The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

December was the fastest month of the whole year! We finished up Fall semester and had so much fun over the much anticipated Christmas break.

We barely got tickets to the Christmas concert and were able to go with some of our good friends. It was awesome! Grateful to attend such a great university that provides so many ways for us to be involved. 

Brian has changed 10 tires in the 8 months we have been married. He's so pro now, he changed ours in his dress clothes during his 15 minute break at work. 

Brian and I were doing our homework and it had been quiet for too long, so I passed him this note… :)

I got off of a long shift at G's to find that Brian surprised me with a Christmas tree :) He's the best.

Homemade Ugly Christmas sweaters for our ward Christmas party. We scored a gum ball machine in the white elephant gift exchange! We have the best ward!

The fantastic four, never a dull moment. These girls are the best!

Utah bound for Christmas break! 

I sure love this little sister of mine; I look up to her more all the time (partly because she keeps getting taller and taller than me ;) and mostly because she is such a great example) 

My dad had to fly on Christmas eve and Christmas, so we celebrated his Christmas eve on Monday. He wanted to spend it watching the Broncos game as a family. My mom got us all Broncos shirts so Brian was a really good sport for a couple pictures before….

He threw on his Seahawks shirt! haha

Finally got to see these three! Some of the greatest friends and examples in the world! So blessed to call them my best friends. 

Matching jammies on Christmas Eve- my mom is so hip :)

On our first Christmas together Brian gave to me, a cheesy picture kissing under the tree. :)

Family temple trip, such a neat experience. Blessed to know families can be together forever through Heavenly Father's plan!

BYU vs. Gonzaga. I kept finding myself cheering for Gonzaga because Brian was cheering so loudly, it made me excited too. When BYU would do something good Emma would tap me and remind me to cheer! So I ended up cheering for both teams! Brian couldn't wipe the smile off of his face, he was so excited to be in the Marriott to watch his Zags beat the cougars. 

On our last night our whole family went to see the lights on temple square. It was freezing and the roads were a little bit scary, but it was so worth it. So much fun!

MY BROTHER IS ENGAGED!!! He proposed on Christmas morning and it was the sweetest. So excited for him! and can't wait to have another sister-in-law, Stephanie is the best!

Brian, Emma, Luke, and I made gingerbread houses!

We had so much fun, it just wasn't quite a long enough trip! We watched tons of movies and saw Night at the Museum 3 and Unbroken in theaters. We shared our favorite Christmas stories and memories. It was such a fun trip and was over before we knew it. My parents spoiled us rotten!! I sure am grateful that families are forever, because I was blessed with the best!

Thanksgiving Shenanigans

Brian and I, or rather Walt Disney and I (Minnie Mouse), put together our costumes right before our ward Halloween party. We have had so much fun with our ward this past semester!

A freezing cold windy day in Rexburg!

Tay and I team taught a first grade art lesson. I am cherishing these days of going to the same college and being able to take a few classes together! 

Hi, welcome to G's Dairy. I worked at the best ice cream shop in town this past semester.

My dad had an overnight in Idaho Falls and my mom and little brother, Luke, were able to fly up as well for dinner and Big Hero 6. 

We spent our Thanksgiving this year in Coeur d'Alene with Brian's family. It was so much fun, and as always, went by wayyyyy too fast. His parents spoiled us and I loved every second of playing with Annie, Shae, and Grant. 

The thanksgiving feast was delicious and the table set up was beautiful!

Love them so much.

Enjoyed a couple days in the Duffy cabin. It was absolutely beautiful and so much fun! I have the best in-laws, they completely spoil us!

I thought a few days would give me my Grant fix, but boy was I wrong- I think I miss him even more now.

The best.

My favorite girls!

Hahaha I love this man.

We stopped at the lake on our way back to Rexburg. Gosh I love this place.

And this boy.

All things wonderful

We're already halfway through this Fall semester! It has been a lot of fun and very busy! Brian is still working at the admissions office part time and is now a coordinator! He is also in school full time and after this semester he'll have two semesters left before he graduates with his bachelors in Biology- Exciting stuff! In about 6 months he'll be finishing up and sending off his applications for dental school! I am also working this semester at G's Dairy part time and in school. I'll have 4 more semesters after this and then student teaching; I am on fast grad so that I can finish before we head to wherever Brian gets in to dental school. I am still a relief society teacher and Brian is the Elders quorum president, and we love our ward!

Nature Park is one of our favorite places to go on walks!

Brian loves having Shaun up here as a workout buddy, and Reggie too.

I love this place. The spirit on campus is amazing and the professors are incredible. I love the class sizes and the campus is beautiful. So blessed to be able to gain an education here.

Exploring the sandunes!

We love having Shaun here at school with us! Family is the best!

Elder Holland spoke at a devotional, it was awesome!

Steak and sushi, Brian was in heaven!

Squealers is a go-kart mini amusement park type place and we had been planning on going with some friends for forever! The first time we went on a weekday and didn't realize it was only open on the weekends. The second time we went there was a huge storm rolling in, but we went anyway. Our session started at 6 and at about 5:55 it started pouring so they closed everything down. The owners were really nice and gave us a refund, but we have yet to enjoy the fun at Squealers haha. However, at least we got a picture! :)

Brian and I built a fort to watch a movie in... even though the movie didn't play on our laptop I stayed in the fort for about an hour reading. Brian said it was claustrophobic and got out after about 5 minutes. Brian kept asking me if he could destroy the fort, so when I finally got out he attacked the fort and told me to video it....We're both still children. hahaha

My mom made conference packages for her primary class and sent Brian and I one as well! (I totally got blackout before Brian)

Picnic & Longboarding in between Saturday conference sessions!

Brian is in charge of a fitness program on campus and they wrote about him and the program in the scroll! He brought me a copy and signed it... hahaha

The sunrises and sunsets have been unreal in Rexburg lately!

We were able to take a trip to Logan to meet our new nephew baby Brian and also for his baby blessing. He is the sweetest! It's been so fun having Megan and Bart and their family only a couple of hours away. They just moved to Texas and we're going to miss our spontaneous trips to spend time with them.

My sweet niece Maci, spunkiest & sweetest little girl there ever was. I love her so much!

Sweet cuddles with baby Brian!

October 12th was our 6 month anniversary! The following weekend we went to Texas Roadhouse to celebrate :)

Haunted Straw Maze with the Smith's! Last year in October we went on one of our first dates to the Haunted straw maze, so it was a lot of fun to reminisce.

The only way I can keep up with Brian on a run is if I ride my bike!

We ate our leftover Texas Roadhouse..... for breakfast....

Pumpkin Patch FHE with wonderful friends!

After we got our pumpkins we took them to the Smith's and carved/ painted them!

I've been on this Disneyland kick for a few months and while Brian was at work one day I bombarded him with Disneyland texts and then drew myself in Disneyland. It made me feel better anyway! haha (My family went on a trip to Florida for Harry Potter world, Universal Studios, SeaWorld, and DISNEYWORLD this week and since we're in school and working, we weren't able to go: So I improvised :))

Life is so great! I found a quote the other day that I love! "When you seek beauty in all people and in all things, you will not only find it, you will become it." There is so much beauty in everything and CHOOSING to focus on it makes life so much happier. I'm grateful to have a husband who is so positive and uplifting to me and everyone around him, he makes it so easy to focus on the positive and enjoy all the little things even through hard situations. Life is crazy and busy and sometimes hard, but it is SO wonderful.