Merry Christmas!

Tuesday, December 25th, 2007

Christmas Eve was spent with the Haydens and Christmas Day with the Hendricks. On Christmas Eve we had a delicious dinner with Al and Juanita (Jeff's parents) and Randy and Delia (our brother and soon-to-be sister in-law). Then we opened gifts and went to church together. It was a great evening, but unfortunately, we all forgot to snap pictures during the festivities! Christmas morning at the Hendrick house was spent digging through stockings... Thanks, Santa! Then, eating breakfast together and opening presents under the tree. Our tradition is to open presents one at a time, which usually takes about two hours and would drive most people insane, but remains my favorite morning of the entire year. Our gifts to our parents this year were copies of our wedding album. Even though it has been over a year since the wedding, we just got our albums on December 21st! They turned out beautiful so I guess it was worth the wait.

Race training

In spite of the fact that it was 36 degrees in Albuquerque on Christmas Eve, Sierra and I stayed on track with our race training schedule. The 1/2 marathon is two weeks away and there is no time to fall off course now! Even though the beginning of the run was freezing, by the end I had stripped down to a t-shirt and the weather felt great. Sierra jumps up and down with excitement every time I ask her, "Do you want to go running?" She can make it about six miles before tiring out. If we arrive back at the house and then I say the magic words again, she will jump around and would probably run six more miles. It is hilarious! She is the most loyal dog I have ever seen and it's great motivation that she gets so excited!

Party time!

Two hours after arriving in Albuquerque, we were already out with Sam, Lewis and friends. Here are a few pics from our crazy night!

On the road again...

Saturday, December 22nd, 2007

As we prepared to head out for Albuquerque, Daz and Sierra got in the car 30 minutes early and sat in garage, waiting for us to finish loading the car. Daz usually stays anxious for most of the trip, pacing and panting, while Sierra seems to claim her spot quickly and sleep the whole way there.


Daz eventually gave in, found a little space in the backseat, and took a nap.

Christmas Sweater Party!

On Saturday night we went to our friend Scottie's annual "Christmas Sweater Party". The goal is to wear the gaudiest Christmas sweater you can find. Half the fun is hitting all the second hand stores to find the perfect sweater. Here are some of the fabulous finds!


Travis scored this one for $1.99!


Kassia and I made purses out of placemats. You can see some of mine sticking out. They were a hit!























Scottie opted to dress as Santa.























Matt plays a little beer pong. Notice the '505' pong table. Handcrafted!


Ashley and Kevin























Some of Scottie's friends. Check out the socks!

Later that night...


Later that night, we moved the sweater party to the ASU bars, where we met up with Kristie and Tara. It is amazing how many strange looks you get when you walk into a dance club with Santa and 10 people in Christmas sweaters.

Chili Cookoff

This afternoon we went to the annual 'Chili Cookoff' in Kristie's mom's neighborhood. They block off the whole cul-de-sac, set up tables and chow down! There are more than twenty different kinds of chili plus sides and desserts. I entered the chili cooking contest this year but did not win. Toward the end of the party, Santa came to hand out gifts to the little kids. Of course we had to sneak in a picture! Tara, Kristie, Angela, Kassia, me, Kristen and Santa! It was really nice to hang out with the girls! Thanks for inviting us, Kristie!

Go ASU!

Scottie, Matt, Nate, Jennifer, Jeff and I went to watch the ASU~UofA game down by campus. The "BALLS" sign is for the pool tables and we did not purposely stand there!