So my whole family spent a week in St. George, Utah for Christmas. It was a blast. We had lots of time to hang out, laugh, eat, sleep, and play. I got to go running with some of my favorite running partners, my Dad and Alex. We got to swim in the pool and relax in the hot tub. We got to jump rope, double dutch, etc., and the more skilled members of my family got to play tennis (I am horrible at tennis and I mean it!) We cooked and ate. We made graham cracker temples and sugar cookies. We saw some of the historic sites around town, like Brigham Young's house. We did Christmas shopping. We played at a whole place full of bouncy castles for hours, and I think the adults had more fun than the kids. We did the longest zipline in Utah across a canyon, we each got 4 turns...and everyone went except Andrew and my Dad (the babysitters) and the kids 3 and under did not go. So yes, even tiny 5 year old Havana braved the zipline alone on her last 2 tries. I had so much fun being with family. We had lots of laughs and fun, along with some of the typical family drama that happens when we are all together under one roof. I love my family. I had a great Christmas, and I hope you all did, too. I am just posting this family picture that we took on Christmas day (with James' camera and tripod-turned out quite nice), but maybe when I get more time, I will add more pictures from all of the family fun in St. George.
After finishing up a busy semester of student teaching, I left Boston on Monday, December 14th and headed into Salt Lake City airport. I spent several days with my Mom and we stayed at my Aunt's house in Centerville. We did lots of errands, Christmas shopping, visited my Nana, and spent time down in Provo with some of my favorite people-Alex, Stacey, and baby Jan. I also got to see Brian 3 days in a row! The picture of Jan is her in her bear suit, that keeps her warm...I like to say she looks like a bunny, so I call her my little bunny! She is so cute! So the bumbo chairs are for babies to sit in and keep themselves from falling...well, Alex is having as much fun being a father as he did being a kid. Here he is wearing the bumbo chair upside down on his head like a turban. I got to do breakfast one morning with one of my bestest friends ever, Sarah. Our new favorite breakfast spot is Magelby's at the Shops at Riverwoods in Provo. The food is so yummy, and pretty cheap...well, maybe just cheap for me compared to Boston. On Tuesday night, Brian and I went to dinner in Salt Lake at one of my favorite Thai restaurants, Sawadee; I had the Massuman curry-delicious! Then we went to Temple Square and walked around and enjoyed all of the lights. We all stopped in the Assembly Hall to hear some high school aged singers/performers. I love Christmas music, Christmas lights, and spending time with family and friends. Brian took lots of pictures at Temple Square, and he does a much better job than I do capturing things at night. This one looks like it could go in the Ensign. Merry Christmas from Salt Lake City! This is a pretty view of the Salt Lake City Temple and the reflection pool.
So I spent time with family in Provo and Centerville/Bountiful, and then my Mom and I left on Saturday, December 19th and headed down to St. George.
Well, I had a lovely Thanksgiving break with my roommates. We ended up going to the Bishop's house, and helping his wife, Tammy, with most of the baking and cooking. We went over Wednesday night and made all of the pies, and then got started on some of the veggies, the rolls, the jello, etc. On Thursday, Thanksgiving day, I slept in and then I went on a 6 mile run. I figured that if I ran far enough I could justify eating just about anything....and don't worry, I snacked and then ate until I was stuffed. Early Thursday afternoon, we helped Tammy with last minute preparations and then enjoyed great food with other friends from our ward at Church and with the Bishop's family. Here are Rachel, me, and Amanda with our yummy pies. Rachel makes the best pie crust ever. Amanda and I made the pecan pie (left), I made the caramel apple pie that I am holding (I didn't add the pecans to this one since we were already having a pecan pie, and since Rachel is allergic), and then Amanda made the pumpkin pie that she is holding. Here is just part of my Thanksgiving feast...I did not want anyone to think that I went without a fabulous dinner since I was not with family for the holiday. And to top it all off, I had a sliver of all of our pies, and a sliver of another chocolate creme pie that someone else brought. I love dessert, and I love pie! After a relaxing day at home on Friday, my roommates and I all stopped in at Walgreen's really quick before we headed to Maine for the weekend. While in Walgreen's, I tried on this random Christmas tree hat that moves and plays music. (Oh yeah, and since Rachel and I had the day off, we had time, and so she did my hair...she got it really curly with the diffuser, fun and different for me to be so curly.)
We headed to Maine, and got to stop and have dinner at the only Sonic in Massachusetts-yummy, on our way out of town. Friday night as soon as we got to Rachel's parents' house, we headed out with her mom to the local movie theater. We saw The Blind Side, a great movie. Then Saturday we all slept in, and afterwards I headed out for a run in the windy Maine weather. I ran by Maine-esque homes and little lakes and streams. We spent Saturday afternoon and evening at some of Rachel's family friends' home. We had another delicious Thanksgiving dinner, we talked, we played games, and we got to use their hot tub. It was perfect, and the friends lived in a typical Maine home situated on acres and acres of property. We had a good time.
Me, Rachel, Alison, and Amanda...oh, with our rubber ducky friend ;) I am so grateful for my amazing roommates! The water was just the right temperature, and the cool weather (40s) made it just right to be in..not too hot and not too cold. I was hoping it would be more therapeutic on my tight left hamstrings...oh well.
On Saturday night we hung out at Rachel's house and watched Mary Poppins. On Sunday morning we went to Rachel's home ward, enjoyed the meetings, and then had a super yummy lunch with her parents. Here we are out on the driveway, right before we headed home to Boston. Left to Right: Rachel, me, Amanda, Alison.
It has been a busy week back in the real world, but student teaching is going great. I love the kids, and I love teaching them. My roommates and I have all made a no sugar/no sweets pact. We went out for dessert on Monday night, and then started it on December 1st. I will not break it until I am in Utah and with my Mom, so the 15th at the earliest. Last night, Alison, Amanda and I went downtown and watched the Christmas tree lighting at Boston Common (one of the parks). It was actually relatively warm yesterday for Boston, record temperatures-67 for the high, and only down to about 55. When we got off the T (the train/subway), we got some food to go and then enjoyed our little picnic dinner on the grass in Boston Common. We listened to the performers, enjoyed people watching, and stayed to see the lights all go on in the park before we headed home. Alison, me, and Amanda-I was going to take it of the 3 of us, but then a nice man came by and offered to do it.
I am so so so happy that it is December, and I am trying to make the most of this season, despite a busy life. I love you all and wish you happy holidays. Actually, I wish you a Merry Christmas, since I feel like we have to be so politically correct these days and avoid that word, Christmas. Well, I love Christmas, and I love celebrating it, and I am Christian, so I say to you all...HAPPY CHRISTMAS! or MERRY CHRISTMAS (depending on where you are ;)
I just love, love, love my roommates and I am so blessed to be living with some of my bestest friends in the whole world. I love Boston for so many reasons, but they just make me love it and enjoy living here so much more. Last night we went to a dinner at the Bishop's house, the guys in the ward were making breakfast (yes breakfast foods for dinner, it was all delicious) for all of us, ladies. It was fun, and then we came home and did the Color Code. Alison had been anxiously awaiting the day that we would have time to all do it together. For those of you who do not know, the Color Code is a book that helps you determine what kind of personality you have. It categorizes people by 4 colors-red, blue, white, and yellow. The test helps you identify your primary/strongest color, and then your secondary colors. I did the test a few years ago, and after all this time, I am still a Red-Blue. The interesting thing though is that I am almost tied Red and Blue, so I have 2 very strong personality types within me...which makes me complex. Most people have one color that is very dominant, and then a secondary color that is significantly less dominant, and then 2 others that are only slightly noticeable. Obviously 2 very strong personality types existing in one person makes things a bit...umm...complicated to say the least.
To quote the text of the book, "The most difficult color combination within one individual is the mixture of Red and Blue. If you are strong in both categories, you will often find yourself stepping on someone's toes to get a task completed (Red), but feeling guilty afterward for making that person unhappy (Blue)...you have a constant struggle between seeking power and searching for intimacy in relationships."
Saturday I spent the day getting some student teaching work done and going to work. After work, my roommates and I went to dinner in celebration of my birthday this past week. I picked a great restaurant that we have never been to, called Kashish. It's an Indian restaurant in Belmont (on the way to the temple). It was so so so yummy! Me and Rachel at Kashish Here are Amanda, me, and Alison after a yummy dinner. We went from there to do some errands and shopping. We, of course, ended up in Target, always a favorite, and Alison insisted on trying on this one-piece pajama outfit...notice the sock monkey feet. She really wanted them, but they were a bit pricey. Then I tried some on, cause they all insisted. Now for those of you who do not know, I was not tempted to buy any, since my sister, Allyson and I bought some lavender snowflake one-piece pajamas for our 2004 Thanksgiving Family get together in Park City. I still have them and break them out from time to time. They saved me and kept me warm last November when my heat was broken for a few days in my old place. They are like having a sleeping bag on...so warm. Anyway, these ones at Target were a hideous pink on me. Complete with little bunny faces on the feet, that we decided were kinda creepy. To finish the night off, we came home and watched one of my all time favorites, and definitely a Carruth movie of choice...yes, Better Off Dead. It is a classic, and I am not sure if my roommates really got it, but I laughed and enjoyed every moment of it, even the awkward moments.
I hope everyone else is happy and enjoying life as much as I am! MUCH LOVE!!!
I got to spend the last several days in Utah for a fun trip and for my birthday celebration. Alex had been eager for me to come see him and Stacey, and to meet their new baby girl, Jan. After a busy week in Boston, I left right after school on Friday and headed to the airport, where I sat and sat too long, and was way too cramped in my seats. I was so thankful to be out of the planes and to be met at the Salt Lake airport by Stacey and baby Jan. I spent Friday night with Stacey and Alex-laughing, hanging out, etc.
Then on Saturday morning, Alex took me on a grueling run up Rock Canyon. He decided that he needed to kick my trash, so he wouldn't be embarrassed about whether I beat him or not, so he made me basically climb a mountain and gasp for air the whole time. So the elevation did not cooperate for me, I must be acclimatizing considerably to Boston and sea level ;) After our run, which Alex wants everyone to know that he kicked my trash on, I met up with my dear friend, Sarah for a yummy breakfast.
Then I headed into Salt Lake. My Aunt Susie needed to be with my cousin who had been admitted to LDS hospital for medical complications, probably pregnancy related (Nicole-you have been in my prayers!) and so I took Presley for a couple of hours. I used to play with her lots when I lived in Salt Lake, so we spent the afternoon doing some of our favorite things. Here is Presley at the park; we picked up food for lunch and headed to the park for picnicking. Presley then took this picture of me. We had a yummy lunch and as we sat under the trees, all of the leaves were falling like crazy...falling onto our lunch, all over our picnic blanket, and even into my purse. It sure was funny. We watched the dogs, and then we played on the playground. Afterwards, we went to find a spot to do sidewalk chalk up in the Avenues, where I used to live, so I hope no one minded our sidewalk art. Then Presley was a bit disappointed that I didn't have a house for us to go to and do one of our all time favorites-bake and decorate cupcakes. So instead we opted to go to Mini's Cupcakes on 900 S. We each had a cupcake and then decided to save the rest to share with Susie and Nicole. I, of course, had to have the peanut butter chocolate one (top right). After stopping for cupcakes, Presley and I headed back up to the hospital to meet up with Susie.
I headed back to Provo after that, and had a really fun, really awesome Saturday night ;)
Then Sunday morning, I went with Alex, Stacey, Jan, and Brian up to Temple Square where we watched Music and the Spoken Word. I love listening to wonderful music, even if I am not musically talented myself, and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir performed so well. It was definitely an inspiring, uplifting way to start my Sabbath day. After Brian headed back to Provo, I went with Alex, Stacey, and Jan up to Bountiful to visit my Nana. She was good and quite chatty. I attended Alex and Stacey's married student ward; BYU students married and so in love...it was almost too much for me ;)
Here are Alex and Stacey in the Visitor's Center on Temple Square, what a cute couple! No wonder they have such a cute baby! Isn't she darling!? She is so cute and so fun and loves me so much, she even lets me squeeze her, and apparently squish her a bit too much. Jan ElianeCarruth is my 8th niece, and I do have 1 nephew, too. She is so fun. She is very alert for a 2 month old, she laughs and smiles a lot, she giggles, she scoots on her playmat, and she lets me hold her, feed her her bottle, talk to her, sing to her, and rock her to sleep. She even lets me change her diapers-what luck! I love her!
I miss you already, Jan!
Then I spent Sunday night, and all Monday with good company, in good conversation, having great fun and even eating good food...what more could I ask for?!
Which brings me to Tuesday-my birthday! On Monday night, Alex had asked me what would make a perfect birthday, and I decided that not having to go to school or work was going to make the day pretty darn good. After experiencing the day, I would say it was perfect...the best birthday that I have had in quite some time. Part of the reason that it was so wonderful is that I got so many phone calls from all of the people who love me and care about me. It was so good to hear from all of you, and I love you, too!
I spent the morning with Alex and Jan, playing at home, and then we went to the mall with Stacey. I got new jeans with my birthday money, and had the luck of running into my friend, Sarah again.
Then I went with Brian at 1:00 to one of my favorite places in Utah, to Main Street in Park City. We spent the afternoon meandering through the fun shops, the furniture boutiques, and the art galleries. Here I am with the random moose along Main Street, he was a little shaky so I guess I am lucky that he did not decide to tip over on me. Although getting trapped under a moose in Park City on my birthday might have made for a really great story later. This monkey puppet reminded Brian and I of Alex...who is slightly obsessed with YouTube and had shown us a clip of Bubbles the Monkey performing on Britain's Got Talent. I love you, Alex, and even your wacky sense of humor! Then at the bottom of Main Street was this huge sculpture by FrogMan, an artist who makes all of these frogs from bronze. Brian and I had seen a bunch of the smaller versions in an art store. The bright colors are probably my favorite part. There were signs that said Do Not Touch, but I am not actually touching the frog, right?! Just getting as close as possible ;)
After meandering through Park City, Brian and I ended up on the freeway headed towards Salt Lake City, which was perfectly fine with me...it meant we would be getting there for dinner time. You can imagine how excited I was to get to eat at one of my favorite restaurants ever-Aristo's! It is an awesome Greek restaurant in Salt Lake, up on 1300 E. by University of Utah. I love the ambiance, the service, and the food is just amazing. No one is ever disappointed when they dine there with me, and Brian definitely was not disappointed. I make it a point to go back every time I am visiting in Utah. Man, I am craving some amazing Greek food now, opa! After dinner, Brian and I headed back to Provo. Here I am at Alex and Stacey's later that evening with one of my birthday presents...a Belle barbie doll. It is a funny story for another day, but just know that I was really excited and she has already found a special place on my bookshelf. Brian and myself (the newest, proudest owner of Belle!) We made German Chocolate cupcakes which were really yummy and Alex insisted we play a game. After I frosted them, we used the writing icing tubes to play pictionary on the cupcakes. We each took turns drawing a picture while everyone else guessed. I really love decorating cupcakes, so I think this might be my newest, most favorite game. Alex also insisted on putting all 26 candles in one cupcake for me to blow out. 26! I know, I am getting so old ;) but thank goodness that this mini bonfire did not get out of control, or burn Alex and Stacey's apartment down. I set up my camera on my gorilla pod (my little tripod that Mom got us all a few Christmases ago; yes, Mom, I do use it!) and we had a mini photo shoot, serious and funny poses. Here is one of the non-goofy ones. L to R: Alex, Stacey, Brian, and the Birthday girl.
We finished off the night playing cards and having a lot of fun. After a perfect birthday, I had to pack up and leave Wednesday morning. I made it back safe and sound to Boston on Wednesday night and was thinking of all of the catch-up work I needed to do, for my calling and for student teaching...and what a lovely surprise I had waiting in my bedroom?! Here I am with my beautiful bouquet of flowers! Thanks, Brian!
So I realize that Halloween was a long time ago, but get used to me-I blog when I make time and it's not very regularly. We actually had a couple of Halloween parties the weekend before Halloween (since we had Stake Conference and another church conference going on Halloween weekend, and we got to hear Elder Ballard speak!)
My roommates and I went together as a themed group last year, and we decided to do it again this year. We actually were out to dinner a couple weeks before, and ran our ideas by our waiter...he was a big supporter of our final decision-the US Double Dutch National Championship Team. And we are actually trying to learn double dutch, we haven't been practicing as much lately, but shhhhh....don't tell our competitors!
Ironically enough, our Double Dutch team uniforms got a little carried away, and we ended up being quite 80's. I basically like any reason to put on tons of make-up, particularly eye make-up, and to get to do crazy things with my hair. Here I am all decked out.Our ward had a Halloween party, which included a cupcake contest, and with the help of my savvy baking sister-in-law, Ruth, I totally won best overall cupcakes. My funny little spiders won cause overall they were best tasting and best looking. Go me!
I won a thing of Halloween sprinkles as my prize.
At the ward Halloween party, we played lots of fun, crazy games and even tied each other up like mummies. Here is my roommate, Alison, and I looking mummified.
And here are my roommates and I in our team shirts, we made them ourselves-complete with puffy paint...man I loved decorating with that stuff as a kid and I still do. We each had a Double Dutch team nickname, I was "Skip."
From left to right, it is Rachel, me, Amanda, and then Alison is laying across us. Aren't we the coolest jump roping team ever?Amanda, Rachel, our friend Janey, me and Alison at our first stop for the night, showing off our team spirit at some friends' Halloween party. After stopping by another Halloween party later on, we went to Friendly's to get some ice cream sundaes. And of course we were not in the least embarrassed to show up in style.
Alison and Amanda (above) and Rachel and I (below)
I just wanted to give a special thanks and shout out to my personal IT guy, who is the smartest IT guy I know...that would be my big brother, James. He has helped me through all of my laptop ordeals, helped me figure out how to get things downloaded and uploaded again, and thanks to him, you are getting to see a new blog post. Thanks for all your expertise, James! Thanks for all the free IT services and support that you give me!!! (PS James is really excited to be on my blog and be "famous")
So my whole family spent a week in St. George, Utah for Christmas. It was a blast. We had lots of time to hang out, laugh, eat, sleep, and play. I got to go running with some of my favorite running partners, my Dad and Alex. We got to swim in the pool and relax in the hot tub. We got to jump rope, double dutch, etc., and the more skilled members of my family got to play tennis (I am horrible at tennis and I mean it!) We cooked and ate. We made graham cracker temples and sugar cookies. We saw some of the historic sites around town, like Brigham Young's house. We did Christmas shopping. We played at a whole place full of bouncy castles for hours, and I think the adults had more fun than the kids. We did the longest zipline in Utah across a canyon, we each got 4 turns...and everyone went except Andrew and my Dad (the babysitters) and the kids 3 and under did not go. So yes, even tiny 5 year old Havana braved the zipline alone on her last 2 tries. I had so much fun being with family. We had lots of laughs and fun, along with some of the typical family drama that happens when we are all together under one roof. I love my family. I had a great Christmas, and I hope you all did, too. I am just posting this family picture that we took on Christmas day (with James' camera and tripod-turned out quite nice), but maybe when I get more time, I will add more pictures from all of the family fun in St. George. 
