The day after.

...and I thought I'd be bored over the Holidays. Yeah, right. I am most definitely more busy now than I was during Fall semester! But, that really isn't saying anything. An hour of homework a week does not count as "busy." I will have a lot more homework this semester, however. Anyway, there's only been a couple of times where I've just been sitting around the past two weeks. It's a good thing!


So, the day after Christmas is always a bummer. No one really wants to take the lights or the tree down, just because we still want the spirit of Christmas. And we must wait until 2012 to do this all over again. 364 days?? At least I don't have to work or go to class until next week. I guess there is still New Year's Eve, but I don't have any plans yet. Hopefully I'll get some soon, so I have something to look forward to.


Christmas 2011 was the best Christmas yet. I say that every year, though. Christmas always just keeps getting better at the Hawkes home. It may have been the fact that we didn't spend very much money on presents, or that Jake spent hundreds of hours making useful (very useful, I might add) presents for us in his wood-shop class, or maybe that we were just all together again. I do love coming home for long periods of time, because it reminds me I wasn't born in Provo, and I that still have a life outside of campus. It's almost like I can feel the stress decrease when I drive down from the point of the mountain, out of Utah County. I'm not really looking forward to going back next Sunday night, but at least I'll have all of my BYU friends in one place again. 


I am looking forward to going back to school, though. However, I'm not looking forward to the LONG Winter semester. Is it just me, or is Winter semester always the longest? I do love meeting new people in my classes, changing the subjects I study completely, and just getting a fresh new start. I have so much to look forward to this semester, and especially 2012. I can just feel that it's going to be the best year yet. There will be plenty of ups and downs, but overall, it's gonna be fantastic. 


Here's a little look into the Hawkes family Christmas week:

Jake's birthday is the 23rd. Poor kid. We give him all of his presents
on June 23rd, so he doesn't get ripped off too much. He's 14 now!
(Also, do not judge us on our cake-decorating talents.)

Christmas PJ tradition. Mom wanted a "photo-shoot" look.

So jealous of Jake's new goggles...we better get on the mountain soon!
As soon as there is 10 more feet of snow.

Annual family photo.

Merry Christmas!