PRE-CHRISTMAS FUN

Just over a week before Christmas, my sister came into town with one of her daughters. Simply stated, we had a super fabulous time. Want the longer, wordier version? Read on...

During our long weekend together, we managed to spend way to much money at such fine establishments as The Basket Loft, Tai Pan, Macy's (department store...not grocery store), and TJ Maxx. Nothing like some good retail therapy to make one feel better about all the money she spent on Christmas.

We also spent some quality time eating way too much at super tasty-licious places at Normandie Cafe & Bakery, Tepanyaki, and Cafe Rio. Then there were the two batches of homemade caramels we made. And the "funnel fries" we had during one of our evening outings. My thighs will bear the proof of these meals and goodies for months to come.

Now, believe it or not, we did not spend all of our time shopping and eating. We also slept, showered, and drove between locations. And we also squeezed in the following:

A trip to the zoo the first evening they were here. It was ever so slightly frigid outside but we survived with almost all of our digits still attached. Considering the temperature and the time of day, there weren't many animals out but we did get to see some monkeys, the mama tiger and her three "cubs" (that are now totally huge), the snow leopard and her "cub", and a bunch of animals in the stinky reptile building. We also enjoyed a ride on the carousel, downed some previously mentioned powdered sugar dusted "funnel fries" (think funnel cake but in french fry form), and drank some scalding/boiling hot hot cocoa. Hudson took a huge mouthful right off the bat, spit it out on the ground, and started bawling...poor thing. His tongue hurt for a good day afterwards.

Lewie and Hudson on their animals - an okapi and a hippo.

Claire and I waiting for the ride to start.

The other big outing we took was to see the lights at Temple Square. Lewie had never been here at Christmastime before and therefore, had never seen the amazing display there. The lights were incredible as always and we enjoyed walking around, watching/listening to the nativity story, and visiting the Christus statue in the Visitor's Center. Once again, it was a super cold evening but we enjoyed ourselves and were so glad to have gone.

Me sista, Lewie, Hudson, and Claire watching and listening during the nativity. Sure was nice of the random guy on the right to stare straight into my lens and smile.

The whole (frozen) gang.

I accidentally took this shot in either night or no-flash mode (can't recall which). I love that the lights and my kiddies are fairly clear but the people walking around are blurry...almost looks like it was on purpose!

Lastly, my two favorite shots of the temple:

A million thanks to my sister and Lewie for making the trip out to visit. Wish we could see each other more often!