Millar Moments: FUN TIMES CELEBRATING OUR 60TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY AND CHRISTMAS IN ST. GEORGE WITH RYAN'S FAMILY

We decided to travel St. George for our 60th wedding anniversary and Christmas. We reserved a Worldmark condo and totally enjoyed a change of pace for Christmas this year. We arrived on Monday, the 22nd, checked into our condo, then went with Ryan and Katie to Anastazi Steak house for a special anniversary dinner. It was quite an experience - cheese fondue, steak cooked on a stone at our table, and chocolate fondue for dessert. So yummy and such a fun way to spend our anniversary.

Gooey cheese fondue

Steak cooked on a stone

Tuesday, Paul and I went to the Red Cliffs temple then to Jersey Mike's for lunch. After relaxing at the condo for a while, we had dinner at Ryan's and then went with him and his family to a live nativity at the Tuacahn theater. It was a very simple event put on by local wards but a nice depiction of the reason for the Christmas season. We topped the evening off by going to the Christmas lights at Red Hills Desert Gardens. As we walked through the gardens, around every turn, the lights there were absolutely amazing. A wonderful day.

The next day we spent some time at the St. George mall where I found a pair of light blue denim jeans for $16.00, regularly $50. It paid to shop the day before Christmas. We then went to Ryan's to help prepare for their Christmas Eve celebration. We had a ham dinner with all the trimmings followed by a Nativity portrayal and a Christmas letter from Santa. Katie's sister and her family joined us along with a couple who would have had to spend Christmas eve alone.

Christmas Day, we got up early so we could be at Ryan's when the children walked down the stairs to see what Santa had brought them. It was fun to be with them as they opened their presents, Everyone opened their stockings before taking a break for a breakfast of scrambled eggs with ham and a tea ring, a Millar tradition. Presents were then opened. We were given several presents as I think Ryan and Katie didn't want us to be there with nothing to unwrap. It was a nice morning. Because of threatening weather, we decided to leave that afternoon for home. It was a great several days with family.

Other happenings of the month included decorating our home for the holidays, Mindi's birthday celebration, and a basketball game with Todd and Avery. It took us a couple of days to get all the decorations up but so worth the effort. We love our home when it's all lit up with Christmas.

Mindi's birthday is in the first week of December so the following Sunday we celebrated it with chicken in cream sauce for dinner and a tea ring for dessert. A little strange request for a birthday dessert but it was loved by all. (Speaking of tea rings, I made 22 of them to give away this year.)

For the first BYU basketball game in December, Todd and Avery joined us. The Fullers were out of town so we switched tickets with them. We gave them ours for when we would be in St. George and they gave theirs to us for the game at the first of the month. We loved having Avery and Todd with us. Avery was all decked out in BYU colors, including her nails painted blue with white 'Y's on them. So cute.

At the game, they were giving away BYU tank tops. We got two. Wek new we would never wear them so we gave them to Deon to give to her two grandsons who are avid BYU fans. They went to the game with our tickets while we were out of town. They loved the shirts and wore them to the game.

We received a Christmas card from some dear friends we knew in Spokane. In it we learned they had moved to Utah and living in a facility for seniors. We called them and arranged to go visit them in their new home. It was a nice two bedroom home which was a short walk from the dining room where they eat most all their meals. It is a package deal - rent for the home and meals in the dining room. We loved visiting with Bob and Janet Rands but realized we could not live in that kind of an arrangement.

One last thing to report for December was Lincoln's Preschool Christmas program. It was held at his preschool and was darling. He was in the front row and sang so loud we could hear him above everyone else. He was darling dressed in his pajamas and a Santa hat. Such a change from when we attended Aria's preschool show where she wouldn't even look out at the audience.