Went Home For Christmas

So I know that this is kinda late, but I needed to blog this. This is from 12/18/08-1/2/09, that was when I was in Texas.

So I went home for Christmas, and home for me is now in Texas. It is weird thinking of that as home since I never lived there, but that is where my family is and family is what makes a house, or place, home. I was so excited to go home too. In the weeks leading up to it, I just got so excited. I mean, I hadn't seen my family since July so I had good reason to be excited. When I got to Texas, my mom picked me up from the airport. It was so great seeing her! I absolutely love my mom, she is my best friend!!! By the time I got to the house, none of the kids were home yet from school, but my dad was there and so I got to talk with him before the chaos of the kids flying at me.

As soon as Karissa saw me, she ran and almost tackled me into the couch. Connor was a little more subdued and just gave me a big hug. Karissa made me a little booklet that was absolutely adoreable. I'll have to put up a couple of the pictures on here, just to show how cute they were.

So as soon as I got home and put my stuff in Karissa's room, we went out and took family pictures for the Christmas newsletter. I thought that they were cute pictures. You can look at my mom's blog for pictures of those. It was a little chilly, but not as cold as it was here in Logan before I left. The very first picture we took involved us kids climbing a tree. I am not exactly scared of heights, I'm just leery of them. Especially climbing up and down a narrow branch. Plus I was in jogging pants and I didn't want those ruined. My parents should have told me what we were doing so I could change into jeans.

I think one of the first things I did when I got home was play Guitar Hero with Brittney. She wanted to battle me and when we battle, I'm playing medium and she is playing hard. This is the only way that we are actually competition for each other. The funny part is that everytime it gets to sudden death, I always win. I don't know how I do it, but I always do.

So on Christmas Eve, we went to the Gaylord Texas Ice Show. We got to see a bunch of ice sculptors. They were really cool. I was wearing two pairs of pants, a long sleeve shirt, my nice jacket, and the parka that they gave us. I was also wearing a pair of gloves. I was still a little bit cold. They have to keep the rooms like 9 degrees so the sculptors don't melt. You can see more pictures here on my mom's blog.

For Christmas, I got quite a bit of stuff. I got money to get 2 pair of pants and 2 shirts. I got The Summoning by: Kelley Armstrong, cute dishes, silverware, airbake cookie sheet, cookie rack, and an eagle calendar from Mom and Dad. From Brittney, I got a really cute necklace that had three hearts on it. From Grandma Schmelter, I got a pair of fuzzy socks and a $15 iTunes gift card. From Mother Liz, I got a $20 Barnes and Noble gift card. And then, of course, I got myself a bunch of books for Christmas. Mom took me to a bargain bookstore and I felt like a kid in a candy shop. I was almost lost as I tried to find out which books to get and to not spend too much money.

On my flight back to Utah, everyone except Brittney went to the airport with me. Brittney had to work. Mom and Karissa went into the airport with me. Karissa did not want to let me go when it came time for me to go through security. It was so cute and so sad. I definitely miss them a whole bunch! I can't wait to see them again!

Rhapsody: Child of Blood by: Elizabeth Haydon (1st in series)

OMG this is a good book!!! It just grabs you from the beginning and won't let go even at the very end. You think the book will end all nice and be good but no! It brings a huge shock all the way from the beginning of the book that you don't think anything about and just shocks the heck out of you. I definitely recommend this to everybody!

The Brilliant New Saga Is Born...

Rhapsody is a woman, a Singer of some talent, who is swept up into events of world-shattering import. On the run from an old romantic interest who won't take no for an answer, Rhapsody literally bumps into a couple of shady characters: half-breeds who come to her rescue in the nick of time. Only the rescue turns into an abduction, and Rhapsody soon finds herself dragged along on an epic voyage, one that spans centuries and ranges across a wonder-filled fantasy world--a world so real you can hear the sweet music of Rhapsody's aubade and smell the smoldering forges deep with the Cauldron.

Knife of Dreams by: Robert Jordan (11th in series)

This was definitely a good book! I cannot wait for the next book to come out. That is this fall, if I remember correctly.

This volume of The Wheel of Time ties up a number of loose ends exposed during the course of the series. Elayne gains the throne of Andor and also manages to root out the Black Ajah sisters in Caemlyn. Egwene, captured by the Tower Aes Sedai and reduced to novice white, begins undermining Elaida's control of the White Tower from within. Rand escapes a trap by the Forsaken Semirhage while at the same time capturing her and losing his left hand. Mat and Tuon get married after their party reaches the edge of Seanchan controlled territory. Tuon then returns to Ebou Dar where she learns about a civil war in the Seanchan empire and the deaths of all of the Imperial family except her, which will make her the new Empress of Seanchan. Perrin defeats the Shaido in Malden with the help of the Seanchan and rescues his wife Faile. Unusual Trolloc attacks, the dead walking, ripples in the fabric of the world and other events seem to indicate that the last battle is drawing near; several characters using different "evidence" confidently state that Tarmon Gai'don is close at hand.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!

I love my mom so much! I am so grateful to have her as my mother and not some other woman. I don't think I would be the woman that I am today if it wasn't for her. Mom, you are my absolute best friend in the whole world and I don't know what I'm going to do without you once you are gone. Who am I going to talk books and tv with? Not Spencer, he doesn't see eye-to-eye with me on books or tv shows. I miss just being able to talk to you about anything and everything. It was so great being home with you and being able to do that. I definitely wish we lived closer so I could come over and just hang out with you. I Love You Mom!!!