Christmas Break

I can't believe it is already the last day of Christmas break but we had a great time spending Christmas with family, enjoying time off of school, and feeling the joy of the season. 

At The Nutcracker

We started break with a date night to The Nutcracker to see one of my students perform.  Cliff had never seen the show and I hadn't seen it since I was a kid.  It was fun to get in the spirit with the Christmas tradition.  Especially since nothing seemed to feel like it was almost Christmas with the weather being so warm and all.

 
Then on Saturday night we went to the Mesa temple to walk around the grounds and see the Christmas lights.  It was shortly after our first date 5 years ago that we first went to see the Salt Lake Temple lights together so it was really fun to do it again here in Arizona.  Walking around the temple grounds is always a great way to get into the real spirit of Christmas and remember what the whole season is really about.

A nice lady asked if we wanted a picture together.  I politely declined but Cliff took her up on it so here I am obviously begrudging. 

On Sunday, we had a little pre-Christmas separation dinner with our friends Sarah and Dustin and then we headed to the airport to fly to Reno.  This was our first time being in Reno for more than 12 hours for two years.  We stayed for a little over a week but it felt so short.  We got to spend Christmas with my parents, Tod, and Janet and the boys.  It was so fun spending Christmas there and watching CJ and Julien in all their innocence enjoying Christmas trees, lights, and presents.

CJ helped Cliff shovel the driveway after a big snow.

Cliff had fun helping the boys make a gingerbread house.

A day at the park. Julien loved spinning Cliff around in there.

We had a great time visiting with my family.  We even got to go eat an awful awful at the Little Nugget.  Last time we ate those was the day before our wedding!  We also did a session at the Reno temple, which is always special, I get to walk past the room we got sealed in on the way to the ladies' dressing room.  

On Wednesday morning, we boarded a New Year's Eve plane back to Phoenix.  We spent New Year's with our friends Erica and Nate from our ward and their new baby.  We didn't plan on staying up till midnight but somehow, we all ending up making it. 

We spent the last couple days of break relaxing and starting a few projects for baby boy.  Today, we went to the Superstitions to get a canyon in before the end of break but when we got there it was all snowy and icy.  So, we opted for a little hike around the snow frosted desert and headed back into town.  

All in all, it was a great break.  We are sad that it is about over and time to get back to jobs and responsibilities.