Merry {late} Christmas!!! I hope everyone spent the past couple of days with family, eating until the couldn't anymore, giving and receiving gifts, and remembering the real reason of Christmas!! Trager and I switch off Christmas and Thanksgiving with our families each year so this Christmas we are in St. George with our Hintze fam :) And our holiday season has been so much fun so far! (The holiday season doesn't end until New Years...right?!)
On Christmas Eve Trager, Taylor Ence, Tegan, Papa D, and I all loaded up to go on a horse ride. We rode for about 2.5 hours and for sure the highlight of the trip was when I almost got bucked off my horse! I had gotten a little comfortable and after riding up and down hills through a million little bushes we came to a dirt road. Trager, Taylor, and Papa D had all galloped ahead while Tegan and chatted behind them. And then we decided it was time to catch up. I kicked my horse (Paco) and clicked my tongue and he shot forward. At first I was fine, but the more he ran the less in rhythm I became. At one point I could've sworn I was going to go over his neck! Finally, after a few swear words (whoops!) and clutching the saddle horn for dear life, I got Paco to stop. My legs shook for about twenty minutes afterwards, but overall Papa D said it was win because I stayed on!
Also, I can't get enough of those pretty red mountains!
After we got home from riding and warmed up a bit, it was time for Christmas Eve dinner! Ty always makes prime rib and twice baked potatoes and lots of other goodies. Twice baked potatoes seriously might be my favorite thing to eat! After we ate, we each got to open up a few gifts. One of them was from Trager's grandpa and his wife who are serving an LDS mission in Wisconsin and Michigan. They are currently serving in the upper peninsula of Michigan so we all got some sort of "yupper" t-shirt. It was pretty cute! Then we got to open our "surprise gift" from Ty and Papa D. Of course, it was our Christmas jammies! This year Ty got all of us a really hilarious t-shirt. Mine read, "I'm silently correcting you grammar!" I think she nailed ;) After gifts we watched a movie about the nativity and it was the perfect way to end the night!
Our Christmas morning was filled with gifts, laughter, and cinnamon rolls...one of my favorite combinations! We spent the rest of the day watching movies and being around our family. One of the things I was most excited for this Christmas was to talk to my sister, Megan, who is serving an LDS mission in Santa Rosa, CA. I write her emails most days, but getting to hear her voice was really special :) I may have cried through most of the phone call. I'm just so proud of how well she is doing! Sister Gowens is such an example to me!
At the end of the night, all the girls went on a car ride to see the Christmas lights in the area. We went to about 6 houses that each had music coordinated with their lights. It was so neat to see! Finally, we went to a look out point over St. George and even though the picture below doesn't do it justice, it was so pretty to see all the lights of the houses surrounding the St. George temple.
I hope everyone continues to have a wonderful holiday season!!
Book review up tomorrow...
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