I just love this map! The day before was way better, we were still in the high 70's. The entire country is blue and we are orange and yellow. How great is that?!
For Christmas, we flew into LAX, an hour later Jason flew in and we all welcomed him home from his mission. We spent a little time in Hanford with Mike's parents then headed back down to Rancho Cucamonga to Jen's house. Christmas Eve we spent the day in Laguna Beach took family pictures and enjoyed watching the kids play in the tide pool. I lost my phone at the beach but didn't realize until later that night. As Christmas day came to a close everyone had all but given up hope that it was gone, i was still hopeful. Sunday morning the nicest man ever called Jen's phone, didn't speak a lick of English but we worked it all out. He returned my phone & sweater! It reminded us all that there are still honest people in the world. Christmas was a crazy fun time, so many of us all in the same place, laughing, playing games and eating tons. Jason gave his second homecoming talk Sunday in Newbury Park and we left Monday morning for the cabin. Our week at the cabin was relaxing and it gave us a chance to slow down a bit. Mike did a little ice fishing, we all played in the snow, snowmobiling and sledding. I actually loved that I was playing and enjoying all the snow but still could go home at the end of the week and wear my shorts. I don't think I've ever had those thoughts before but I'm telling you this whole Florida thing is starting to get to me (: After the week we headed for Vegas, spent New Year's Eve partying (not really) after going to dinner at a casino and coming home smelling like a cigarette I was feeling gross. Me, Mike and his parents all sat down to watch the ball drop, within about 10 minutes Kes & Ruth were asleep and 5 minutes after that Mike was out. I only had about 45 minutes so I finished laundry and packing. I got up to change clothes from the washer and dryer and sure enough, I had no idea what time it was and missed the ball drop. Seriously, what a waste. I thought the entertainment leading up to the ball drop was a waste, all I stayed up for was the ball and then wow, how cool am I? We took Mike to the Airport the next morning then three days later I flew out of Ontario. We did tons of traveling, we always do. The break went by way to fast, it always does. We loved being with family and are sad that they live on the other side of the country. They must have missed the memo about Florida being the best place to live!
I'm having such a hard time getting back into the swing of things. It doesn't help that I've been sick for months, (I know what you're thinking and no, I'm not pregnant) never slept well or ate well (the food was delicious, just not that healthy) while on vacation. We've pretty much had everything that was going around and every strain from the east coast and the west. I hope this means we're good for the rest of the year. Oh well, slowly but surely I'm getting there. I did pack my first box, that's a good start.

