A couple weeks ago, Dylan’s sister has called him and said that she wanted to get the whole family together for his parents. You see they have been all spread out for a while and the last time the entire family was together was at Dylan and I’s wedding which was over 2 years ago! You can imagine his parents really wanted everyone together, but with everyone spread out everywhere it has been difficult. So, we thought about it for a while because we would literally be driving down to California for a day, then driving back up to Vegas and to be honest, those trips are tiring, and previously Dylan and I had been go go go and haven’t rest much.

Finally after a lot of thought, we decided to go, after all, it is the season of giving and being with family and that includes time and energy, so we packed up last minute and got in the car Friday after work and drove to California. We stayed with his sister and her husband who we love and have so much fun with and their kids in Riverside. It was so fun as we enjoyed the California weather, palm trees, we went as saw some beautiful sights and tried freshly picked farm fruits and vegetables!

Later on Saturday we went to his family party on his moms side. Let me tell you, there are more kids in that family than I know how to count! I also haven’t spent much time with his extended family because he has so much it amazes me how he is able to remember them all! I’ve only really spent time with 4 of them, Aunt Chris and Uncle Crocky, and Lindsay and Angel who we would stay with when we visited Utah while we were still going to school in Rexburg, so I was literally meeting everyone again. Compare that to the 10 or so extended family I have and you can see how it is hard! However, we were all able to come together for the night. We forgot to take the picture with everyone because we got so caught up in everything, but for the first time in over 2 year all of Dylans siblings were able to be in the same place for his parents! Sunday before we left, Britney and JT (the people we were staying with) made these AMAZING homemade pizzas that had all the best and fresh ingredients! After we all ate, Dylan and I drove off back to Vegas listening to our road trip playlist that we love!

Over the last 6 months, I haven’t been able to see my parents at all. It’s really difficult to go and see them when they live all the way in Texas and we’re here in Vegas. We are able to Dylan’s family pretty often because they are all scattered between California and Arizona. Now, I am not complaining that it is easier to see them, because after all, they are also my family (read …)! However, I do miss my parents and brothers and sisters and wish I could see them more often!

Last week on Thursday at work, all the employees were told that we didn’t have to work Christmas Eve. As you can imagine, everyone went crazy and were super excited, including myself. However, I was a bit sad because I wanted so bad to go to Texas but had told my parents we couldn’t because of work, now the ability to go was there but it was the weekend of Christmas, plane tickets would be impossible to get!

That being said, I immediately told Dylan who told me to look up plane tickets and prices. Well, as I mentioned it was the weekend of Christmas, and there was no way we could get the tickets. I told my dad we tried, but we weren’t going to be able to make it. My dad, with a bit of sadness is his voice said it was okay and would call later on to talk. As Dylan comforted me, and assured me he had an amazing Christmas planned for us, I got a call. When I answered the phone, it was my dad and he said that he clicked the button. I said “what do you mean?” “I got the tickets, you’re coming to Texas!” I about lost my mind, I went crazy! It was Thursday night and we were leaving Friday after work! I was so excited and Dylan was trying to tell me to relax and that we had to prepare to go!

This whole weekend here has been amazing! We went last minute Christmas shopping, a Christmas party, church together as a family and then made amazingggg tacos (over 300) de chorizo y papa and chicharron! Later on Sunday night, we went to Downtown Grapevine to see all the beautiful Christmas Lights and decorations. Finally, if you’re Hispanic, you know that the 24th is Christmas for us (Noche Buena) so we were eating and playing games until 2 am with friends and family! Once they all left, immediate family got together and we enjoyed each other’s company for a bit, opened presents, and went to bed.

So I here we are to today, Christmas 2018. Today Dylan and I return back to Las Vegas and work tomorrow (Dylan goes back Thursday). The holidays are essentially over, yes there is New Years, but it isn’t big enough for us to travel everywhere for it, so we will probably enjoy it on the Strip. This holiday season has been amazing and full of surprises and it can be hard to remember the true meaning of Christmas, to be with family and other loved ones and enjoy their company, as well as for those who are religious, to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ (or whoever you believe in!) and remember what he has given us!

As 2018 wraps up, I am just so grateful for all of my families, what they mean to me and how happy it makes me to have so many amazing people in Dylan and I’s corner cheering us on to be successful at life. 2018 has a lot of highs and a lot of lows, but so does every year, but this Christmas was a great way to (almost) end it! I hope you all had an amazing holiday season, and remember, reach your hand out and invite others to be with you, not everyone has friends or family to spend this time with and can lead to depression for a lot of people, so let’s be that person to bring holiday cheer!

Merry Christmas Everyone and a Happy New Year!