Our First Christmas!

We had a great first Christmas together! It was a little hectic trying to sort out the family stuff, but as soon as Christmas Day rolled around, everything worked out great! Even though we felt like our day was like the movie, "Four Christmases." We were back and forth with each other's families all day but it was well worth it! We had a blast!

Now I know you're dying to know what we got for Christmas, so I will show you some of the goods in pictures :) We were so spoiled!!

My parent's gave us this cute Kitchenaid as our main gift! I have always wanted a Kitchenaid, so it was nice of them do get that for us. I know what you're thinking....She didn't get the pink one?? Of course I wanted it, and would've loved it, but then I thought it would be better to go with something that would match our kitchen. (See picture below)

These were not a Christmas present, but these canisters sit on our counter and go with our dishes that I absolutely love. Now you can see why I chose the color that I did.

I have always wanted to learn how to sew, so Josh's parents gave me two months worth of sewing lessons! His mom picked out this cute sewing box for me and filled it with all the sewing basics. (It's probably the cutest sewing box EVER) I am well on my way to becoming a domestic goddess!

Josh's parents gave us our own decks of one of our favorite games, Hand n Foot! I had never played this game until Josh and I started dating, and I absolutely love it!

My parents gave us this game. Self-explanatory. The weapons are hilarious! Bacon grill, rabid bat, World's Best Boss mug, Dundee award, etc.!

Josh and I had a lot of fun exchanging gifts with each other! He didn't know any of his gifts, so it was fun to surprise him. I got him an Indianapolis Colts vintage t-shirt, SNL Best of Will Ferrell-both of them, this awesome game he really wanted called Rate Your Mate(probably the funniest couples game ever!) and I cracked and got him Madden 10 for his Xbox.... I know, I know. Bad idea. He got me some clothes and some jewelry! I love my husband.

It's kind of weird to think that this is technically the 3rd Christmas that Josh has been in my life. Two years ago at this time, we were kinda hanging out/kinda dating and he invited me to his friends' Christmas party. I was SO excited because I liked him a lot, but knew he had also been kinda dating another girl(he never hears the end of it about that...haha) so I was hoping that him inviting me to the party was a sign that he really liked me. Almost. After that party, his friends were always telling him to date me, but it took him another year before he started listening to them. :) I'm so glad he did.

Last Christmas, we had just barely started hanging out again. I had gone through a horrible breakup in August, and I was pretty fragile all during the Fall. I was terrified of even liking someone again, so I was really nervous when Josh was calling me to hang out-especially with how things were with him before. But I put my guard up high and decided to give it ago. We went out a few days before Christmas and then again right as the new year started. From then on we were pretty much dating and the rest is history! I love that Christmastime reminds me of those fun and key moments of our relationship. I look forward to spending many more Christmases with my cute honey!

Christmas Festivities!

I have been a slacker with my blog these past few weeks! But we have had a lot of fun enjoying the holidays and spending lots of time together! Right before Christmas, we were able to go to several fun parties and events.

First of all, we had my work Christmas party. It was a black tie event, so it was fun to get all dressed up. The party was at the Hidden Valley Country Club in Draper and everything turned out perfect. I am on the Party Planning Committee at work, so it was fun to see everything come together! It was a lot of work, but well worth it. We had a delicious dinner, followed by a Casino Night where we got to play Craps, Blackjack or Roulette. Our remaining chips at the end determined what our prize would be. There were some amazing gifts worth hundreds of dollars, but we just ended up with a giftcard to Nordstrom-which is fine by me! It's about time I got me some new jeans! :)

Here we are at the party. I LOVED my dress! I actually borrowed it from my friend's little sister. Thanks, Amy!

We also had our annual high school friends Christmas Party. Lisa and Abe were nice enough to host it, and they did a great job! We ate lots of yummy food and played some fun Christmas games. It was so fun to get together with everyone because we don't see each other enough. We also celebrated Konni's birthday, which happened to be the same day as the party.

I sure love these girls!

Some of us posing on the stairs

The next day, we had a Christmas party with Josh's friends. We had a white elephant gift exchange and played Loaded Questions: Adult Version, so that made for a hilarious evening! They also made it an ugly sweater party this year, and lucky for me, my mom is a first grade teacher, so I had quite the selection of sweaters to choose from. :) Plus she was able to supply me with that lovely turtleneck and necklace. I love you mom!

My family doesn't have a lot of Christmas traditions, but the ones that we do have, I LOVE! The Monday before Christmas we had our annual Spaghetti Factory dinner with the Walker family. The Walker's are in my parent's ward and we have been friends with them for years. We figured out that this year was our 14th year doing this tradition and we hope it continues for at least 14 more years! I have so much love for the Walker family and we go back a long time! It was so fun to have Josh be a part of this tradition now. He loves the Walker's as well!

Here we are at Trolley Square waiting for our names to be called. There was a Santa display with no Santa in it, so we decided to take over his sleigh! Ava wanted to be in the picture with us. She is the funniest 2 year old around!

Looking at all these pictures makes me realize that one of my favorite things about the Christmas season is that there seem to be more opportunities to spend time with the ones you love the most. I am grateful to have such amazing people in my life.

we have an addiction....

to this show:


So far in our marriage, cable has not been in our budget. (please let it be someday soon!) We have rabbit ears so we can at least get the local channels, but there usually isn't a whole lot to watch on those 5 or 6 stations. Because of this, we have been watching tv on DVD. We may not have cable, but we've got a sweet 46" HD tv that we've got to put to good use! :)

We first started with all the seasons of The Office, and even used some of our Target gift cards from the wedding to purchase season 5. Plus Josh hadn't seen all of the episodes, so it was fun to introduce him to some of my favorites. The Office never gets old to me!

Anyway, after finishing all 5 seasons of The Office, Josh suggested that we start watching Prison Break. He had seen the first two seasons a while ago, and wanted to get into it again. Plus between his immediate and extended family, we have access to all the seasons. I didn't know much about the show, but had heard it was good. We started watching in early November with our friends James and Tiare, and to be honest, my initial expectations were not very high.

After only a few episodes, I. Was. Hooked.

I cannot get enough of the show. Plus we got Tiare and James hooked on it with us, which makes it even more fun to watch. It is full of suspense and keeps you on the edge of your seat episode after episode. I know we are a little behind in this venture, seeing as Prison Break has been around since 2005, but better late than never, right? We have finished the first two seasons and will hopefully be starting season 3 in the VERY near future. I think tv on DVD is one of the best ideas ever- especially when we don't have DVR. It's so fun to have something so good to watch on these cold winter nights when you just want to stay home all warm and cozy.

So, if you're looking for something amazingly good to watch, start watching Prison Break!! I promise you will love it! Plus it doesn't hurt that this beautiful man is the main character. (You might recognize him from 2 Mariah Carey music videos. haha!)

I love you, Michael Scofield.

Cinderelly, Cinderelly

So I have a Cinderella costume that is pretty dang awesome! A few weeks ago, one of my best friends asked if I would come as Cinderella for her daughter's 3rd birthday party. I was more than excited to do this! I've always wanted to work in Disneyland as one of the princesses-specifically Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty, so this gave me an idea of what that would be like.

I cannot even begin to tell you how fun and adorable this experience was. I was greeted at the door by about 8 little girls, dressed as princesses. I don't think I have ever had anyone be so excited to see me! I was immediately showered with hugs and they all seemed so happy that "Cinderella" came to hang out with them.

They were SO cute! We took some pictures and then had lunch. All during the meal, they were asking me all these questions like,

"Did you come here in your carriage?"

"Do your mice still live with you?"

"Are you friends with Snow White or Belle?"

"What is Prince Charming doing today?"

"Do you ever see your fairy godmother?"

Those are only a few of the questions, but you get the idea. They had Disney Princess napkins for the little lunch and they kept pointing to Cinderella and saying, "Look! That's you!!" It was absolutely adorable. Some of the girls at the party were around 8 years old or so, and they were a little skeptical if I was the real Cinderella or not. One little girl asked me if I was the REAL Cinderella and so I asked her if I looked like the real Cinderella and she said, yes, so then I assured her that I was the REAL Cinderella.

I had an absolute blast playing Cinderella for an afternoon! I'm glad it was a hit with the birthday girl and her cousins. Unfortunately, I forgot to put the battery back in my camera after I had specifically charged it for this event, so I didn't get any pictures on my camera with the cute little girls. :( BUT-I did make Josh take a picture of me when I got home from the party. Too bad my headband thing is kinda screwy, but you get the idea. Josh got quite a kick out of me while I was Cinderella-fying myself.

If any of you need Cinderella to make an appearance at your next party, you know who to call! :)

I think I've got the black lung, pop!!

Sunday morning before church, Josh and I were standing by the fridge and right after he finished telling me that he felt like he was coming down with something, he sneezed in my face! I freaked out, grabbed the sanitizer and asked him why he sneezed in my face. He said he didn't want to sneeze in the fridge....

Ever since Monday, I have not stopped coughing. And let me tell you, a bad cough has got to be one of the best ab workouts out there! Where is bikini season when I need it! :) Anyway, I am just grateful that I am the one that got hit hard with whatever sickness this is because Josh is taking the LSAT TOMORROW! Josh has been a little bit under the weather, but he has been well enough to focus and study a lot.

I am so proud of him. The LSAT is not easy by any means, but 3 times a week he has gone to an LSAT study course and studied several other hours besides that. Hopefully all of his studying will pay off! I know it will! I am so grateful for my hard working honey!

I also want to say how grateful I am for my parents and my in laws. Monday night when I was feeling like crap and Josh was in class, my parents gave us some cough medicine and a bottle of deluxe orange juice- which was delicious! Also, my cute mother-in-law brought us some cough drops, juice and a humidifier. I am so grateful for a wonderful family that is always there for us. It's interesting how many little things you take for granted by living at home- like always having cough drops and cough syrup in the cupborad or having access to a humidifier. We are blessed to have such wonderful families.

And lastly, I would like to give a shout out to Coca Cola Classic! Besides all the coughing, I have also had an upset stomach this whole week and Coke has been the only thing that has sounded good and tasted good to me. Thank you, Coke!

Christmas with Archie

As most of you know, I am a HUGE David Archuleta fan. I absolutely adore that kid. Last week he performed 2 Christmas concerts in Salt Lake City and being the fanatic that I am, I went to both. :) My parents are also big David fans, so when I told them about the concert, they offered to take me and Josh to it. (I love my parents! Thanks, Mom and Dad!!!) So I went one night with Josh and my parents and one night with my friend Steph who is also a David fanatic. And let me tell you, David Archuleta does NOT disappoint! Yes he is a little shy and awkward when he is talking in between songs, but that is part of his charm. Here is a pic from the show.

Some of you may wonder why I love this kid so much, so here are some reasons: I love that after winning $100,000 on Star Search when he was 12, he gave $10,000 in tithing. I love that he's not afraid to basically bear his testimony in his "thank you's" on his Christmas album. I love that at his Christmas concert, he was not afraid to express his love and thanks to his Savior. I love that he is a good role model and I LOVE that he can sing like there's no tomorrow. I hope David can have a long and successful career. He certainly has the talent for it!

One of the highlights of the show was that his mom came out and sang with him. On his Christmas album, he sings "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" as a duet, so during that song, he welcomed his mom to the stage. After hearing her sing, I definitely know where David's talent comes from. She has a beautiful voice and it was so fun watching them sing with each other. You can tell he loves his mom a lot. He's adorable.

My favorite moment of the concert was when he sang "Prayer of the Children." I first fell in love with that song in high school after hearing a group of guys sing it at the Veteran's Day concert. David sang it so heartfelt and perfectly and lucky for you, you can hear it too! Enjoy!

Warning: You will get chills and/or cry!