It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

3 posts in 3 days! Don't worry, this won't become the norm. I've just been working on my lesson in relief society for this Sunday and need a break, especially because next week I will be writing a talk for sacrament meeting. Holy cow, this ward is going to be so sick of me, but then we'll be leaving for 3 weeks, so I guess they'll get over it in that time.

Plus, I needed to blog because I'm excited for Christmas! Our house is decorated and ready for Santa to visit! Which is awesome cuz he will be to our house in 2 weeks exactly! That's one of the many perks of going home for the holidays- that we get to celebrate Christmas more than once.

So to share in my excitement, here is a little project I made that is now displaying on my piano. Hope you like it as much as I do! Thank you Buddy the Elf for helping it look a lot like Christmas!

Seaside

The weekend before Thanksgiving, Dustin and I went on a little weekend getaway to the coast at Seaside, OR. I surprised Dustin by buying a groupon for the Inn at Seaside while we were still in Utah and had money. Hahaha, like we had money then.

We drove through the mountains and through SNOW to get there. I didn't know it snowed that close to the coast! With all the trees lining the highway and the snow lightly falling on them, it seriously looked like we were driving through Narnia. It was magical.

As we checked into the hotel, it started raining like CRAZY. We wanted to scope out the town, but I didn't want to get soaked before dinner, so we drove around the little town of Seaside. It really is REALLY little. It was hard to see much of anything in the downpour. As we were exploring, we saw what looked like just a really flooded road. We stopped at the stop sign and paused.... it looked REALLY flooded. Then I realized that it was the huge RIVER that runs through the town. For some reason, this part didn't have a bridge, just a stop sign. Who's idea was that?!!?? I have no idea. But thankfully we didn't drive into the river. That would have made the trip horrible.

After exploring in the rainy dark, we parked our car back at the hotel and walked to dinner, since it was so close. The Groupon included dinner credit to a restaurant, which means we were able to order something yummy... and we did. Prime Rib! It was so good and maybe it's cuz we eat a lot of ramen noodles and quesadillas, but it was SO freaking good.

Our onion ring masterpiece.

As we left the restaurant, the rain had stopped, so walking back to the hotel wasn't so bad. We changed into swimsuits and went swimming in the hotel pool that we had all to ourselves. It was a blast! We picked up some movies from the hotel's movie library and headed up to our rooms to enjoy our "welcome package" of sparkling cider and chocolate truffles while watching Cast Away.

The Carousel in the middle of The Carousel Mall, giving it the name.

The next morning we checked out and the sun was shining. It was a perfect day! We went shopping at the Carousel Mall and picked up some Christmas presents for Dustin's sisters. Then we walked down to the beach. The waves were crashing so hard and it was fun to watch.

We visited a few other shops and then headed back home (through Narnia). It was a short trip, but it was fun and a great getaway!

Isn't this breathtaking? I love the Oregon coast. Even if it's freezing cold.