staycation

such a fun night out on the town! it really does feel like we're in a different city when we head downtown.

checking out the new City Center- i love the modern architecture

Rich trying out a marble bench (next project??)...

the largest chocolate fountain in the world... too bad it's behind glass!
all of us trying to look chic at The Cosmopolitan
pretty waterfall
(this is the first line of a haiku)

my favorite
i like

the giant chandelier at The Cosmopolitan (Angie and I like to hug our husbands..hehe)

after walking all over the strip, the walk to our room looked really long!

amazing view from our room!

thank you Shelley and Russ for such a fun Christmas gift!!

lately...

we've been having way too much fun playing with our adorable nieces and nephews!!

december

So, I want to tell you about my December. It's been different than most December's. Usually I'm doing something festive every other night (ugly sweater parties, driving around looking at lights, cookie eating, playing in the snow, etc). Probably doing more of those festive things than thinking about the true meaning of Christmas. Instead of having Christmas cheer every moment this month I found myself home sick for two weeks with a horrible cold, had my feelings hurt at my office and missed my husband since he's been studying day and night for finals. Because of this I've truly experienced what Christmas is all about- our Savior! Being sick I was overwhelmed by the selfless and meaningful acts of service from my sister Jess and Rich. Through my work situation I was able to feel the Atonement work (after Temple attendance and a lot of prayer) to take away feelings of anger and hurt and have them replaced with love. Well, and with Rich studying all the time I just felt so grateful to be blessed with such a hard working and amazing husband.

Of course I don't want to complain or have a pity party for myself. I know my tiny issues are nothing compared to what others are going through, but in their own small way they have taught me more about the Savior. I'm so grateful for His birth, life and atonement for each of us. He knows our joy and pain, no matter how big or small. He will take away our hurt as we go through hard times and make mistakes. I learn this more and more each day.

So with all that, don't you worry, there's still been plenty of Christmas cheer around here... decorating our tree and making random ornaments from things around our house, decorating the mantel, watching the Christmas devotional, reading Christmas stories, wrapping presents, and drinking hot chocolate with giant marshmallows (thank you Cardenas- our favorite Mexican grocery store).I'm looking forward to Rich taking his last final tomorrow, lots of holiday activities next week with the Cannons and then a week in Idaho with my fam!
I hope we can all remember our Savior and see His hand in our lives during this wonderful time of year!

tree time

meet "the most perfect Christmas tree!"- sister jess (p.s. Jess has a new blog here- yessss!)

this is how happy i am...

that my little sis and her husband are staying with us this week! :)

I'm thankful

for a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend that included...

hitching a ride to Logan with Jackie and Ryan
eating mashed Idaho potatoes
being with family
laughing lots
video chatting with Jape in London
playing princess with my adorable nieces
seeing the pretty snow and driving safely through it
staying warm with an electric blanket
watching family and ballet recital home videos along with some other silly ones, see here and here
playing pool with my parents
watching Star Trek with Dad
Christmas stocking shopping with Mom
eating pumpkin squares
attending the musical "White Christmas" put on by the Playmill theatre in IF
running into Lynds, Cole and Lucy
staying in my pjs all day
feeling incredibly blessed to share all of this with my amazing husband! :)

*picture by my dad

cozy time

i know this chair looks really silly, but i kind of still want it. i mean, it is the "most cozy lounge chair in the world".yes, i'm already cold in Vegas and i don't think it's gone below 45 degrees. uh oh. i guess that means i've adjusted to the heat, but i don't know if i'll survive utah and idaho next week. as long as i have this chair to nap in after my thanksgiving dinner i think i'll be good. hehe.

chair found here.

anyone want a ride?

*please excuse my extremely amateur video editing, along with my uncontrollable laughter in the background (i always forget that i'm the closest to the mic!)

*dog sled built by rich

decorating time

rich has been helping me decorate. his decorations are usually a surprise, like this one that I found during dinner tonight...
hehe. silly.

pumpkin time

During October I enjoyed anything pumpkin I could get my hands on... great harvest pumpkin spice bread, dairy queen pumpkin pie blizzard, costco pumpkin pie, trader joe's pumpkin butter and if that wasn't enough I made my favorite pumpkin chocolate chip bread (recipe from Annette)... yum!
I also did a lot of decorating with pumpkins. Rich thought it was pretty funny (a little crazy) that I couldn't stop buying them (there were too many fun colors and varieties!)..haha.
So it was only fitting that we finish the month of October off with the "Pumpkin Chuckin'" festival in Moab. Yes, that's exactly what they do- chuck pumpkins! Jess works for the Youth Garden Project which puts on the festival every year. It was fun to see Jess in action (even with a sprained ankle) and meet many of her coworkers. We had a great time hanging out with Jess and Nick and of course who doesn't love watching pumpkins fly through the air?

the world record holder in pumpkin chuckin'!the food...mmm!
the belt buckle and cowboy attire...
the petting zoo...