December 17- 23

I am oh so sorry that I have not written in TWO WEEKS! Yeah, bad Payge. It's been crazy hectic in California so far this holiday season and it will probably still be crazy until I go home Sunday. I will go as far as my brain is mentally able to tonight so bear with me.

I guess I can start at the beginning. I got into San Diego airport on the 17th and was just over the moon to see my daddy. It was the the best feeling ever to see him again. It had officially been the longest we had been apart, ever. It was so nice to see him and spend some time with him before we went home, we got stuck in so much traffic that we ended up in the car together for hours but honestly I was not complaining at all to get some one on one time with him. We stopped and got Round Table Pizza on the way home because it is my favorite pizza in the ENTIRE world and we don't have one in Utah.

I got home and saw my mom and stuffed our faces and bullshitted a little bit, I had only seen my mom twice since she moved and both times it was only for a weekend each. I never thought when I was younger that I would become so close and such good friends with my mom but honestly I call her for everything and being able to talk to her in person was beyond words.

About a half hour later we left again for my sisters house to see my sister and my niece and nephew. Anyone who knows me, know that my niece is my whole world. No little human has ever held such a giant piece of my heart like she has. Since she came into my life my world has been brighter. Whenever I have a bad day I know I can call her and everything will be better. My nephew has become the best version of a little boy you could think of. He is so grateful, big hearted, and genuinely nice to everyone he meets. I am so proud of the man he has become and I can't wait to keep watching him grow.

I got to see them for a little while and then it was off to home for a much needed sleep.

The 18th I had promised my stump that I would pick her up from the bus stop, take her to gymnastics, and have a sleepover. Just like old time I helped her get ready, I did her hair for gymnastics and we colored until it was time to go. We took her to gymnastics, then we went to the mall that I have been going to since I was 5 or 6 and returned things and grabbed stocking stuffers for the kids.

We finished there, got cupcakes, and then picked up stump from gym. We grabbed mexican food, REAL mexican food and attempted to put the star on the tree. It was a big tree so she ended up getting onto my shoulders and I climbed up onto a step stool and we tried, it was super crooked but it worked! At the end of the night we watch "The Blind Side" and went off to bed, stump insisted on me sleeping with her so we could cuddle, well the last time we cuddled she didn't have a 150 pound lab that liked to cuddle as well, we all snuggled up in her bed and went to sleep.

I woke up early the morning of the 19th and went back to my parents house and got ready with my mom to go back to my home town Temecula and get some lunch and walk around a little bit. It's so crazy how much things change throughout the years but some things don't change at all. We had such a great time at the Old Town Sweet Shop if you are ever in Old Town Temecula, this place is a MUST best fudge around hands down. They also have an amazing ice cream parlor with orgasmic banana splits. Once we were done there we went home and I watched the the U of U beat BYU in the Vegas Bowl, it was soo cool to be able to watch the game even in California.  

Jessi turned the big 3-2 and to celebrate we went out to a comedy club, usually the first act is just a warm up but honestly the first guy was 100 times funnier than the main act, we ended up leaving early but it was still fun to get out with her like old times.

UTAH WINS!

 

On the 20th Cameron got in town and we hung out at my dads house all day. It was so nice to have my whole family together again! We went over to my sisters that night so the kids could see Cameron and to do family dinner. Overall it was a slow but fun day. 

Stump loves her uncle Cameron.

On the 21st I took stump to lunch and get our nails done. We had a blast, we went to some hole in the wall mexican food place hat had a great beef quesodilla. Once we were done with our matching nails we went and picked up the nugget to have a sleepover at my parents house. Cameron and nug played xbox while me and stump did arts and crafts. We ended the night watching Treasure Planet, well they watched treasure planet while I fell asleep with stump curled up in my arms. 

The morning of the 22nd mom and I woke up early and headed out to my Grandmas house in Fillmore. It was so nice to see my grandma and grandpa.  The one thing that I do EVERY SINGLE TIME I go to grandma's is look at her photo albums, she has them outlining every year from 1930-2003. I swear every time I look through them it's like I'm looking through it for the first time and traveling back in time. 

My grandpa has a pretty severe case of Parkinson's Disease. For those of you who don't know what Parkinson's is it is Parkinson's disease is a progressive disorder of the nervous system that affects movement. The disease worsens over time. My grandpa was a California Highway Patrol officer for over 30 years and fought in the Vietnam War, he has never been a huge talker but the Parkinson's makes him nearly silent all the time according to my grandma. However, if I can get him talking about history or General Custer, the man just doesn't shut up and I wouldn't have it any other way. 

Due to the Parkinson's on the morning of the 21st he was in the bathroom and fainted, when he fainted he fell backwards into the tub and gashed his head pretty badly. My Grandma is a sweet woman but she didn't know just how bad it was until my mom and I showed up and were helping him change the bandage. They ended up taking him to the ER while I stayed at the house to finish dinner and watch a few hours of HGTV. When they got home that night we had our dinner and went to bed. Other than the ER it was a really good trip! 

The cover to my new rap album, apparently I've been a gangster my whole life.

On the 23rd we got up and drove back down to Canyon Lake to go to my sisters for Bake Night. It was soooo much fun, nothing is better than wine and baked goods. My sister even got these super cute aprons that look like they are from the 50's. It was the perfect girls night (plus nugget.)

Overall the first week with my family was absolutely incredible! I will post about Christmas Eve and Christmas in my next post! 

Last Day of Work/Last weekend home

Man oh Man! There has been so much that has gone on in the last 3 days! It's been hectic/incredible/emotional/exciting and so much more. 

First and foremost Friday was my last day working for GB as a Customer Support Representative. This last year and a half has been such an eye opening experience. I went from a new girl to watching people come in and out of the company. I made friends and more importantly I made a family. We spent 40 hours a week together and there were 4 of us on the entire team, it's hard not to get attached. 

Kendra: Thank you so much for becoming one of my best friends. I honestly have no idea how I would have gotten through it all without you. You kept me laughing when I needed it most by sending me HILARIOUS memes, snapchats, and just talking to me about everything under the sun. It's insane how close we have become, you are so fun to be around and I know that you will be completely honest whenever I need advice. You came in to my life for a reason, and that reason was to keep me sane and so that we can be friends forever. OH! And so I have a babysitter when I finally get pregnant (;

Lyndel: I don't even know where to begin. First off I would like to thank you for being one of the most genuine ladies I've ever known. You became such a big part of my life. Monday-Friday all day I knew I could count on you to be there and to help me when I needed it most. You helped in so many aspects of my life, not just work but as a former Military Spouse you were able to talk to me about what to expect and what worked best for you. I adore you. You became like an extra grandparent and I could not be more thankful for you. 

Shari: I can't express in to words how much I look up to you. You have the whole world on your shoulders, and the odds against you yet you still come in to work with a smile on your face and ask me how I'M doing. You are the most selfless human being that I have ever met. I can never understand how you stay so completely and utterly positive when nothing is in your favor. You have an infectious smile and it's impossible to have a bad day when you're around. Thank you for all of your advice and conversations. 

It's going to be so weird not waking up tomorrow and taking that drive at 7:15 into Orem, but I know good things are on the horizon for me. 

The Final Prank... 20 photos of my face throughout my bosses office.

Next point of business... Cameron let me drag him out of the house and go downtown to see the lights at Temple Square. They are seriously the highlight of my Christmas Season every year. We also went and stopped at the tree of life in Draper. It was absolutely beautiful and it wasn't too cold. We got hot chocolate and crepes downtown and walked around oohing and awing over the beautiful lights and scenery. All Cameron kept talking about was how much the maintenance guys hate this time of year. 

 If you've never been to the Tree Of Life in Draper, you need to go. It was AMAZING! The tree is so bright and beautiful, they even have certain bulbs on it so that it looks like it's twinkling. Overall the whole night was amazing an breath taking. Perfect way to spend my last weekend in Utah until January! I can't believe I leave for California on Thursday! 

I still have so much that needs to get done, including baking 4 batches of chocolate chip cookies to take to the firefighters, paramedics, and cops who came and helped Cameron when he decided to try and bleed to death. 

Today I finished my Christmas shopping! For the first year I got MY family presents. I never have, but man did it feel good to be able to spend money on them. We have always believed that Christmas isn't about presents, it's about being with family and the company you keep. It's about LOVE not THINGS. So needless to say it felt really great this year to be able to get them something.

Hope Y'all have a great week!