Here and there...and back again

Getting there We first had to drive down to L.A., which had great weather, but getting out of Utah was terrible. The first big snowfall started just as we were leaving, and we saw many bad situations: jack-knifed semis, a pickup with a trailer that was on its side in the median, and other accidents. We were glad to have 4-wheel drive, but the windshield wipers kept freezing and not wiping, so Jason had to get out and scrape off the wiper blades. It was crazy and slowed us down a couple of hours, but we made it safely. Cruisin' So we did get to go on our cruise down to Mexico, and even though there were some irritating things, we really liked getting away and enjoying the free time and the sun. It felt good to be warm, that's for sure.

We also really enjoyed the excursion we went on in Puerto Vallarta. It involved us joining a bunch of crazy people on a two-level catamaran and going out to the Marietas Islands. On the 1.5 hour boat ride out there, we saw several whales, and one even breached for us. We saw a bunch of spotted dolphins following the boat (surfing the wake) and jumping like crazy. Anyways, out at the islands, we got to go snorkeling and sea kayaking. It was great fun!

Christmas We spent the week of Christmas around Morgan's grandparents and other relatives in San Jose. It was good to see and have fun with everyone. This is a picture of our new ornament we picked up to remember our cruise and vacation. Hmong New Year We got to drive down to Fresno where Jason's brother Erik served his mission with the Hmong people. The week between Christmas and New Year's is when they celebrate Hmong New Year. They had the Fresno Fairgrounds chock full of booths selling anything and everything, and there were celebrations with singing, dancing, and even a beauty pageant. The most fun things were the taro bubble tea and seeing the shirt labeled "Got Sticky Rice?" New Year We spent our New Year's Eve in Mesquite, Arizona, en route to Provo. It was pretty uneventful, but we made it back to Provo just fine the next day. Jason's relatives Scott & Kirsten had all the family over to their house so they could all see Erik and he could see all of them. He was most surprised with Caleb and Lucas, as they are now 3 and 6 years old. It was fun to see everyone, and they were glad to see Erik. Wedding Reception Jason's long-time friend, Josh, got married on January 2nd. Luckily we had made it back on the 1st, and were able to settle down a little bit before driving up to the Salt Lake City area for Josh's reception. It was nice for Jason to see his old friends Matt, Josh, and Greg, as they've all been doing different things the past few years in different parts of the country. Back to school School started again and we were not prepared! Morgan's EOU online classes didn't give any ramp-up time, and neither did Jason's BYU classes. We had a rough first week, and have hopefully settled into a more established routine since then. It's been very cold recently-not nearly the comfort we had in the "cold" 65 degree California... but we're trying to survive!