It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

 

The past few weeks have felt like a whirlwind. Lets start with the week before Thanksgiving . . .

Let me start off by saying that this little 4 day trip I took was actually the longest time I've spent away from Matt since we got married. It was way harder than I thought! I never thought I'd be "that girl," but there you go. Loved the trip, but missed my husband every second of it.

On November 15th, Rachel Fay Woodbury got MARRIED! We were roommates our freshman year at BYU and we've been best friends ever since. I'm so grateful that I was able to get a couple of days off work to fly out to Mesa for her wedding. She was such a beautiful bride. It was also the first temple sealing that I've been to, other than my own. It was an incredible experience.

Congratulations Rachel and Dave!

 

 

I also got to hang out with this girl! It had been too long.

 

 

Since I had the next week off, I decided to extend my trip and drive back to California with Em. We took a side trip to see my friend Elliot, who was supposed to have a baby that day. Luckily Camden waited to make his appearance so that I could have a quick visit with his mama. He's here now though and I'll probably have to make another trip out to Tucson asap...

 

And then we drove to Glendora! I hadn't made any concrete plans, but everything worked out perfectly. I got to see all of my people--grandparents, aunt, as well as my "second families." Most of my friends have moved away now, but we spent so much time at each other's houses growing up, that seeing the Spencers, Jacobsons, and Hartwigs was truly like visiting with family. It was very strange to be back there now that my parents and siblings have moved away. It was the first time I had been back since my wedding 2 years ago. Nothing has changed though, and Glendora will always feel like home. I also got my Sergios and El Merendero, so I'm calling it a success.

 

A couple of days after I got home, the Scotts flew out from Utah to spend Thanksgiving with us. We had such a great time! We threw together a fabulous dinner, despite my teeny tiny kitchen, and enjoyed the time we were able to spend together. We saw a couple of movies, drove out to Galveston, went to a Renaissance Festival (quite an interesting experience), ate lots of delicious food, went to the Arboretum, saw Matt's school, went to the Museum of Art, and saw lots of Christmas lights.

 

Thanksgiving morning at the arboretum. It's really hard to be so far away from my own family right now. That will never change. But it would be so much harder without the love and support that I feel from the Scotts! I'm grateful to be a part of this family too.

 

 

And now the Christmas season is finally here. Here are a few pictures of our little Christmas-fied apartment!

 

 

Wouldn't be Christmas without the Simpsons Village, right?

 

 

 

 

We obviously downsized this year when it came to the tree. But I'll be darned if we didn't cram in as many ornaments and lights as it could hold! I think it's beautiful.

 

 

Despite the 80 degree weather, it's beginning to feel like Christmas. Hallelujah. And Houston doesn't skimp on their lights and decorations either. It's going to be a good one!