A Very Merry Christmas

Christmas was awesome this year!  We started the festivities on December 23 by seeing the Christmas Carol.  This is something we've done for 3 years now - it's a great way to bring in the Christmas Spirit.  We went with my parents and my grandparents and then went to dinner at Cafe Silvestre by the Hale Center Theater - it was fantastic Mexican! 

“And it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God bless Us, Everyone!” 

― Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

Christmas Eve this year was a little bit different. We actually had a hard time figuring out what we wanted to do. Usually, we bake sugar cookies and go to Ephraim to deliver them to family. This year it just didn't work out. We all agreed that we need to go next year. It is too hard to figure out what we want to do if we don't go to Ephraim. This Christmas eve we slept in, wrapped a few last-minute presents, and then packed our stuff and headed to my parents.  They had to run to Best Buy so Eric and I got some lunch at Habit Burger and then we headed downtown to go ice-skating at Gallivan Plaza.  We had trouble finding a good parking spot and we were trying to park at the Marriott. Unfortunately, that parking lot is somewhat difficult to get into so we ended up driving in circles for a while.  Finally, my Dad got frustrated and drove over the median.  Bret, Eric, and I laughed our heads off.  My mom freaked out.  It was hilarious. We met up with Jake & Meg and skated around for a while.  It was pretty crowded, but we still had a lot of fun.  The last time we ice skated together we were in Central Park last Thanksgiving.  It was fun to relive those memories. We stepped off the rink and Jake noticed a shirtless guy looking out his window of the hotel.  We were kind of laughing at him and comparing him to an "ugly, naked guy" from Friends.  Jake waved at him and he very quickly disappeared from the window.  I guess he thought the windows were tinted? 



Jazz hands! fail...

After ice skating, we headed to City Creek.  We walked through a few stores and then headed to the Food Court to hang out. It was freezing outside.  We had reservations for Benihana for dinner so we didn't want to come back home.  Eric and my Mom wanted to go to Temple Square when the lights came on, but the rest of us were cold and didn't want to leave the shelter.  Once the reservations were close we got pictures at the Christmas Tree and then headed to dinner.  

My Dad recently hired a new developer from Nepal named Hemma.  She went to school in Houston and has been in the United States for 8 years but was new to Utah.  In fact, a week before Christmas was the first time she had seen snow.  Since she was worried about driving in the snow she used uber to get to work that day - so clever.  She didn't have any plans for Christmas so my Dad invited her to come to dinner with us.  She came just after we got seated - it was fun to have her around.  

Dinner at Benihana was fantastic as usual!  I ate shrimp, grilled calamari, and scallops.  Eric had chicken, steak, and shrimp.  We both had fried rice of course.  Our chef was great - he did all the classic tricks and threw in a few new ones for good measure.  The fiery volcano made of onions was the best.  This is a fun Christmas Eve tradition. 

After dinner, Jake & Meg went home and Bret, Eric & I went back to my parents.  Eric and I opened our matching Christmas pajamas and we watched our Year in Review.  We also started Four Christmases but we all fell asleep, so we just went to bed. 

Christmas Morning we woke up to a Winter Wonderland!  Jake & Meg arrived and we all read the Christmas Story together.  Jake & Meg then went and picked up my grandparents and my Dad and Bret shoveled the driveway.  Eric, me, and my Mom prepped for breakfast.  

We all finished about the same time and started opening presents.  I got Eric a new lens and a Joe Torre signed baseball.  He got me a new coat and some Oakley sunglasses.  Kristin, Dan, and Skylee then arrived.  Skylee was so funny with the presents.  She was somewhat overwhelmed but definitely caught up in the magic of Christmas.  She loved opening presents and got so excited about everything!  We got her an Olaf Pillow Pet and she loved it!  Bret got her a doll that was as big as she is and she thought it was hilarious.  She wanted to give her hugs and put her on her shoulders.  It was adorable.  



Look at all that paper 

After opening presents, we made a giant breakfast of aebleskivers (with butter and cinnamon), bacon, eggs, breakfast casserole, orange juice, and egg nog.  It was delicious!  We've done aebleskivers every Christmas morning for my entire life - they are awesome.  We then visited and relaxed and got cleaned up for the day.  

Eric and I headed to the Troff family party to see Eric's family.  We had fun eating delicious food and visiting with relatives!  

Bret hadn't seen the new Star Wars yet so we decided to go that evening.  It was even better the second time around - such a great movie.  After Star Wars we went back to my parents, made Macaroni & Cheese, and then called it a night.  It was a Christmas for the books.  This is our favorite time of the year!