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…

a blog full of pics.

a lot has happened in the last five months.
lets go on a tour.

in the last five i have:
-gone back to ny to visit a place i had grown to love. it is always hard to adjust there, even if you were once used to the craziness.

-hung out with lyndsi errrr day. and got matching girly tattoos.

-attended my fathers nuptials.
(katie, i have no pictures of all of us.)

-lived with my aunt. gossiped with my aunt. went to sleep at 10 for the first time since jr high.

-respected my pioneer heritage. i have a great great great great grandma who walked 20 miles, then stopped and gave birth to her child. jealous?

-voted.

-hit a man.
he was very upset.
justkiddinghelaughed.
justkiddinghedied.
justkiddingjustkiddingjustkidding.

-had my wisdom teeth extracted. was a hot mess for five days while doped up on loritab, but not staying indoors. became addicted to loritab.

-did a 4 month online class in 4 days. got a C.

-hung out with mike every single day. went to the gym every morning and did a REAL work out. was in the best shape of my life.
stopped going to the gym when he got engaged a week later.

-visited amanda in california. met a man. he forgot about me when i boarded the plane. never got sick of single ladies. four months later.

-flew to las vegas for a friends wedding.

-hung out with my past with my sisters.

-started school.

-moved to sugar house.

-became a home body. do homework days before its due. frequently go to bed at 10. often only hang out on weekends, get good grades for the first time in my life!! and feel GREAT about it.

-did something my dad would never think was possible: took a job that requires me being at work from 8 am to 2pm every day but tuesday, when i have class all day.

-this weekend: hung out with ladies. and jonny's dog. :-/

-came to love him more than i did before.

so my life has changed drastically. my priorities have changed, i've changed. and i love my life so much. five months is such a long time.

this weekend.

going to vanilla ice/mc hammer.

weekend.

dads have motherly instincts too.

i slept at my dads house last night and he woke me up at 730 because i had work at 8. when i got up to get ready, his door was shut and i think he was back asleep. so cute. i didnt even ask him to wake me up.

anyway. the weekend! i'm so excited. my life has been really fun lately, finally.

i'll talk about this week later, i dont have very much time. i got paid today! so happy. then i'm going to do another craft (i should put pictures up of my recent crafts! so fun being domestic), then i have a massage tonight. i can not wait. i love having another womans hands all over my naked bod for an hour straight. then i'm going to dinner with my cousin, i always have so much fun gossiping with her (you'll be missed, jill). after dinner, i'm either going to highland to see my sweety gurl!!!!! or going to my roommates parents house in orem. both sound very fun and very tempting, i'll have to see how it plays out.

after i work half day tomorrow, i'm hanging out with amanda and her gf chelsie, and my old roommate from new york is coming into town. she is the funniest/weirdest/craziest girl, i love her so much. girls night tonight and tomorrow, i can not wait.

hahaha. i miss lyndsi so much.
i hope you all have a fun and safe weekend! can't wait to catch up with you all via google reader at work on monday! (haha)


xoxo