Home For The Holidays

Bryce and I spent 2 weeks in California with family this Christmas! We left Saturday afternoon after getting the house all cleaned and packing our bags. Our plane was delayed so we got dinner at the airport along with Mexican hot chocolate - my favorite flying treat! Then Bryce's sister picked us up. The next day we went to the singles ward where Bryce's dad is the counselor in the bishopric. It was good, but at 9AM. I forgot how quiet church is without kids and in Sunday school there was a comment about the "bondage of marriage" that made me laugh. He meant to say bonds of marriage. Ha!

This is one of my church Christmas oufits. Also, you can't see my earrings, but they are darling little trees Bryce's mom got me and went perfectly with my outfit.

Monday we celebrated Bryce's dad's birthday by going to San Francisco. I was very excited to go on the new Bay Bridge. We went and saw Beauty and the Beast, which was very entertaining and fun! 

Bryce was there too, but he was getting the car so I got a picture of just me.

Then we went out to eat at a fun Italian restaurant called Michelangelo's. I got the seafood pasta and it was fantastic. After dinner, we stopped at Pier 1 to get a great view of the Bay Bridge lights and the city!

We also saw the BYU football buses twice in the city. Once when we were walking to the theater and while we were at dinner. I used twitter and instagram to figure out where they were going/coming...haha!

Christmas eve, Bryce and I had a few more presents to get so we went out shopping. For lunch, we stopped at La Plaza for some of the best Mexican food ever. There are so few places that do Mexican right, so this was fulfilling my carving for Mexican for the last year!

Then that evening was pretty chill - we read the Christmas story and sang Christmas songs around the piano. In the morning, we got up late and opened presents! I was so glad that Bryce liked his present I got him because I had the hardest time thinking of something perfect so when I happened upon soccer jerseys at a Nike sale I went crazy and got him 4 - two US and two Arsenal. Bryce got me an awesome watch with rose gold and brown leather band. He has great taste! And speaking of taste, we had a delicious blueberry french toast casserole for breakfast.

We then played with our presents and relaxed for much of the day. I eventually got ready and wore my new Christmas outfit - a bird shirt and jeans! And Bryce had another occasion for his penguin sweater!

For dinner, we had the missionaries over and ate a yummy ham dinner. It was a merry day.

We kept things pretty chill Thursday with a shopping trip in the afternoon. I finished read my book, Michael Vey, which was good because it was my mom's and she left it at our place at Thanksgiving. Since it was such a nice day, we went to the high school football field and kicked field goals. We made little slo-mo videos of it. That evening we went and saw the Secret Life of Walter Mitty movie, which I really enjoyed. Iceland anyone?

Friday was an exciting day! We had a slow morning and then met up with Bryce's friends for lunch at Kinder's BBQ. Bryce introduced me to Kinder's amazing barbecue sauce awhile back, but this was my first time eating at their restaurant, which was very good. We then all chatted for awhile about life and good ol' college days before heading to the game. Bryce and I got to the stadium early and saw my parents and Hyrum for little bit before the game! They were right behind BYU's end zone so that was fun. Then we saw my friends, Aaron and Elisa!

Our seats were higher up with a great view of the field. I loved how I could see the plays unfold, but unfortunately, BYU couldn't get the momentum and execute to make points the second half. It was still fun and love my Cougars!

Saturday was another beautiful, quite warm winter day. We went to the high school and kicked field goals - Later  in the afternoon, Bryce and I took a drive to the top of Mt Diablo. It was a very clear day and the drive was pretty, but so windy at the top. 

I definitely need to work on my windy smile look because I really am not in pain.

Later that night, we went hung with Bryce's friends who were still in town from the football game. We got Mexican food and played games. It was fun and reminded me of BYU, but we stayed out way too late for 9AM church. So Sunday we slept in after our late night and went to Bryce's home ward. When we got home everyone was getting things ready for dinner. We headed to Fremont to have dinner with his cousins. It was fun to see everyone. Afterwards we stopped by the temple to see the lights!

Monday was our last day in Concord and we made it count. We got up and got ready then went on the hunt for crab. After buying the crab, we got La Plaza for lunch since it would be our last chance! It was so amazing. We went back to the high school to kick field goals -  I didn't actually because I was scared I would break my toe and I just wanted to sit in the sun so I did! That evening we ate crab with lots of butter and lemon juice. It was delicious and everything I hoped it would be! Then finished the night off watching Pacific Rim.

On New Year's Eve day, we met my family at the halfway point between Concord and Santa Rosa. We got home and I met the new kitties and dog. We also saw the new formal living room arrangement - a pool table! Then we planned the next few days so we could squeeze in all the food and fun. That evening we went to dinner at Union Hotel Pizza and then saw Saving Mr. Banks, which was actually a lot more sad than I was expecting. By the time we got home, we were only a few hours away from midnight so we played pool and a game. Then it was midnight and we took a quick break to break open the bubbly and do cheers!

New Year's Day started out right with waffles and buttermilk syrup. Mom and I did some cleaning and then we all got ready and went to Sebastopol. My dad had done the engineering for The Barlow and my grandma had found these cute umbrellas at a store. So being New Year's day not too much was open, but my dad really wanted to try this one market and there were the umbrellas! So we looked around and finally decided on some fruit drinks and a beach umbrella.

Then we got home and started cooking a feast! While I was making the sauce for the chicken there was a loud exploding noise. I thought it was the stove, but it was actually the pot. Apparently, it is a known defect. Anyways, it didn't ruin dinner; we had sweet'n'sour chicken, 7-layer jello, twice-baked potatoes, pineapple, broccoli, and sweet potatoes. So much good eating.

We then played more games and I went through some of my old school stuff. So many memories, but I also keep a lot of junk!

Thursday started with a run to get donuts. Tans have the best French and maple bar donuts! Then we got ready and met up with Aunt Melanie for lunch since she was going to be able to come to the party Friday. We decided on Ike's based on Hyrum's high recommendation. And it didn't disappoint.

Mom, Dad, and Hyrum shared the Kryptonite - that's right a sandwich that can feed three people! I got The 49er and Bryce got Matt Cain - they were all so excellent. Hyrum's impressions were spot on as well. Melanie also gave me a cute apron!

Friday was our last party day so we got up and enjoyed the sunshine. We played outside and took the dogs for a walk. For the party, Mom was awesome and made Cafe Rio style dinner. So much good food. It was so fun to see all the family. And Heather and I made sure to keep things exciting and loud!

And then two weeks were up and Saturday morning we headed home! It was so fun to be with family and California had pretty amazing weather (sorry that there is a drought, but I loved the sunny weather!), but I guess it is time to get back to the routine of life.