Christmas and San Fransisco


Hello my dear! It was a treat to be able to talk to you twice this week! I hope you had a memorable Christmas, and I hope you enjoyed all of the messages from home. I know Dad spent a long time writing you a letter, and I hope that was special as well. We sure miss you. Christmas morning just was not the same without you!


  1. Dad and I were up much later on Christmas Eve than I had anticipated. Geez. I thought we were golden. Most of the presents were already wrapped. Somehow we still managed to stay up until 3 am or so. SMH. 
  2. These are the gift highlights!


Tate-RC gecko that walks on walls, more magnets, Junie B books, RC Tesla, hotwheels


Jett- Drip Lord hat, rollerblades, scooter, legos. Surprise hit - digital writing tablets 


Ethan- clothes, golf passes, beats


Blake- clothes, mini room makeover, digital camera and zoom lens


Michael - water filtration, sleep mat, tent


Dad - clothes, shaver, church books, Nike shoes!


Me- puzzle board, jewelry, heated eye mask, church boots, camera, Azul summer edition


Family gifts- game downloads, photo albums, National parks puzzle, popcorn popper. 


Blake/Mike - aptitude testing in San Francisco


This is what our week was like:

  1. We had a fun clue hunt that led to my camera and photo albums for everyone else. I’ll send you the clues probably in a separate email. 
  2. The day after Christmas we got all packed up for our trip to San Francisco. Nobody was super excited about cleaning, packing, and leaving town. But we managed to get out the door around 8:30 am, and got to California early enough to hit Fenton’s for ice cream sundaes and dinner at Red Robbin. 
  3. Saturday we spent the afternoon in Chinatown which was super fun. Tate wanted to go in every store! We stopped and bought a bag full of “Dim Sum” Chinese food to sample. it was all just ok to me. My favorite was the sesame balls. I did NOT sample the  chicken feet. NO THANK YOU. Later we visited the Japanese Tea Garden (beautiful!), and walked on the beach for a little bit. It was Michael’s first time seeing the ocean since his mission. The waves produced a lot of sea foam which was cool to see. I’m not sure I’ve seen that on a beach before. Of course Jett and Tate got their shoes soaked in the ocean. Of course they did. 
  4. For dinner we ate at a Greek place called Kebab Shop. It was really yummy. You would have liked it. Huge portions of rice, meat, pita and salad. Some of the sauces were super spicy and Tate thought his mouth was going to burn off! For dessert we went to Meet Fresh for a boba shaved ice dessert that was a completely new food experience. I highly recommend!
  5. Back to the hotel for a nighttime swim and a couple rounds of Azul. Jett one and Dad needed a rematch!
  6. Today we went to church near the temple. The meeting started at 1:30, and with Dad’s help I made it on time for the first and last time this calendar year. Dad, Michael and Blake attended the Chinese ward. Afterwards we took a moment to admire the enormous gym at the church. It was a full sized court and its was a beautiful thing. We spent the afternoon driving the campuses of Berkeley and Stanford. Now we are playing a rousing game of scum before bed.
  7. Everyone is sick. It’s been a chorus of coughing for the past several days. Despite my best efforts, I came down with a sore throat last night. Dad is the final hold out. Good luck to him!
  8. Today your Dad and I celebrated our 24th anniversary of married bliss with all of your brothers in tow. What a blessing you boys are!


It was fun to talk to you tonight. I hope you got a nap, and a clean apartment. I hope Elder Mecham got good news from home and the Magic The Gathering cards of his dreams. 


Love you!

Mom



























































































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