Traveling on Christmas Eve wasn't nearly as crazy as I thought it was going to be. I got out of work late (surprised?) and rushed home to shower and catch the Marin Airporter. I pay $20 to board each time and then $4 a day to park my car and the trade off is that I don't have to drive into the city and deal with traffic or simply that I have no idea where I'm going! My flight to Vegas was on time and I landed and called EJ to come pick me up. My bags were the first off the carousel and I went outside and EJ was already there. I had almost forgotten what he looked like after not seeing him for over a month AND he shaved and cut his hair short. Very handsome :) We checked into the Hard Rock Hotel and EJ set up a little tinsel Christmas tree that he had gotten me:

We then went to go visit my friend Mini who works as a cocktail waitress at the Aria hotel in City Center. She proceeded to bring my a jumbo size mimosa that had people wondering where I got it. You have to know people!
Christmas day we went over to visit EJ's mom and boyfriend and they gave me a gorgeous bracelet from Tiffany's! Later that night we went to their friend's house who made a delicious dinner for us all. The next day we got up and checked out and headed to LA where my mom re-made Thanksgiving dinner since I didn't get to spend it with family:
Needless to say, it was delicious! EJ helped mom carve the turkey:

The next night Aunt Sharon came over and we had flank steak and another delicious dinner:
Overall, it was a very Merry Christmas. Although it was different, the most important part wasn't what day we celebrated it on but rather that it was celebrated with good family and friends when we were able to get together.
After being on vacation for a couple of days, you definitely don't want to unpack when you finally get home at 1am! I like to chose the method of opening the suitcase and dumping everything on the floor:
Thank you everyone for a great holiday and I can't wait to see you again soon!