cougars strike again

i think this year's byu-utah game was the perfect induction for baby chappy into the cougar football world. there was laughter, jumping, screaming, frustration, heart-racing, sadness, excitement...and the pure elation that comes along with inevitable cougar victory.

i mean, who wouldn't love seeing max hall make a 49 yard completion on 4th and 18 to austin collie with just over 90 seconds of play, while trailing 10 to 9?? or more excitedly, who wouldn't jump at the sight of harvey unga trucking through the red wall for a game-winning TD?


it was wonderful to spend the game with mike, the byu football passionate of the century, my brother sean and my sister-in-law courtney, and (how fun is this:) mike's dad and his brother mark, who just flew out for the day from california for the game. there were hugs, high-fives and smiles all around.



my sympathy goes out to all those utes out there- better luck next year.

thankful memories

Our Thanksgiving Holiday breezed on by as quick as a cricket! We spent hours and hours cooking and watching Christmas movies to get in the holiday spirit. It was so fun to just hang out...even if each day started with my friend John...and even if i wanted to eat the turkey...but just couldn't.

Court and I at the Thankful Festivities!

I made this! I'm a little proud of it...

My aunt Marianne made this potatoes last Thanksgiving that have become our family's little joke- My mom gave her a recipe for twice-baked potatoes. You're supposed to boil the potatoes, cut off the top, mash the insides and put them back in the skin. Well, when she hear you were supposed to "cut the top off" she thought this literally meant the TOP (if the potato is standing vertical) and then she had to carve the potato out. This process took her like 45 minutes to an hour per potato!!! Anyways, now we call these potatoes "Soldier Potatoes." I asked her if she was going to make the Soldier Potatoes for Thanksgiving this year...and she laughed. She made me my very own soldier potato to remember the blessed event.I love this boy.

Holding the tummy that wreaked havoc the whole break!

I wish that it didn't all happen so fast...but it did. And now what was so anticipated is now just another thankful memory!

a baby in my tummy!

it's true...we're parents-to-be! we couldn't be more excited. i'm 12 weeks along....but somehow it seems longer. maybe it's a combination of the barfy mornings and endless trips to the bathroom.

i can't help but smiling every time i think that there's a little human inside of me. i can't remember the last time something has made me so happy... sometimes i get a little freaked out by the whole thing (mostly the thought of delivery...i mean, is an eight pound thing really coming out of THERE? how is that possible? nevermind, i don't want to know...yet) but then, i get all teary eyed looking at all the little babies out there. do i really get one!? is this for real?

i feel blessed...and tired. have i ever been this tired? if so, i don't remember it. exhaustion like this can only be matched by a 50 year old car.

which leads me to another thing; i feel guilty saying this, but i honestly always thought that pregnant women HAD to be exaggerating or milking the whole pregnancy thing to some extent. but now, i know it's all true. you truly feel nauseated...24/7. you truly feel like you can't get out of bed in the morning...either because your body is so tired, your head is pounding, or you feel like the minute you stand up, you won't be able to stop the puke... it's bizarre, but true.

all in all, i'm so excited for this adventure. i can't wait to hold the little one in my arms...and to see my Mikey with the little one in his arms. this is my dream come true!

please, give me a beach.

i wish utah had a beach.

The Beach that I want

i know this is greedy...but really, what purpose does the Great Salt Lake serve? Other than providing beautiful scenery for movies like Pirates of the Caribbean once it dehydrates itself into something that has rightfully earned the title, "The Salt Flats," (being overwhelmingly salty and nothing but flat) the Great Salt Lake does nothing but provide beautiful mountain reflections and a putrid smell that would give anyone a headache.

The Salt Flats

i remember the first time i saw the GSL. I was 10...maybe 11. we had just moved from Southern California. i missed the ocean sorely. one day, i told my mom, "is there a beach in Utah?" and my mom told me, "No, there's not a beach here. But there's a Great Salt Lake that looks just like the ocean because it's so big! Maybe we should go there!"

well, i got so excited- i got my swim suit on. i got my sunblock. i got the umbrella and my beach bag together. i got all my sand toys to make a sand castle. i got my towel...i was geared up for utah's beach.

i was about to be disappointed.

The Great Salt Lake

so my mom, my dad, my brother, my little sister and i all loaded up in our white '91 Ford Explorer for the Great Salt Lake. i was a little too excited for this depressing affair. about 30 minutes later, we arrived to a sandless beach and a huge body of water. "get in!" my dad said.

so i did.

it was a disgusting experience. you can't stop yourself from floating. your skin becomes so thirsty it could die. and don't you even think about dunking your head in the water...if that salt gets in your eye, plan on a 2 week blinding disease.

needless to say, for the last 12 years, i've ached for an ocean breeze. i have dreamt of a nice wave to surf. i've wanted that MILDLY salty aroma of the ocean to accompany me while basking in some coastal sun. some may tell me, "Well, move then." but i don't want to move. i want the ocean to move to me.

i wish utah had a beach. (sigh)

peppermintly perfect

despite the yucky side effects that come with the chillen weather (like this blasted cold that i am in the midst of having my own version of the show "contender" with....watch out for my left hook. i'm going to give it a TKO, i tell you what), all is forgiven due to the holiday cheer i feel in my little heart strings. let me explain.

it all started last thursday...november 1st...when i heard on the radio a familiarly unfamiliar tune. i'm kind of a nut when it comes to music so i decided to tune in a little longer to figure it out. and then came that calm, sultry yet inspiring tone singing, "fall on your knees, oh hear the angel voices, oh night divine, oh night when Christ was born..." sing it, sweet Groban, i thought. WAIT! Was that CHRISTMAS music????

it was.

and suddenly, my heart smiled...if it had ears, it would have smiled from ear to ear.

then, today, i decided, i want some food. and, i want something that is not in my house. i'm not sure what it is, but let's go to the G-store and figure it out.

I got to my neighborhood grocer, and was just gliding along with my germ-infested cart...and there it was. "Halleliuah" angel choruses were being sung...and i almost cried; peppermint ice cream is back.
Now, i have to elaborate, as always, just a bit: i am lactose-intolerant. It's pretty much invoking world war III upon myself to eat anything like ice cream...or other milk products. but i am so infatuated with peppermint ice cream that i had to indulge. i bought some.

tonight i had a huge bowl of that peppermint delight- i won't lie, there are consequences. but boy are they worth it. i love the holidays- with peppermint ice cream, they're simply peppermintly perfect.

hats off to fall.

so right now, it's 9:30 am... following suit to fashionable fall traditions, Mike left bright and early for a football game this morning...and I'm still laying lazily in bed. I wanted to write because looking out my window is the most beautiful tree dressed in yellow, orange and red leaves. i love the fall. i secretly always wanted a fall wedding...i just love the smells- fresh, clean, crisp air...hot caramel...sweet apples...carved pumpkins...homemade bread...warm hot chocolate... i love the sounds- school buses...children running to school as to not be late...birds getting their last flights out before winter...leaves falling to the ground...crumpled leaves under feet. i love the beauty of the fall- the colors that dance around the mountain tops...the sunsets that come a little earlier everyday...the sunrises that come a little later every day...the fireplaces get turned back on and i can snuggle up with a book and a blanket. nothing beats the fall.

i have always dreamt of going back east during the fall. i lived there one summer, and my breath was constantly taken away by the incredible view of trees- trees were everywhere...left, right, up or down...all you can see are maples and whatever other kinds of trees there are. i've often wondered how magical it would be to go in the fall...and see the red, orange, yellow and brown painted across the sky and he ground. it's probably breathtaking and overwhelming. some day...

This is in Kennebunkport, Maine

so, this morning, i'm quite content, snuggled up in my cozy comforter, gazing out my window at my elegantly dressed tree. hats off to fall.

trick or treat...

there is nothing quite as "picture perfect" as a kindergarten Halloween.

it started in my morning class with a bang... we had a school-wide parade where the kids get to walk through every classroom to show off their costumes. they absolutely loved this. some of the costumes were hilarious! and darling! i had one little boy who dressed up like a dalmation...his costume had this permanent fan that kept the costume inflated all day long. it made me laugh. i also had one of the aliens from Toy Story, tons of witches, two unicorns, Luke Skywalker, and Sally from Cars. I love how decked out Kindergartners are! They LOVE Halloween!

The room-mom's did an amazing job planning memorable parties. There was fortune-telling, cookie decorating, craft-making, tons of candies and tons of fun! The kids literally did NOT want to go home. They were so cute- and made for the most memorable Halloween since I was in Kindergarten!