Winter Wonderland

After a mild winter so far, which I was happily enjoying, the temperature decided to drop! For Thanksgiving Brian and I went to my Grandma's house out in Summit County (by Park City). My older sister Tammy and her family came out too. We had a nice traditional dinner with Grandma and Grandpa and then read all newspaper adds for Black Friday shopping. Brian and I decided there wasn't anything we really needed so we opted to sleep in and save money (by not spending money) instead. Before we left, Brian and I took Rylee and Cade (Tammy's kids) for a walk. It was freezing outside but the kids loved being outdoors. I don't think it ever got above 35 degrees there even at midafternoon. The first cool thing we saw was this iced little stream.

The main thing we were going to see were the horses just a few houses down. The kids were so excited and wanted them to come closer but the horses kept their distance. Then two weeks later, on Dec 1st, the first big snow storm hit. It started in the middle of the night so when I woke up Saturday morning a couple of inches had already fallen. I love how the snow makes everything look so beautiful. Even the now baren trees are turned into beautiful sights. Here is a picture of our house and the tree in our backyard covered in snow. It was taken after it stopped snowing so some of the snow had already melted.

But the big storm hit today! I woke up this morning to just a little covering on the ground but the roads were clear. During and right after the Enrichment activity this morning it was just slush coming down. A few hours later it was snowing hard and sticking. It just kept coming and piling up. I was getting a little nervous because I had to drive up to pick up my husband at the airport tonight but it kept snowing. Right now we have about 4-5 inches I would guess. It has stopped snowing for now but I have to head out in the middle of the night to go to the airport. Brian's plane in DC had a broken engine so he's been delayed several hours. I guess it's better to drive when it's not still snowing so they can get the roads cleaned up.

Looking Brighter

About 3 weeks ago I was having a really bad day and when I came home for lunch my husband was home and I unloaded my stress and worries to him. That night when I got home from work he wasn't home yet so I called him to see when he'd be home. He was out running errands and said he'd be home soon. When he got home I came out from the office and he was holding flowers for me! I was so excited and it made my day so much better. Here's a picture of the bouquet or Gerber daisies he bought.

He's such a sweetheart and is always doing nice things for me. Last week I don't think I did the dishes once all week because I was really tired every night after dinner. So on Friday I realized I hadn't been doing my part so I tried to do them. About 3 dishes later I was removed from the kitchen and told I wasn't allowed to do the dishes. I insisted I WANTED to do the dishes (which doesn't happen much) but he just told me that he would do them because I would have to do them all next week while he was gone to DC on a business trip. I sure got me the perfect man!!

Halloween...going back to my Texas roots!!

So I just wanted to post a quick picture of my halloween costume. We dress up for work every year and it's getting harder and harder to think of new ideas since I've been there for 5 years! So this year I did a variation of one I'd done for a past ward halloween party...Rodeo Queen. I had a real Texas belt buckle, boots, and all. Unfortunately I couldn't get my hair as big as I did in the past but it was still funny and people liked it. So enjoy a laugh!

Honeymoon Cruise!

So I know this happened almost 4 months ago (because we got married 4 months ago today!!) but I wanted to show pictures of the fun cruise we went on. The following 2 days after we got married we drove down to California to go on a cruise for our honeymoon. The cruise left Los Angeles and our first stop was San Diego then Catalina Island and finally Ensenada, Mexico. We ate WAY too much food but we loved every minute of it.

One night was a formal night so we got dressed up for dinner and the events on the ship. (We were already sunburned so pardon the red faces!!) At the event the cruiseline threw for all the "honeymooners". They provided this cake and free drinks. We opted for the non-alcoholic ones.

To get to Catalina Island the ship had to tender further out and then we took a fairy boat in to the island. Here is a picture of us on the edge of the island with the boat behind us. I'll tell you that the self-timer on the camera was one of the best photographers ever!!On Catalina we went on a Sea Lion tour around the side of the island. Apparently they have just formed this as their natural habitat and there were a lot of them lounging on the sand in the sun. It was really cool to see! Then we just wandered around the island looking at souvenior shops and getting aloe for Brian's head. He got sunburned bad the first day in San Diego walking around and on the boat tour of the harbor. So being in the sun with a sunburned head was not very fun for him.

Our last stop was Ensenada, Mexico. We took a bus ride out to La Bufadora (the blowhole). It is a natural blowhole where the water from the ocean gets sucked in so powerfully that it gets blasted up and out of the holes in the rock. It was pretty neat and the best part was when you could see a rainbow across the moss covered rocks. This is Brian and I off a little ways from the blowhole but with the pretty water and rocks behind us. One of my favorite activities on the ship was a midnight chocolate buffett. The crew started setting up for it around 10:30 pm and people started lining up and waiting by 11. The line was super long but worth waiting in to see the display of chocolate. Some of the food wasn't necessarily the best ever but the displays were amazing just to look at. Here is a picture of an eagle made entirely out of chocolate!I'm telling you it was a magnificent display of talent and creativity. In the bottom right hand corner you can see a little bit of the flower arrangement made out of vegetables. There is a radish and I think a bell pepper flower. It was just so cool to admire!

Well, I think I've made my point that we had a blast on our 4 day cruise. I am totally sold on cruises and love the 24 hour service and food. Well, the food thing is dangerous because when I had to put my wedding dress on 2 days after the cruise for the Open House in LA at Brian's parents house...it was a little bit snug in the waist. What a way to start off a happy life together!

P.S. - I forgot to tag anyone when I did my facts so I tag Maria (& Tim) and Tammy! You don't update enough so let's hear your random facts about yourself and family. I'm looking forward to it!!

Tag, I'm It!!

So it seems like this is the thing to do these days. I was actually tagged by two people, Alex and Amy...thanks guys! Now I don't feel so left out...j/k. So here are the random facts about me (I'm not putting a number on how many...it will just be however many I can come up with!)

1. My husband and I went out on our first date almost 6 years before we got married. What can I say...I'm worth waiting for! :)
2. I'm terrible at finishing projects!! I have lots of sewing and scrapbooking items started and unfinished still (my quilt is going on 3 years)!
3. I love looking at photographs. It doesn't even matter if I know the people, I love looking at the beauty and expressions captured in a single moment. (Secretly I want to be a good photographer and have a fancy camera!)
4. I love taking naps. I can fall asleep almost anywhere if I'm tired enough.
5. I am currently taking a basket weaving class at BYU for the second time. Before I made 5 small to medium sized baskets and now I'm making a baby bassinet.
6. We finally got our house in order and threw a house warming party yesterday. It only took us 3 1/2 months to get everything situated and I love it now!!!

Well, that's all the random facts I can think of at this point and since I haven't updated my blog in almost a month I'm not going to put off posting this just to think of more. Pictures and updates will follow soon of the past couple of months and events.

Our Wedding Day

Here is a quick collage of some pictures from the wedding! I just threw this together so there should be more to come. Details will follow too.

Update!!

Ok, so I got carried away having fun changing everything on my blog! But I decided it was time for a change and it fit with all the changes in my life recently!! So as my last post was months ago when I first got engaged, I have some updating to do. I don't have many pictures on my computer right now from bridals or the wedding but I will post more later.

First of all, the engagement was 10 weeks long with lots of planning to do! Brian was very interested and involved in the wedding plans so it was good to have his help. He was actually able to do tons of the work at the beginning with getting things budgeted, ordered, etc. Then work got busy for him and it got slightly stressful for me to get things ready in time. Here are a few of our engagement pictures that my older sister Tamara took.

The one in the middle is my favorite and one of the 2 we used in our announcements. We had fun and my sister loved the practice. She was so excited when we liked them and used them!

Happy Day!

So I got engaged last Friday night to Brian Chapman. For those of you who know the past, yes...it's real. We started dating in January and got serious pretty quickly. We have known each other since we were in the same ward beginning in Sept 2001. We are getting married on July 20th in the Mt Timpanogos temple. That evening we will be having a reception in the backyard of one of my co-workers. Her yard is very beautiful and less hassle for us to decorate!! Here is a picture of Brian and I from last Sunday when we were at my aunt and uncle's house. Most of my dad's side got to meet him that day and they all approved of the engagement...lucky for him because my uncle is protective of me!

Moving On

A few weeks ago I found out that my older sister will be moving to Idaho because her husband got a new job there. He starts work on Feb 26th but Tammy will be here with the kids until the house is sold. It was really sad to hear that news but it has provided our family with many opportunities to spend time with each other over the past few weeks. Last Tuesday we decided to go on a triple date (me and my 2 sisters). It was not the typical date because my neice and nephew were there too. But we sure had fun together! My niece, Rylee, even tried stealing my date at one point! Her parents had better keep an eye on her... Look how cute Tammy's family is...of course they're going to be missed!!
Convincing them that I'm their favorite aunt is going to be a lot more difficult when they're further away!!

Christmas Break

This is really late but I haven't had much free time with my computer to post any pictures. My family came to Utah for the Christmas break! We had so much fun but the 2 weeks went by way too fast! Maria's wedding was on Dec 29th in Manti, UT. It started out being a very foggy day but by the time they got out of the temple the sky was blue. Still freezing cold and windy but a beautiful sky. Here is my cute family that keeps getting bigger. This is at the reception that evening.

Over the Christmas break we tried to play as much as we could but most of the time was spent getting ready for the wedding. It was still fun just being with my family. My little brothers aren't so little any more but they still keep me young. The wedding cake turned out really well for the reception. It looks different than a typical wedding cake but that's what Maria wanted.