Home for the Holidays

“Oh, there’s no place like home for the holidays,” so the song goes….and it’s so true! Matt was scheduled to attend a conference in the States, so we tagged along to spend time with family. We met up with Matt’s parents and sister Steffanie, in Las Vegas, then hitched a ride with my sister (who lives in Vegas), to Salt Lake City, for the remainder of the visit.

Bright eyed and bushy tailed, at the beginning of this excursion.

We had several hours to kill at Narita International Airport. They actually had a craft station set up which helped us kill some time. The girls painted their own daruma doll, a symbol of good luck.

The finished product, along with a great backdrop!

Fast forward 13 hours…not so perky anymore as we awaited our connection in LAX!

Ahhh, viva Las Vegas!

We landed about the same time as Matt’s parents, so we met them at their gate. Everyone was so happy!

Our favorite Vegas hotel has two swans, appropriately named Elvis and Priscilla. The girls enjoy feeding them lettuce, provided by the staff.

Vegas in December is beautiful! The big casino’s are decorated to the hilt, as money is no object. 

December is truly our favorite time of year to visit!

The aquarium at Caesar’s Palace Forum Shops, is always a highlight. We even found a special visitor feeding the fish! 

We ran into Rick at Gold and Silver Pawn Shop, from the Pawn Stars fame.

We also ran into an old friend on the Strip. (Yes, it was a wax figure, but we had grandpa going for a few minutes!)

Poor Matt always gets called up on stage as a volunteer, no, he does not actually volunteer. I guess he is lucky. The Mac King Comedy show was no exception! Haha!

We spent the evenings visiting at the nightly reception. It was such a wonderful visit, and so good to spend time with Matt’s family.

Now on to Salt Lake City….we arrived just in time for grandma’s “Cousin Christmas Party.” 

And sugar cookie decorating, of course!

We attended Zoo Light’s at Hogle Zoo. 

It was even a relatively warm evening, and so much fun. There were also fire pits to make s’mores, one of my all-time favorite treats. And, of course the kids had a ball!

The girls were able to join the children’s Christmas program at church. They worked very hard all week to learn the songs.

And, we were even able to corral the kids long enough for a cousin Christmas picture.

I enjoyed visiting my brother, Adam’s studio. This is his copy of a Rembrandt. AMAZING!

Sadly, our time came to an end too soon. It was so nice to spend a few weeks at Christmastime with family and friends. So good for my soul. 

(This is the look you have after 24 hours of travel, when finding out that you missed the 4 o’clock shuttle home, by seven minutes, and would have to wait 2 hours for the next one. Merry Christmas!)