Christmas Break!

It is finally Christmas Break! I am so excited! It will be so great to be able to sleep in, relax, hang out with family and friends, and not have to even think about work! I do like my job but I was sooooo ready for a break! Hopefully I will have some pictures and fun things to post about soon! :) If I don't post again before Christmas- I wish you all a very MERRY CHRISTMAS and A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! :)

-C-A-L-I-F-O-R-N-I-A-

This past Thanksgiving week Rob and I went to California. We had a really great time. Here is a quick summary of our vacation!
Monday: We got all of our stuff ready and drove to Sandy.
Tuesday: Woke up super early and drove all the way to Rob's Aunt's house in California. We hung out their family, went for a walk, and watched TV.
Wednesday: Drove to Rob's Grandma's house! Hung out with Wendi, Jordyn, and Ethan. Ate at In & Out!
Thursday: Thanksgiving Dinner! We spent almost the whole day at another one of Rob's Aunts and Uncles house with the extended family. We ate a lot of good food and talked a lot! It was a fun day!
Friday: Rob and I did a little shopping on Black Friday! We also went to the Aquarium and the Pacific with Kristi and kids. It was really cool! I even got to pet sharks, rays, and other cool things.
Saturday: We hung out at Huntington Beach. Rode a 6 person bike and just walked around!
Sunday: We made the long drive all the way back to Logan!
We had such a great time! It was really fun to be able to spend time together, hung out with Rob's family, stay with his cute Grandma, and enjoy being in California! Hopefully we will be able to go back soon!
Look at all the cool stuff behind us!

Standing next to the shark pond.

Touching a ray.

Star fish and other cool things!

Jordyn and I

Light House in Long Beach.

Huntington Beach!

Riding the 6 person bike.

The OCEAN!!!!

My ABC's of Gratitude

I saw this on my cousins blog and I thought it was a great idea! So I am stealing her idea! Thanks Heidi! :)

I am grateful for:

America
BYU Football & Book of Mormon
Church, Cuddling, & Costa Vida
Decorations
ESL (That is what I teach!)
Family and Friends
Gospel
Home
Ice-cream
Juice
Kitchens
Laughing
Menssens & Merrills
Naps
Office (The)
Phones
Quilts
Rob :)
Scrapbooking
Temples
USU Basketball
Visiting family
Weekends!!!
X-Mas (I had to copy this one because I could not think of anything!)
Yards
Zoos

Weekends!

I feel like I need to dedicate a post to weekends because seriously I don't know what I would do without them. I love weekends! Really, I live for weekends. I start my countdown every Monday and I am always so excited when it is finally Friday! I love eating out (which we do every Friday night), I love sleeping in! I love being able to stay up late, hang out with friends, or just do nothing! Pretty much I love everything about weekends! The only problem that I have is that they always seem to go by so dang fast. I am all for a four day work week! (Too bad I don't think that will happen anytime soon.) I guess I should be grateful that I never have to work weekends.

Anyways... Nothing really new is happening! Rob is still super busy with school! He will be super excited when this semester is over- it has been a hard one. I still love my job and things are going well. I am busy but not too bad! I can't complain- I have time to do other things too! I can't believe how fast time is flying by and I am already getting really excited for Christmas!!! That is about it! :)

College Football!

I just have to say, I love college football! Today I spent my Saturday watching a lot of football. It all started at 1:00 as I watched the Aggies beat Hawaii (For those of you who have given up completely on Aggie Football- Yes they did win!) It was a beautiful day- amazing for a November football game. It was so much fun to be there, enjoy some awesome plays, and unlike last week- leave with a huge smile on my face. As soon as the Aggie game was over it was time to go over to my brothers apartment to watch BYU. All I can say is, WOW, What a game!!! A lot of screaming and heart pounding- but when the clock finally showed 0:00 I was thrilled that the cougars got the Win! Yeah! What a day for College football! I can't wait for a few more months of amazing football and then it will be time for some great b-ball! What can I say- I definitely love SPORTS!!!

Halloween Activities

So as you can see our Halloween activities so far have been going to a corn maze with our good friends Mike and Holli and Making sugar cookies! Yeah for Halloween!!! :)

Photo Tag!

S0- I was photo tagged by Avree and since I don't want to offend her I will do it! (Thanks- this is an easy fast one.) The rules: Go to your photos- post the picture that is the 4th picture in the 4th album!
So the picture is of Missy, Erin, and I when we spent the summer working at the FVC in California. We went with a group of friends to a Dodger game! WE had a blast! Good Memories!

Now I tag: JaNell, Heidi, Molly, and Quincy! :)

Tagged

So I have now been tagged twice and I figured I might as well answer because I don't have anything else to blog about, so here it goes! I will answer one now and maybe the other in a few days!!!

8 things.....


8 TV Shows I Love to Watch
1. The Office
2. Friends
3. The Bachelor
4. The Biggest Loser
5. Home Improvement
6. Sports
7. The news
8. Hmm... Maybe How it's Made or Dirty Jobs (My husband loves them so I don't have much of a choice)

8 Things that Happened Today
1. Slept in! Thank goodness for Fall Break!
2. Ate Pumpkin Pancakes! (Thanks Amanda!)
3. Went for a 2 hour walk with JaNell (She also made me run some stairs)
4. Took a nice hot shower
5. Talked Politics!
6. Enjoyed lunch at Pita Pit with Missy and Amanda
7. Dishes
8. Packed for Sandy! :)

8 Favorite Places to Eat
1. Costa Vida
2. Cafe Rio
3. Bajio's
4. Subway
5. Firehouse
6. Pita Pit
7. Pizza Places
8. Indian Oven

8 Things I'm Looking Forward To
1. Going home for the weekend!
2. Every weekend!
3. Aggie Basketball
4. Christmas!!!!
5. Rob Graduating in a few years!
6. Owning a home!
7. Shopping
8. My little nephew being born! (Thanks Kimber and Mike)

8 Things on My Wish List
1. A trip to Disney Land
2. A 4 day work week
3. A brand new house
4. A cruise
5. New couches
6. New dishes
7. A nice big yard
8. Fall weather to stay for a long time!

I tag: Everyone who wants to answer these questions!!!! :)

Fall Break!

Yeah! It is time for fall break! Parent Teacher Conferences are over and now I get the rest of the week off! I am so excited! It is going to be so nice to sleep in, catch up on cleaning and errands, and then go to Sandy to see the family! Hopefully I will have something to post about when it is over, but really I am just glad to have a break! YEAH! :)

USU / BYU Football

This past Friday was the BYU/USU football game up here in Logan. I was excited for the game because I love football- but because it was a battle of my two favorite teams- I was not sure who to cheer for. Obviously I knew that BYU was going to win (And I wanted them to because it would ruin their season to lose to such a bad team) but I did not want my Aggies to just give up and get blown away. Anways.... it was a fun game, not a blowout not a close game but an okay game.

The thing about this game and rivilary I just don't understand is why so many Aggie fans hate BYU so much. They didn't treat Utah the same way. Some of our fans were so stupid- swearing and making rude comments at people in BYU shirts, chanting over rated when USU was losing, throwing things on the field at BYU players, etc. I was so ticked, granted it was a very small percentage of USU fans- It still made me mad. On the other side- BYU fans are very nice about USU. A few years ago I even attented a USU/BYU football game in Provo wearing a USU shirt and everyone was really nice! I guess I just don't understand why the teams in blue can't have a little more love for each other????

Bear Lake

A few weeks ago we went to Bear Lake for a family reunion! It was such a blast! We left Friday after work and school and headed up. Logan Canyon was beautiful and it was nice to get away for the weekend. It was a little cold and rainy so we spent most of our time inside the cabin chatting and playing games. It was fun to spend time with family! It was fun to catch up on life and to reminisce about the past. We have so many fun memories! I am so lucky to have such an awesome extended family! :) Rob and I at the overlook of Bear Lake.
Missy and I chatting in the cabin.

More work and more school

So, it has been awhile since I have posted. Why? The answer is simple- work and school! I am not going to say that we haven't done anything fun- but between that and working I haven't had time to post! I did get a chance to celebrate my 24th Birthday! We enjoyed dinner at Cafe Rio (YUMMY!), went shopping, and ate cake and ice-cream with friends! I really can't believe I am 24! I am in my mid 20's! Weird! I have also had a chance to finish reading the Twilight series! It was enjoyable reading, but I for sure wouldn't call myself a fanatic! Its a little out there for my taste! Rob has been busy doing homework and correcting papers for his job as a TA. We went to our first Aggie Football game of the year! We love football and love our Aggies! (Hopefully someday they will actually learn how to play - until then we will keep supporting them while anxiously waiting for Basketball to start!) Work is good- I love my job! (I still dread Mondays and look forward to Fridays and Holidays!) The kids are awesome and I love teaching! :) Hopefully this weekend I will have some pictures because we are going to Bear Lake for the weekend! Yeah! :)

Work and School!

I am back to work and Rob is back in school! What more can be said.... Summer is over! Even though it was amazing to have a break from work, in some ways it is nice to have life back to normal. The best part about school starting is that Rob is no longer working swing shift and I have a husband to hang out again! Yeah! :) I also love fall and can't wait for football games, cooler weather, colored leaves, and so much more! Anyways...... hopefully we will do so fun stuff and I will have more exciting things to post about soon!

Menssen "Reunion"

This weekend we had our first annual (hopefully) summer Menssen reunion. Mike and Kimber came to visit from Virginia so we were all excited to spend time all together as a family. The events started early Friday morning with golf for the boys and shopping for the girls. We spent the afternoon playing board games. Friday evening we had a barbecue, our own mini Olympics, and of course watched parts of the opening ceremonies. Saturday we went up the canyon for some hiking and picnicking. Here are a few pictures of us from the bridge, playing in the water, and eating our lunch.
Rob, me, and Dave Mom and Nancy Dave had to rescue my shoe from the river! Rob and I on the bridge Kimber, Dad, and Mike enjoying lunch Mike, Dave, and Mom Enjoying the beautiful mountains!

Saturday evening Uncle Wolf and Aunt Muriel came over for dinner. We talked and watched the Olympics. Sunday we went to church and played games. Later that day, we had a family party at Aunt Joyce's house. It was really fun to see everyone and catch up. Sunday night we stayed up really late chatting, playing games, and watching the Olympics. It was so much fun to see Mike and Kimber and be able to spend time with them. I miss not being able to see them very often but I am glad they are doing so well in Virginia. Monday morning we woke up, got ready, and headed back to Logan. We had a really fun weekend and will look forward to Christmas time to be all together again!

Anniversary & Reunion

This past weekend has been a busy one. Saturday and Sunday we went to Rob's Family reunion. It was the Willey (Mom's side) at Palisades State Park. His Grandma was there and all of his Aunts and Uncles on that side. It was so fun to get to know them better and to meet more of his family. They are great! Saturday we had a big lunch, played a few games, and then there was an auction to raise money for future reunions. After that we hung out, talked, and went 4-wheeling. Then we set up camp, ate dinner, and had a camp fire. That night I slept horrible- our tent was tiny, it was hot, and I didn't have a mat or air mattress. Next time we will be better prepared! Sunday we spent the day hanging out and talking with his family. Sunday evening we left the reunion and drove to my parents house to spend the night!
Monday was our one year anniversary! How exciting! Marriage has been so much fun and I am so lucky to have a great husband! For our anniversary we decided to do some shopping, go out to a late lunch, and then head up to a cabin in the mountains for the night. It was a lot of fun! It was nice to be able to relax and enjoy our time together! Tuesday morning we headed back to Logan to start our second amazing year of marriage!

My Adopted Family

Tonight I attended my 4th (I think) annual Miller Summer Party. (Some of you might be thinking... hey you are not a Miller or have any relatives that are and yes you are mostly correct but let me explain why I was there.) Almost 5 years ago I moved away to Logan to go to college. I was lucky enough to have great roommates and it was then I met my new best friend. Amanda and I have had so many great times together but because of her I was lucky enough to be adopted into another great family- The Miller Family! I can honestly say, I don't know what I would have done without Amanda and her wonderful family. They have invited me to countless parties, fed me tons of food, let me stay at their houses, and much much more! The most important thing that came from this Miller Family adoption was several more amazing friends that have made my life so much better. The crew (as we have come to call it) has mainly been Amanda, Millie, Justin, Mike, Holli, Missy, Erin, Me, & Rob. I am so lucky to be able to hang out with the Millers and Missy, Erin, & Rob all at once! So many of my best college memories have been made with these people. I feel lucky and blessed to have them in my life! I am so grateful for Amanda and her family(Millie, her parents, her cute Grandma, Mike's family, & Justin's family.) It has been such a great experience getting to know them and I have made life long friends in the process! Seriously, I love them and am lucky to know them and have them in my life!
An old picture of Amanda & I
Enjoying a Miller Family Party
Amanda & Millie at my wedding

Good times in SANDY

We have spent the last few weekends in Sandy visiting my family, celebrating the 4th of July, and seeing old friends. I love spending time in Sandy, but I am not going to lie, I am looking forward to some Logan weekends coming up!
The fourth of July weekend was lots of fun! On the fourth we had our traditional barbecue, hung out, and of course went and saw fireworks! (As always...... I didn't take any pictures!) Saturday we had another BBQ and later that night went mini-golfing with Dan & Erica. It was a lot of fun, we went to Mulligans (I hadn't been there forever so that was really fun.) After we got some ice-cream and played games! Sunday we went to church, ate dinner, and played croquet. Then we headed back to Logan.
This past weekend we also went to Sandy. Friday we went to Bajio's for dinner, watched a movie, played basketball, and Settlers. Saturday we went to lunch with Sarah. It was fun to be able to chat and catch up. She is moving to LA this week. Saturday night I gave Molly a shower because she is getting married in August. It was really fun! It was great to see Jen & Shanene because it has been such a long time since I had seen them. It is always fun to catch up! Sunday we went to church, ate dinner, and visited Rob's family on the way home! It was a fun couple of weekends but it is also great to be home!

Park City

This past weekend Rob and I went to Park City. Rob's family has a timeshare in Park City for a week every Summer. We left on Friday and picked up Jordyn and Ethan and headed to Park City. We got there a little early so we made stop at the theater to see WALL-E. Rob has been looking forward to seeing this movie since he saw a preview forever ago. He loved it, so did the kids, but I am not going to lie; there was not enough talking in it for me. After the movie we checked into the hotel, hung out, went and bought some food, ate dinner, and took a walk to the resort to check it out a bit. Kristy met us up there after she got off work. Rob's dad also made an appearance but didn't stay too long. Saturday we went outlet shopping, swimming, and just hung out. Sunday we relaxed, swam, took a walk down to main street, and head home. It was a short trip but so much fun. It is great to get away and enjoy a little vacation. It is such a fun tradition! I can't wait until next year!

Baja

This past year Rob was on the Junior Baja Team. There are two teams(Junior & Senior) from USU and they build off road little cars to compete against others in the country.



Unfortunately,the junior team didn't get theirs done in time to go to Canada to compete. (Mostly because the Junior Team didn't come together and Rob and Steve got left to do a majority of the work.) They worked really hard to finish their car so it could be used for Engineering State. Rob got to be a presenter at Engineering State and tell all the little high school kids about the Baja. They also got drive it in the parking lot. I went up for one of the sessions and I got to drive it too. They are fun little vehicles. The blue one was the one that Rob 's team made. The yellow one was from a few years ago!

Summer has finally come...... sort of!

Although you might not be able to tell from this crazy June weather we have been having lately, Summer is here and it is wonderful! I don't care what the calendar says, or what the weather is like, I define Summer as the period of time I do not have to go to school (now work). I have really liked my job as a teacher but I have again been reminded of one of the greatest benefits to teaching - SUMMER BREAK! I haven't quite figured out what I will do the entire Summer, but one thing is for sure- I do not have to wake up to the sound of my cell phone alarm going off. Anyways, now that it is Summer it is the time to do fun things outside. One really fun thing Rob and I did was we went to the Hogle Zoo. Neither of us had been for a long time and we had a blast! My favorite animals were the elephants and giraffes and Rob likes the tigers and monkeys. (I wish I had pictures but I forgot my camera. Ever since we have been married I have been horrible at taking pictures!) We also have enjoyed having a campfire with awesome tinfoil dinners, a fun picnic at the park, and because of the rain playing guitar hero and watching movies! I am definitely looking forward to more Summer Fun!

So..... it was fun......until now!

Right now it is Friday night, and halftime in game six of the Jazz/Lakers game. Unfortunately the Jazz are facing elimination and are currently down 19 points. It looks like the season will be ending far earlier than I (and every other Jazz fan) hoped and dreamed of. I was excited, confident, and ready to watch the Jazz win the long awaited NBA Championship! As of now, I feel a sense of emptiness- knowing that summer is about 24 game minutes away. Each year we lose I feel the same emotions - disappointment, anger, hate, etc. (Of course those feelings are against the other team and the stupid refs!) For now I can only dream of a miracle comeback or another chance to win a ring next year and vent about how much I HATE THE LA LAKERS!
Reasons the Lakers are my Least Favorite Team! (In no particular order)
1. Derik Fisher can't miss against us!
2. They are UGLY
3. Gasol is a cry baby
4. Kobe Bryant
5. The way Kobe Bryant gets Star Treatment from the Refs!
6. Did I mention Kobe Bryant!
7. Phil Jackson (still haven't gotten over M.J. & the Bulls)
8. Lamar Odom
9. They are so so so Cocky!
10. The fact that so many dumb stars cheer for them
Honestly I could go on and on. I won't- but I could! I guess I should get back to watching the game. Assuming we lose, there will be a time of mourning, complaining, and thinking, "What if?" Eventually life will get back to normal and the pain will go away!
As always.... the NBA playoffs are fun! Thanks Jazz for a great Run! We love our team and can't help but think.... maybe next year will be our year!!!!

And the best omelet award goes to........

A few weeks ago Rob and I decided we wanted to make omelets for dinner. To make things difficult we both had to make our omelets our own way. Rob wanted to put all the ingredients into the magic bullet and blend away! I wanted to be able to see what I was eating so I went for the good old cutting board and knife. It took us about the same amount of time to prepare and we were ready to cook away.

I couldn't help thinking..... this is no omelet
This is GREEN EGGS AND HAM!

On the other hand, my omelet deserves some sort of award.I think next time I will be making both of our omelets!

Blog ?

So, As you can tell I am not a super blogger. Honestly, I am still not sure about this whole blog thing? I guess time will tell if I ever become a dedicated blogger!

As for now, I thought I would update on what is going on in my life!

Spring Break is long over and life is back to normal! (Normal is counting down to weekends and of course summer.) That makes it sound like I don't like my job- but really I love it! I also love weekends and looking forward to the weekends. Rob is busy with school- next week is finals! He has 5 finals in 4 days! I am so glad to be done with all of that! :)

This past weekend was a fun one. Rob and I spent Friday night with my parent's celebrating my dad's birthday! On Saturday we had a barbecue with Rob's family. We had a good time hanging out with his siblings and playing with his cute nieces and nephews! Saturday night we watched the Jazz game! I love the Utah Jazz and I love the NBA playoffs. Game 2 starts in about 5 minutes! Go JAZZ! :)

New Blog & Spring Break

So I have finally decided to join the blogging world. The main reason that I am starting a blog is because I am on my Spring Break right now, am bored, and wanting to figure out what this is all about. I am not sure what I am doing so it might take me awhile to get the hang of it. I would rather be on some exciting vacation but Logan District and USU have different spring breaks! So instead of laying on the beach, I am at home watching it snow, scrapbooking, and finding things to do that keep me busy. Of course I can't complain, it is nice to sleep in and not think about work for an entire week.