Christmas Festivities!

Grant and I had a wonderful Christmas this year! We were down in St. George with his family for about a week and it was a lot of fun! We went to the temple together, we played walleyball, lots of settlers, rummikub, and back-alley bridge. It was fun to be with all the Vanderhorst kiddos! It was also a great time for us to remember the Savior and remember that no matter what gifts we received, the best gift we could receive is the gift of the atonement and the opportunity we now have to return to our Father in Heaven because of the Savior. I love this time of year and how much closer I feel to my family and to the Savior.
Now, what I am about to say may shock some of you, but we ACTUALLY BROUGHT OUR CAMERA THIS TIME! Not only that, BUT WE ACTUALLY TOOK PICTURES! Unbelievable, right?! So, enjoy the pictures!

We went to temple square with Stephen and Emily before we left for St. George. Such pretty lights!

We were helping the kids make their own gingerbread Santa sleighs. Costco=genius!

The kiddos were really excited to open the gifts from grammy and gramps!

Carly's new scriptures for her mission to Cape Verde

Paula wanted to make sure Carly didn't have an excuse to not write home ;)

My new boots that I picked out and bought on Black Friday. I was excited to finally get to wear them!

Grant got a new shirt, tie, and dress pants

We didn't realize how much Mom and Dad love Tetris! So we got it for them :)

 Cartigan=DownEast Basics. And yes, I picked this out as well :)

 Grant was super excited about the tools he got for our grill!

 This boy knows me WAY too well! I love this movie!

 A WhirleyPop popper from Stephen and Emily! Thank you both so much! We've already used it a ton.

 Grant was sick of me always borrowing his IPOD to workout, so he bought me my own little IPOD shuffle! Very nice to not have to lug around a huge ipod. Sucker holds 500 songs! Perfect for working out.

Overall, it was a great Christmas. I will say, it was very hard to be away from my own family. I did shed a few tears on Christmas--I didn't realize how much I would miss my family. But, I was happy to spend time with Grant's family and get to know them even better. I have such great in-laws and really feel like I'm a part of their family now. 

Happy New Year! May 2012 bring lots of joy and happiness!