Midnight Hot Chocolate Run

I thought I knew the town of Rexburg, Idaho pretty well, but this experience taught me something I never fathomed.

First off, Tom and I made the mistake of taking a late afternoon nap on Sunday after church (our church ends at 4). This napping made us stay up late last night. Tom was working on homework and I was just surfing the internet. But we weren't sleepy at all. Tom suggested we go get hot chocolate because it was no longer the Sabbath, but Monday morning!

We don't have curfew because we're married, so we decided to hit the town! We didn't understand what 'hitting the town' this late in Rexburg entailed.

This experience showed us just how dead Rexburg really is late at night/really early in the morning. We saw probably only three other cars on the road- literally, this is not an exaggeration. And every time we pulled up to a streetlight it magically changed into whatever we needed (a miracle in this small, slow town).

In our quest for food, we decided to see if Jack in the Box was open for some delicious $.99 tacos (no judgements, please). Unfortunately, they were closed. What about Wendy's? Open 2am or later, right? Wrong. Closed too. We thought the one 24 hour place that exists in Rexburg would be open, but Ramirez must've changed their hours. They were also a fail. We thought we were going to have to give up, or drive all the way to Rigby or Idaho Falls for a late-night snack. We settled on the only store open, the gas station Maverik. We got hot chocolate and a hot dog. I love Tom even more for his idea to go out at 1:30am Monday morning. Now we know what Rexburg is really like.

(Please disregard the extreme enthusiasm on our faces about gas station food/drink.)

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

December date night= double date making gingerbread houses!

Tom and I made gingerbread houses with Zack and Amy, our engaged friends. It was so much fun. We made gingerbread villages, to be exact. They were a bunch of tiny houses that you make and decorate.

The finished products:

Thanks Tom and Zack for planning date night. I love Christmastime!

Happy Thanksgiving, a Bit Late

We enjoyed Thanksgiving in the warm Arizona sunshine. It was beautiful the whole time we were there. It was hard to go back to Rexburg where snow accumulated daily. On Thanksgiving morning, we went on a hike to the wind caves in the Superstition Springs mountains. The hike was beautiful and exhilarating.

Our cute little dog Titan came with us on the trial. He had a great time and made friends with another dog named Sauce.

Tom enjoyed soaking up the sun. He got in touch with mother nature.

Here's my sissy overlooking the Phoenix metropolitan area.

I didn't take many pictures at our actual Thanksgiving dinner. Ashley was really excited for the turkey.

Thanksgiving dinner was delicious. Thanks a million Mom! This year was a small group. It was my immediate family minus Tyler, Ashli and Krew who ironically went to Idaho for Thanksgiving. Fortunately, my Gma was with us. She's the sweetest Grandma ever and we call her Gma because she's gangsta like that. After the Thanksgiving festivities meant that Christmastime began. We helped with the tree, went black Friday shopping and made a gingerbread house. Tom and I put the house together and Ashley, my Mom and I decorated it.

The most eventful part of our trip for Tom was going to the Phoenix Suns game with my Dad.

Our trip back up to Rexburg was eventful, to say the least. We ended up leaving on Sunday instead of our intended Saturday because Tom and I slept in. We left my parent's house in Gilbert at about 6am and made it to our friend John's house by about 6:30. John joined us for the trip and probably learned a lot more than he wanted to about us. But, seeing as it is a 15 hour car ride, it comes as no surprise that we got a little wired.

Anyway, we made great time to Las Vegas, but the trouble came in Cedar City. There was a huge snowstorm that sent us back at least an hour and half. However, despite being in stand-still traffic on the I-15, we still believed that we could make it in one day. But, as we traveled on the snow was still bad. We had to stay in Provo that night.

Thankfully, John had a friend with whom he stayed, and Thomas and I stayed with my old roommate Sarah and her husband Daniel. Thank you Sarah and Daniel! They were so nice and kind to let us stay with them. Let's just say, this Thanksgiving, I was grateful for them. We promptly emailed our teachers like good little students and drove the rest of the way the next day. Finally, we made it home!

Now all we have to do is rock our finals and we can leave this forbidden tundra for the warm tropics of Miami. But for now, the snow is making me feel very festive. Christmas is all around! It's literally a winter wonderland here!

The Crock Pot Fiasco

...And I do mean 'fiasco.'

This pathetic tale starts with a fine Sunday night. I was all set to make a roast beef, potatoes, and carrots in our crock pot. I've made this meal several times before and wasn't hesitant or worried to start the roast on low for Monday night's dinner. I was excited because this is one of my favorite meals ever and we were having Nate and Bethany over for dinner and FHE.

I was surprised in the morning when I got home from an interview to see there wasn't very much water in the crock pot. I simply added some more, assuming the roast was thirsty and went on my merry way. (I might add that it snowed all day Monday and I was very much looking forward to this meal).

Unfortunately, when Tom and I came home from class in the afternoon, we found a crusted roast sweltering in black tar. I was so sad, but the inside of the roast was okay. I decided I would just wash out the dish and cook the potatoes and carrots in the crock pot anyway.

But, as I was washing it out, I realized it had a leak. How did this thick, ceramic pot get a leak in it? Well, I don't know how it happened, but my precious crock pot is ruined. I cooked the potatoes and carrots on the stove and made some gravy to save the roast.

...so that was the fiasco. Needless to say, I am disappointed in my failed crock pot, but we do have another one that we got from iComm as a wedding present. I'm very grateful for it now.

On a happier note, Tom and I celebrated our 8-month-anniversary and we went on a picnic to celebrate. I found this cool little spot between some trees at the duck park. It was the last weekend of nice weather in Rexburg, and we took advantage of it. Today Rexburg turned into a winter wonderland. The snow literally fell ALL day. It was cold and slushy on our feet, but also so beautiful.

Here are a few pictures from our picnic:

Here's to my handsome man! It's been the best 8 months ever. Thank you.

My Last Fall Semester

Thomas and I are in our very last Fall semester. We're so excited for our internship in Miami and our last semester in the Summer. For now, I am sick of school. I didn't think it was possible, because I LOVE school.

But, I'm ready to graduate.

I'm getting tired of doing assignments and homework that only go as far as my teacher (and maybe online). Right now I'm busy, busy, busy with homework assignments, but I just don't want to do them. I'm as lazy as it gets.

Oh well, I'll try to continue working hard and finishing out strong. But, I'm excited for the day that my homework assignments end and they hand me a diploma! Go us- we can do it.

Pumpkin Festivus

It's official- Fall is now here! It's getting cold in Rexburg- and most places up north. But, it feels most like Fall because we carved pumpkins! My Mom named whatever day we carve pumpkins "pumpkin festivus," so it was deemed that. We were given homegrown pumpkins from the Peterson family (our Firth family) and then carved them at our friends Nate and Bethany's apartment. It was Tom's first time and he loved it, even though he got sick of the tediousness of carving, so I finished the rest. These are the homegrown pumpkins:

Carving out the top:

Nate carving the top:

Like I mentioned, it was Tom's first time EVER carving a pumpkin! Excited is an understatement.

Bethany working on her creation:

Bethany with her scary spider:

Me with the goofy face- on the pumpkin, not my actual face:

The finished projects all lit up (side 1: faces)

Side 2: Spooky Sensations

Thanks Nate, Bethany and the Peterson and Smith families for providing us with some holiday spirit! Now, I've just got to figure out what to be for Halloween...

Happy 10.10.10

I guess it's time I post these pictures from our Conference Trip.

First off, let me just say how much fun I had in Utah!

My parents came up to Utah for General Conference and my

Dad's mission reunion, and to see us, of course!

We stayed with them and enjoyed watching General Conference- twice!

We were so lucky to get tickets the second time- an usher gave us tickets with great seats!

Also, my Dad was so kind and paid for us to stay with them and for our meals.

Thanks so much Mom and Dad! Here they are; outside the Conference Center:

Look at how many people were inside this beautiful building! Still filling up!

Here's Tom with this sweet man we talked to right after conference.

He has built tons of different things inside SO many Temples and other church buildings!

He didn't want his picture taken, but he still let me. Thanks sweet man!

My parents again:

Here's a few more conference pictures.

And, we saw the Capital building as we looked for "Gravity Hill."

My parents swear that it exists, but we're not convinced.

The street has been turned into a one-way,

so as to keep people from going down it and experiencing the 'gravity.'

Bummer... And, after conference we went to The Pie!

It's a delicious pizza joint in Salt Lake, right by the U of U's campus.

My Mom was a little disgusted because it wasn't 'clean' enough for her, but we loved it anyway.

At The Pie!

It was our one-year engagement anniversary!

So, we took a picture by the Temple,

near where we got engaged one year ago.

I'm so glad he asked me...it has been wonderful.

A Great Day at BYU-Idaho

I've had some great experiences here at BYU-Idaho. Last week, Tom and I had another great experience. We were able to have lunch with none other than President and Sister Clark! President Clark is the president at BYU-Idaho, for those who don't know. And, it wasn't just with them, it was also with Bro. Merrill, who was the Sunday School President for the Church until last year. It was a wonderful experience, and I am so grateful we got to do that.

First, we got to the room where we were supposed to meet and waited with other students until President and Sister Clark, Bro. Merrill and other school officials showed up. Then we went next door and there was a big table with salads all laid out and name cards and everything to make us feel real special. We ate and we each took turns introducing ourselves.

After we finished our salads, a delicious main course of fish, brown rice and green beans. During the main course, each of us students were able to ask the Clark's and Bro. Merrill questions. We had a wonderful discussion about Church topics, including marriage and fidelity and the Atonement. It was so good. President and Sister Clark and Bro. Merrill were so cool! I really had no idea. They really made me want to make sure I'm always serving the Lord and building up His kingdom, just like they do.

After the meal, we were served peaches and cream. Yum! After we finished that, we walked to devotional and got to sit on the stage!

We had so much fun at our special devotional event. The best thing was that we usually wouldn't have been able to go because we have a class, but that day our class was cancelled. It was meant to be. A special thanks to our friend Mark Beck who was the organizer of the event and invited us to go. It was definitely a great day at BYU-Idaho.

The Beach: the Pacific and Atlantic

Thomas and I had the wonderful opportunity to spend one week in SoCal with my family and a whole month with his family in Miami. Needless to say, we spent many hours at both the Pacific and the Atlantic ocean's coasts. Both were beautiful! The water in California was chilly, dark and filled with my favorite- WAVES! And the Miami water was warm, clear, still and full of fishies! We had a blast boogie boarding and kayaking in San Diego and had fun swimming and chasing fish in Miami. Here are some pictures from both.

I'll start with San Diego, because that's where we went first. Here we are kayaking!

Me and my sweet sissy:

My great Dad, who took us on the trip: Thanks Dad!

Look at the sea lions behind us. There were sea lions, on the rocks and caves behind us. And, we kayaked to where sharks swam underneath us constantly. Then, we spotted some dolphins, so we paddled after them. But, the only animals I was able to capture on camera were the sea lions.

Then, we went to old town San Diego.

Here is my adorable nephew Krew on an old cannon:

He's so cute, I couldn't help but take tons of pictures of him.

Then, we went to Miami, where we stayed a whole month!

Here we are at the beach: It was right at sunrise and was so beautiful. It was my first sunrise at the beach, because I've only ever seen the sunset.

Here's Tom's cute parents, Juanita and Tom, Sr. stealing a kiss:

Here's my stylish Mom-in-Law, Juanita. She's a Latina babe, with a passion for fashion (literally, we shop together; it's great).

Thomas floating in the crystal clear green water:

We also went to the University of Miami game- it was great. It was my very first college football game and we did it right; we had a tailgate dinner and everything.

Here's the group we went with: Kathleen, Macarena, Jessica and Seth:

Here we are:

The U game was a blast, but it was really hot.

And, we went to Orlando! We spent most the day at the temple, but walked around outside Universal.

After a month in Miami, we flew back to Arizona, and then drove back up to Rexburg, where we started school. We've tackled two whole days of school so far and have a whole semester ahead of us. Fortunately, Tom and I are taking three classes together; badminton, broadcast performance, and of course building an eternal marriage.