Christmas Vacation in the US

We just got back from nearly 3 weeks in the US (or "America" as they say here).  We went first to the Bay Area where we stayed with our super generous friends the Hiltons.  It was so fun to stay with them.  We had an amazing time and were quickly reminded why we loved living in Lamorinda for 6 years!  We arrived on Saturday, Dec. 17th, very tired after a 12 hour 20 minute flight!  But with the time change we woke bright and early and went to church on Sunday where we were overwhelmed with kind welcomes and greetings.  What a great ward community!  While in Northern California, we had a chance to see the Colpos, Fuhrimans, Lews and Garcias, Davis' and McAlpins, as well as several other friends at church.  We visited a few of our old favorite places, including shopping in Walnut Creek and at TJMaxx in Moraga,  but mostly spent the time visiting friends.  We realized afterwards that we didn't take nearly enough pictures with friends!

Nathan with Thomas Colpo

Elise with Megan Colpo

Us with Sabrina and Tim

Mer, Will and Nate at dinner at the Fuhriman's - they didn't eat much!  Took some time to get over the jetlag :)

Elise with Elizabeth Garcia and Kiana Lew

Will and Nate with Bryson Lew

Our next stop was in Utah where we spent a week, including Christmas, with my parents in Willard.  My brother Steve and his family live in Perry, so we saw them a lot too (we went on our traditional outing to Fat Catz with Steve and his kids Kyle, Sage and Kate).  This year I tried the skydiving simulation, "I Fly" along with William, Nate and Elise.  William was first in line to do it - with a big smile on his face.  It was a lot of fun, and our instructor was great.  At the end of each of our turns, he held on to us and took us for a  high, spinning ride with him in the wind tunnel!

 We forgot to bring our stockings, so we each just put out a sock.  But it worked - Santa found us!

 Of course we spent a lot of time at home with my parents playing games and just talking.  Aunt Helen took us to lunch one day and we stopped by the cemetery to see Uncle Jack's grave.  We saw Heidi Nelson and her family and also got together with Amy and Cory Reid and their kids (who are so cute and have grown up!).  We met them in Salt Lake to see the lights at the temple, then for pizza and gelato!  We saw my childhood friend Sandy (Reeder) Smith and her family - I can't believe she has a daughter in college - and went to the movie at Walker Cinemas where I used to work as a teenager.

On Dec. 28th we went on to Los Angeles (with more bags than we started with, especially given the online shopping I had done beforehand and sent to my parents' house) to find temperatures in the 70s and 80s fahrenheit.  Elise and I did some more shopping, and we spent time with Dave's parents, as well as with the kids' Aunts and Uncles and cousins.  One day we went to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, which was absolutely amazing.  The exhibitions where very well done, and it even included a tour of Air Force 1.  We also spent a day at Universal Studies City Walk - for the real Hollywood experience.  We went bowling and saw the movie, "We Bought a Zoo" at Universal Studios.  One evening Dave and I even slipped out on our own to see "Mission Impossible"!  The big event of the LA visit was the annual New Year's Eve party at Rowe and Lisa's house.  We had a great dinner and did our gift exchange which is always a lot of fun!

Frozen yogurt is a real treat in the US (love those giant US sizes too!)

William used his Christmas money to get a "Build-a-Bear"

Our flight home was actually shorter than expected (10 hours 20 minutes instead of 11 hours, woohoo!).  We all got some sleep and were feeling relatively good.  But the jetlag still got us!  We've been up at 3 in the morning lately...hopefully we'll be adjusted soon.

What a great opportunity to visit friends and family.  We love it here in Switzerland, but returning the US reminds us even more strongly how much we love, appreciate and miss our family and friends there.  We'll just have to be thankful to have so many great blessings in both places!