1. Birthdays! December 1st was my sister in law Cassidy's birthday, and December 7th was my birthday! For Cassie's birthday we ate a delicious meal of her choice: chicken salad sandwiches and Caeser salad! Good choice :) For my birthday, our plan was to go to Salt Lake on the night of my birthday to see the lights at Temple Square and go to the Cheesecake Factory (courtesy of Grandma and Grandpa Cook :) ), but Brandon ended having to take a test until late that night, so since we didn't have time to go all the way to Salt Lake, Brandon took me shopping for clothes and then we went to Smashburger! That would've been perfect right there, but Brandon insisted we move our original plans to the next night- so we did! Brando made me breakfast that morning, and then around 4 we took off for Salt Lake! It was freezing, so our temple square walk was real quick. The best part was, we asked this guy to take a picture for us with our phones, and it turns out he was a professional photographer who takes pictures for random people for free! Score! Of course the Cheesecake factory made the whole trip worth it as well, despite the 2 hour wait! I forgot just how amazing their food is, and it was SO cozy with the city atmosphere and the snow! It was really too good to be true!
2.Bethany's wedding- I love weddings! Especially when it's your sister in law's! It was so nice to see all of our extended family, visit the temple, eat delicious food, and enjoy a night of dancing! We had a whole week of excitement making decorations, meeting Will's family, having Bethany's bridal shower, going to the luncheon at Maceroni Grill! Bethany looked absolutely stunning and everything went great!!
3. San Diego Poinsettia Bowl!! This was by far the best bowl game I've ever been to! We were entertained above and beyond what I ever expected! We got there on Sunday evening, where we had a wonderful dinner at the hotel and then had free time for the rest of the night. Oh but the place ride was an event in itself for me... haha so much food! You got a box lunch from Honeybaked Hame before getting on the plan, and then were greeted at your seat with a whole bag full of treats and drinks! Then every 15 minutes you had the flight attendents bringing around more snacks and drinks! What more could you ask for... anyways, after dinner at the hotel, we took a walk along the pier, to this park, where people were all gathered to watch this parade of Christmas decorated yachts and boats on the bay! It was great!
On Monday, they took us to Sea World, which was a ton of fun with Luke. He couldn't get enough of the Sea lions and dolphins. Fun day! Me and Luke crashed that night after nonstop fun from 12-6! THat night we also went to Joe's Crab shack on the bay to celebrate Kelsey Yeck's birthday.
The next day we went to the San Diego zoo! That place was amazing! We got to take a bus tour around the whole place which was fun and saved us from some of the walking. Brandon got all of the animals to come out by throwing peice of granola bars into their cages
On Wednesday we had a kick off luncheon for the bowl game on board the USS Midway! It was so fun to eat on the ship, and suprisingly Luke was good through all of it (with a lot of help from the Larks and Spencer Hadley) which was a huge relief because children weren't invited to this event and Brandon got to sit at the main table as a team captain (without Luke and I lol) Thank heavens for good friends! Afterwards, they let you tour the ship which was really fun.
Thursday was the game- It was fun to meet up with my inlaws again and to cheer Brandon on for his last BYU game. He played great and the Cougars won, which was the perfect ending for such a great week! I loved all the family time we had and the chance to get away to beautful San Diego! It's been such an amazing experience being a part of the BYU football program through Brandon. I'm really going to miss everything about it- going to practices, wives club activities, supporting Brandon at the games, the coaches and administration, all of the randon events, banquets and yummy food (haha), watching Brandon progress and do great at what he loves, and so much more!!
Right after the game, Brandon signed with an agent, and ever since then, he's started his training for the next level!! I'm excited to see what lies ahead of us, whether it's more football, law school,... who knows!!
4. DISNEYLAND! The day after the game, we drove to Disneyland with Brandon's family. Brandon stayed at the hotel, because he was pretty tired after his big game, but Luke, my inlaws, and I enjoyed an amaxing funfilled day at the happiest place on earth. After already going to the zoo and Sea world that week, I wasn't too hyped up about disneyland, but was quickly reminded as soon as we stepped through the entrance that this place was in a league of it's own. Luke agreed. We had to stop at every little display and attraction so he could watch and admire! I love how every street is like walking through a different dream! They go all out to make every detail look so real and magical!!
5. Bethany's reception in California- the day after Disneyland we drove to Ojai (sp?) for the 2nd wedding reception. Will comes from such a charming little town!! They also had amazing tacos and delicious pies which just completed the package and made the 10 hour drive all worth it :)
6. We got home the Saturday night before Christmas, so with our two days left for seasonal activities, we looked at Christmas lights, went Christmas shopping, had our scone dinner, reenacted the Nativity story, and watched some Chirstmas movies! We spent the night with Brandon's family and had a wonderful Christmas day with them! It was fun to have a child that can get kind of excited about Christmas festivities!! He loved opening his presents- but we just let him open a few gifts and saved the rest for him to open each day after Christmas- smartest thing we've ever done! The best part of the day was probably talking to all of our missionaries. Hunter looked GREAT- just glowing and looking so happy!! It was kind of overwhelming thinking of questions to ask, but it was great to catch up halfway in person! Right after talking with him, we got to talk with Maddie and Kenzie!! we got like 30 minutes with each of them to themselves and then came together for a big family chat!! They were so fun to talk to and they looked amazing as well!! They're all going to come back as total studs!!!
7. Unfortunately I can't really remember what happened between Christmas and New years, but we had a rockin new years party with all the Ogletree clan!! We just ate delicious food and played games and toasted at the New Years!! It was a great time to reflect on all the great events and blessings we've experienced this year!
I think that's it! Hopefully I can get updates for January soon so I don't get too behind and forget everything!!
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