Thanksgiving in San Simeon was amazing!! My family started going to the beach for Thanksgiving while we lived in California. We would get together with some of our neighbors and go camping on the beach. It was always a highlight of the year and we looked forward to it for months. Since we moved to Utah 7 years ago, we haven't really been able to make it out again to renew our tradition until this year. My parents, Thomas, Chris and I went with the Gehmliches this year and it was sooo much fun!! My parents drove down on Monday, but due to school and work, Thomas, Chris and I couldn't come down until Wednesday night/Thursday morning. After getting to San Simeon at 2:30 am California time (3:30 Utah time) we crashed for a couple of hours and than as soon as Thomas woke up, he went to the beach. It was a little cold for my tast
to be on the beach, so, I spent the day playing card games with the Gehmliches and my family. At 3:00 we ate our turkey and Thankgiving goodness which was amazing! When we were done, we played around on the beach and just goofed off. At night, we all huddled around the fire and talked for hours! On Friday, my parents, Chris and I went for a drive up to a nearby bay where we walked around, got some ice cream, and watched some sea lions. When we got back, we went to the beach and watched Thomas, Nicole Gehmlich and Aubrey Gehmlich dig their fort named "Phil." Later that day, Chris' sister Lorie and her husband Adam who live in LA, drove up to spend the evening with us. They brought their surfboards and Adam took Thomas out and tried to teach him how to surf. Thomas was so
excited! They tried to surf for a while, but the waves were a little rough, so, they decided to bring it in. While Thomas and Adam were surfing, Chris and Lorie were catching up on old times as well as talking about the new times. Chris was really excited to talk to Lorie and I think that they had a good time. When we got back to their car to put the surfing aquiptment away, we discovered that the keys were locked in their car!! We called their car insurance who sent out someone to unlock the car. So, we got to talk alot more together which was nice. After the car situation was taken care of, Adam and Lorie stayed around for dinner and to talk around the fire. It was really nice to see them again (the last time I saw Lorie was at our wedding and I had never met Adam before) and to have a chance to talk with them. I'm really glad that they came so that I could get to know them both better! On Saturday, Chris and I decided to take a road trip to Monterey Bay which was about 2 hours from where we already were. So, we
drove up and went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium (which is SOOO cool) which was crowded but lot's of fun! We got to see a Sun fish (which is really ugly), sea otters, river otters, Asian otters (can you tell that I like otters?), sea dragons, sharks, and tons of fish! When we were done at the aquarium we ate lunner (lunch and dinner) at a really nice sea food restaurant right off the ocean where the waves would come up and crash on the window. The food was amazing and it was nice to spend some quality time with Chris! We then went to Fisherman's Wharf and than we began the long drive. We drove about 5 hours to catch up with the family as they were camping for the night on the boarder of California and Nevada. We got there about 12:00am and crashed for a couple of hours in the back of the Jeep (which is not the most comfortable place to sleep). Sunday we all just drove home which was an adventure in itself. Chris, Thomas, and I arrived home at about 6:00 and my parents got in about midnight! Well, we had a blast and many adventures. It will definitely be a Thanksgiving to remember!!
This year for Christmas, Chris and I drove down to Arizona to spend the holiday with his family in Apache Junction, AZ. It was so nice to drive down south and enjoy a warm(ish) Christmas. We drove down on Tuesday December 23rd and spent the 24th and 25th with the family before driving back home on the 26th. On Christmas Eve we took a scenic drive up the mountains to a cool restaurant in a place called Tortilla Flats. The cool thing about the restaurant was that their walls were decorated with dollar bills! They even had European money hanging on the wall! The food was also excellent and we had a blast! We then drove back to Grandma and Grandpa Miller's house where we talked and played the Wii for the rest of the afternoon. After dinner, we acted out the Nativity which was a first time for me and it was so much fun!!
Chris and I were Mary and Joseph (with a cute teddy bear as Jesus) and Lisa and Cindy played everyone else. Christmas morning dawned and I called my family and wished them a Merry Christmas before we all headed to Grandma and Grandpa's house to open our presents. While on the way, Chris and I ambushed Lisa and Cindy and sprayed them with silly string!! When we got to Grandma and Grandpa's, the present opening commenced! When we were finished opening gifts, we talked while Grandma made dinner and we ate around 1:30. After we were finished, we went and saw Bedtime Stories as our Christmas movie. It was so good! I really enjoyed it!! When we came home, Chris and I talked and played the Wii for the rest of the night while the family watched Ice Age 2 and went swimming. All around, it was an awesome Christmas and we enjoyed it immensely. On Friday, we quickly went to a flea market before our long 12 1/2 hour long drive home!
