a much-needed break: dec. 15th-jan.4th

Whew! It was a tiring semester at Denver Seminary, and I thank God that I finished without having too many breakdowns. :) After the last final, Deric and I celebrated at a steak and rib restaurant, which was a special treat. The next day, Dec. 15th, we loaded up his '70 Chevy truck and drove about 13 hours to his hometown of Parker, South Dakota. It was a fun raodtrip, complete with singing, lots of candy, prank calls, serious conversations, and reading aloud (I read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe).


we visited my friends, Travis and Julie, in Lincoln, NE.

I enjoyed a week with his family in SD. I slept and ate a lot, and got to meet several of Deric's family members and friends. It was a fabulous first week of vacation.

Sioux Falls







On December 23rd, Deric drove me to the Omaha Airport and I flew to Phoenix to be with my parents, gramma, and brother for Christmas. The climate change was nice. :) Christmas was fabulous, even though we really missed Jonathan and Jessica. We did get to talk with Jonathan briefly on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. It was wonderful to hear his voice, even though the connection from Iraq was really choppy.

our neighbors' decorated cactus :)





Dec 29th-30th we drove 5 hours to Irvine, CA, to visit family friends. We had a blast walking around UCLA's campus and watching the Bruins beat UC Davis. Sunday morning we walked along Corona del Mar Beach, and I waded in the Pacific Ocean for the first time in my life. It was so refreshing to see and smell the ocean after living in CO for the past 7 months! :)






Yesterday, New Year's Eve, was a really fun day because we went horseback riding on a mountain trail. Even better is that we got to watch the sun set behind the mountains. It was an hour and a half ride, so I'm sore today, but it was totally worth it! They even gave us chaps and cowboy boots to wear, so we all felt very Western. :) After our trail ride we went out to eat ribs at a local hot spot.














It was a perfect way to end 2007. Welcome 2008!! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! :)