Florida Nationals

Since last April, I have been coaching the Lone Peak high school Chevaliers. They are a dance team who works hard and practices all year long for performances like football and basketball half-times and their competition season. State was in February and the girls did great. They ended up taking 5th overall at state which is really good for competitive 5A Utah drill team. They are a beautiful group of girls and I feel so lucky to be a part of their lives.

Last week we went to Florida to compete at Nationals in Disneyworld. On the day we left, we met at 4:30 a.m. to catch our flight. Needless to say, the girls were pretty tired.

After a layover in Phoenix and an unexpected adventure in Nashville, we finally got to Florida. The trip included a 3 day Disneyworld park pass and a full day of competition. We had such a fun time and I can honestly say it wiped me out! It took me like two days when I got home to recover from the lack of sleep. Here is a little scrapbook of pictures.

Look at my sweet Photography skills!

Look at these amazing Toy Story clouds! This was a really happy sight because it was supposed to be raining and thundering all day.

Abbey sprained her ankle at the competition so we got her a wheelchair halfway through the next day. Too bad it didn't help us get on any rides faster ;)

Definitely my favorite princess in the form of a bush!

On one of the nights, Magic Kingdom was open until 3a.m for people staying at a Disney hotel. That included us so of course the girls were ready to play. Megan and I and a couple moms supervised the fun. It really was the best night because it was the only time that we were able to stay all together as a team because it wasn't super crowded. It was definitely worth staying up all night!

This is definitely one of Disney's latest and greatest inventions. Throughout a good portion of the line for Space Mountain, there are big screen TVs on the wall and little control pannels so while you are waiting in line you get to play video games. It honestly was the sweetest thing. The girls would have almost rather stay in line and play the video games than go on the ride. It seriously is brilliant and it makes a 70 minute wait feel like nothing.

While we were in the parks, Emily, Natalie, and Cassie got this brilliant idea to take what they called "Cheater Pictures." Instead of waiting in a long line to see a Disney character, they would sneak to the side and then want me to take their picture. It was actually kind of funny and we even got in trouble once.

Belle is really dark in the background but she is there!

Presidents Day Weekend!

So I've noticed something over the past couple months...taking 20 credits at school and blogging do NOT mesh well together! Well good news, through the English classes I've taken for my English teaching minor, I've realized that I never ever want to be an English teacher! So a couple weeks ago, I finally decided to change my minor to geography teaching. I'm actually really excited about this minor and because of this change, I dropped the English class I was taking this semester. So now I'm only taking 17 credits and I think my schedule might be a little more blogging friendly.

Phil has also made so life changing decisions recently. He has decided to move away from becoming a PA and now he wants to be an occupational therapist! Don't ask me exactly what he will be doing because I'm still unclear. Just know that it is kind of similar to a physical therapist but very different at the same time. That makes sense right? I'm really excited for him and especially excited because we will hopefully stay in Utah while he goes to school at U of U instead of moving out of state for PA school. I think our families like that too! I hate to admit this, but I think Phil and I have been typical college students who constantly change their minds about what they want to do with their lives. I think we have finally figured it out though!

Phil and I had a great Presidents Day weekend. We went up to Lava Hot Springs in Idaho with his family and spent the weekend soaking in the natural hot pools. It was the perfect weekend because neither of us were stressed about school and we could just relax. We stayed at the Alpaca Inn, which was an adorable little inn with cute bedrooms and a full kitchen.

This was our lovely red bedroom in the upstairs part of the inn

Phil looks adorable on the couch in our room. Phil's little brother, Ryan, who is 22 slept behind that red curtain in a tiny cubby/nook thing.

The best part of the inn was the decorating job. All of the picture frames contained alpacas, and everything else on the walls were hung crooked. Let me demonstrate.

Everything is intentionally crooked! You can't even try to straighten them because they are like super glued in their place.

I was so inspired by the Alpaca Inn that when I got home, I decided to do a little redecorating myself!

It looks great right?

Happy New Year!

December was officially the fastest month ever! Things were busy at the beginning of the month leading up to finals and I was looking forward to things slowing down and possibly having time to blog. Things only continued to stay busy and now I'm catching the blog up.

Philip and I had a great Thanksgiving with my family. The food was yummy and it was fun to have a break from school and relax. This is a picture of my mom's beautiful Thanksgiving table.

After Thanksgiving we had fun putting up our tree and getting ready

for the Christmas season.

We had a tradition growing up that my mom would wrap 24

Christmas books and put them

under the tree on December 1. We would then unwrap and read

one book a night leading up to

Christmas. I loved this tradition so I decided to start it in my

family.

Here is our Christmas tree with all of our Christmas books

After finals were over Phil and I decided to spend about a week sleeping over at his parent's house. Phil's sister Megan, her husband Dave, and their little boys, Tyler and Dallin, are in town from Washington for a few weeks so we really wanted to spend as much time with them as possible. Ryan and Aubrey (Phil's siblings) are also down from Utah State so it was a blast to have the whole family together for a while. We stayed up late pretty much every night playing games and then I'd wake up at 6:40 am with Megan to do the Insanity workout. It was fun but I feel like I have a lot of sleep to catch up with.

Christmas Eve with the Lamoreaux's is a big event. They have this tradition where they have an amazing Christmas Eve dinner and everyone is responsible for a part of the meal. Rather than eating the dinner family style, each part of the meal is served by the person who prepared it.

This is the beautiful Christmas Eve table we had to enjoy. However, this picture was taken before the mood was set with all of the candles lit and the lights turned off. The dinner was delicious and we were all so full by the time this dinner was over. The next event in the Christmas Eve program was the Nativity story. However, this was not like any nativity I've ever done. When it comes to costumes, usually we just wrap a bed sheet around someone and call them a shepherd...not at the Lamoreaux's. Margo has bins full of extravagant nativity costumes that she has made. I would definitely call this the most authentic nativity I've ever done.

Meg, Dave and Dallin as Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus

Aubrey, Corrie, Jamie and Tyler as shepherds

Ryan, Philip, and Jim as Wise Men

I played the angel and I got to wear a beautiful white and flowing dress. I actually wanted to be

the shepherd but Jamie insisted that I be the angel even though

she has always been the angel.

I'm not sure I played the part as well as she could've but it was

fun to be in the pretty dress.

The Christmas Eve Elf brought pajamas for everyone. We all got excited about our fun PJ's and

changed into them. The boys got a little too excited, but they

were sure fun to watch.

Yes, these are pajama pants that look like chaps

The hi-light of Christmas Eve was when Phil and I snuck away to exchange our special Christmas gifts for each other. We stole a Christmas tradition from Phil's parents of hand making a special gift for each other. I have loved this tradition so far. I feel like it makes Christmas more special. Last year Phil was so excited to give me the gift he made, he convinced me to let us exchange on Christmas Eve and we decided to keep the tradition going this year too. So Phil and I have either been dating or married for three Christmas's now and his hand made gifts for me have always been amazing.

Christmas 2008--He made me the biggest and most cozy blanket in the world. We still use it everyday!

Christmas 2009--Phil made me the beautiful case to hold my perfumes. He built every aspect of this from a piece of wood (except the glass door). He is amazing!

Christmas 2010--This year he chiseled/carved this out of wood for me. I love it and I can't wait to get it hung.

Ok...so I'm not a wood carver like Phil and I often don't think I'm even creative at all, but I'm good with pictures so that's often the type of gifts Phil get from me but I know he loves them. Last year I made Phil a hard cover book call "100 Reasons Why I Love You." It turned out really well and it basically is a book with 100 reasons why I love him (obviously) combined with pictures to match the reasons. This year I did a type of photo collage to hang on our wall.

This was definitely one of the best Christmas's I have ever had. I am sad to see it come and go so quickly. Oh...another fun Christmas present was that Ryan proposed to his girlfriend, Holly, on Christmas night so I'm going to get a new sister-in-law in May!

I stole this picture from Facebook ;) Congrats you two!

Giving Thanks

I love this time of year because it is a chance for me to reflect on all of my many blessings. Thanksgiving is the perfect holiday to kick off the Christmas season which is a time of giving and being grateful. I feel so blessed this Thanksgiving for all of the amazing people in my life and everything they do for me.

I am so thankful for my amazing husband and best friend! He is my everything and my hero. His greatest joy comes from making me happy and I can truly see that everything he does stems from trying to fulfill that desire. He is so selfless and passionate about everything he enjoys in life (which includes me). Philip knows me so well and I love watching our relationship develop. I keep thinking there is no way I can love him anymore than I already do...but then I'm proven wrong.

I am so grateful for my amazing families! Yes, plural...families. My family (top) has been supportive of me throughout my life and now I have Phil's family (bottom) as another support. I would especially like to thank my sisters, Ali and Sabrina, for their love and friendship. They have loved me through the good and the bad and they have always been my best friends. Phil and I are so blessed to have both families about 25 minutes away from our apartment in Provo. They are so kind and willing to feed us Sunday dinner every week, let us do laundry, and just be there for anything we may need. We are also so thankful to them for their strength in the gospel and for raising us in the church. That is a priceless gift they have given us and we are so thankful to them. We love you all!

Last but certainly not least, I am so thankful for my Savior, Jesus Christ. He is the one thing in my life that has been constant and has never changed. He has always been there for me with open and comforting arms. He knows my hopes and dreams as well as my trials and concerns. I am so thankful for His constant love and support. He has given me the ultimate gift and for that, I am deeply thankful. No matter what happens in life, I know that I am never alone.




Thanks again to everyone who makes my life what it is. I'm so grateful for your influence.
Happy Thanksgiving. I LOVE YOU!

Murder Mystery Dinner Party!

In our ward, the Sunday school is split into seven groups and Phil and I are called as the Sunday school leaders of our group. Our responsibilities include starting class and planning monthly activities with our group. For one or our activities, Phil and I decided to throw a murder mystery dinner party. We have wanted to do this with our group for several months so I have had plenty of time to come up with my vision for this night. I pictured nice table wear and a yummy dinner. I'm kind of a control freak so rather than having couples sign up for different parts of the meal, I wanted the meal to be uniform so I took responsibility of the main course and the garlic mashed potatoes and everyone else brought salads, rolls, fruit and dessert.

I have never cooked for 25 people so I turned to a woman who does it on a regular basis...my mother-in-law. Margo is an incredible woman and was so willing to cook with me and let me borrow plates, goblets, table clothes, etc. She really helped me make the night as amazing as it was. We've all heard the stories of horrible in-laws and since I've been married I have even heard them from several friends. I've come to realize that I have been blessed with an amazing mother and father-in-law which means that I can't relate to the horrible in-law stories. I'm thankful for all of the help Margo gave me to prepare for this dinner.

This is some of the food we had plus lots of fabulous fruits and desserts.

L-R: The Christiansen's (Natalie won the best costume award as an obsessed cat lady and the prize was two Cinemark movie passes!), the Peterson's, and Heather Fowers (Heather was a trouper and came even though Kade was out of town).

L-R: The Willmore's, the Snow's, and the Browning's

L-R: The Zohner's, the Allen's, and the Law's (Deidra was an evil mastermind and framed Jeff Mohlman for setting fire to his own property when she really did it).

L-R: The Clark's, the Wrigley's (Jonathan was the murderer! But unfortunately for him, most people ended up guessing it was him in the end), and the Mohlman's.

Everyone seemed to have a great time which makes me happy because we put so much work into it. I was so impressed with everyone's amazing costumes and their willingness to get into character! And thanks to Margo for making everything as beautiful as it was.

A New Start...

So until recently I've never really had a huge desire to blog. Shortly after Philip and I got married he though it would be fun to have a blog. My response was, "Why? We aren't that interesting. Maybe I'll start blogging when we have a baby." No, there is no baby on the way but I guess over the past year I have realized that we are more interesting than I originally thought :) Phil created the blog and started adding posts, but now I'll try my best to take over.

Phil and I have been staying super busy with school, work, and managing to spend time with each other, family, and friends. So...quick update...Phil is studying biology at UVU and then wants to become a Physician's assistant and I'm at BYU and recently changed my major to school health education with an English teaching minor. Due to this change, I'm quite behind where I'd like to be with school. What can you do though? I figure it's better that I'm excited about my new career path even if it takes a little longer. I met with my advisor today and received good news and bad news. The good new is I'm closer to graduation than I thought...the bad, graduation is still far away. We mapped it out and figure that if I take 18-20 credits each fall/winter semester and 4-5 each spring/summer term, I'll be set to do my student teaching in the fall of 2012. Ok, that many credits sounds like bad news too. But actually I'm really excited about it because it gives me an end to look forward to. It will be hard, but worth it in the end.

Phil has been enjoying intermurals. He plays on our ward flag football team and a soccer team with some of his friends. This is his second semester as a TA for anatomy and he loves it. I am so impressed with his amazing knowledge of the human body and how great he is at helping others learn as well. He is also a great provider and stays very busy at work. I love him!

Well that's the end of my first blog post. Hopefully I can keep this blogging thing up and we don't get too boring!