December started out right with a Murder Mystery Dinner. Mike and I had previously done one in our old ward in Logan. It was fun (especially since I won the best dressed contest) however, we didn't necessarily have the right group. We didn't want to make that mistake again so this time we had the right group together, consisting of ourselves, the Skokos', the Hansen's, the Munn's, and one other couple. It was the Aix La Chappelle clan. Stephen Skokos, party extraordinaire, was taking charge.
He borrowed the story/crime scene from a fellow co-worker and assigned us to our roles. The crime took place in the 70's in a disco scene, I
played the part of a songstress and Mike was a disco star. Don't worry his part was more manly than it sounds- and he was known to woo the ladies. We were assigned our parts beforehand so we could come looking the part. Luckily Mike's parents had actual clothes and accessories from the era. I borrowed Debbie's graduation dress which she also used for her engagement pictures in the 70's! Unfortunately, I was a little thicker than Debbie was back then and couldn't zip up the back. Thankfully, I had a sweet leather vest to cover my open back. Mike was able to locate a suave baby blue jacket and some retro plaid pants- not to mention a blonde Afro. With a little eye liner, Mike had some pretty sweet facial hair and we were ready to go do the dinner party.
Everybody arrived at the Skokos residence looking fabulous and ready to play their part. Stephen played the role of host and struggled to keep an Asian accent, even though he tried so hard. The other couple had made up parts that Stephen kindly wrote in so they could join the party- nevertheless, they didn't get to into it. It could have been personalities or the fact that they knew they didn't really contribute much to the scene since they were, as mentioned, made up parts. It is also debatable whether Stephen's part was made up as well since his martial arts character didn't make much sense but made it all the better.. However, everybody had a great time as we traveled back to the disco era of the 70's and put on our best acting. The Murder Mystery dinner was a smashing success and a great kick off to the month of December.
The following weekend we did the Hill family Christmas progressive dinner. We were assigned the role of the main dish- due to location- and the fact that I make an amazing pizza! Although, the latter fact was a surprise to everyone in attendance. We started off up north in Ogden area and worked our way to South Jordan. The stops are quick as to keep stomach's satisfied and to make sure we get to see everybody's Christmas decorations. As you can imagine, it was pretty tough for everybody to see our decorations in our one bedroom apartment. But don't worry, we managed to wow everybody with our Christmas tree decorated in our wedding decor and our two stockings hanging from our entertainment center. Weekend two, another success.
Due to our anniversary's proximity to the Christmas holiday, we celebrated early. Mike and I decided we would take turns planning our anniversary celebrations. Yup, you guessed it, Mike was up to plan the first year. We were going to head back to Heber/Park City as was only fitting since we did part of our honeymoon in Park City as well. However, he kept the details secretive per my request. We met at the Wal-Mart just off of the Junction so Mike could get some goodies. Since he was working up there, Sam was able to drop him off and I picked him up. We went to eat at the Loco Lizard in memoir to our honeymoon as well. After dinner, we drove up to Heber and stayed at the Still Water Lodge by Jordanelle. We arrived after the traditional check in time, so we were left to check ourselves in. We called a number that was listed and they had a safe with our room key in it. We could have had the choice of several different rooms of others who had not quite checked in as well. But don't worry we were honest and took our own room. Things got a little steamy as we enjoyed the hot tub and some hot cocoa. Later, I fell asleep as Mike watched as he recalls, "a fascinating documentary on the Foo Fighters."
The next day we got up in the morning and went to see the ski jumpers at the Olympic park. It was fun to see them spinning, flipping, and flying through the sky. They are really talented. We then decided to head back into Heber as Mike had a surprise there that night. We considered going ice skating, however, thought it was expensive for how long we would last with just the two of us. So we drove up to the Homestead because Mike had never seen it. We walked inside the crater and Mike thought it was awesome and vowed that we should go back to go swimming one day. Then on Main Street we saw a bookstore that I wanted to go check out. We searched through the store and found two books of interest- one was Go Ask Alice and the other was a surfing book. Go Ask Alice was a true story about a girl who struggled with a drug addiction. The book was a series of journal entries. Later, Mike and I read it together- except it got so dark that I couldn't finish it and had to have Mike paraphrase it for me. The other book was a much lighter read- it was a surfing book from the 80's. It told you everything you needed to know about surfing. Mike was excited to get it because he has always wanted to surf and we were going to go to Hawaii in less than a month. You could say it was meant to be. So we splurged the $3 and bought our books.
We had a few more hours until it was time for the big surprise so we decided to grab a bite to eat at The Angry Bull. It is a hamburger place on the historic Main Street in Heber. We grabbed our burgers and got ready for the big surprise....Thoroughly Modern Millie! Yup, Mike knew I loved plays so we saw a play in the little town hall. Millie was a small town girl looking to find her way in New York City. She got caught up in as Wikipedia puts it a "flapper lifestyle". Trouble arises though as she checks into a hotel owned by a Chinese lady, who was hilarious I might add, who is a leader of a white slavery ring in China. It was fun to see and Mike was kind enough to bear it. First anniversary=Awesome!
The only down side to the month was Steven's Henager. Right in the midst of all the holiday cheer my supervisor decided to tell me I was on a personal improvement plan (PIP), aka probation. I wasn't getting enough students started and so basically if I didn't up my students the next month, I was toast. So basically I decided it was time to really start looking for another job. However, it would have to wait until the holidays were over. So lets get back to the fun stuff.
The next weekend was Christmas! I let Mike open one of his Christmas gifts early as we were heading up Little Cottonwood Canyon to do some back country sledding with Jon. You nailed it, it was a sled. Mike was pumped. So we headed up the mountain, Mike and I in our snow shoes, while Jon was in some basketball kicks. We trudged up the Mountain and learned more about Jon and his mission. He witnessed some pretty disturbing things on his mission. It's surprising how much missionaries can handle. After hiking up the mountain for about an hour or so, we decided it was time to come down. We quickly realized the snow situation was lower than we even thought and we would basically have to walk down the whole mountain again. We were able to find a few fun spots to sled down- and luck would have it that Mike ran over a rock and busted his brand new sled. Sad day. As always, it was another adventure.
A few days later, Christmas had arrived! Mike and I were able to celebrate our first real Christmas together at our little apartment. We made French Toast and had a gift opening celebration. We got lots of fun things from ski poles, to ski goggles, hats, shoes, bike pump and gloves, clothes, a watch, work out videos (including but not limited to Mama and Baby Yoga) and we can't forget the assortment bag of tootsie rolls for Mike- his favorite candy. We enjoyed being able to spend Christmas together just the two of us in our apartment. Our Christmas wasn't over yet though, for in a week, my parents would be taking the family to Hawaii for our Christmas present. Like I said, it was a month worth celebrating.
The next day we got up in the morning and went to see the ski jumpers at the Olympic park. It was fun to see them spinning, flipping, and flying through the sky. They are really talented. We then decided to head back into Heber as Mike had a surprise there that night. We considered going ice skating, however, thought it was expensive for how long we would last with just the two of us. So we drove up to the Homestead because Mike had never seen it. We walked inside the crater and Mike thought it was awesome and vowed that we should go back to go swimming one day. Then on Main Street we saw a bookstore that I wanted to go check out. We searched through the store and found two books of interest- one was Go Ask Alice and the other was a surfing book. Go Ask Alice was a true story about a girl who struggled with a drug addiction. The book was a series of journal entries. Later, Mike and I read it together- except it got so dark that I couldn't finish it and had to have Mike paraphrase it for me. The other book was a much lighter read- it was a surfing book from the 80's. It told you everything you needed to know about surfing. Mike was excited to get it because he has always wanted to surf and we were going to go to Hawaii in less than a month. You could say it was meant to be. So we splurged the $3 and bought our books. 
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