We're back!

Wow! What an eventful Christmas break that was! We began in Salt Lake, Utah for Jeff's wedding (Bryant's brother). We had quite the time trying to fly into SLC! When we got to the airport, of course there was the usual holiday traffic, but also storms all over the country. Our plane was delayed for about 4 1/2 hours in New York, which of course meant we missed the connection in Chicago to Salt Lake. We attempted to board standby in Chicago, but weren't able to get on any flights to Salt Lake that night. They were awesome and rerouted us to Pheonix and then onto Salt lake! It was such a long day. Not to mention the turbulance in the air. I tend to freak out a little bit during turbulance, so I created and "air plane" play list on my ipod. It helps to calm me down when the plane gets bumpy.

The wedding was beautiful though. It was good to be in Utah amongst the mountains again. However, it didn't feel like home. Kate (Jeff's wife) looked beautiful! And there was even a fluffy snow fall during pictures. I got some great shots of the couple and have posted them as a slide show. Congratualtions Jeff and Katie!

We flew to Missouri, which was eventful as well, but not to the drama of trying to get out. A storm threatened Denver and that's where our layover happened to be, so be got out of SLC on an earlier flight to try and beat the storm in Denver. It worked...we made it on earlier flights all theway home and weren't stranded with all the delays in Denver. It was good to be home.

I missed having Christmas with my family. It was my first Christmas not being at home, but Bryant's family made it fun and happy. Terry even brought a Charlie Brown tree for us to have in our hotel room. But I was glad to reach Christmas in the Cooper house.

I knew going into this break that it wasn't a vacation. There was lots to do for the reception being held at home. I catered it! I spent a lot of time planning out the food and decor. I loved it! We spent about 3 days preparing all the food and getting it ready for the reception. But there was plenty and an endless amount of compliments...which of course I thrived on. We tried to make everything finger food, so forks were only needed for the cake. This meant a lot of extra work because everything had to be plated separately. But it ended up looking fabulous! I had so much fun. And the Staples' home looked beautiful.

Shortly before the reception, however, my grandfather passed away. It wasn't unexpected, but sad. He was a wonderful man and will be missed by all who knew him. I have wonderful memories of my Grandpa Malone coming to visit. He was always kind and loving. He always took the time to show me what he was doing. I remember him pulling me aside and teaching me many a repair around the house. He was always serving us while he visited. I love him. It makes me greatful for my knowledge of the gospel and that families will be together forever. It is a wondrous thing to know! My family was in unchartered territory with this...having never lost a grandparent yet. He was the first to pass, and so we were exploring this situation for the first time.

Because of this, I extended my break for a week so that I could stay in Missouri and help my mom out around the house. I wasn't able to attend his funeral because it took place the same day as the wedding reception, but my mom and dad were able to attend. It was good to spend some fabulous girly time with my sisters. We don't get to do that very often. Bryant flew back to New York, and Scott (Caitlin's fiance) left, so it was just us girls for a while. We watched movies, talked Caitlin's wedding and had some great fun. It became known as the break with "two weddings and a funeral".

It's good to be back in New York though. I've enjoyed it a lot. Bryant was awesome and cleaned the house for me to come home to. I will have to post pictures of our apartment for all to see. I've gotten a lot of requests for them. So for now...Happy New Year!