Happy Holidays + Updates

Where to begin?!
Early in October we took a trip to Gunnies Western Wear and purchased my first pair of cowgirl boots, some lovely comfortable, warm, 100% leather and waterproof Ariats!
That weekend we decided to break them in and went on a little hike up on the Alpine Loop :)
In mid-October Tyson and I celebrated the anniversary of our first date together by going back to Trafalga. Ty meant it to be a surprise, but I ended up guessing where we were going....oops! We started with
mini-golf, which he won, though I kicked his trash last year :) I opted out of the batting cages because it was too cold, like last time. Ty hit over 100 balls! Then onto the go-karts! We got to drive their new fast karts and the kid let us drive for 25 minutes- our hands were frozen to the steering wheel :)Then we ended with some arcade games- our prizes? Some candy and chattering teeth.

Halloween our fellow RA pals put on a costume party at the clubhouse- decor and all :) Tyson and I were ....

....Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf in grandma's clothing :) Tyson's mask started to scare poor Cody, so he spent most of the night just dressed as a grandma haha! We aate delicious food, got intense in some rounds of Mafia, and then watched Wait Until Dark (great choice Annie!) Dana and Tanner came dressed as grandparents and looked awesome. Tyson's friend Dustin and wife Emily also came as grandparents- equally awesome!

The first Friday of November we had the opportunity to go to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple for Erin's endowments (my best friend growing up). It was wonderful to see her family again, especially her mother, who is such a loving wonderful woman, and part of many of my childhood memories. Tyson and I were impressed with how large the temple is up close (it just looks much smaller from across the valley on I-15!).

We're so excited to visit again for Erin and Steven's sealing on the 21st! Molly and Diane our best friend's from high school are flying out to come to the wedding as well! Ty and I are excited to have them stay with us. Erin and I are stoked to be able to have sometime together, since we haven't gotten together very often since graduation!
(Fun fact: Erin and I will be married across the Salt Lake Valley from each other- Draper and Oquirrh)

Thanksgiving. We spent down in Logandale and Cedar City. We rode down with Ty's cousin Loren in his Jeep. We went off-roading and shooting- found that a .22 is my best bet with guns, or at least that's what I'm the most accurate with.
We saw Harry Potter Thanksgiving night, then drove up on Friday. The Jeep broke down 15 miles south of Filmore in 10 degree weather and no heater! Needless to say we froze while waiting for the tow truck!

What to do?

What do you do when you're tired, not feeling well, and dreading studying 15 chapters of Greek mythology?

Why listen to Disney songs of course!
I was sitting in the library trying to memorize all the different women Zeus has had children with, when what comes on but The Tiki Tiki Room. I love those birds and their witty puns. And who can resist the foot tappin beat?! Not I!

Then a cute family came in and started looking for books on autumn and Halloween in the juvenile literature section. The little boy started playing peek-a-boo with one of the boys studying at the tables ahead of me. Too cute! Just makes ya start to think about your own future family. What your kids are gonna look like, how you'll do cute family outings with them!

Nothing is better than getting your focus turned back to those things of eternal importance. Just makes studying for 5 hours when you're dying to go home not so bad.

School Days

You know those days where the weather is perfect, your workload is moderate, and you just can't bring yourself to sit inside and read? I had one of those days on Wednesday. I was walking through the courtyard between the Lee Library and the JFSB and the echo circles looked so inviting! So I decided instead of entering the library to read and freeze (its so cold in there all the time!) I opted for some shady grass, warm but not hot sunshine, and a very light breeze :) No better way to read about some crazy Greek/Roman goddesses!
After Tyson got out of class I persuaded him to join me on the grass for some reading. As you can tell it was a little bright for him!

We had an awesome time doing a mixture of reading and people watching. And talking to Jon on speaker phone- he always brightens our day and makes us laugh :) We also had a semi tickle war, but had to be careful, some people just don't like PDA....even if you are married and are totally allowed to do such things as show affection to your spouse haha

I'm really hoping this weather lasts in time for multiple trips up the canyon to look at the leaves changing colors, and maybe eat a peach or two :)

P.S. Dana, that beautiful girl is getting MARRIED tomorrow!!! Congrats to her, she and Tanner are going to be the cutest couple with the cutest apt! Love those guys :) I'll try and get some pictures of her up after the wedding :)

Fun in the Sun

Fun was the game plan for when Austin was here and I think we achieved our goal.

Tuesday we spent at Seven Peaks with Alissa and Emily. Then Ty's cousins Melissa, Michaela, Kristen, and Colton also came! We had a huge group and so much fun riding rides and swimming. We even created a huge tube circle in the wave pool by holding hands and each others tubes. When the waves came on we would looked like an amoeba, everyone floating in and out of the circle- so fun!

After, Alissa and Em came over to out house for dinner. We tried out a new recipe Creamy Alfredo Chicken and it turned out great :) Though we'll mince the onions better next time! We watched Kung-Fu Panda and then played Nertz and Egyptian War. As usual Alissa was the winner- she's a quick one :)

Ty and Austin left about 9 to go play basketball with the ward. There were tons of guys there! On Sunday when Ty introduced him one of the members told everyone to come Tuesday cuz Austin was a 'baller'! hahah and its true he played great :)


Thursday we spent at Lagoon: Tyson, Austin, Colton, and I. We were there from noon to 10! It was great to go on all the new rides and revisit some old ones from my childhood memories! Like the Music Express where Mom and Aunt Cynthia sat me on the wrong side and squished me when I was 6 haha!





Ty and I went on the train (which I can't even remember riding) and saw some cool animals I never knew lived there! Then upon my request we rode the swings! Austin and I share this as our favorite ride!

We saw Ty's mom when we dropped off Colton and Austin. She totally creamed me at a new version of Speed- way fun!

That night I had a huge headache and I was feeling like I was going to throw up. Very reminiscent of my pre-hospital days. I started to sob. I hurt and I was just so tired of being sick, and didn't want to deal with it anymore! I had been doing so well. Ty was an angel, as he always is when I'm sick or sad. He sat with me and talked to me, helping me calm down. I was hyperventilating because my nose was so stuffed I couldn't breathe, couldn't blow my nose, and basically couldn't handle that plus the headache and nausea. After a couple minutes he had us kneel on our bed and offered a prayer. He asked for me to be able to relax, breathe, and sleep comfortably. The next morning I woke up refreshed, feeling much better, and able to breathe through my nose! What a quality guy :) not to mention full of faith :) love him lots :)

Maybe

Maybe.....
Maybe one of these times I get on and attempt to write a real post I'll actually achieve that goal. For now just know that I'm trying to figure out how to get everything set up and running. And.... I am trying to remember to take pictures of all the things Ty and I are dong this summer.

Right now we have Austin, Ty's 15 yr old brother, staying with us. He's probably the coolest 15 yr old I've ever met. Chill, completely at home around all our college friends and fun to boot! Today he and Ty went mountain biking, Tuesday is Seven peaks with Alissa, Emily (coolest 14 yr old), and our cousins the Fullers/Marchants! Then on Thursday we're going to Lagoon!!! Stoked!!! I love when Austin comes haha

A run down on our lives real quick. Ty is working at Chrysalis babysitting mentally handicap guys and working too many grave shifts. I'm currently in school taking Anatomy and a Strengthening the Family class, which takes up a ton of time! I'm also working for a start up compost company called Eco Scraps doing research and experiments for them -- Interjection: I'm not very good at balancing school work with anything else, something I'm actually getting better at, even my stress is going down!-- We are both training this month to be RAs at the Branbury Apartments where we will move next month. Thanks to Loren for getting us the jobs!!!

Wedding pictures you might ask. Well since it was raining/hailing and very chilly on our wedding day we've arranged with our fabulous photographer Jalene (http://www.jtaylorphotography.com/) to do some re-shoots. I want at least some with us and the complete temple in the background. So far though our crazy schedules haven't been able to coincide (she just got married, is working a job and internship! amazing!). So soon I hope the day will come when I can get some pictures up :)