Christmas 2007/ New Years Eve

Jon and I had a wonderful Christmas in 2007. For Christmas Eve we went to The Boress household. We enjoyed a wonderful meal prepared by Christine. Her foot was recently injured and is wearing a walking cast yet she spent several hours on our delicious dinner. After dinner we held a Family Home Evening and read the story of Christ's birth as found in Luke. We then opened presents and that it always a blast! After our gift giving we played a round of BINGO ( I received a BINGO kit from Jon). For some reason, Jon always wins at BINGO.

Allan holding up a Christmas dauber

The next day we woke up early and headed to The Perez household. Janeth and Jared were there as well. Andres flew in from Utah to join in our fun. My mom and dad cooked some delicious Colombian dishes which we ate throughout the day. We opened a lot of presents together and had a few laughs. We then played several rounds of BINGO and there were a lot of prizes that were in the goody bag. We also played KerPlunk. We then anxiously waited for Jonathan to call us from his mission in Los Angeles, CA. We all got to talk to him and that was the highlight of our evening. We then decided to do something very special and make him a sign out of poster board and then I took a picture. We all miss him very much but are so proud of his service to our Savior.

We made a sign for Jonathan that reads 'We love you J.P.'

That night we took Andres home with us so that he could see our lovely home. It was very relaxing having him there because all he wanted to do was watch 12 hours of movies and so we watched 12 hours of movies. My family then came over to pick him up and Jon cooked a delicious meal for the whole family (I made Pina Coladas and desert).



Claudia's brother Andres Perez in the middle


New Years was very relaxing but not really. Now, I will tell you why it was both but it begins with the stressful events from the night before......

It was time to clean Albert's fish bowl. Jon decided it was his turn and so he made a net using a cup and a straw (the pet store associate told me I didn't need a net). He tried once with no success and so I was like, hey, I have done this before, I can do this much quicker. So, I tipped the fish bowl to pour him onto the cup and down the drain he fell. Actually, it was the garbage disposal. Jon yelled very loudly and punched his fist against the cabinet. His eyes began to water and I started to freak out. He then took apart our kitchen drain and water was going everywhere. We took a bucket and were trying to find Albert. No success. I then said a prayer and so did Jon. Then, I felt very inspired to have the drain be filled with water and so maybe he can swim up. Jon plucked the drain with his hands and water began to fill. We then waited, it was the longest 5 minutes ever!! As we were waiting I told Albert that if he would swim up I would buy him a beautiful big fish tank. Then, out of Heavenly Father's mercy, Albert swam up. He was alive!! We couldn't believe it. I then grabbed him with the cup and put him back in his tank. That was the most horrible experience of 2007. What a way to end it huh?!

The next day Jon and I went to three different pet/fish stores to buy the perfect tank. We also bought him accessories and the best food for Beta fish. Since the temperature has been so cold we also bought Albert a heater so that he can always remain at 78 degress. The total: $140. Jon said that as long as we are responsible for him he will live in the best conditions that we can give him.

Albert's new fish tank complete with a filter and heater

For the remainder of our day we went to 'On the Border' and had a nice breakfast/lunch and then went to Blockbuster and rented 5 movies. We stayed up until midnight and then fell asleep. We look forward to an eventful 2008!