Christmas 2010, Part 1: Salt Lake City

December has been a fun, busy month! It's hard to believe Christmas has already come, and now it's time to update the blog on all that has happened:

1. Festival of Trees
My Aunt and I went to the Festival of Trees the week after Thanksgiving. This was my 5th year going as a volunteer, and once again I was blown away by how impressive the trees were. For those of you who don't know what Festival of Trees is, it's basically a huge fundraiser held in the Sandy Expo Center where people donate elaborately decorated trees to auction off, and then all the money proceeds go to the children's hospital. The trees usually have a theme and are donated in remembrance of a loved one who has past away. Some of the stories are very touching. I got to guard the gingerbread houses this year, which were so creative and mind-blowing. Some people are so talented! My favorite tree was the "House Divided" tree: Utah vs. BYU.

The right side definitely looks the best.

2. Lights on Temple Square
Because I have been working on Temple Square for the past few months, I've watched the grounds crew putting up Christmas lights since September. It was fun finally getting to see the lights lit up at night! Here are some of my favorite pictures:

3. Decorating!
My roommate, Sariah, and I had a fabulous time getting a Christmas tree (sadly, fake, but it still worked), decorating our Christmas tree, and putting up stockings. I also decorated my personal "Charlie Brown Christmas tree" and put it up in my bedroom. Salt Lake City got a ton of snow this past month, which I think really added to the ambiance of the season.

Ta-da! Our beautiful Christmas tree!

Stockings were hung by the chimney with care...

I loved the way our living room turned out. It really added to the Christmas spirit!

My Charlie Brown Tree

The view from my bedroom window. We got up to about 14 inches one day!

4. Roommate Christmas Party
For the first time since we've moved in, all 7 of us roommates got together and had a Christmas party! It seriously was the first time I'd seen all of us in the same room at the same time, so it was pretty exciting. We exchanged secret Santa gifts, talked, laughed, took pictures, and ate ice cream. It was a great night and made me feel so blessed to have the roommates that I have! I know I was inspired to move where I'm currently living.

Mandy and Sicily

Kari and Sue

Sariah and Mele

Me and Sariah

We also celebrated Sariah's birthday!

In summary, my first Christmas in Salt Lake City was pretty amazing. I'm really enjoying living where I'm living and enjoying life as an independent, working woman =) This year has had it's ups and downs, but right now I'm definitely experiencing some major ups. What a nice way to end 2010!