Christmas 2010

Oh Christmas! You come and go so quickly, but I love every second that you bring! Family, friends, and food are an irreplaceable combination! On Monday the 20th, my little brother Jake turned 15! He can drive now! AAHHHH!!! I went to good old Morgan High School to eat lunch with him in the cafeteria....don't recommend doing that...EVER!! SUPER awkward, but I do it cuz I love my little bro! =)

On Tuesday the 21st I went to visit my dear friend Julie Ferrin and her adorable baby Emily again! SOO cute! Love them both! My mommy and I were there for 2 hours just talking...good times =)

Nothing too exciting happened on the 22nd, but the 23rd was good! I went sledding with my cousins Porter, Cedric, Gabe, Morgan, Rylee, Joslyn, and Luke! It was a blast!! I sledded with little Gabe, who is only 8 months old. His grins go from ear to ear...what a cute little worm!! That night I went to Grandma Smith's house with all of the cousins and we got into a heated game of Buzz Word...unfortuately, I missed the tie-breaking round. However, it wasn't too bad because I went to my dear friend Tim's house to watch Despicable Me. We were joined by Chelsea Jensen and Jaque. I also got to see THE Sherrie Wright...made my night! After the epic movie, Tim and I took a joy ride to Kristen Hair's house! Oh my holy funniest jokes/best fail of Mario Super Smash Brothers (I think that's what it was called). When we finished at Kristen's house I made a short stop at my dear sister, Micquellyn's house for a 15 minute visit. Short, but sweet. I miss her every day I'm not around her :'(
P.S. Good luck with getting your dad's deer off the wall Johansens....

On Christmas Eve I started bright and early at 7:30. I went on a wonderful IHOP run with my dear friends Kristen, Tim, and Jaque. MY TEAM!!!!! Oh, and my pink balloon monkey is so much better than your emo elephant Kristen...

At 1:00 I went to the Freestone's for the Christmas Eve party. So many people packed into that small living room, but it was worth it to have all of the family there! =) My little buddy Easton told me that I was his favorite...he's 5 and pretty much my favorite too. Shhhhh. I am proud to say that my gag sack was noticably smaller this year...here's to not doing anything too stupid in 2010 =)

At 6:00 I was at the Smith's again. Not everyone was there, but the company and the food was yummiliscious-as always! Luckily, my little worm Gabe was there, we hit it off like it was nobody's business!! I LOVE my family!!

Christmas Day was quite wonderful as well! We all had a slumber party in Jake's room. Luckily dad was able to contain Smallz until 7:30. We still weren't too happy about it. Oh well. After we opened presents I helped cook! Yeah, those of you who know me know that that is a major accomplishment! I put on my little baby apron that I wore when I was like 8. Mom says I still haven't graduated from that...

We cooked crepes, bacon, sausage, and omlets! I LOVE Christmas breakfast! We were joined for breakfast by grandparents Smith and Freestone, as well as Tyson, Jennie, Cedric, and Gabe. Cedric really took a liking to Jake's remote control car, but he wasn't the best driver, so mom improvised and put some "bumper pads" on it. =)

We got to rest for a good while and enjoy a good movie before heading off to grandparents Olsen's house. It was really good to see everyone altogether again...Let's see, there was Grandpa and Grandma, Mom and Dad, Boomer and Ali, Ramsey and Kary, and Kris! As for the kids...me, Jake, Mollie, Morgan, Rylee, Joslyn, Luke, Brian, and Brooke. Chef grandpa cooked a freaking HUGE prime rib! Like, this is my dad's hand...It was nuts! All-in-all, Christmas was a fetching amazing day!! Merry Christmas all!! =)

Christmas Wish List

Dear Santa,
Every year I ask you for trivial things like a certain book, some clothes, or maybe the occasional electronic device that costs much more than I even deserve. This year I have decided on a different kind of list. Here it goes...

I wish for:
1) Patience...I could always use some more.
2) The ability to not drown the earth in my tears...there are so many upcoming farewells that it's a definate possiblity.
3) For everyone to remember the true meaning of Christmas...I know that it is lofty, but still feasable.
4) For personal and family health...mostly for grandpa to make a speedy recovery after next week.
5) Love...not a man (though it couldn't hurt) but for all of my family to let go of their pride and make up.
6) Sobriety...I like my family better when they're alcohol free.
7) Gratitude..."It's not about what you want, it's wanting what you've got."
8) Forgiveness...I hate having people mad at me and vice versa.
9) Peace of Mind...mostly help me not to stress over the little things (and all things are the little things).
And, of course,
10) To have the spirit of Christ with me and all of my friends...you can never go wrong with this.

Santa, I do realize that this may be MUCH harder than and i-pod or a movie, but I was aiming for things that would benefit others, as well as myself. I know I really don't deserve all of these and I've tried all year to be a good girl, but if you culd find it in your heart to give me these gifts for Christmas, I'd very much appreciate it! Thank you!
Love always, Monique

Thanksgiving Break!

So, aside from my amazing Blizzard Bash, there were a few other thing I was ablt to do over Thanksgiving Break. Frist, I was able to visit my dear friend Julie Ferrin and her ADORABLE baby Emily. I was super excited to see her and it was great to talk to her. :) Here is a picture of little Emily!

I was also able to go trap shooting with the men, my Dad and brother Jake, Grandpa Smith, uncle Dave, cousins Porter and Grady, Mollie, and my cousin Elli. I had a BLAST!! I shot like 70 rounds and was slaying those traps. My shoulder hurt like a beast though! =) We had dinner with all of those mentioned above as well and my Grandma Smith and aunt Joan. I LOVE my family!! I'm so grateful for them! This is a picture of me and my cousin Elli...we are pretty much amazing :)

That Friday I made my way back to the Johansen household for another party where I got to see my friends Tim Wright, Kristen Hair, Sara Barnett, and Rachelle Waite. So good to see them all agian! I also learned how to call someone a "not so nice" name in a weird form of sign language. :) Haha!
Saturday I went ot watch my little buddy Easton play indoor soccer. He's on a La Roca team and they dominated!! :) After that I went to my Grandma Freestone's house to watch BYU take on Utah...yes...I was depressed...oh well.
That night my family and I went to see the lights at temple square! LOVE!!! It was so beautiful!

We also went into the visitor's center! I absolutely love the Christus!! It is so beautiful and spiritual and peaceful there. It makes me really think about the true meaning of Christmas. As we were there I went to take a picture of the temple and I saw the reflection of Christ in the glass. It was a beautiful picture!

So yeah...that was basically the rest of my Thanksgiving Break!