Man has this break been wonderful! I feel like I have been home FOREVER (because I have) which will make going back to Provo pretty interesting, almost like I'm starting all over again. I feel like the months from August to December went by so ridiculously fast, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Another blessing is that the winter in Utah has been very mild, which means it's not so much of a change for me.
So I came home on December 13th, and that weekend consisted of wedding receptions and the GHS choir concert. I always love the Christmas concert because all of the alumni go up on stage and sing "Still, Still, Still" with the choir, its always iffy if I'll remember the words or not. Haha!
That weekend I just hung out with friends, nothing too big planned. Oh wait, just kidding! My best friend Hannah had her missionary farewell on the 18th! Sweet mercy! She did an amazing job and totally sounded like a sister missionary already. She is the best ever, and she will totally rock Boston, Mass.!
My birthday was on the 21st, I am now the ripe old age of 23. Must not freak out. Oh, too late. Actual day was fun, went around to get free food with Hannah and then went shopping and dinner with my mom. Got some great presents, including my new curling rod which I absolutely love!! Perfect curls every time! Then that night we decided to have a birthday pie night at Village Inn (free pie on wednesdays!) and it was super fun, I love all my friends!
The next week consisted of working a little bit here and there at Rehab AZ, I worked there for a year and a half and I could tell they totally missed me! It was so fun to be back there, it was like I never left :) They even paid me, it was legit. Haha. And it also helped me not to be totally bored during break, so that was a blessing.
Christmas came up fast, and of course we had family Christmas parties on both sides. At the Wilkins party we ate yummy mexican food and had a program with kiddos as they acted out the Nativity scene. I played my violin as background music :) It made Grandma Dorothy pretty happy!
At the Clouse party we did the traditional singing of the "12 Days of Christmas", except this rendition involves acting out the scenes and outrageous props. Definitely my favorite tradition ever. Enjoy a little taste! (the one doing the amazing dance moves is my talented cousin Kalvin)
I couldn't stop laughing the entire time. This is so typical of our family.
Christmas Eve we sold pork roasts to raise money for Weston's mission. It was a great turn out! Then that night we decorated gingerbread houses, opened the traditional pajamas, and watched The Grinch; perfect night.
Next morning we got up bright and early at 5:30, but not to open presents. For the 4th year in a row, we all headed out to Phoenix, under the 7th Avenue bridge, to feed the homeless a Christmas breakfast! We had a huge turnout of volunteers, so much so that there wasn't enough work for everybody. But that's okay! The one's who weren't cooking or serving spent the morning talking and listening to the people that we were serving. I absolutely LOVE this tradition, and I hope we never stop doing it. It makes Christmas SO much more meaningful and I wouldn't want to spend Christmas morning any other way. It is so great to see how thankful the homeless people are as we give them a delicious hot breakfast, and I love to see how selfless our friends and families are as we all work together to serve. There are no words to describe how great it is!
After the breakfast was all cleaned up and everyone headed home, we rushed home to get ready in time for church. Since it was Christmas Sunday, there was just a Christmas program during sacrament meeting and that was it. By this time I was exhausted but we only had an hour or so until ELDER CLOUSE could skype with us!!!! Oh my gosh, can I just say skype is the greatest thing ever invented?? Two and a half hours of laughter, tears, stories, and memories. It was honestly the perfect way to spend a Christmas afternoon. We took lots of screenshots and had SUCH a fun time talking to him. Can't wait to do it again on Mother's Day! Although I might not be home for it, we'll see.
Anyway, since this post is becoming much too long, I'll leave it at that (for this post, anyway).
