hundreds and hundreds of lights.

yesterday morning, i thought i was having a text message convo with my cousin dani in nashville.  turns out, i was having a text convo with my cousin dani who was getting off the plane in slc.

lucky.

and before i knew it, i was wandering temple square with dani, missy, larry + sandy. 

only the happiest/funniest people in my life.

we happened to choose the coldest day in utah state history to be outside. for hours. voluntarily.

i'm really grateful i chose to grab a coat in the morning before i left the house. there's always a really good chance coats aren't a priority in my morning routine.

we tried to walk a fetus right out of missy's uterus.

anytime now, babe. we're waiting...

i don't think it worked. instead, i think we froze it into place.

 

as i was walking {so so quickly} toward the visitors center to meet the cousins, i heard a wife exclaim to her husband - while looking at the red tree below - "there are literally hundreds and hundreds of lights on that tree." 

it was funny.

maybe more funny then than it is now?

she was about to die of a heart attack from light overload. i'm not sure she made it the entire way around temple square. 

 

the last couple years, i've spent the first monday of december in a groundhog day-esque fog... wandering temple square, confused as ever, chasing the same boy around in my head + around temple square... from the japanese nativity scene to the tabernacle to the floating manger scene in the reflection ponds.

but, it's 2011 and i'm over it.

hallelujah! peace on earth! angels we have heard! and the rockets red glare!

my lights at temple square experience improved dramatically between 2010 and 2011. 

the lights were pretty. the company was good. and as long as i didn't take my hands out of my pockets, my digits stayed warm. it's a christmas miracle, indeed.