The Christmas Season

I had a super fun Christmas season this year.  Here is a random assortment of photos from just a few of the fun things I did during the holiday season.

I was lucky enough to be offered some last minute tickets to go to the MoTab Christmas concert with the Sesame Street muppets and the adorable and extremely talented Santino Fontana.  It was a super fun concert and it was fun to be able to sit next to my two nieces and watch their reactions to the magic.

My grandmother's birthday is in December and she turned 95 this year!  So the family got together and threw here a little party to celebrate her and her big day.  Granna is such a sweet person who is so full of love for her family and her faith.

I tried to teach Sammy the slapping game.  He was making me giggle so hard, he is a fun little dude.  After Granna's party, some of us went to see the lights on the temple square.  It was so warm! I barely needed a coat, that certainly has never happened before.

This is the exact spot where my dad proposed to my mom.  The got engaged around Easter. so it would have looked a little different, but they are such a cute couple, I love them.

The December book club meeting is always one of my favorites.  The dinner is always superb, we discussed Shadow on the Crown with the author this year for our discussion and that was fascinating.  Then of course we have the gift exchange which is always a good time.  I walked away with a box full of lip glosses from Victoria's Secret and I was not disappointed.  The Shadow on the Crown is about Medieval

 Royalty, so I tried to add royal accents to my attire for the evening.

Kellie Hall had made these cute little gifts for everyone who had moderated throughout this year.  I moderated the discussion for Carter Beats the Devil, my new favorite book!

I got super excited about giving gift this year.  I made these finals care packages for Bethy and Bree to help them get through the stressful last few weeks of their semester.

I made chocolate peppermint cupcakes for neighbors and home teachers and just to have on hand for when visitors dropped by.  I always love making a batch of cupcakes and look for pretty much any excuse to make some.

Then I had a fun time putting these cute little give aways together for members of my book club and some of the wonderful ladies I get to serve with in the RS.  I didn't realize I had a fluffy photo bomber until just now...

Bethy and I got together after she was done with finals to have a christmas craft day.  We wore our pajamas, baked a batch of gingerbread and crafted while watching Christmas movies.  We taught ourselves how to fold these paper stars.  We have hung stars like that on our Christmas tree at our parents house for as long as I can remember, they are like a family heirloom, so it was super fun to learn how to make them.  It was also a tricky process that resulted in lots of giggles.

Our delicious dish of gingerbread.

This is totally random, but I want to remember these little cakes for the future.  Angie and I went to Lifetime Fitness to have a nice work out.  Afterwards, we decided to get lunch at Tsunami which is right next door.  We then had the best sushi meal I have ever had, then couldn't resist getting flavored cheesecakes for dessert.  I got gingerbread cheese cake and Ang got chocolate buttercream.  They were the best tasting cheesecakes I have ever had, and I have sampled quite a few cheesecakes in my time.  And the best part... they are all gluten free! They had different flavors every week, so it looks like we might have to stop by after another one of our work outs.  If you work out before then the calories don't count, right?  Isn't that how it works...?

Happy Belated Holiday Season