the christmas season

i'm such a slacker at posting on this blog. better late than never though, right?

here's our christmas tree in ny. (not the one above obviously. that's the rockefeller tree of course) i don't think i was ready for that second picture but, unfortunately it's the best full view of the tree.

zack and i went to utah, where both of our parents live (about a 2 minute drive from each other). it's always hard to divide up the time between families and friends, but we sure try.

christmas day was busy busy. we stayed at zack's house, so we had christmas morning with his family. his brother josh called from his mission in canada. he sounded good. he's actually coming home today, and the whole family is very excited to see him. it's hard to believe he's only been gone 2 years, it feels like a lot longer. after a few hours at z's parents we went to my parent's, only to discover the family had already gone to my grandparents. so we made our way down there. we ate brunch and opened gifts. then quite a bit of back and forth between my parent's and zack's parent's, but we always love seeing family and the gift exchange is always exciting, to say the least. we even got to talk to my brother eric who is on his mission in guatemala for almost 2 hours. it's hard with 20 people trying to talk on 2 phones, let me say. but it was so good to hear from him. he was totally speaking with a little spanish accent. ha ha.

anyway, for christmas i gave zack these boots. he has returned a couple pairs now trying to find the right size, but we're determined to get it right. zack got me this keyboard. i'm so excited to finally have something to play and practice on out in ny. i also got a long desired wacom tablet for retouching, a new coat, several cookbooks, and lots of other things. for my sister trish, and my sister in law cora (who's names i drew) i made skirts. i wish i was a little better at sewing, must practice up on that.

the day after christmas we went up to salt lake. we ate at crown burger, which is usually really good, but was really busy cause of a jazz game, which really made everyone kind of upset we chose it. blah. then we went to temple square to look at the lights. it was freeeeezing outside and i was too cold to take many pictures, but here are a couple.

a couple days after christmas we went with zack's family to the manti, ut temple. i had only ever seen if from the outside, but it was beautiful on the inside. it was snowing that day, and very cold, but it was a wonderful experience. that night, we went up the provo canyon to meet up with my family who had rented a cabin in aspen grove, right by sundance. we spent the next couple days there snowshoeing, sledding, and hanging out. it was so much fun that we're hoping to go back again next year.

all in all it was a great holiday. can't wait for next time...

a little taste of amsterdam and antwerp

in november zack and i went to amsterdam and antwerp with my sister trish. it was meant to be a work trip for the two of them, cause their boss was having a show opening in den haag. but their boss didn't end up coming. so it was mostly like a vacation. it was pretty awesome.

this is what basically every block looks like in amsterdam. so pretty. and the building are all wonky. they said they were taxed on the width of the building so they built them thin and deep. and lots of these are older than the u.s. of a.

eating french fries with mayo. this was our first item of business i'll have you know.

the furniture hooks they built onto the buildings cause the buildings were too narrow to get furniture upstairs. they had to pull it up outside and put it in through the windows.

in antwerp, belgium zack and i took a tourist tram. it was really bumpy on those stone roads, but amazing none-the-less. this was our driver.

belgian waffles in belgium. zack's was warm and gooey. mine was cold, but covered in chocolate.

one of the many cathedrals in antwerp. so pretty. a man was playing his violin outside the doors and it really felt like we were in a dream or something. the music fit perfectly with the surroundings.

the same cathedral at night.

a not so old building in den haag. really, 1818 seems new there.

waiting at the train station in amsterdam to go back to the airport.