More Holiday Fun

My life has been extremely busy the last couple weeks, but mostly with fun activities. Last week a group of us went ice skating at The National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden ice-skating rink! I haven't been ice ice skating in years, but was determined to brush up my skills! I maybe busted out a few triple axles, but nothing more. It was a beautiful evening. Afterwards the group headed over to the White House to look look at the tree and lights. Excellent evening with fabulous friends!


Sunday night we had a Christmas party at our place! We were pretty excited for this event. The highlight of the evening was the mistletoe of course :) I realized how many wonderful friends I've met since I moved to DC. I am sick of eating holiday treats. We had a ton of leftover desserts, which I am not too happy about. Basically I am one huge sugar cookie right now. Thank goodness New Year's Resolutions are coming right up. Here are photos of some of my favorite people!

Boo I get to see you FRIDAY!

Isn't she the cutest thing you've ever seen?!

There's NO place like HOME for the Holidays!

I leave for home one week from today. I am only home for 9 days, which means I need to make the most of my time there. Family traditions have always been very important to me. Some things I look forward to when I go home....

1. TALKING TO STEPHEN, ELDER MICKELSEN (who is in Taiwan), ON THE PHONE!!!

2. All the siblings sleep in one large bedroom on Christmas Eve. When we were younger, my brother referred to the room as, "The Holiday Inn Express". This year there will be 5 original siblings, 1 brother-in-law, and my niece. We usually stay up late playing super Nintendo.

2. Christmas Eve at Grandma's house. Growing up my mom's two brothers and their families, and our family, would all meet at grandma's house for a nice Christmas dinner and program. The grandchildren would be assigned parts to participate in acting out the manger scene. Someone would read from Luke 2 as the children came out when their part was read. Afterwards is the dreaded talent show. My cousins are all very musically talented, and then there is our family. Don't get me wrong, we have some pianists, guitarists, and vocalists in the group, but as a whole...we just don't compare. My favorite family talent was when the Mickelsen children sang goodnight to the group. For those of you Sound of Music fans, we actually sang (with motions and all) "So Long, Farewell". The best part was when Brian sang Louisa's part, "I flit, I float, I fleetly flee, I fly." It was pretty comical, at least to us.

3. Delivering baskets and goodie plates to neighbors, friends and ward members. I remember when I was younger, we would leave the goodies on the doorstep and run. My dad would get on his cell phone and call, and tell the recipient to look on their porch. Ahhh the excitement!

4. Reading Christmas cards/letters. I love going home and reading friends and family Christmas letters. However, I get frustrated when there is no picture!

5. Baking holiday treats. Some of our family favorites include: BYU mint brownies, Peanut butter Hershey kiss cookies, Sugar cookies, almond rocca, cinnamon rolls, and a cheese ball.

6. Playing games with my family. We love catch phrase, card games, Mafia (unfortunately), DDR, Apples to Apples, Stratego, and scattergories.

7. Waking up early Christmas morning to open up gifts. We all gather at the top of the stairs, and when everyone is present we head to the tree. We all open our stocking gifts first, and proceed to open up gifts one at a time. It is nice to do it this way because it makes the fun last much longer!

8. Watching the BYU play in the Las Vegas Bowl. I am sick of the cougars playing in the Las Vegas Bowl, but I guess it beats the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl...right?! Go cougs!

9. Playing with my cute little niece, Haley! She is such a big girl now, running around everywhere. I call to talk to Lesley and hear her in the background. Oftentimes she is getting herself into trouble! I can't wait to see you Boo!

10. Late night discussions with the family that usually end up on my parents bed. How convenient for them!

I can't wait to see you mom, dad, Lesley, Jared, Brian, Jeff, Lauren, and Haley!!

Emma it is!

I saw this on a friend's blog and thought I would waste 10 minutes taking the quiz. I hate how you get sucked into these things at night, when I should be in bed sleeping.

Take the Quiz here!

You are Emma Woodhouse of Emma! You like being the queen of your social circle (small and provincial as it may be), and feel it's your duty to help those less influential than you. You often meddle in the affairs of others, though you do it with a pure heart. You are often deluded in your flights of fancy, but your good intentions and creative spirit make you someone anyone could like.

Christmas Party Part II

Ingredients for a perfect party:


DINNER GIFTS


DESSERTS DANCING

FRIENDS

"Start Spreading the News"

I hopped on the China town bus Saturday morning to spend a couple of days with my favorite girls in NYC! I arrived in the early afternoon, and immediately made my first purchase in the big city. Nuts. Yes, one bag for a dollar. I crave them. I love them. Try them.

I met up with Mel and Karen to do a little shopping in Rockefeller Center. I love a day shopping with these two girls. We took pictures by the Christmas tree, walked up 5th Ave, and then continued with more shopping at Bryant Park. Why didn't I explore this place when I actually lived here! It was fun to be in the big city amongst all the lights, people, holiday decor, music, and shoppers. New York is definitely an amazing place to be at Christmas.

The night continued with our girls annual white elephant Christmas party! Bryndee was an excellent host! We ate yummy food, opened our gifts, and laughed until we cried. Good times! The girls pretty much had to roll me home after all the food I consumed that evening. I love my visits to NYC and spending time with my girls! I can't wait for our January reunion in Atlanta!! what, what!

Wordless Wednesday

Girls Gone Wild with Standards in Stanardsville, VA

There once was a group of six, lovely ladies...

Who rented a house/"cabin" in the Shenandoah'sThey packed enough food for the winter
And decided to invite their guy friends along to join in the funThey participated in various Thanksgiving arts & crafts, including hand turkeys and apple turkeys...
Cooked an AMAZING traditional Thanksgiving meal...
ventured to Charlotsville for the town's Christmas tree lighting...
took a tour through Luray Caverns...
learned all about stalactite and stalagmite formations piled in the car for a scenic ride along Skyline Drive...

ENJOYED their People magazine... diet coke(except for me, I downed the regular) played some intense rounds of catch phrase (GO TEAM WIN!) relaxed in the hot tub (and maybe played a couple rounds of truth or dare)
and then it was time to go home!