Our FIRST Christmas as a MARRIED couple..

It turned out way better than I had anticipated it to be. If you're interested I'll be more than happy to share with you Florence & Alexander Peters' FIRST CHRISTMAS!

Of course I had to work Christmas Eve & my husband had the day off. While I was at work, working my butt off my husband was cruising around with his brother Joe. Joe & Elena got in from Vegas the morning of Christmas Eve, from Las Vegas. TJ was able to pick them up from the airport & had the chance to spend time with them. They were able to get a lot of things done, so I've been told.

The whole time I was at work, I couldn't stop thinking about what my husband was doing. I think I called him like every hour & if I didn't call him, he was sure to call me. Work that day was very slow. There were only about 20 to 30 people who were in that day & that's including myself. They were going to be closing down early at 4:00 PM & we usually close down at 5:00 PM. The supervisor that was in charge that day really wanted to leave, so I think she was able to get everyone out at 3:30. No change there for me because with my new schedule, I usually finish at 3:30.

THE CHEESECAKE FACTORY---
So my husband & I had made plans for the both of us to eat dinner at The Cheesecake Factory on the night of Christmas Eve. I wanted to do something special for the both of us & so I thought it would be lovely to take him there, since he had only been there once before. Plans changed & now it was his family & the both of us. There was nothing wrong with having the family all join in, it was just that I wanted to spend some down time with my husband. We had so much fun that night, even after we waited 4 hours for Ant & his family to drive down from Provo. It was well worth the wait. By the time they reached SLC & made it to the restaurant, we already knew what we wanted to order so as soon as they walked in the door we had our waiter take our orders...PRONTO!

I ordered the Special Combination & chose shrimp scampi & steak Diane & was also served with a side of mashed potatoes. It so didn't even look like what I had paid for, but the taste was so worth it. It was a first for Joe & Elena to eat there & I'm glad we all enjoyed it. I didn't finish my entree' because I was so saving room for a CHEESECAKE! I got mines & Anz fave cheesecake which is the white chocolate caramel macadamia nut cheesecake. That cheesecake is the frek'n BOMB, take the trophy!

CHRISTMAS UTAH-----
After eating at The Cheesecake Factory, we all headed over to watch something like a light show, called Christmas Utah. It's a house that is decorated from top to bottom, left to right & the most amazing thing about this house is that when you drive by in your car you can tune your radio to FM 99.9 & listen to the music. The lights & all the decorations that was used for this house was synchronized to music. TJ & I wanted to be able to take the family to see this house. When TJ & I had first gone to see this house, we were so amazed. We went December 13, there were people coming around to see the show but it was so busy, when we went last night, the line to just drive by the house was so long, we had to wait like maybe 10 to 15 minutes. Hauhere & Teave really enjoyed it & that's really what we wanted to accomplish for them.

GINGERBREAD HOUSES-----
So instead of doing gingerbread houses out of graham crackers, TJ decided to buy the gingerbread house kit. It was so much more easier & the same amount of fun! There was just to much to do on something so little! Teave started to do his, but never got to finish so his Mom took over & was so serious about winning, but she wasn't in a competition, LOL! Teave started, but Jen finished his. Hauhere started AND finished hers with the help of grandma Claudine & aunty Florence.

PRESENTS...PRESENTS...PRESENTS----
It wasn't even 12 midnight, but presents & gifts were torn open anyways. It looked like there were a lot of happy people in the room. I wasn't so excited because I was just so tired! My husband & I got a Nintendo Wii, new sheets & a blanket & a lot of different things. We were so limited with our spending that we weren't able to get anyone a gift except for his mom. We bought her the Gordon B. Hinckley movie, "A Giant among Men!" Joe also got a Nintendo Wii for Christmas & he was the most happiest person in the house, LOL! The most wonderful gift, I think, that was given out was to Elena from TJ's parents. They bought her the Christus statue & when she opened it, the room was so silent. She was so happy for that & she was even about to cry. Her eyes were watery & I was just so happy for her.

SO, that was our Christmas & so far I'm liking it! I get to go to two different Christmases! Both my husband & I enjoyed our time with both sides of the family. We're already looking forward to next years' Christmas. Now, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!