Last Day of Winter Break: Beach Celebration

The last day of winter break is always so painful :/ Especially when I've been warned that the second semester of nursing school is the hardest and most evil. Maybe they're trying to weed out the week in the early stages? Either way, I've spent too much time and money in school to get kicked out or delayed any longer! So this semester is definitely going to be...interesting.

No better way to start the worst semester with doing one of my favorite things! Beach! Just being at the beach is enough therapy for me. But friends, football, sand sculptures and sunsets with some jacuzzi time after it gets colds sounds even better to me ;)

Snowboarding in Big Bear

I made a very bad decision to take a winter class...Latin American Politics Through Film, to be exact. I was trying to catch up on my Spanish major while they actually offered an upper division Spanish class over the winter. Very rare!! Haha I guess I didn't realize how burnt out I was until I started ANOTHER two week class during my beautiful 5 week (much needed) break after my introduction to nursing school :(

SO, after I finished that class, I celebrated with a trip up to Big Bear for snowboarding. I didn't get to go last year because I was so busy with school and work and really couldn't afford it. So this year, even though I can't afford it even more, I forced myself to make it happen!

It was a perrrrfect day for snowboarding. And it even snowed the day before, putting a finishing touch on the mountain. We even waited in an hour long line to get past chains check. And OF COURSE we didn't even need them! There was NO SNOW on the road!! I think we passed by maybe 2 small patches of snow in the road that were probably the size of my two feet together, haha. Thanks mountain cops...

 After 6 years of riding on my board (that I got for a huuuge discount) the sale-quality is starting to show itself and my board is breaking apart :( Sad day...at least it wasn't the main strap that broke so I could at least attempt to make a few more runs down the mountain, haha

 What used to be a shiny white Suburban, haha

 After it got too dark, windy, and FUHREEZING to stay on the mountain, we went down the road to the MOST DELICIOUS Mexican place I've ever been too. I used to come here all the time when I visited the mountain in high school, and I have no idea how I forgot about it. When I was up here in the fall to go fishing, I remembered about it when I was driving by and rediscovered its wonders!

Grant got a FIVE pound wet burrito. Haha that thing was nearly as big as he was!

This picture doesn't make them look appetizing, but I've never had fajitas more delicious ever in my life!! I'm seriously addicted. Why does Big Bear have to be over 100 miles away!! I will seriously make a trip back up here soon just to visit Esperanza's. MMMMM!!! :D

CHRISTMAS!!

One of my favorite times of year!! No school, good food, happy music, happy people! Having such a huge family and extensions of family, it's always a busy time of year for me! I think I ended up having 3-4 Christmas dinners! Haha

 I found these jammies in Walmart. My Uncle Ed would have been so proud if I wore them to Christmas. I decided to return then to save money...if I had a job, I totally would have kept them!!

 With Christmas, comes cookies! I made these a while ago for Dalton when I was experimenting with gluten-free, and I thought I would try them again! I liked them better the second time...no flour! Just powdered sugar, coco, and eggs whites!

My mom finally found a good gluten-free flour and re-designed her delicious Christmas sugar cookies 

And again with the ugly sweater...haha one of my favorite parts of Christmas. I get to wear ugly, but comfy clothes to Christmas dinner!

Christmas just isn't complete without the dancing Santa Claus. I demand a dance out of every one who wants to watch him go! Haha, I think I may tear up if it ever breaks... 

My friends, Lindsey and Courtney have a Grinch obsession. I found SO many cheap Grinch things this season, so I turned it into part of their Christmas gift. Haha Grinch galore!

Nicky's 19th Birthday

[Absolutely HORRIBLE quality pictures, but how can I leave my little brother's birthday out of the story? Haha, I guess he's stuck, awful quality and all!]

THE DAY before finals, I was forced to put down my books (which was definitely needed) and my brother, mom and Kevin went out to East Village Asian Cafe for dinner in downtown Encinitas. I love this place. It's so quirky with it's weird robot menu and playing strange Asian cartoon movies in the background (almost always Ponyo), PLUS the food is delicious!

In case it's not obvious, my brother was not fond of my picture taking and mocked me for my "obsession" with blogging and Instagram. Haha, as seen by my lack of posts, I most definitely am not addicted to blogging, but I try to keep some pictures coming through Instagram to keep family and friends in touch while I slave away at prison...I mean nursing school....

After dinner, since the restaurant was small and crowded, we went across the street to a picnic table at the beach and did cake and presents in the almost-darkness. Haha, but I wouldn't ask for anything more! I love night time beach! And cake and presents ;)

iPhone is not well adjusted to night time photography when it is moist outside -_-

After finals were over, we did a re-do for my brother's birthday with my Dad and Melissa. We went to Karina's to get some delicious hole-in-the-wall Mexican food (haha my brother couldn't be any happier about that choice) and then came home for him to open his present and have some cake. Since he was saving up money to buy a new bike for races with the cycling team at CSUSM, my parents found a clever way to give it to him. And I give Melissa major props for having the patience to cram $100 in change and cash into dozens of balloons! My brother had a good time popping all of those.

Haha I LOVE IT!

Ugly Sweater Christmas Party

[YES, I know this is a little late, but it has been sitting in my drafts box for 2 months now and I didn't even realize it! Haha]

After the semester was over, we decided to throw an ugly sweater Christmas party at the Kuhns' house in order to kick off the beginning of our PRECIOUS 5 week winter break from school! You wouldn't believe how much thrift stores sell some of their old ugly sweaters for...so, I decided to make my own! Haha how hard can it be to make a sweater ugly?

All the girls

Eric won first place in the ugly sweater contest. Haha, I told him it was the lights

And Thaddeus won second place...haha I later voted for him to win first because his sweater vest and old lady turtle neck WAS seriously ugly

Palomar Mountain Observatory

Dalton took an Astronomy class during the fall semester, and for extra credit, he had to go look at the stars, sky, or anything related. I've been to the observatory before during rock climbing trips or on my way out to Julian or somehing, but I've never really actually explored around. It was cool going up there with an actual purpose so I could learn a thing or two ;)

This thing is HUGE! And the telescope is really cool inside! I want to come back  on a day they do the tour so we can go inside deeper and take a better look!

Afterwards, we came home and ate my mom's leftover chicken pot pie....MMMM :D