4 days till Christmas!

Every year the Riverwoods in Provo put up all sorts of lights and decor.  It is so fun to walk around and stand under the heat lamps. They have a fun toy store and carriage rides.  

 I wouldn't consider it Christmas if I didn't see at least one Santa. I was telling Riley that one night while we were driving by our house. Right after I said that we both saw a man dressed as Santa walking down the sidewalk.. we are pretty sure he was drunk though. So I don't think it counts!  Luckily the Riverwoods had a Santa there!

 Matt and Jessica Tanner came with us and we had a great time. We saw Sherlock Holmes II while warming up!  What a great movie. I recommend it.

On Saturday we headed up to Bridal Veil Falls (we somehow managed not to go the entire semester).  We took a nice cold walk up and saw some ice climbers (pictured below).  At the bottom of the falls was this huge pile of snow-we are convinced there had been a small avalanche.  Everything was frozen but we had lots of fun!

Can you see him?

We almost walked too far off the path and would have landed in a freezing stream.  

This is where the falls meet the Provo River. It was frozen solid! So cool.

There was only one foot of water under there or else I wouldn't have let him. I didn't want to hear complaints the rest of the trip!

 Later that day we went up to SLC to enjoy the MOTAB concert. It was totally awesome. Jane Seymour was really great.  Here is Mom, Dad and Riley S.

 Jake, Kelli, Riley and I!

 On Monday we celebrated the end of finals by using a KSL Deal to Rodizio Grill. Man was it good.  I have never been so full in my life. The pineapple was just. so. good.

 Yesterday we made gingerbread house!  It is made to look like the Wilson's cabin... which has an A frame roofbut the frosting we used didn't dry quick enough to hold everything. So we improvised with a flat roof.

 Note the Moose head made of nuts made by Riley and my snowman with googly eyes.

We are nothing but proud!!

Kneader's pumpkin bread

If you "knead" a tasty treat this Christmas season you must try this:

I found the recipe here. This bread made me think I am a really good cook. The people at work and Riley all agree with me too!  But all I did was follow the directions, it was really really easy and super delicious. I even had all the ingredients sitting around so I felt like it was free, too!
It has a nice balance of pumpkin flavor.  Perfectly crunchy top and moist inside. So so good. I even ate it for breakfast this morning with hot chocolate. Healthy, I know. (It doesn't count at Christmas time, right?)

9 days till Christmas!

 Yep! That's right! NINE. And we are finished with finals! (they were horrible) Life is good :)

We have already started celebrating! As soon as we finished finals we bought a pizza (thanks mom!) and watched a movie. IN THE MIDDLE OF THE AFTERNOON! 

Then yesterday we made lots of lots of homemade oreos. We were practically a cookie factory. I've never seen someone roll cookies in crushed peppermint better than Riley! We took them around to some friends and neighbors. It was so nice to visit with people and wish them a Merry Christmas.

Tonight we are going with Matt and Jessica to the Riverwoods for a horse sleigh ride and will see Sherlock Holmes! The first one was so good so hopefully the second is too!

We are definitely getting in the Christmas spirit around here.  Our tree is lit every second we are home, the house is decorated and we search for Christmas movies every night.  Riley and I usually don't argue but when it comes to putting on the next day for the countdown it becomes war.  But only for a minute or two. Sometimes I take down the ones he put on and re-put it on just so I can feel the excitement too! Nine days! 

I'll post more later! Merry Christmas everyone!!!

the background

One day I will find a blog background that I really like and it will stay throughout the seasons.  I however love Christmas and really liked this one. Merry Christmas!

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat!

 It’s December… tomorrow! And I am so so so excited. We lit our tree up for the first time last night and I felt a little magic.  Christmas is really the best time of the year beside summer.  We came back from a wonderful Thanksgiving break which I failed to take a single picture of, and now we have 7 days of classes left and finals week. Then we are done!  (only to start again on the 4^th day of January—but we don’t think about that). 

For thanksgiving we had dinner at my grandparents house and it was delicious as always. The best part for me is the rolls and dessert.  Nothing else matters to me very much but I do eat it all because I feel somewhat obligated… anyway, grandma bradshaw made her amazing rolls. Kelli and I decided we need to have her teach us how to make them. Delicious.  On Friday, Riley had to work so I went shopping with my mom all day. Then Riley and I went to the Wilson’s for dinner and games. We stayed up way too late!  Jenell even pleasured us with her pogs skills, what a scary experience!  Saturday included more shopping and more deals!  Then we traveled back to Provo so Riley could make it to work and I could set up Christmas décor all over!   On the way home we had an exciting experience!  Which  I also forgot to take pictures of….

We were on the freeway around the point of the mountain and this van in front of us had some major smoke coming out of the hood so we followed it off the road.  It was a young girl, probably 19 or so, and she had just bought the car for $500.  Nice!  So, Riley got his handy Russian mittens and opened the hood of the car. We were all very surprised to find some small flames on the engine…. We didn’t know what to do so we called 9-1-1.  Thank goodness we did!  They arrived in about ten minutes and if they had come any later the car would have blown, I’m sure of it!  They flames had gotten much much bigger.  The firemen rushed over with  a fire extinguisher but that didn’t do the trick so they pulled out the hose.  The fire pretty much destroyed her dash and all the mechanical stuff around the engine.  The highway patrolmen set up cones and blocked off a lane of traffic.  We were tempted to walk out onto the freeway but figured it wasn’t our safest bet. But at least the rescue teams were already there!   It was very exciting to say the least. But I felt so bad for the girl… she clearly needed that car.  

It was quite the scene and I really should have taken pictures! 

Oh and another story really quick! A few weeks ago we happened upon a lady in our ward having an asthma attack after church.  She had gotten worked up in a conversation with another lady and the attack suddenly came.  She really couldn’t move at all but we managed to get her inside where she received a priesthood blessing.  Eventually we got her inside to her apartment and had the chance to talk to her some and get to know her a little better.  We left a while later and didn’t think too much of it.  On Sunday the bishop stood up and announced that this same sister passed away on thanksgiving with her family around her.  It was heartbreaking to me, but at the same time, she had several health problems and a sweet granddaughter who passed away a year ago that she wanted to be with.  I am grateful for the opportunity we had to meet her and hear her story before she passed. 

The weather is getting really really cold.  But we have yet to see snow that stays for more than a few hours… I count that as a blessing! 

This Christmas season we have some fun things planned!  MOTAB Christmas concert (a personal favorite), the first presidency devotional on Sunday! My stake is doing ‘Savior of the world’ this weekend as well.  I can’t wait for all the good activities!!  Oh, and here is our tree. Don’t laugh because we love it. 3

November? Really?

I have only 8 more class periods of statistics and like 6 of New Testament. Finals are just around the corner.  I'm pretty sure this is the best part of the semester.  We've made it past the part where the newness and excitement has worn off and it seemed like school would never end.  We are now just looking forward to Thanksgiving (which is next week, crazy) and the two weeks of class, finals and then.....3 weeks of no school!!! And CHRISTMAS! Does it get much better than that? I highly doubt it. Except for summer of course. Nevertheless, I am feeling very excited for the season.

I am not a winter person, but this year I figured I would be better off dressing for the weather and being prepared, which I hope will make it less miserable.  Riley and I walk pretty much everywhere.  To school, to work, to church, to the mailbox. We do lots and lots of walking.  So, instead of paying for gas... I stocked up on warm clothes!  I am the proud owner of really comfortable flat boots that will keep my feet dry and warm. They can even be worn with both black and brown. Handy things.  Since I wear a skirt to work each day I bought several pairs of tights/ stockings etc.  I pulled out my trusty puffy coat and am all ready to go.  Before daylight savings the mornings were freezing, but now they aren't so bad.  Now the evenings are bad. Walking home in the dark after a long day can be rough.  Anyway, I'm ready for the really cold weather and who knows, maybe all of these clothes will come in handy someday when we go to Russia.  One day.

I may or may not disappear from the world for the next several weeks. We've got to finish midterms (which end the week before finals. gah)  and finish papers/ projects and then take on finals. Then we can celebrate the season.  I can hardly wait!
Have a happy thanksgiving!!

Monster Ball

If you want to see more where this came from click here!

We had such a good time seeing everyone in their costumes. There was good food and some wonderful/hilarious games.  I must say, I've never seen grandma dance like that, or anyone for that matter. It was a real treat. Riley and I figured that there would  be plenty of monsters at this ball so we had best be prepared to catch a few!

At the beginning of the month we went on a date to Texas Roadhouse (those rolls are so. good.) then picked out a pumpkin to carve. Riley has a soft spot for the unpicked pumpkins. We always tend to get the lopsided ugly pumpkins. He's even been talking about getting the sad, pathetic Christmas tree-- of course, that's all we could probably manage in our apartment!

We also took a nice trip up to his cabin. We ate some bbq food and woke up early to see the sunrise! We played some fun games with Merrill and LouJean! They are always so nice to invite us up there and provide yummy food. It was rifle weekend and we heard lots of gunshots. I knew with our luck we would get hit, so we didn't wander from the roads or trails very much.  I learned a lot about hunting and it didn't make me any more fond.

 Sadly, this is the only picture I took... so you'll have to take my word that it was just beautiful! I love going up there. So pretty (during any season), crisp, fresh, relaxing.  Wonderful place.

Actually, I found some on Riley's ipod, so not the best quality but I love them! The one of Riley on the Rock was during the sunrise

identity theft

One day, well actually yesterday, Riley and I were at a computer lab working away on some assignments. A fellow a few computers away was on the phone.  Ordinarily this would have been fine, but I think the information he disclosed was a little... much.  He was talking to his bank and requested that a debit card be sent to him because about 2 months ago his card was stolen and used a lot.  I guess a couple weeks ago he had requested a replacement card but it was sent to the wrong address, so now he was requesting another.  He proceeded to give the banker and everyone in the computer lab all of his personal information including his full name, date of birth, last 4 digits of his social, current address, bank account number, how much money was in his account and the last time he used the card.  We felt so bad and really wanted to interrupt his conversation and tell him that the reason his card was stolen a couple months ago was because he was so loose-lipped about his information!  Fortunately at the end of his conversation the guy next to him leaned over and talked to him. We assumed it was regarding the fact that his conversation should have taken place at home or something.  I hope it was, at least.

Maybe being at BYU had something to do with it....

the cat

I know it's October but this was just too much. Each morning Riley and I usually walk together to the brick oven, then we separate--I go to work and he goes to school. Today was different. We walked outside and it had been raining. Rain in the morning is probably my favorite kind of rain but it definitely had a creepy feel to it. I decided I better get a jacket. Riley had to hurry to school so he could review for a test. He rode off on his bike and I went inside. While walking alone I spotted a cat. This cat had no fear. It was all gray and had green scary eyes. So, I'm walking and trying to ignore it but it just kept following me. So I turn around and it stopped. I stomped my foot a few times to scare it away. I kept walking (really fast) and a bit late I turned around to see the cat charging at me! So I started running. It caught up too fast and before I know it the cat was darting side to side and climbing up trees, jumping off, climbing up another, etc. It was really freaking me out. So I just kept walking really fast, stomping my feet all the way.  I mean, this thing was crossing the street after me. Horrible cat. Finally this girl behind me caught up and I think the cat thought I was too easy to scare and took on another person. I was grateful. The whole time I was walking to work I kept looking behind me to see if it was still there. Must be October.
By the way... the cat looked more like this... Ugh I really don't think cats are attractive in any way. 

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