Home For The Holidays

This is a Chase family year for Christmas. I would say that sharing Christmas with my husband is one of the draw backs of being married except I am blessed to have married into an amazing family. In-laws are treated VERY well! So this year we are off to Michigan. Everyone always asks, Why Michigan? Isn't Dan from Hawaii? Yes he is, but Dan comes from a large family and they are spread across the U.S. so Michigan becomes the central location that everyone gathers too, and it is way cheaper for everyone to fly to Michigan than to Hawaii. So the first reason I titled my post Home For The Holidays is because I will be with Dan and with a second family that I love and that loves me and that makes me feel at home!

The second reason I titled my post Home For The Holidays is because this last weekend I went to my parents house in Cedar City. It isn't technically "home" either because they moved there after I got married, but like I said above, it is home because it is where my family lives now. And I wasn't there over Christmas, but it really helped put me in the Christmas spirit. I drove down Friday night and stayed through Sunday. I had so much fun hanging out with my parents and having one on one time with them. Usually there are the grandkids stealing the show (understandably) or I have Dan with me, which I love, but Dan and I both know that the best gift to give my mom was a trip by myself. She loves Dan, but having a weekend with just me is quite a treat.

Saturday when my mom and I woke up went to the store then started baking. We had Christmas carols playing in the background, thank you Pandora, and 2 ovens going. I love baking or cooking with my mom because all of her recipes have been fine tuned to perfection and everything comes out great, usually. She tried telling me a story of one year she had me measure out all the dry ingredients and apparently I did it wrong. I am sure that was Mandy, but she is sticking to the story that it was me. But that brings up the other great thing about spending hours and hours together in the kitchen, we get to talk and reminisce.

That night I went to a Christmas Light Parade with my dad. Cedar city is OBSESSED with Parades and after watching about 20mins of the Christmas light Parade I have decided that they should have fewer parades, and increase the quality. Even though it left something to be desired it was fun going out with my dad and spending time with him, well, until we got too cold and had to go home.

It was a great weekend and I am so glad I was able to spend that time with my parents. They are so amazing and I am very thankful for them.