Christmas Vacation

    We were so excited to be able to spend our Christmas vacation with our Deuel side of the family for Christmas. We got to stay with my in laws, as well as enjoy time with Grandma Deuel, and a few visits with uncles Bob & Tom (yes, those are their real names. Awesome huh?) We ate TONS of delicious food, enjoyed the BEAUTIFUL weather, and just overall enjoyed getting away from life for 11 days.

Are these temps even allowed in December? I sure wish they were in Utah!!

On Sunday after church, Ry and I decided to take a walk on the beach & the pier. Although everyone else on the beach was wearing a jacket, I was basking in the 60 degree day and enjoying the sunshine! 

The family took me to my first professional hockey game. They are all big fans of the LA Kings and it was fun to have the experience. It was SO loud though, and baby was probably wondering what the heck was happening! The team lost in the last half, but they still played well (I think, but what do I know!)

 After the game ended they had a pyrotechnics & laser light show to celebrate the holidays. It was pretty fun to watch too. A fun way to end the night!

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love animals. Like, borderline obsession. Especially small animals, cause I'm totally obsessed with tiny things. So Ryan made sure to take me to the tidepools so I could go "be one with nature" and frolic among all the fun critters. The sun was really bright, so I couldn't take many pictures because the sun kept reflecting on the water's surface. It was still fun though and again, it was a beautiful day!!

    On Christmas, baby woke me up by moving around a lot. And I felt him having hiccups for the first time. That was his gift to me I guess. It was fun! I caught some of his movements on video, but he always did the bigger movements when I would turn the camera off on my phone. Of course. I tried to load a tiny clip on here, but it won't work. Fail! Oh well. Life goes on. 

    Ry and I made a big Christmas breakfast for everyone, carrying on my family's tradition. My mom's parents started in, and my parents continued it, and now we are hoping to continue it in our family too. We do orange julius, scrambled eggs, orange or cinnamon rolls, and tator tots wrapped in bacon. SOOO YUMMY!! Not to mention it has always been my Christmas breakfast, so it's a comfort thing too. After breakfast, we opened presents which of course is always fun! Everyone received amazing things, and it was so much fun to watch everyone get so excited for their presents. Later we had a delicious feast made by Grandma Deuel of ham, potatoes, rolls, veggies, and homemade cheesecake. It was divine! A magical Christmas. 

    One of the other highlights of the trip was doing a session with Ryan at the LA Temple. I had walked the grounds years before with some friends, but hadn't ever been inside. It's fun to experience the different temples and enjoy their beauty. 

    We loved our vacation, most especially spending time with family. We are SO grateful to have them in our lives. We know that we are truly blessed to call them family. Especially me, since I know that not everyone is able to say that about their in laws. We may not be related through blood, but I sure love them as much as my own family!!