white christmas.

it is so sad. i wrote a big long post about our christmas in utah and it didn't save. 

our streak from June to December is the longest i've ever gone without going home. needless to say, i was very ready to be surrounded by family in a winter wonderland. 

it was funny when my FIL pulled the car up, saw our bags, put the car away and got the truck instead. also, these may not look that stuffed but you should have SEEN them on the way back to texas!

and salt lake definitely delivered. the sight we arrived to was white, white, white snow! the temperatures were very cold, which meant the snow stayed for quite a few days. we loved it!

my granny was the queen at making candy. its been our family tradition to take it and cookies out on plates to all of our neighbors. this year, lizzie and i put in joint effort and made fudge, caramel and divinity. the fudge and caramel took a couple tries but were da bombbb. the divinity could have used a little work, but that's what next year is for!

another fun and stressful christmas tradition of ours is getting a live tree on christmas eve and decorating it that night. it is my assumption that the tradition started on accident when my parents forgot to get a real tree until the night before christmas. the tradition stuck and although it is stressful every year, we hate change enough to keep it around!!!

christmas at the robinson's was so fun. our family is getting bigger which means christmas morning is lasting longer. we all take turns opening presents while everyone watches, it's the only way. casper's reactions won because every gift he opened he hugged to his chest. 

(even the sensible gifts of clothing jon and i gave him)

we spent the afternoon at jon's moms with her and alex. we opened gifts, had a delicious christmas lunch and watched the grinch. it was much more mellow than it was at my dads house, it was a nice change of pace. 

(i don't know if i meant to do this, but here i am awkwardly showing off my new watch with my spirit friend in the lower right corner)

christmas was so fun! i love being surrounded by family, especially since they all love christmas as much as i do! lizzie was born on the 25th, so we all have a special place in our hearts for christmas for that reason as well. 

speaking of the birthday girl, she worked on Elf while she was in utah and got jon and i tickets! it was sooo cute and funny and better than i expected! we were so proud of lizzie and i told her that i didn't even notice the spotlight which meant she did an awesome job not wiggling it around!!

jon, alex and i took the babies up to listen to the message at the Christus.
afterwards, i asked audrey (4.5 y/o) if she understood. she said "i want to hug him."

every year, my dad and i work on a christmas puzzle. the last couple years he has used his own photographs to make a puzzle. they have been very challenging which is fun for me but not for him! we completed this one successfully, much to his surprise!

on NYE, we got dolled up and went out for a nice dinner at Trio. it was fun to be there with both sides of our family. that's where we had our wedding dinner!

after dinner we went to camille's and played games! our family is made up of gamers, so it was fun as per usual. also, jon won. we went back to my dads to ring in the new year over some doctor mario. it ended badly and my dad took the game away from us. i hope new years eve wasn't a premonition to 2014, haha. 

a couple days before we left we got to see this cutie!!!!!!!! we have missed her so much since leaving california and i'm so grateful we're both from utah so we can have run-ins like this! she didn't make much of an effort to get a seat on the plane (stand-by) so that she could meet us for breakfast. she is the sweetest, most encouraging and genuine human being i know (not to mention fashionable). we are both so grateful for her friendship. 

our last night there was filled with KARAOKE! everyone sang, laughed and cheered! it was the best night filled with good music and fun people. i won't ever forget alex singing (and dancing) to Wicked's "Popular". you guys, it was the best. the man (16) has no shame.

our week and a half there went by way too quickly, as it usually does. again, we were not able to spend enough time with our families or see all the friends that we wanted to. it is difficult to live far away but  holidays and visits so much fun!!!!
not pictured: girls night with jessie and lyndsi, with baby bentley. breakfast at blue plate diner with amanda, isaac, and emma (along with baby boy). a museum trip to the BYU museum of art with Kim and Alex to see the Karl Bloch exhibit (amazing). snow man making (rebuilding) with my dad and lizzie. spending time with mike and kim and learning that they are EXPECTING!!! going to the gym together almost every morning for free.99 at 24, but don't tell them we said that. catching up with addie, travis, aftynn and baby girl! and did i mention girls night with my bff's who i miss everyday? the trip was much needed, it really boosted my spirits to see my sisters and friends. i feel like i can handle (and enjoy, duh) the next six months in texas before i see them again…