christmas cheer

is anyone else as sad as i am to see christmas go?? i am always a bit blue the day after christmas because i know i have to wait an entire year to celebrate again! although, this year on the day after christmas we went on a little girl's only shopping spree with nancy's mom, nani, which quickly helped those blues disappear temporarily. but as i sit in the airport i feel them creeping back.

our time in lala land was spent watching many movies, making tons of food, decorating cookies, shopping, making homemade tamales, decorating gingerbread houses, seeing old friends, drinking lots of tea for the sick girl {me}, chatting, laughing, enjoying the company of family & exchanging lots of gifts!

as we prepare to head out to seattle today for our next adventure, i am just thinking back on how quickly this vacation went by. it is so hard to find time to come home to LA. but when we do get the chance to come, it seems we fill our days with tons of activities, which seems to make the trip go by even faster. time flies doesn't it...i just want it to slow down sometimes!!

i am beyond grateful for my wonderful family. coming home is always so much fun. i know mark loves it too because he gets to mess around with my brothers & act 13 again for a few days. the older i get the more i appreciate each member of my family & wish i lived closer to them. one day! i had the best christmas this year & the gifts were only the cherry on top of an already fantastic vacation.

christmas 2012

wishing you & yours a very merry christmas.

love,

the bechtholts
{& my sister and her boyfriend :) }

sibling lovin'

coming home for the holidays tend to be very busy when we are in LA with my family. my parents seem to plan out the entire vacation so we can fit as much in as possible. while i love that we are on the go & doing fun things, this often means i don't have much time to see friends when i'm back. luckily two of my best high school friends asked me to take some holiday sibling pictures a few days before christmas. i was so happy that they did because it was the perfect opportunity to hang out with friends that i rarely see for a few hours!

i think giving parents cute pictures of their kids is always an easy but thoughtful gift that they are sure to love! jordan & ariana, i hope that your parents are surprised & happy with their gifts this year!

i had so much fun chatting & snapping pictures of these two little groups of siblings. i also learned some valuable lessons about photographing friends. haha. i miss these girls a lot & am so happy that i was able to see them during this visit home!

it's been real...

...but not real fun, snow.

i am beyond excited to get out of this frigid weather we are having in utah. oh, is it not cool for some of you? well, i am chilled to the bone!

 

it is awfully pretty though.

who knows if LA or seattle will be much warmer, but a girl can dream, right?!

i can't believe christmas has snuck up so quickly this year! it feels like thanksgiving was last week & now mark & i are about to head home yet again! where does the time go...but i am ready for a break from our normal day2day routine. no work. no cooking/cleaning! AH!! no snow. sounds perfect to me.

i hope everyone is getting all of their last minute shopping done & heading somewhere fun to celebrate the holidays.

holiday mini sessions

anyone looking for some holiday photos???
this is a limited time offer to get some festive pictures for a great price! i am featuring this deal in utah, los angeles & seattle. check below for dates.
www.jennabechtholt.com

sign up today!

lala land part lll

on our final day in los angeles i met up with 3 of my best friends from high school. we got together on sunday morning at a local coffee shop {zeli's} & sipped on frozen hot chocolates. yum. it was so nice catching up with them & hearing what everyone is up to. i can't wait to live closer one day so that we can be more apart of each others lives again...

it's crazy how something so simple like a trip to trader joe's can be so special! we don't have a TJ's in utah, so when i get the opportunity to go grocery shopping there i take full advantage of it. i can't wait for utah to get a trader joe's, even if it is in salt lake {i can't live without their salsa}. 

around noon we all headed to get massages & the girls got pedicures as well. it was so relaxing & it was mark's first time ever getting a professional massage! he was a fan, but who isn't? 

after a nice afternoon out, we all came home & lounged around the house. we spent some time outside in the garden & the boys got together and played some music. they are really talented musicians.

while the kids had a relaxing afternoon, my dad & other JPLers were busy preparing & waiting for 10:31pm when the rover curiousity was scheduled to land on mars. this was a huge deal & a very complicated process. so in honor of another landing, we had a traditional take-out chinese food dinner with family and friends. we were all excited to head to PCC & watch the landing together. everything went just as planned & the brilliant people of JPL successfully landed another rover on the surface of mars. a few minutes after curiousity landed, 2 clear images were sent back for the world to see. it was a really cool experience that i'm glad i was able to be a part of. 

congrats to the MSL team! 

{i actually worked on the MSL project for a few weeks one summer in high school - i was a big help, no doubt! ;)}

traditional take-out chinese dinner before a landing!

landed safely

first image

lala land part II

we started off day 2 of the staycation with a family cooking class at chez cherie {a local business in la canada}. we all had a blast making various vegetarian appetizers. they all tasted amazing!

later that night half of the family headed to a dear friend's wedding. ashley hoffman. she got married to her best friend in her family's backyard & it was beautiful. there was lots of good food, dancing & fun people. alicia was the maid of honor & looked almost as beautiful as the bride.
congrats ashley & brent!