking around and seeing the lights on Temple Square.

Every Christmas morning we all have to sit on the steps and take a picture before we can head to open presents. The little ones were a little anxious and not too patient with having to take pictures.

Christmas breakfast is always breakfast pizza. We have this every Christmas and ONLY on Christmas!

This year was full of fun surprises and awesome presents. 

My sister Raye Ann and I both got a hand painted Santa from our trip to Russia. We both also got a pearl ring to go with the pearl set we got a few years ago.

I also got a very special present that is dear to my heart. My parents turned my London blog into a book, so now I have a book with all my posts and pictures from London!!

My dad is now the proud owners of the Green Bay Packers..... okay, he is one of the owners. 

Every year since I can remember my dad has worn a red bow tie on Christmas morning. 

Last year my dad bought all his sons and grandsons red bow ties. 

Look how handsome they are.

I love all of our family traditions! It just wouldn't be Christmas without them!

I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas!!!

Christmas Break Adventures

The past week has been quite the continuous flow of adventure. 

There has been a trip to Rexburg for my sister Raye Ann's graduation, 

Three weddings:  

Morgan 

(my sister's freshman roommate and she lived at our house this past semester)

My cousin Diana

Welcome to the crazy Blauer family Cary Shane!

And my friend from high school, Marie!

Congratulations to you all!

For 5 days my cousins from Texas partied at our house. 

One of the days we took them sledding so they could play in the snow.

To bad the snow was all man made and the only snow to be found was on the sledding runs!

However Long and Hard the Road

Just a little something to help you get through finals week. 

(and all the other hard things we face in life)

"If your eyes are always on your shoelaces, if all you can see is this class or that test, this date or that roommate, this disappointment or that dilemma, then it really is quite easy to throw in the towel and stop the fight. But what if it is the fight of your life? Or more precisely what if it is the fight FOR your life, you ETERNAL life at that? What if beyond this class or that test, ... you really can see and can hope for all the best and right things that God has to offer? Oh, it may be blurred a bit by the perspiration running into your yes, and in a really difficult fight one of the eyes might even be closing a bit-, but faintly, dimly, and ever so far away you can see the object of it all. And you say it is worth it, you do want it, you will fight on." 

"But how, you ask, do you get this glimpse of the future that helps you to hang on? Well, for me that is one of the great gifts of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ... through the blood and the toil and tears and the sweat...it is out there. "

-Elder Jeffrey Holland, Devotional address 18 January 1983

Thanksgiving in Atlanta

For Thanksgiving break my parents, Raye Ann and I all headed to my Grandma's house in Atlanta, Georgia. 

Since we moved to Utah a few years back, we don't get to visit my Grandma as often as we used to.

It had been a few years since I'd seen my Grandma and my mom's side of the family so I was really excited to see everyone.

Thanksgiving Day was spent at my aunt and uncle's house where I ate far too much yummy food!

My niece Jenna and I

Somehow I ended up at the kids table?

My Grandma with all her great-grandkids.

My grandma with her grandkids that were there

Everybody

Isn't she just the cutest?

 Black Friday was obviously spent shopping for hours...and hours!

Sadly there were no pictures taken of our goodies but there's pictures of lunch at Zaxby's.

Friday night we left the kids with the men and us girls headed to see Breaking Dawn. 

The theater was interesting. It was called Movie Tavern. 

There was a full menu to order from and they deliver the food to your theater.

In front of you is a table...strange....

Just Peeta in the background. Probably the best part of the movie.

On Saturday, my dad took us all to the Fernbank Natural History Museum. It may sound lame to go to some museum, but this place is awesome. 

I remember when I went there as a little kid.

 It was a lot of fun to take me nieces and nephews there. 

We ran around looking at all the stuff and playing with everything. 

I was exhausted by the time we left that place. 

Of course we had to stop by Folks Southern Kitchen Restaurant while in Atlanta. 

Gotta love some southern cooking, including fried pickles and hush puppies.

Thanksgiving break was a wonderful few days filled with family, shopping and lots of yummy food.

IMDB

I have recently become obsessed with imdb. 

I can't watch a movie without looking up one of the actors to see what other movies they have been in.

I am absolutely horrible at remembering what movies an actor has been in 

but I always recognize them and know they are in a movie I've seen. 

imdb has become a handy little tool for me. 

While spending a bit of time on imdb I came across this little beauty..... :) 

For those who have seen North & South will recognize him as Mr. Thornton. 

Turns out he is also in Captain America,

which is now at the top of my list of movies to see!

Late night adventures

Midnight premieres are the best! 

The people that attend midnight premieres are awesome and I love seeing all the people that dress up.

Everyone is pumped up on caffeine the whole night which makes the evening all the more hilarious. 

The excitement in the air when the movie begins makes the late night worth it as well. 

I love the yells and cheers when the Summit logo appears on screen and I love screaming right along with all the other girls in the theater. (and the few boyfriends that got dragged along)

I had very low expectations for this movie but was pleasantly surprised,

granted there were some bizarre scenes I wasn't a fan of. 

The acting was still slightly horrible but I enjoyed the movie nonetheless. 

I will no doubt be going again.

I think my favorite part of the evening was hearing a middle aged women in the bathroom after the movie saying

"Edward can ruin my pillows and bruise my body anyday."

At Jordan Commons they have the costumes that Emmett, Rosalie, Alice and Jasper wore to the wedding!

Yes, I own a Twilight shirt! I can sense you all judging me.

Patience is a virtue

Tonight I was getting ready to write yet another post about Christmas. Mainly because my roommates and I pulled out the decorations and watched The Holiday tonight. (absolutely adore that movie...and Jude Law)

Though I am extremely excited for this Christmas season, I would hate to over look Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a wonderful time of year and a season for gratitude. I think the thing I might be most thankful for this year is that I don't have to spend it in a hospital hooked up to monitors like last year.
I will be spending this Thanksgiving surrounded by family at my Grandma's house in Atlanta. This is something to be truly grateful for.

I would also be most grateful if all these projects, papers and exams I have that are all due before Thanksgiving Break would just write themselves though.

Wishing Thanksgiving was here already because I'm just too impatient for all the holidays this year!!!



 

Christmas Music

Now that Halloween is out of the way

I feel that it is socially acceptable to listen to Christmas music 24/7

This week I purchased two incredible CDs and have listened to them non stop

The only problem is 

I can't decide which is better

I just love them both

Where my witches at?

This past weekend I attended Witches Night Out at Gardner Village with my sisters and friends. It was a hilarious evening filled with witches and shopping!

 Check out the lady in the middle.... it's Winnie from Hocus Pocus.

"student driver"

 Of course my sister stole my camera a took model shots of herself.

This was by far my favorite witch costume! 

Galinda the good witch :)