Merry Christmas from Ojai, CA!

We are definetly not having a white Christmas, but are enjoying the beautiful 70 degree weather in Ojai as we visit the Strongs! Merry Christmas to all!

Blast from the Past

Us at Temple Square in 2003



Do we look any different?

Whitney in the House

On Saturday we pulled Whitney away from her beloved freezing Rexburg home and brought her to our house. SInce her semester ends a week before BYU Provo and Pony Express Elementary, she's hanging at our house, waiting for the big ride down to Ojai. She's been living an exciting life at our house, catching up on her TV and Internet surfing. And we are growing accustomed to the "beep, beep" of her text messages. I've never met a girl who texts so much!

Temple Square Lights

Friday night we braved the below freezing weather to see the beautiful lights at Temple Square. We made a double date of it, going with Andrew and Charlotte. After a tasty dinner at Chili's, we headed up to SLC. It was quite busy as many people had the same idea as we did. But we were able to keep each other warm and have a wonderful evening. You've got to love the temple with gorgeous lights surrounding it!

Busy, Busy, Busy

It seems like the holidays bring such busy times along with them. For one thing, Dallin has had more Christmas parties than we know what to do with. First there was the Morris Center Christmas party. Then Monday night was the cemetery Christmas party. Tomorrow night is the Facilities Management Christmas party. I guess when you work two jobs and go to school, you deserve lots of parties!
Also last night was the big Pony Express Second Grade Christmas Program. The kids performed holiday songs from around the world, including Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Christmas songs from Hawaii, Germany, Mexico, and the US. It was so much work to get ready for it. We spent so many hours practicing with the kids and I spent a ton of time practicing the piano. Dallin is really tired of hearing me play Feliz Navidad and Mele Kalikimaka. But it came off as a smashing success. The kids were happy, the parents were happy, and the teachers were just happy to have it over with.
This weekend we are getting a house guest for the next week. We'll be driving up to Idaho on Saturday to pick up Whitney from school, and she'll stay with us until we head to Ojai for Christmas. It'll be like we have a kid!

Our First Christmas Tree

Before...


This is my first year ever having a fake tree, so it's a little different for me. I do miss the wonderful pine scent. But I do have a spruce scented candle, so maybe that will make up for it.

After...


Plus we got our stockings up. I hope Santa brings us something nice!

Winter Wonderland

This weekend we got about 4 inches of snow! It was the first big snow of the season and really put me in the Christmas mood. While poor Dallin had to go plow snow and dig graves while it was snowing, I got to stay inside and listen to Christmas music and put up Christmas decorations. Oh the injustice!




Also, Saturday night we were able to go out caroling for part of Dallin's work party. It just seemed like caroling weather with all the snow in the ground. We were walking in a winter wonderland...