Christmas Break and First Week of Winter Semester!

I have successfully finished my second first week of classes (in other words, my first week of my second semester of college). However, before that, I finished finals and then got to spend two weeks with my wonderful family for Christmas break! My finals went well and I was really happy with how my grades ended up. It was a great semester, but I was so happy to be home with my family again. It was a relaxing break and we did lots of fun things, like play Just Dance, have reading parties, play games, and just enjoy each other's company. Josh, Bob, and I also had many dance parties to "Popular Song" by Mika and Ariana Grande.

Christmas was very fun. We did our usual Christmas Eve traditions: looking at lights around town, acting out the story of Jesus' birth, playing Oink Oink and Truth or Dare, and sleeping in sleeping bags downstairs. On Christmas day, a small group of us watched the One Direction movie together after unwrapping presents. :)

Maria, Clark, Will, Rosie, and Addy came to visit us for a few days over the break and while they were visiting, we drove to Denver to see an Avalanche hockey game. It was very fun!

We also played games with them, like matching:

Here we are after breakfast on Maria's family's last day in Laramie. We made delicious crepes!

It was great to spend time with them, and we were sad to see them leave! For the rest of break, we did random things. For example, Josh, Bob, and I watched all three of the Lord of the Rings movies! They are so amazing. After the last one ended, Bob and I were emotionally overwhelmed and had to sit there for a while and process those beautifully done movies. :) Josh also went to his first dance on New Year's Eve! He danced with 22 girls and had a great time. I was also able to spend some time with friends over the break, as well as go on a date with a nice boy in Ridge View, my home ward. However, being with family was by far the highlight, as much as I love my friends. 

I came back to Provo on Sunday, January 5, after some flight delays because of crazy storms everywhere. On Monday, I went to my new classes, picked up textbooks, unpacked, did laundry, and re-settled in. The first week of classes went really well, and I think I will enjoy all of them! I've met a lot of nice people already and I'm excited for this new semester. 

On Thursday, January 9, Meredith, Amelia, and I went to the basketball game (we accidentally all wore stripes, and we thought we looked so cute!):

On Friday night, Lauren, Camille, Amelia and I went to the men's volleyball game, and on Saturday, Lauren, Camille, and I went to another basketball game! We had a great time being with friends and enjoying the athletics....ahem....not the attractive boys that play them ;) Also on Saturday, Amelia and I went to the temple to do baptisms. It was a nice way to start off the semester. Unfortunately, later that day, Amelia found out that her grandfather died, which is why she didn't come to the game with us. It's been hard for her to lose him, but she was grateful that we had gone to the temple earlier that day, as it reminded her that families are eternal and she will see him again. 

Today, I taught the Relief Society lesson with Camille (a different one than the one I went to basketball with) and it went well. We were both nervous and are relieved to be done. :) I also played the piano in sacrament meeting! There are a few new people in my ward, but it's mostly the same (except for the fact that it is missing guys who left on missions). 

I miss my family so much, but I'm excited to be back at BYU for another semester! :)