The Holidays

  The Holiday/Finals season got away with me and I have failed to blog about our WONDERFUL holiday! We were able to go back to Oregon for a few days and visit our family. I CANNOT tell you how much I needed to go home. My parents really are my best friends and I just needed to spend time talking and laughing with them. It was so rejuvenating!  

Joe and I were able to participate in all the Harris and Flager Christmas traditions. The annual Harris candle-light dinner was nothing short of amazing. Here's a picture of my parents carving the duck we had. 

We played lots of Ping-Pong with the Flagers and just relished every moment. It was a great Christmas!

We had to come home on the 26th because Joe had to work on Monday. :( So, I worked on a paper I had to write all week. Our 1st Anniversary was on December 29th and Mother Nature celebrated it as she celebrated our wedding a year before--with TONS of snow in Utah. It even snowed in Oregon too. I wonder if snow on our anniversary will be a yearly occurrence.

To celebrate, we at the top of our wedding cake. Some of you may think that is weird, but it is something my family has always done. You freeze the top layer of the wedding cake and then eat it on your first anniversary. Joe could NOT wait to have it. It was so yummy at our wedding.

It reminds me of a marshmallow.

All the black stenciling came off with the foil, so it looked grey. But, I still love the flowers.

It was Cookies n' Cream flavored cake with Cookies n' Cream flavored icing in the layers. YUM!

So, it wasn't as good a year later. (That wasn't really a surprise.) It was still pretty good, but just a bit dry for our taste. But it was fun anyway. I LOVED my wedding cake and it was great to relive how wonderful our wedding was.

Then on the weekend, we REALLY celebrated our anniversary and the New Year. My wonderful parents reserved an ADORABLE room at The Inn on the Hill bed and breakfast in Salt Lake City. we got to stay for two nights and it was a PERFECT weekend.

First of all, the room had an amazing view.

Then, on New Year's Eve we had quite the fun and romantic evening. We started with dinner at The Roof restaurant which is across from Temple Square. The food was SO YUMMY and the view from our table of the Salt Lake Temple was simply stunning.

Since it was New Year's Eve, they gave us hats and noise makers. Joe looked like a member of the Rat Pack in in his hat (so handsome!).

Then we went to see Savior of the World at the Conference Center. What a wonderful show! The actors were SO talented and the music was amazing! It was great to start the new year with our thoughts on the Savior. Before we headed back to the hotel, we enjoyed some of the activities that were around Temple Square, including a presentation of Polynesian dancers. It was so fun!

At midnight they set fireworks off at Temple Square and we could see them from our hotel room. I can't think of a more perfect way to start a new year!

Now, the vacation is over and reality has set in. I've already completed one week of school and Joe is back to work and starts classes tomorrow. We are grateful for all the Lord has blessed us with in 2010 and hoping for a wonderful 2011.