The End and The Beginning

I cannot believe it is already January...or the year 2013.
Seriously, where did the time go?
It feels like Christmas, New Year's, and my winter break from work and school have all came and went quickly.
I guess {time really does fly when you are having fun}!
Here's what's been going on:

December Fun:

We Had a fun Christmas party at church, our house was decked out in Christmas Decor, I did some Christmas baking, and I visited the temple lights MANY MANY times! 

Christmas:

Christmas was pretty chill this year. It was just so fun to spend a few days at my mom's house and be goofy with my brothers. We had our usual Christmas Eve party at my mom's house, except not many people could come, so it was laid back. This year on Christmas Eve we decided to go so Les Miserables as a family! The movie started at 10 pm, so we decided to go in our P-Jams. The movie was incredible, and it was fun to be with the whole family. We didn't get home from the movie until about 1:30 am, so we decided to stay up and open presents, and didn't go to bed til 2:30 am. 

Then on Christmas, my mom woke us all up around 8:30 to Skype with my Brother, Sister-in-law, and niece, while my niece opened her presents. That was the best way to start Christmas day!! I have the most precious niece in the world and she was so excited about all the presents and festivities. The rest of the day was spent was at my aunt's house with the family. We enjoyed a nice Christmas dinner, hung out, and took a nap. It was a very laid back and nice Christmas!!! 

New Year's:

New Year's was spent at Castles N Coasters. There was a HUGE young single adult party, with a ton of people! So I spent the night hanging out with some of my good friends from my ward. Despite the amount of people, I had a blast! We rode on some rides, had random dance parties, and rang in the New Year on a very crowded dance floor. One of my favorite things was running into people we knew basically everywhere we went. We were consistently stopping to talk to people that we knew. So it was fun to have a good amount of my friends all in the same place!! 

New Year's day was spent sleeping in way late since I didn't get to bed til after 3 am. Then I headed to my Aunt's house for our New Year's family party. We kept the Doverspike tradition of eating sauerkraut and kielbasa, which according to our German heritage it is supposed to bring good luck for the New Year. So the day was spent with good food, family, and playing games. It was a really good start to the New Year. 

I am REALLY  excited for {2013}!!!!! Although I haven't quite formulated my goals for the year, I have been pondering some good changes that will be happening in my life, and I am quite excited!! It is going to be a GREAT year! 

The Rest of the Break: 

Since I work at an elementary school, my break from work doesn't just include the holidays. I was blessed with a two week break from work and school! When my break first started, I thought it was going to be a pretty laid back break with not much going on, but I was so wrong!! My two weeks have been so filled with fun that they have just flown by. Here's what's been going on:

-Christmas

-Snowflake Trip: Two of my neighbors from my ward and I did a weekend trip to Snowflake for a friend's wedding reception. Since we had some extra time, we went shooting, played in a snowy canyon, and went to the temple to do baptisms. It was FREEZING, but I loved the beauty of the snow and ice. 

-Shopping 

-New Year's 

-Lunch Dates: Just about every day of break has been spent with friends that I don't get to see too often 

-Hair: 

With the new year, I decided it was time for a new look!
-Family Time
-Craft Days

Needless to say, my "stay at home, laid back" Christmas break has basically been a two week party!
It really has been one of the best breaks I have had in a while and some of the most fun in my life!!!
It's been fun to wake up every morning with the knowledge that something fun would be happening that day!!
That's exactly how time off work and school should be spent!!
However, in 3 short days, the reality of school, work, and life is going to hit! Until then, I'll just keep on having fun!! :)