There's No Place Like Home

I'm back in San Diego now, but I thought I'd update you, my friends, on the rest of my time at home. I love going home. I love being with my parents and the rest of my family; I love how many friends live within a 3 mile radius of my parents' house; I love sitting on the couch, rubbing fingernails with my mom; I love sitting on the back porch with a group of friends lounging around the fire pit having deep discussions about life; I love drinking good wine and eating good food while I'm there; I really love going home. And, while my friends in cooler climates might feel sad for me that I don't get to experience a white Christmas, I go outside, look at the bright blue sky, the radiant green grass, and the pristine white clouds, lit up by a shining golden sun, and I think, "It doesn't get much better than this." I mean, just look at this view of my parents' street: I particularly appreciated the blues skies this time around. San Diego skies just don't seem to hit that beautiful bright hue.

And, how can you not feel completely welcome when this is what awaits you at the front door? But the best thing about going home is being with my family. My aunt, uncle, and cousins live just down the street from my parents, so it's always fun to spend time with them when I go home. I mentioned before that we spent Christmas Eve with them; here are a few pictures I took from that night:
My brother-in-law, Ben, and sister, Jamie.

It's hard to get a good picture of my brother, Jesse, but I think this one is just incredible. I mean, he's so photogenic! My cousins had a great time opening presents:
And my uncle had an even better time trying to undo the packaging so they could actually play with their presents (notice the 1000 piece lego set to the left. I wonder how long it will take to lose 1000 legos?) : And my mother laughing. I love it when my mother laughs.

After Christmas, we watched several movies (Seven Pounds, Valkyrie, Gran Turino, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button in the theaters and Mamma Mia and Eagle Eye at home), and spent a lot of time just lounging. We did get out one day, however, with my grandma to the Desert Botanical Gardens where they are featuring the blown glass art of a man named Chihuly. It was a great chance to take some funny pictures.

These are just my favorites. I posted several more on facebook. It really was a fun time, and then we went to a nice dinner afterward - we were so cultured. I feel like I could tell you so many more stories and thoughts I have about my time at home, but maybe I'll leave those for another day. This post is already quite long. If you've made it this far, thanks for sticking with me.