The Holidays and stuff like that

So...the holiday season has come and gone. It was delightful as usual. In fact, in many ways this year was better than last because I now know what to expect when you are married to a college student who spends half the holiday season frantically finishing projects and taking finals. In case you are out of the loop, you put the tree up right after Thanksgiving and expect little else "holiday" until the next part kicks in about mid-December. And that is totally okay!

I did get to visit the Festival of Trees after a long absence from that big ol' holiday shindig.  I journeyed with mi madre and a couple sisters and their kiddos. As you can see below, not all the kids were enamored with the Big Man. So funny... Back to the trees, I am blown away by how involved the displays are AND how much they go for in the auction. I know its all for charity but its still...crazy town.  This year I especially enjoyed the gingerbread houses, too. There were a couple Hobbiton ones I adored!

 

We watched our holiday movies on the weekends--follow this link to a clip of one of our faves that too few people know about!--so we did get through most of the collection. 

Once Mr. C did finish finals (With flair and panache--scoring A's and B's this semester!), I did insist on getting some holiday spirit going around the ol' homestead. We added a few more decorations to our meager offering (I think we have 8 decorations in total?). We have this cute little table top tree and the addition of a Nativity just seemed right. One of the great ladies in our ward gave it to us and I love it!

We attended a few different family holiday gatherings. I love our families. We always have so much fun with the crowd! Crazy to think that next year we'll have a crawler/screamer to add to the cacophony! 

Since we live in the area, we make it a point to visit Temple Square and the surrounding area to see the lights.  Macy's even attempted to re-create the magic of the old ZCMI holiday candy windows (Conclusion: Not as magical, but at least they're trying!) this year and that was fun to see. It was super cold, but we bundled up and had a grand old time.

Christmas morning we slept in (GLORIOUS) and had a leisurely time by the tree opening the various gifts we were spoiled with. Mr. C gave me a food processor (that grates cheese no less!) so I was one happy camper. I gave him some hand weights and a bottle brush (He's wanted one in the house since the day we got married and I just never saw the point...Merry Christmas!). Additionally, we were inundated with Oreos and other goodies from friends and family and we're both feeling very blessed, overall. 

Mr. C declares the time between semesters at December to be the best time of the year and we have been doing our best to fill it up with fun and awesomeness. We took in The Hobbit (2 Enthusiastic Thumbs Up!) and Les Miserables (I bawled through it. Seriously.) at the local cinema, and visited with a good number of friends who are in town for the holidays. We ate Smart Cookies and a whole slew of other holiday treats like red velvet chocolate milk. Mr. C also got a box of Reese's Puffs cereal for Christmas from his bro-in-law and he's been reveling in it ever since. 

The other major task for the holiday break has been organizing the nursery (YAY!) and Mr. C has been doing a fantastic job! He built our little dude a crib and put up a fun valance over the window.

Yesterday we picked up a crib sheet and an adorable outfit I couldn't pass up. And really--we are just getting excited! We're at 33 weeks and counting. Eek! So fun. 

As to New Years Eve, we decided to bite the bullet and go out on the town for possibly our last year in a long time. We attended the New Years Eve show at Hale Center Theater and laughed our heads off at The 39 Steps. The show was great, the spread at intermission was tasty, and it really is always a treat to have someone to kiss when the clock hits midnight, you know? And I may be 33 weeks pregnant but I stayed awake! SUCCESS!! 

Hoping everyone has had a lovely holiday season--and I promise to post our 2012 Top Ten very soon. Maybe later today. Maybe.