Ode to 2011

Holy cow, can you believe that 2011 is already ending? How does time pass so quickly! As I have been thinking about the past year I have been remembering some of my favorite memories. So I decided to end the year I would take a walk down memory lane. Some memories have pictures. Some don't. Here goes!

Coming home to find this on my door on Valentines day. Best. Valentines. Day. Ever.

The newest member of my household, Moose. (yes, I really like my couch enough that it made my top things of 2011 list)

Finally seeing the play Wicked!

My Great Skydiving Adventure!

Being blessed with two new nieces (both as darling as can be!)

Yellowstone Trip with the family.

And even more specifically, the bike ride/hike in Yellowstone that was my favorite part of the whole trip!

School scheduling working out so that I could go to Education Week with my Mom.

The first annual Mud Run. So much dirty fun!

Tuacahn Theater & St. George Trip.

Successfully completing my second year teaching.

Starting my third year and finally feeling like I am figuring things out!

Being Nominated for Teacher of the year.

Working as the ward Relief Society President. And honestly being able to say that it has been such a huge blessing in my life!

Making new friends.

Learning LOTS!

Making many happy memories :-)

Best book I read this year:

This was a tough one, because I have read many, many good ones over the past 12 months. It came down to Divergent and The Goose Girl. In the end, it had to be Divergent. I was so impressed with this book!

(one of the) Best Discovery of 2011:

HEAVEN!

Best Movie of 2011:

Okay, I know that HTTYD actually came out in 2010, but I didn't see it until this year, so I am still going to count it. I thought it was so creative, funny, and well done! Plus, 2011 wasn't a great movie year in my opinion. Though this does have to make the list:

I did enjoy Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part 2. I thought it was very well done, and tied the series together nicely.

It hasn't been a perfect year, there have been some bumps and mishaps along the way, but all in all 2011 was very kind to me!

Goodbye, 2011!

Post - Christmas SLC Trip

Today I took a quick trip to Salt Lake to celebrate my adopted aunt Joi's birthday. It was glorious fun! I went with my mom, my dad, and Joi (who has become a new member of the family over the past year). We drove down to Ogden, and then hopped on the Frontrunner. I always enjoy riding Frontrunner. I have been a fan of trains for a long time, and have dreamed of living in a city where you could commute to work on a train or subway! Maybe one day. Until then, I'll have to settle for riding the front runner once a year or so!

After we arrived in Salt Lake I was introduced to my newest love:

P.F Chang's! Oh my goodness! How have I never gone here before? I have heard of the restaurant, but never been overly curious because Chinese food isn't my very favorite thing. What I didn't realize is that this is Americanized Chinese at it's very best! I did not try a single thing that I did not LOVE (and I tried A LOT of things!) My very favorite being these:

Lettuce wraps! I LOVED these. The layers of flavor were amazing. The crisp lettuce made them refreshing and light. I could eat these all the time. I am glad there is not a P.F. Chang's closer, or I would probably spend way too much money there!

After P.F. Chang's we wandered around Boarder's for a while as I contemplated Nook Accessories. We then headed to Temple Square.

I am always a fan of Temple Square. I think it is beautiful, especially at night. Adding Christmas lights to temple square only enhances the magic!

I forgot to change my camera back to a normal setting before we took this picture. I can't decide if it is cool or creepy:

Whichever it is, I decided we needed a more normal looking picture. So I fixed the setting and we tried again!

It was an abnormally warm December night, and since it was after Christmas there were less people (even though it was still crowded) which made for ideal wandering-around-temple-square conditions!

We then hopped back on the Frontrunner and headed home. What a way to end the holiday season!

Christmas 2011

Our Christmas in Pictures:

The older girls blew out candles on a birthday cake for Jesus...

... while the babies kept the adults entertained with their big smiles.

The Nativity story was read, and the little girls worked on their sticker pictures to follow along.

We were so happy when Joi made it to the end of the festivities, and she opened her Christmas presents with us that night.

We went to church in Providence at my parents ward, and attended what I am sure was the best ward Christmas program EVER!!! Their choir was so talented, and the Spirit so strong. It left me wishing that Christmas was always on Sunday! Could there be any better way to celebrate Christ's birth than by attending church and renewing our covenants there?

After church we all changed back into our pajamas and had our traditional Christmas brunch. Mom had a sock matching game prepared that everyone ended up with new socks from, and then we opened stocking and presents. Good times were had by all. :)

Even though the pictures are all of the little girls, the adults had a great time too. One of my favorite moments was watching Mom and Dad opening their presents from Grandma (a Kindle Fire and an Ipad, respectively) and seeing the looks of shock on their faces... priceless! Even Stella had a great time.

After presents Karl and Liz's family left for SLC and the rest of us vegged in PJ's for the rest of the day. We read. We napped. We played games. We watched movies. We ate lots of yummy food. And both of the girls got to spend some quality time playing with Pop Pop. It was lovely. :)

That night we got to spread a little Christmas Joi...

It was a perfectly lovely way to spend the holidays!

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

Thankfully, Santa can not always come through!

On Saturday Liz asked me what I had asked Santa for Christmas. I jokingly (okay, maybe only half ;-) replied "A Boyfriend!"

After thinking about it for a while, I decided that this actually would NOT be a very good idea. Because no matter how good looking, charming, or great he may have been, if a strange man had been in my house when I woke up on Sunday, it would NOT have been pretty!

Who would have thought that Santa not pulling through with a Christmas present would be a good thing!

Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!

237 Days

These came this week:

I may have squealed.

I may have done a little dance.

I may have started singing "Defying Gravity" right there.

It may still be 237 days away.

But that is 237 days I get to look forward to it.

WICKED IS COMING TO SALT LAKE CITY!!!

HORRAY!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.”

-Melody Beattie

Cousin Jess Got Married!

A few weeks ago my beautiful cousin, Jessica, got married. We braved the snow storm to drive to Springville for the wedding reception. Here's the happy new Mr and Mrs, Chris and Jessica .

Being that there are only four cousins (this happens when your dad is an only child and your mom only has one brother) and we got to see all four of them that day, it was something of a momentous occasion. :) These are my cousins Dan and Emily (who now goes by Zoey).

Dan's wife Amy put together the reception, and did an amazing job! You would never have known it was a church cultural hall, it was so beautifully done.

Cuddling with Violet
I love this girl
plus she saved me from the bouquet toss
so now I love her even more

The cute couple

Dan and my last cousin, Hyrum, dancing with Dan's daughters Annalyce and Ericka (Dan's darling daughters).

My family that was able to come that day... Maddie and Aubrey were sick so Karl's family couldn't come.

Dad, Mom, Ivy, Eric, Steve, Lacey, Katie, and Violet

On the car ride home- we'd driven my parent's mini can- we enjoyed ourselves and took some silly pictures.

Me and Eric in the back seat...

...Ivy and Violet in the middle...
(Yes, I am making faces at Violet in the following picture.
I spent most of the drive doing that.
She truly has me wrapped around her stinkin cute finger!)

Lace and Steve in the front.

It was a fun little trip, and as always fun to get to get to see family that we don't see often enough. Congrats and best wishes to Jessica and her new husband... the beginnings of a happy new eternal family. :)