Holiday Hooplah

Our holiday season was....tiring?  Here is our travel itinerary in summary:  Salt Lake City to Medford, Medford (through SLC) to Dallas.  Dallas (through SLC) to Medford.  Medford to Brookings.  Brookings to Medford.  And back to Salt Lake!  All within nine days mind you.  Even though our Christmas vacation felt like it was on fast forward, there were some sweet spots worth remembering.

First, Christmas Eve and day in Medford.  This year was my first Christmas "away" from home (I was in Medford, but not with the Thompson fam), and I must admit it was a little harder than I thought it would be!  And the only reason for that is just change.  It was just odd returning to Medford, the night of the 23rd, not participating in the traditions I have been used to for 21 years.  But my in-laws are such wonderful people, so welcoming and warm.  We had fun the moment we arrived.  From good movies to fun family basketball games, it finally felt like Christmas.  And it felt like Christmas.... early Christmas.  We were all woken up by Rob around 5:30, and thats a record for me on Christmas morning!  My parents had a very strict rule...do NOT wake them up before 8!

And then there was Texas....  Not only did we wake up early Christmas morning, but the morning after we were up and leaving for Dallas Texas by 5am!  Luckily we made it safely to Dallas after hours of restless, sleepless, turbulence.  yikes... The hotel, though, was really nice and they accommodated us well.  The hospitality room always had games, food, movies/TV, and most important of all...ICE CREAM!  Graham Canyon, need I say more?  We went to a fun NBA game, a banquet and we even played a game of Tennis on the roof of the hotel!  The best part, though, was the fact that we were there, at the bowl game, together.  What a pleasure it was to finally be on the road together and not apart for 2-3 days with nothing but texts and phone calls to keep us connected.  We also started a fun new friendship with our friends the Yecks.  We played games together, ate together, chilled, chatted - we look forward to more fun in here in Provo.

After watching Ryan play his last game of Football at the Bell Helicopter Armed Fores Bowl, we were anxious to return to Medford.  We spent the evening/morning with the Thompson clan, ate a traditional Saturday breakfast cooked by Dad, and drove to the coast where we would be spending new years with the Folsoms.  This New Years had a special meaning for us, since it was exactly a year ago we had gone on our first date.  But we had a blast playing on the beach, playing golf around the table. eating good food, and welcoming Emily and Nate to the ranks of the "make me laugh" club.  Although our Christmas break was express, to say the least, it felt great to be around family during the holidays.