BYU Basketball and Gift Making

For fun this winter, we bought some tickets to the BYU basketball games. The game we were looking the most forward to was Utah vs. BYU. We went to it last weekend and had a blast. My favorite part of the games is the beginning where they introduce the players. I took a video of it but of course, it won't load. So here is a youtube clip from a different game this season. Thankfully, we beat Utah.

 

This is the gift I made for my visiting teaching people. It was a lot of fun and actually pretty easy to make. I did feel sort of weird buying baby food jars only to dump out the food to make them.

Other than that, we are looking forward to visiting Wisconsin soon for the holiday. Also, Joseph and I finished up finals last week. I found out my professor wants me to work on publishing a paper I wrote for her class. Grad school is the best! If only the next 7 semesters can be the same!

Happenings around the Home

So we've been busy as always, which means I haven't updated our blog! Here are some highlights of the past few weeks.

We went to Joseph's brother's home for Thanksgiving. I made a really cool cheese ball and veggie platter but I forgot my camera. So his mom took pictures but I don't have them yet.You'll have to wait... but just know it was really awesome! We had a good Thanksgiving and I got the day off! Hooray! We slept in and watched the Macy's Day Parade. It was a good Thanksgiving.

The weekend after Thanksgiving, we went to Joe's parents and replaced the brake pads on our car. They've been squealing for a little bit so I finally complained enough to have them changed. The best part: I got to help. I took off the tires all by myself. Here is the evidence of it. Also, I took a picture of their cat that I like. His name is Whitey.

We also went to a BYU basketball game right before Thanksgiving but again, I forgot my camera. I predicted the score and I was only three points off! It was a pretty empty game, as in there were not many people there, so we got to sit closer. We got tickets for the Utah vs. BYU game this week so we're excited!

I also decorated our home with Christmas! We love our little Christmas tree and our pretty ornaments! We put our wreath, nativity, and lights too! I love Christmas decorations!

Yesterday, we went up to Sandy for the Festival of Trees, which is a huge fundraiser for Primary Children's Medical Center. Here is the recap of the best trees we saw.

There were about 5 Utah Ute Trees but only one BYU!

This tree was called Chemis-Tree. It was pretty cool.

We were surprised to see a Packer tree there but were quite happy!

The top of the tree!

Just a few more weeks until Christmas! And we're so blessed to be able to go to Wisconsin again!

More Celebrations

It's a late post, but as the saying goes "Better late than never!" We've had a few reasons to celebrate the past few weeks so here's the highlights!

Joseph turned the big 2-4 a few weeks ago! The weekend before his birthday, my friend, Chelsea and her husband came to visit from Logan. Pretty soon we won't live in the same state so we got together while it's still easy. We hiked Squaw Peak since the weather was beautiful. It was a great hike and we enjoyed having them come visit. We also went to see the new Bat-man movie, which was pretty cool. For Joseph's birthday, we had a nice dinner (steak!) and just hung out. Joseph had to take a national engineering exam the day after his birthday so we didn't do a whole lot because of that. We went to see his family as well and they gave us a water purifier for Texas. Neither of us like how the water tastes in Texas so we wanted a purifier so we don't have to keep buying bottled water. Here's some pictures.

This is new. Before this rock, there was no marker and you had to guess where to turn.

Mt. Timp from Squaw Peak Trail

We made it alive!

Chelsea and me.

The couples.

Walking back down the trail.

Also, we celebrated accepting a job offer! Joseph had many opportunities to interview and go to Houston for site visits with other companies this fall. In the end, we made our decision and have accepted an engineering position with Dow Chemical Company. It is the same company Joseph interned with over the summer. We like the company and know they will treat us well. We will be moving to a different city than where we lived over the summer: Lake Jackson, Texas. It is about an hour south of Houston and about 10 minutes away from the gulf coast. The town is pretty nice and Joseph will work with some BYU graduates. We're pretty excited to finally know what we're doing come May!

My Favorite Season

Fall has grown to be my favorite season for many reasons. One, it is my birthday. Two, I love the weather. My favorite, most comfortable outfit is jeans and a long sleeve shirt so fall is perfect for that. With that, I love the colors that come out in the trees. Three, I love listening to General Conference, which takes place in the fall and spring. Four, football resumes, both college and NFL. And I love football. Luckily, I've been able to do all of those things these past few weeks.

A few weeks ago, BYU played Utah in the rival game. We had some friends over and I made these color-fitting cupcakes.

Then, Joseph and I celebrated my birthday (his is in two weeks!). We went to Joe's mission reunion the night of my birthday and it was fun. His mission is growing so rapidly and great things are happening in Barcelona Spain. For my birthday, Joseph got me a cake turntable so I can decorate cakes better. I was quite excited. I also had the opportunity to talk to my family, which is always great! For a mutual birthday lunch, we went to Tucanos this weekend and I love going there! It was very yummy, as always!

The weekend before my birthday, Joseph and I had time to drive up into Provo Canyon and go up to the place where we took our engagement pictures, Cascade Springs. The leaves were beautiful and it makes me sad to know they will go away and white snow will blanket the area soon. But we enjoyed just walking around and looking at God's beautiful paintings.

My attempt at being creative.

General Conference came and went. Joe and I were able to get tickets from our ward over the summer. I love going to the Conference Center! We also went to Joe's parents for part of conference to see them. It was a wonderful conference. I still can't believe young men can serve missions at 18 and sisters at 19 now! And the announcement of two more temples in the world! What wonderful news!

September 11th

I wasn't planning to do this but throughout the day, I've thought a lot about what happened 11 years ago.

Eleven years ago, I walked into Riverside Elementary School and thought it would be just another normal day. A friend mentioned to the class that on the news, she heard something about a plane running into a building. We thought it was a complete accident. Little did we know that plane would change our future. Later in the day, our teacher announced what happened. The classroom across the hallway had the TV on and was watching footage. But our teacher would not allow us to go watch the news. That day was early release so I got home before my siblings. I put my backpack down, turned on the news, and called my mom at work. I remember the moment I turned the TV on, it was replaying the very moment the second plane crashed into the tower. At the age of 11, I had no clue what to think. Never before had our nation been attacked on our soil in my lifetime. I had learned about historical events such as the attacks on Pearl Harbor and the Civil War battles. But never before had I lived through such an attack.

A few weeks later, my class went to the school district's school forest for the traditional camp trip. One night there, my class gathered around the radio to listen to President Bush announce that we were going to war against the people who destroyed our nation. Little did I know that my brother would fight in the war President Bush spoke about.

Fortunately, I was not related to anyone who lost their life with the terrorist attacks. I am proud of my brother who served (and survived) two tours in Iraq to fight against the evil in the world. I consider myself so blessed and grateful despite the evil nature of the attacks. It serves as a testimony to me that God is always watching over us despite the wickedness that exists.

Weekend Adventures

Our first weekend back in Provo that didn't include moving was quite eventful. On Friday, I decided to decorate some more cupcakes and tried tie-dying the frosting. It turned out all right.

 Then, for date night on Friday, Joseph and I decided to get a fish. My old beta fish died right after we got married and we just didn't get around to getting a new fish. So we are pleased to announce as the newest member of our small family... Alpha Beta.

 While at the pet store, there was an adoption table with puppies as usual. Of course, I had to browse and play with the puppies. I found a dachsund/pug mix that stole my heart! Unfortunately we have to wait to get a dog. But here is a picture of what she looked like. I named her Hotdog.

Saturday, we went to the Provo Farmer's Market. It was okay; nothing too fancy but we got some peppers and some yummy pears. After the BYU football game, we went hiking up Rock Canyon.

It looks like I'm falling but it was just a weird angle with the camera.

Then today I took an adventure and made homemade ravioli. Everything is from scratch, noodles, filling, etc. It was hard and tasted yummy. But in the future, I think store-bought ravioli is just fine.

Joe is working really hard.

 This next week brings many exciting times as well. I start my job tomorrow (Hooray for income!) and the rival game between BYU and Utah is on Saturday. Go Cougars!

Settling Down and Being Craft-y

We moved to Texas in May. We moved to Nephi, Utah in August. We moved to Provo, Utah in September. There's been a lot of moving this summer. And who knows when the time will come to move again...

But, now that we're somewhat settled down into our apartment, I had time to be craft-y. My job doesn't start until next week so I took advantage of the time. I completed some projects I wanted to do for a long time. I finally bought a slipcover to cover our ugly pink (and rather scratchy) couch. It looks much nicer now. We also bought some bookcases for our mass amounts of games and books. But the big project I did this week was this:

I bought the frame from DI for 75 cents and got the piece of wood from Home Depot for 54 cents! I bought the paint and that was it! I love it and can't wait to do more with it over the years.

Welcome Back to Utah

This week has been quite a crazy one full of TONS of ups and downs.Here's a recap. I didn't take pictures among the craziness so here's a picture of a cute puppy.

- We began our long trip back to Utah (27 some hours from Houston!) and stopped in Austin to see Joe's family once more. I learned how to can food for the first time and made pear butter.

- Monday morning, Joe checks his email and finds out that BP wants to fly him out for an interview for an engineering position (he leaves tomorrow morning at 5am). We stopped at some McDonald's in New Mexico with wifi so he could send them all his information for flight reservations.

- We arrived to our apartment in Springville Tuesday afternoon to find it a complete mess. Later, we found out it was broken into and trashed so we can't live there. We went to the library to find any available apartments to look at that night. The landlord agreed to refund our money so we were able to find a new place.

- We signed a new apartment contract Friday morning for a great place near the Provo Tabernacle (but can't move in until later this week!)

- Last Wednesday, I started my master's program and have enjoyed getting to know my peers in the program. There are a few others that went to BYU that live all around the country so that is neat!

- I set up several interviews with lots of companies in Utah while still in Texas. I went to my second one and they offered me a job! I have a real salary and everything! I start next week sometime! I am the new case manager at a care center for people with mental retardation and mental illness. Also, I supervise the recreation department.

So Joe and I have learned this past week that everything works out when we turn to the Lord and ask Him for help. We could not have dealt with all the stress without each other and the constant reminder that as long as we're together, everything will be okay. And honestly, things are working out better than we imagined. We are so blessed and look forward to what comes our way this year! We have a feeling it will be full of joyful moments!

Chemical Engineer for a Day

Since Joseph started working at DOW, I've wanted to see his plant and what he does all day. A few weeks ago, he came home and said that another employee had her family visit the plant so he would find out how to let me go. Well, on Saturday I got to go see Joe's plant! I was very excited to go and I even got to wear an orange hard hat outside and a special badge! For security reasons, I couldn't take any pictures but I found some online of what it looks like.

The little guy in a blue suit is probably one of the operators.

We went on a Saturday when it was pretty calm. Joseph said other days, there are lots of people running around, trying to make sure the plant is running well. Because of security, I was unable to actually go inside all the machinery but Joseph tells me he does that a lot. He keeps reassuring me that his work is safe but I doubt it sometimes. I loved seeing it and knowing what Joseph does all day.

Lion King and Shakespeare... All in One Weekend

This past weekend was probably the most exciting and fun-filled weekend in Texas. When we found out Joe's internship would be in Houston, I bought tickets to see Broadway's Lion King as it had been a dream of mine to see it since I knew it existed. We went Friday night and it was absolutely amazing and worth every penny. Joseph keeps saying that he enjoyed it more than I did so that's good and he's been singing songs from it all weekend. Since you can't take pictures/recording of the play, here is the online clip of the opening scene. Imagine it 1000 times better than the video clip, though. The singing left me in awe of their talent and the costumes were crazy amazing. Here's a picture of Joseph and I before the show started.

On Saturday, we had the opportunity to meet up with one of Joseph's mission friends and his wife who live in Houston. We went out to a great pizza place in downtown Houston and then went to a Shakespeare outdoor theater thing. It was alright but we left half way through to go get ice cream.  We had so much fun with them and it was great to get out with another couple.

Cake Balls

Later today, our church is having a "Linger Longer." We were asked to bring some finger foods to share with everyone. So I decided to be adventurous and make cake balls for the first time. Here are some pictures. They taste great and I will definitely be making them again sometime!

Aftermath of Surgery

I should let you in on a little bit of history. A few months ago, I noticed a small, quarter size bump on Joe's back. He had back surgery 5 years ago so I thought it was something from that. It stayed the same size and didn't cause Joe pain until last week. The small bump exploded and got huge and started causing some serious pain.

So, that brings you up-to-date. Wednesday, Joe went to the doctor because of the pain. I told him to call me at work only if he had to go to the hospital. Lo and behold, he called me at work. The doctor looked at it and said he thought it was a serious infection but wasn't sure how deep it was so he would operate on it later that night. Joe came home to pick me up and off to the hospital we went. His surgery started around 7pm and he was out by 8pm. He went under general anesthesia so was very loopy and out of it afterwards. We got discharged around 9:30 and had to drive around forever looking for a 24 hour pharmacy to get Joseph a whole bunch of medications. I am pretty sure the pharmacist thought I was a drug addict because I was in such a rush to get the prescriptions for Joseph. We finally got home around 11:30 and Joe was fast alseep. He has seven staples that will come out eventually... and lots of gauze that I get the lucky job of repacking every night. Last night, I got pretty grossed out but hopefully tonight will go better. That's been our exciting week in Houston! Hopefully, that's the most excitement we have for a while.

Here is a picture of it. The red piece that looks like tape in the end of the gauze that is packed in his back.

Dog oh Dog

This weekend was one I was looking forward to since we found out we were moving to Houston. It was the Reliant Park World Series Dog Show! Obviously, I was very excited and it was well worth all the excitement. We saw many dogs do agility, disc dancing, and flyball. We also visited every Rescue Organization in Houston to play with the adoptable animals. I fell in love with the beagle breed! And I got to pet TONS of dogs... more than I thought I would get to see. I didn't take many pictures but I did take videos so here are some highlights.

Some weird-looking dog we saw.

This is the agility yard activity

The weigh-pulling sled activity.

This is the disc dancing activity.

 This is flyball. We watched for an hour; it was very interesting.

My Very First Ferris Wheel Ride

As a child, I have a horrific, traumatizing event happen on a roller coaster. My dad took my siblings and I to an amusement park when I was about five. He convinced me to go on this train ride that looked easy and non-eventful. I didn't want to go on any roller coasters but agreed with my dad that the train ride looked innocent. Boy, were we wrong! It was a full-blown roller coaster. Since that day, I have been very skeptical of amusement park rides and quite often do not even come close to going on fast, descending rides. I prefer just watching. Living in Kemah, one of the big attractions is the Boardwalk, where they have lots of amusement rides. Joe LOVES roller coasters and really wants to go on the one here but we compromised this weekend and went on the Ferris wheel instead. I have never been on one that I remember. It was a great experience and I would definitely do it again sometime! Here are pictures of Kemah and the ocean from the Ferris wheel.

View of the ocean from the Ferris Wheel

First time on the Ferris Wheel

View of Kemah/Seabrook in Texas

The roller coaster called the Bullet that I won't go on

Saturday, we went and saw Brave and it was very good. It is a classic Disney movie so it's predictable but still a cute one. After that, we went to Burlington Coat Factory down the road (never been there before) and I had a wonderful time looking at shoes. I found two pairs of shoes for 20 dollars (fancy name brand kind that I NEVER buy and normally cost 40 dollars each!). We will definitely be going back someday.

My new shoes!

A 4th of July craft I made recently.

4th of July

This Fourth of July, Joe and I enjoyed just chilling out in Houston. I had to work that morning and then had the rest of the day off. Then, Joe helped me make a cool patriotic cake that turned out pretty good.

It is supposed to look like a flag except the blue part started to slide.

Decorating the top of it.

At night, we drove to see the Kemah fireworks, which several people told us were the best in the Houston area.

 

Then, this last weekend, we went to Austin as Joe's brother flew down from Utah to visit family. We enjoyed finding out we will have a new nephew around Christmas time! We went to a natural springs at Zilker Park and enjoyed swimming around a lot. We played board games and stayed up way too late for me! I don't think I've stayed up that late (midnight... sad, I know) for at least a year.