Christmas lights!

In order to be in more of a Christmas spirit, since there is no snow, I will post some pictures of our lights that we hung in the window of our apartment. The pictures are not the best, because taking pictures of lights always does funny things. Bryan and I finished our Christmas shopping finally. Now we don't have to fight even bigger hoards of people as it gets closer to Christmas. It's supposed to snow tomorrow...hopefully it sticks around!!


Our mini Christmas tree!

The end is in sight!

I just wanted to say that I am so excited for this semester to be over! Two weeks left! I'm celebrating already and I still have finals. Ugh. Oh well, whatever gets me to the end, right?

I can't wait for Christmas. I have been having so much fun buying presents and wrapping them. I love the Christmas music and the lights. I love seeing Christmas trees in windows and lighting up our little one in the evening. I love this time of year!

I am thankful for...

I know I am two days late, but I still wanted to post this.

Our Thanksgiving was wonderful. We went up to Ogden to spend time with Bryan's family. There were 14 of us there, definitely a full house. We ate lots of good food, talked a lot, and helped set up the Christmas tree. I wish we could have stayed longer. I also want to say that the thing I am most grateful for this year is my husband. He is amazing and I fall more in love with him every day. I'm glad we have the rest of eternity to spend with each other. I will always be thankful for Bryan, but this year is our first Thanksgiving together and I have to say that getting married was the highlight of my year!

Friday was Liz's (my sister) birthday. So Bryan and I made dinner for her and we went with her, her husband, and her best friend to see Twilight. Overall I liked the move, with a few complaints that are not about comparing the book to the movie. I think one of my favorite scenes (if not my favorite) was then one of the Cullens in their kitchen making food for Bella. I just though it was great. I loved their amused expressions as they were making the food. I loved it when Rosalie asked if Bella even liked Italian and Emmett was like "Of course she does, her name is Bella!" I also liked the part when Emmett waves to Bella with his knife. Overall, I think it was one of the best scenes in the movie, though I have to see it again to give it a fair rating.

I'm so excited for Christmas! We got tickets from Bryan's dad to go see the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert in a couple weeks! It will be so much fun to see it and to walk around Temple Square. Today, Bryan and I are going to set up our mini Christmas tree and decorate it. We are also going to put up lights around our window and go to the store to get some other things to make our apartment more Christmas-y. I am currently listening to my favorite Christmas CD--John Denver and the Muppets. I have to listen to it many many times during the Christmas season...yes, it's that amazing.

I love the Holidays!

Christmas Shopping....Already

I've been a baaaaaad girl. Two weeks. Surly something has happened in two weeks that I could write about...right?

So, Bryan and I already have about half our Christmas shopping done. I feel accomplished. I love the holiday season. It makes everything feel magical...except for finals. But I'm not thinking about that yet.

So, life. Things have been crazy since Prop 8 passed. Classes are hard. I wish I was doing better in them, but at least I'm passing all of them. Bryan is working hard in his classes. We are going to his parents house for Thanksgiving. Yes...free food! Don't worry, I'm excited to see his family too.

I can't wait until we put Christmas lights up.

So, this week...

Have you ever had one of those weeks when everything seems to happen at once? This week has been crazy for Bryan and I. I won't go into much detail...but here is a rough overview:

*Tons of school stuff (3 tests, 2 papers, a film report, and a class presentation)
*carpet cleaning (We were woken up at 9 am by the cleaners coming into our apartment, so we had to leave for almost 2 hours in our pajamas)
*Trying to get the last of my loan stuff figured out (Had to make a few trips to the bank so I could get the check deposited)
*My biology class was overflowing (My professor offered extra credit to anyone who came to multiple sections on presentations. 90% of the class before mine stayed in the room, so I had to sit on the ground. When I got up to do my presentation, someone moved into my spot and I had to leave because there was no where else to sit.)
*This morning at work, there were double bookings and unreserved rooms that were needed. So Bryan and I had to figure all that out.

Ugh. What a week. I'm glad its over. When I write down all the things that were difficult this week, I realize that it's not that much and things could be worse. On the brighter side of things, I'm still passing all of my classes and Bryan got into hi s major. We were so ecstatic when we got the letter. What else could we ask for this week?

But man, what a week!

In the midst of the glorious invention called tests

So, I think I blinked and 3 weeks have gone by. That's how I feel as I look at my blog and realize I haven't updated in a while. Life has been good...and crazy. It has been a world of midterms and after next week Bryan and I will both be able to take a breather. Bryan finished his application for his major and had his interview. Now we are just waiting for his letter. I think h is going to get in, but he's not so sure. Go Bryan!

Halloween in coming up and I'm excited. Halloween isn't necessarily my favorite holiday (though it is fun), but it is the beginning of the holiday season, which is my favorite time of year. I'm excited for the snow and the Christmas lights and the good food. It's the time of year that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I can't wait!

And for the benefit of all, here is a picture of Bryan and I at the BYU vs. UNM game a couple weeks ago. BYU's last win before they were beaten down by TCU. (It was really cold!)

True Blue Football 2008

So, BYU has this amazing thing called True Blue Football during Homecoming week every year. Basically, it's hundreds of students playing in blue foam. You can play football, go down a big slip n' slide in the foam, or just roll around in it and throw it at each other. This is my second year going, and it has definitely gone up in popularity. My roommates last year didn't really want to go, then when they saw me, they were sad they didn't take my advice. So, they came this year and had a great time. Overall, it is great fun. It's one of those things that you always wish our could do: slide down a hill through blue foam. It's wonderful. Here are some pictures for your enjoyment.

General Conference and Other Things

I have to say that General Conference last weekend was amazing. I loved the messages of love, unity, and encouragement that our leaders gave us. Overall, it was a very inspirational weekend.

Not much has happened in the past few days. I took a test, Bryan took a test. We did homework. Can you tell what are lives basically consist of? We did go to Ogden to see Bryan's family on saturday. Everyone was there. His oldest brother's little family, and his younger brother from Idaho, his Grandparents from Vegas, and his sister and a close family friend rode with us. It was a full house, but it was fun.

I just finished a book called "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins. I really enjoyed it, though I was aggravated a little when it ended. It's going to be a long wait until the next one comes out. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoyed Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. It's a real page turner, but it can be bleak at times. All in all though, I liked it a lot.

Horseback Riding

Bryan and I were invited to go horseback riding for FHE on monday at our Bishop' s house. It was so much fun! We went with another couple in our ward, Alex and Curt.  Beautiful land, good people, and horses that had a mind of their own :) All in all? We had a great time!

Oven Baked Pancakes

Have you ever put something in the oven to stay warm, and then promptly forgot about it until the next time you turn on the oven and it burns? Two nights ago, I made pancakes and put the extras in the oven to stay warm. To me, the worst kind of pancakes are the cold ones; they just don't taste like real pancakes!. Anyhow, last night I when I opened the oven to put something else in, my wonderful pancakes were round discs of hardened dough. Ew. So, me, being the sneaky individual that I am, decided to inspect these "pancakes" to see if I could devise and plan worthy of action. I picked one up. It was pretty firm, round (I am getting better at making my pancakes round! Yay!), and was of a decent weight. An idea started forming, and before I could think about it too much, I launched it discus style over the counter towards my husband. And I missed. It hit the side of the couch and rolled away on it's side. The look on Bryan's face was priceless, and in the minute of confusion, I was able to run over and snatch it again. What ensued was a war of the pancakes. We had to clean up a lot of crumbs afterwards. Thank goodness for vacuums!

It was a good evening. (I won!)

Fall is Here!

Fall has officially decided to come with it's bipolar-ness, which I think is exclusive to Utah. Yesterday for example, it was windy and rainy in the morning and bright, warm and sunny in the afternoon. I think the temperature difference was like 30 degrees. Okay, maybe that an exaggeration...but it felt like that! It's like it can't make up it's mind! But all that aside, I love fall. I love wearing jackets and sweaters. I love to watch the leaves change color. Even though fall means that I am in the middle of school, I can't help but admire the beauty of the season. It's when the holidays begin. What could be better than dressing up for Halloween, or stuffing my face with food on Thanksgiving? In Utah, it brings the excitement of waiting for the first snow (at least I enjoy waiting!). In short, I love this time of year.

The last few days have been pretty busy. Last night Bryan and I went grocery shopping. We got lots of good food, but we used the last of our gift cards from our wedding! Sad! I am in the middle of officially changing my major to Public Health. I'm getting really excited for all the classes I get to take. Yesterday, one of my professors came to class wearing a pretty interesting outfit. He wore cream colored khakis, a salmon colored shirt, a brown tie and a mustard colored jacket. Needless to say, it was very hard to concentrate during the lecture. It's interesting what people decide to wear. Ah, well, who knows what goes through the minds of PD Bio professors...

One Saturday Morning...

It's saturday morning and I am at work. Starting a blog sounds like a really good idea at times like these. So, I did. I don't really know where to start, so I guess I will start in the middle and move forward.

I am taking a water aerobics class with my sister, Liz. Before you can ask, no, I'm not pregnant and neither is Liz. I get that question almost every time I tell someone I'm taking it. The last time I was asked, I burst into laughter and my friend was looking at me like I was crazy. And maybe I am. Who knows? Last year, I saw this class from the second floor of the RB. 30 women splashing and bobbing around a swimming pool in time to aerobic music. I thought it was pretty funny and went on my way. Little did I know that in a year, I would be down there with them. When my sister approached me with the idea, I was a little wary. Grace and balance have never been my specialty. But, pushing my reservations aside, I signed up for the class. Now, I have a lot of fun splashing and bobbing as I jog, lift weights, and stretch in the water. I know I look ridiculous, but it makes me exercise (something that never happens unless I have a commitment). I know that I will never make fun of them again, at least they are making an effort to do something. Unlike myself who loves watching movies and cooking.

So, I thought I was going to be able to impress all my friends and family with my excellent prose and wit, but I seem to have failed. Hopefully this won't discourage you from reading further. As a gift, I will give you a picture of who my husband (Bryan) and I really are in real life.