Hello all!!! I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year! Mine was amazing and i guess that's what i will talk about now! Well, since i'm not working at Massage Envy anymore, i have alot of free time on my hands, so i thought i would spend some of that at home in Utah! I asked for time off work at the Venetian in October, so i've been looking forward to it for a long time. So, i decided to fly this time---cuz it's no fun to drive in the snow. I was able to get a pretty good price on a round trip ticket, so i flew home the morning of Dec. 17th. Nancy came to pick me up and it was so good to see her!! It was very snowy and cold when i got there! The temps in Vegas have been perfect. It gets in the 40's and 50's now. So it was quite the change to go to the 20's and 30's. I decided to stay at my parent's house and see if it was still in one piece! :) Well, i started to unpack when i got a few text messages from my roommates saying that it was snowing really hard down in Vegas!!!!!! And, boy did it snow!!!! I'm sure you all heard how crazy it was there because of the snow! Roads and highways were closed for a long time! Everyone had to call into work to say they couldn't get anywhere! My roommates were happy, cuz 3 of them were teachers and thought that being a teacher in Vegas they would never have a snow day!!! Hehe! So, i barely made it out of Vegas in time! I left early that morning and it started snowing that afternoon and, of course, all the flights were delayed. Yay!! I guess getting up that early paid off. Anyway, i was planned on staying in Utah till Jan. 2nd so it was going to be a nice vacation. We decided to still do our gift exchange as a family, so i had Jill, Dave and the kids this year. I was actually able to buy their gift online and had it delivered to Mom and Dad's house! Yay! Didn't have to worry about buying them a gift when i got there! I ended up getting them a game called "Scene It" the Disney version. I was able to get that game at a really good price so in addition to that i got them the second season of I Love Lucy and some popcorn and candy to go along with it. It was fun to wrap all those things and to have them open it all!! They were really excited. We spent Christmas Eve and Jill and Dave's house and it was so much fun. I decided to buy myself a Christmas gift that i have been wanting to get, but it has been really hard to find. But i found one, so i thought i would take advantage of it and just get it! I......got......a........Wii!!!!!! I was so excited!! So, i brought the Wii to Jill and Dave's and everyone had a good time playing it. We were able to do some Johnson Family Christmas Traditions this year too!!! I was able to find the chimes and all the music, so we played a few tunes on those----i would have got video footage of that, but i was playing! Sorry Mom and Dad. It sounded as good as ever, though! :) We also acted out the Nativity Scene, cuz Tage didn't remember ever acting that out. It was fun to do that again! It had been a couple of years since we had done that, so it brought back some great memories. We were also really excited to open up some great packages from Nauvoo!! It definitely wasn't the same without Mom and Dad there, but it was good to get these wonderful packages. They gave the Wilcox clan a game they can set up and play outside---sorry, can't remember the name. :) It looked like it would be really fun to play, though. And to us older kids they gave us a really cool bread knife and a really special temple envelope---that holds our temple clothing---with a picture of the Nauvoo Temple and our names embroidered on it!!!!! It is really beautiful! Now i have one of the Nauvoo Temple and one of the Palmyra Temple on it!! I got the Palmyra Temple one from my Mission President and his cute wife. And, of course, Mom arranged with Mrs. Cavanaugh's to put together some of our favorite chocolates to have ready for us!! Yum!! Best job Mom ever had!! :) Haha! Then Nancy, Brad and i decided to go home that night and just have Christmas morning at Mom and Dad's house. So, in the morning Brad came over---Nancy stayed with me at Mom and Dad's---and we had a great Christmas breakfast and then we decided to exchange gifts among the three of us. It was fun and i got a couple of great books-----Inkheart and Wicked---the book the Musical is based on. I also got a gift card for iTunes and some UNO cards!! Yay!! It was a great Christmas! The rest of the day consisted of us playing games and playing on the Wii!!!!
The rest of my amazing vacation consisted of getting together with some good friends, going to my ward at the U and just enjoying being back in Utah. I had a little party for some of my friends that i have met through being involved in the theater. We had a murder mystery dinner party!!! It was so fun!! I loved putting it all together. Everyone was assigned a character and they had to come dressed as that character, as well. I made dinner--which was Parmesean Chicken and pasta, green beans and then chocolate caramel cake for dessert. I also cooked some halibut for a friend who is a vegetarian. I was quite impressed with myself in all the cooking i did!!! It was the first time i had ever made those things, so i was a little nervous, but it all turned out great and everyone had a great time!!! Their costumes were awesome, too!
I was also really excited cuz i got to see my old bishopric while i was there, too. One of the counselors had a little renunion party at their house and so I was able to see Bishop Kjar, Bro. Martin and Bro. Craig and their amazing wives!!!! It made me so happy!! I love them so much! And alot of the people from the ward came, so it was good to spend more time with them. I loved seeing my friends from the ward!! I miss them alot! Well, i think that is the major happenings of the holidays. Oh, i spent New Years with my good friends Jake and Erin at their house in Grantsville and i got to see Jonathan Nish and his wife Tara, Mike Payne and his wife, Mandy. Hillary and Darrin came later, too so it was so fun to be with them. I then went to be with my friends from Pioneer Theater Daniel and Ginger to ring in the New Year. I was also able to go see their band play at a couple of places!! Love them! Then, of course, on Jan. 2nd was THE BIG GAME!!!!!!! I was a little bummed to find out that the game didn't start till 7pm, cuz my flight left at 9:15pm, so i was only able to see the first quarter, but that's really ok cuz the first quarter was the best anyway!!! Nancy and i were cheering so loudly for the AMAZING UTES!!! Then we decided to leave for the airport and guess what happened??? We realized that it was snowing REALLY hard! So we hurried and scraped off the car and got on our way. I made it to the airport on time, but my flight ended up being delayed for about an hour and a half!!! :( So, Nancy kept me updated on the game! :) I wanted to jump up and scream when i found out they won, but i contained myself and just screamed in my head!!! :)
So, my holiday was the best ever!! I am so glad i was able to stay for so long cuz i enjoyed every minute. Now, it's back to the grind. Well, kind of. Since i have been back, it has been really slow at the Venetian. They haven't called me in very much at all. I guess i can thank the economy for that. Massages aren't really on the top of everyone's list these days---even when they are on vacation in Vegas.:) I've been looking for another little part-time job, but if i can't find one and things don't pick up at the Venetian i maybe moving back to Utah sooner than expected. I have decided when i do move back, i will be living in my parent's house until they get back. Then i'll see where i'm at and if Hillary is still in the townhouse in Centerville, i will just move back in there. Anyway, that has been my thinking proccess lately. Things in Vegas are good, though. It was good to see my roommates again. We even had our own little Christmas gift exchange when everyone got home. I have LOVED my time here in Vegas!! I don't regret it one bit. I have met people here i know i was meant to meet and become friends with and we will be friends forever!! I am eternally grateful for my experiences here. I have grown really close to the Lord and i have come to truely understand how to completly rely on Him for everything---literally. He has blessed my life so much! I can't imagine living my life without the Gospel.
One more thing before i releive you of reading all of this. One of my good friends Alicia Gleed came to Vegas for the Martin Luther King weekend with her cousins and their little boy. So we got together---along with a bunch of my friends from Vegas---and decided to go on the roller coasters on top of the Stratosphere!!!!!! All i can really say is WOW!!!! That was one of the scariest things i have ever done!! Those rides were amazing and i had a blast, but so scary!!! A couple of my friends didn't go on the rides, but they came to the top and took pictures and videos of us, so i used some of those pictures and videos to make a video montage of our experience. I put it up on YouTube, so just copy and paste this and check it out!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoGQTKt_7cA
Now you can see us being crazy!! :) It was a blast! We then went to lunch and then later that night i met up with Alicia and her cousins again and we just went to some fun places around the strip. It was so good to see her and to have fun with her that weekend!
Ok. that's all, I promise!! Thanks for sticking out and reading all of this!! I just want you all to know how much i love you all and i am so grateful for all the support you have given me down here!! I truely wouldn't be able to do something like this without knowing i have the best support group behind me! I hope everything is going well for everyone!! Again, i love you all! Until next time!
Carrie
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