Just My Luck...

Yesterday, as I was sitting at work, I received this notification on my phone:

How could this have happened?!  I never with anything!  I called Logan and told him and we couldn't wait!  This was going to be a big game, after all.  Nationally televised on TNT and they were playing the defending champions.  We quickly canceled our original plans and were so excited to have a FREE date night!  I had a feeling that I was getting my hopes up prematurely and sure enough, about an hour later, I received this notification:

I was so sad!  Before breaking the news to Logan I decided to call the ESA box office to check if I had somehow won the tickets still.  To make a long story short, we didn't win the tickets.  Apparently everyone that has the Utah Jazz app was mistakenly notified that they had won tickets and because they obviously didn't have that many tickets to give away, we are being compensated with Bees tickets.  Definitely not a fair trade in my opinion!  I know a couple other people that experienced the same heartbreak as me so if any of you did as well, maybe we can all go the the Bees game together and curse the Utah Jazz app! ;)

Birthday Bash!

As referenced in my previous post below, Logan's birthday was on the 6th and I was determined to make it a memorable one since the last time we celebrated his birthday together was in 2009.  We both took the day off and loved having a whole day together with nothing to worry about!

Logan was feeling under the weather all week so he slept in on Friday and I took advantage of that and ran and got my hair done.  When I got home a few hours later he was playing video games so I'm sure he didn't mind that I was gone.  We relaxed most of the afternoon by watching Logan's favorite show right now (Planet Earth) before finally getting ready for our date!

He wasn't a big fan of the birthday crown but allowed me to take a few pictures =)

I was able to surprise Logan with Jazz tickets which he was very excited about!  We were planning on going to dinner at an Austrian restaurant downtown but on our way down we found out they're out of business.  We were super bummed!  Logan was all for going somewhere cheap and quick but I really wanted to go somewhere he hadn't been in a long time so we decided on Takashi.  If you're a fan of sushi then this place is a must!  It was actually Logan's first time and he had never sat a sushi bar so we did that and had a great time.  It always freaks me out watching them make the sushi because I can't believe I actually eat that stuff but it was delicious, as always! 

The Jazz game was so much fun and it was the first time Logan had been to a game that they won (and he's been to a lot of them!) so that made it even better!  

After the game we went home and relaxed and just enjoyed the rest of the night together.  I think Logan had a good time so that made me happy!  On Saturday night we celebrated his birthday with my family by going to dinner at Famous Dave's and then went back to my parent's house for cake and ice cream.  He was spoiled with some fun gifts, too!  He now has a gift card to Finish Line, a sound bar for our TV, a large wad of cash and some new video games.  I think he's set for a while!

Happy Birthday, Rico!  I'm a little sad I can no longer claim I'm older than you but I'm very pleased to welcome you to Club 22! :)

One Year Older and Wiser Too!

He's had a birthday, shout hooray! 

On this day, 22 years ago, my greatest friend in existence came into the world!  12 years later we became friends and our relationship has only strengthened since then.  I'm so grateful to have such an amazing husband and eternal companion and hope he knows how much I love him!  Can't wait to party tonight, Rico! :) 

(Details and pictures of our birthday bash to come in the near future!)

Christmas Celebrations!

I can't believe Christmas has already come and gone!  It seems like we were just sitting down to our Thanksgiving dinner last week!  I sure hope time slows down so I can enjoy every moment of these fantastic holidays!  Our first Christmas couldn't have been better :) Attempting to evenly split time between both families on Christmas Eve was a little difficult but we made it work in the end and had a lot of fun.  We ate dinner at Logan's sister's house with his family and it was delicious.  (Well done, April!) After hanging out for a while after dinner we made a beeline for my parent's house and had a great time singing Christmas songs, reading the story of Christ's birth and exchanging gifts with the siblings and cousins.  There's nothing like family traditions on the holidays!

(Please forgive my lack of pictures from Christmas Eve.  We were so busy running around from family to family that I nearly forgot I even owned a camera!)

We had such a busy Christmas Eve that by the time we got home that night I was exhausted!  I would have loved to watch a Christmas movie with Logan but I could hardly keep my head up any longer so we just ended the night early and went to bed.  I woke up around 6:30 so I could have enough time to get ready for the day and then when Logan woke up around 7:45 we opened our presents :) One of my favorite parts of Christmas growing up was always opening our stockings and I loved it again this year!  

Logan completely spoiled me and I couldn't have asked for anything better!  There's a section of our apartment that is pretty dark so I've been wanting a lamp for a while and Logan picked one out himself and surprised me with it!  I must say I am impressed that he ventured out and got one because I know many guys wouldn't have dared.

My cute hubby also got me a new robe (I LOVE robes and mine was getting pretty old!), some perfume and of course a children's book to add to my collection :)  Those are a few of the best gifts he showered me with!  I definitely wasn't as creative as Logan was but I still had a great time shopping for him.  He has now added some new cuff links, Jazz accessories for his car, Jazz PJ pants, Zelda & Planet Earth to his collection of possessions.  Maybe next year I'll bring my game up to his standard!

I thought he'd feel pretty cool using this notebook at school!

After opening presents together and setting up our awesome new lamp, we headed over to my parent's 9:30 church meeting.  My mom narrated the Christmas program and did an amazing job!  Anyone that knows my mom also knows that she has a gift of public speaking (or just speaking in general).  One of the young men in the ward said afterwards that if he could choose anyone to narrate his life he would want it to be either Morgan Freeman or Janet Rowley.  That just about sums up how great the meeting was!  It doesn't happen often where we have the opportunity to go to Church on Christmas and I am SO glad Logan and I went!  I know I often forget to remember the true meaning of Christmas in the wake of the presents and delicious food so I am very grateful for the reminder I received this Christmas by going to church.

As soon as church was over we ran home and changed and then headed straight over to my parent's house to open our presents from them to all of us kids.  I had a few surprises and a few things I knew I was getting and loved all of it!  My highlight was probably the new boots I got and Logan's was definitely his fancy electric razor!  He loves it!

We spent the rest of the afternoon at my parent's house hanging out, eating my mom's famous Christmas Brunch with all of the cousins and watching basketball (Finally!).  Around 4 o'clock we took off and went to be with Logan's family at his aunt and uncle's house.  We had a delicious dinner and loved seeing everyone and many thanks to Logan's parents we are now Costco members!  I think I'll have to contain Logan just a bit!

We made it back home around 9 o'clock and loved the peace and quiet of our own little home.  I am so grateful for my husband and both of our families that made Christmas so memorable!  I am already looking forward to next year!  We have had such a fun time celebrating long and hard during the holidays but it looks like tonight (New Year's Eve) is going to be a quiet evening at home.  Both Logan and I are under the weather and don't have much energy to go out.  I know that doesn't sound like the most exciting evening but we're both looking forward to bringing in the new year!  I have a feeling 2012 will be a great year for us!  Happy new year to you all!

Gingerbread Houses, Temple Square & Fun with Friends!

I can't believe that in 3 sleeps and a wake up Santa will have come!  My goal was to have this blog completely updated by Christmas and it looks like I'm gonna make it!  We have had so much fun the first three weeks of December thanks to our awesome family and friends.  I know Logan is loving his break from school and I think I am loving it just as much!  I definitely stress when he stresses over homework and tests.  One semester at a time!


After going to the Festival of Trees and looking at all of the awesome gingerbread houses I was quite inspired to have an FHE dedicated to making a house of our own so we did just that a couple weeks ago!  We had such a good time and hopefully started a fun tradition!

Please ignore the blob above the front door!  That was definitely my fault.

One of the many things I was super excited for this year was going to see the lights on Temple Square.  Logan hadn't seen them since before his mission in 2008 so I couldn't wait to for him to go for the first time in 3 years!  My family has a fun tradition of going out to dinner, going to see the lights and getting hot chocolate after.  Unfortunately Logan couldn't make it this time because he was trapped at home studying for finals but we still had a great time with those of us that could make it!

Going with the kids always makes it 10x better!

For about 3 weeks a group of our friends were working non-stop trying to get a Christmas dinner/date planned.  It's a little tough to get all of us together because everyone is so busy but we made it work in the end!  We all met at the Murray TRAX station and rode downtown to go to dinner and see the lights after.  Riding TRAX saved us gas and parking and it was fun!  Our original plan was to go to CPK at the Gateway but when we called ahead to put our name on the list they told us it was a 2 1/2 hour wait!  There's no way we were going to wait that long.  We eventually decided on Olive Garden, which was delicious, and only had to wait about 40 minutes.

Asking for a picture where everyone is smiling normally is quite a stretch for this group so we had to settle for this picture :)

It was freezing the night we went but once we were outside for a couple minutes my whole body was numb so I couldn't feel the cold anymore and we got some fun pictures so it was totally worth it!

We capped the night off by taking TRAX back to Murray and crashing at Russ' house for hot chocolate which helped us thaw out a bit!  Thanks to everyone who made the night so much fun!

Next in line: Our First Christmas!

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree!

One of my favorite traditions growing up was always looking forward to Black Friday.  I didn't love Black Friday because of the shopping (I've actually never been shopping on Black Friday), I loved it because my mom and I would get all of the Christmas decorations set up!  I love my mom's trees and all of the fun Christmas decor she has collected over the years and couldn't wait to finally have a home of my own to decorate!  I was more than ready to get our tree set up as soon as Halloween ended but was able to make myself wait until the day after Thanksgiving.  Logan and I both love how it turned out!

Don't let the color scheme fool you--I am true blue through and through!

Yep, I know the top section of the lights are out!  We got the tree set up and everything was working great and then when we were basically done decorating it the lights went out =(.  We messed with it for a while but were resigned to the fact that they weren't coming back on and there's no way I was going to take everything off.  We'll just have to take it back to Home Depot when Christmas is over!  

Our cute, little apartment is just that--little!  There's not a ton of room to decorate with so we don't have too much set up.  It's perfect for our first Christmas, though, and I'm sure I'll gather much more over the years!

Love my little Christmas corner!

A couple weeks ago Logan and I went with some of our friends to the Festival of Trees and had a great time!  I hadn't been for years and forgot how neat everything is!  Here is the Barton's amazing tree for Brynn!

Their tree looked so neat in person!

I knew I would love all of the trees but I forgot about the awesome gingerbread houses that would be there too!  Here are some of my favorites:

The Burrow!

I think they would have dried their sweaters with magic, though

Tangled

This might have been my favorite one, it was so well done!

D.C. Capitol

Madagascar

The animals were awesome!

Up!

I loved the balloons!

Angry Birds
This one wasn't the most well-done but I loved idea.

There were so many more that I couldn't take a picture of but were just as neat!  Thanks to Annie, Tyler & Joe for the invite and keeping us company!  Maybe one day Logan and I will be in a position to buy one of the trees and we would be donating to the hospital! ;)

Stay tuned for mine and Logan's own gingerbread house bash!  Don't expect it to be anything like what you see above or you will be sorely disappointed!

Thanksgiving Festivities!

Every 5 or so years I have the fun opportunity of sharing my birthday with Thanksgiving. Many people say they would hate having their birthday fall on a major holiday but I love taking a lot of the focus off me and giving it to the yummy food! My family is still very good about celebrating with me early when this happens and that didn't change this year! My brother, Paul, was in town from Minnesota for a long weekend so we celebrated my birthday a week early so he could join in the festivities. We went to dinner at Red Rock and it was delicious! The food was a little pricey but I felt like it was definitely worth it and would love to go back. After dinner we went back to my parents' and had cake and ice cream and my family spoiled me with presents! Unfortunately I don't have too many pictures from my birthday because I am the one that usually takes the pictures and couldn't really take them of myself. Here are a few I was able to capture:

My husband is such a stud!

My mamma and Benji!

Me and my girls!

My birthday was on Thursday, the 24th, so Logan and I went out and celebrated together on the 23rd. It was so much fun being together with just the two of us--especially becuase he spoiled me, like always! We left as soon as Logan got done with his afternoon class and did some shopping. He was so good to let me go wherever I wanted even though I knew he would probably rather be doing anything else. After I had shopped myself out we went to dinner at Chilis (I have always loved that place!) and then spent the rest of the night hanging out. There's nothing better than just being able to hang out with nothing else to worry about!

Sorry the picture is so dark--it was taken with my phone

A couple weeks before my birthday I was looking online and found this Harry Potter Christmas village that I immediately fell in love with! (For those of you who weren't aware of my obsession with Harry Potter, now you are. I've read the books way too many time to count and I listen to them non-stop in my car on CD. When I finish the series, I just start back over again with book 1 and I LOVE it!) The village is a little pricey and is going to be released in several different installments and the first one isn't even available yet. Logan knew how much I wanted it so he surprised me with the first part, "The 3 Broomsticks", for my birthday! He ordered it a few weeks ago but they said there's a chance it won't be here for Christmas. At least I can look at it and have it for Christmas next year! Thanks, babe, for knowing exactly how to get to my heart! :)

After having such a wonderful birthday, I knew Thanksgiving was going to be fantastic! Logan and I had every intention of sleeping in becuase we didn't have work or school but I guess our bodies are just trained to wake up so we were up and at it before 7:00. At first I was bummed that I didn't sleep longer but it actually turned out great becuase we had a fun morning together. Logan had to make sweet potatoes to take to his family's dinner and my mom asked me to make pumpkin chocolate chip cookies for their dinner so we spent the morning cooking and watching Home Alone. That movie is a classic for sure! Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of Logan's sweet potatoes but they looked wonderful and everyone that tried them said they were delicious! I have a great recipe for pumpkin chocholate chip cookies from Logan's sister so they were pretty yummy too!

Thanks, April, for the recipe!

Waiting to eat at my parents' house!

This was a very large turkey that Logan's uncle cooked!

Sharing time with both families on Thanksgiving worked out really well and it should be the same for Christmas. My family gets together and eats a little earlier in the afternoon and Logan's family doesn't eat until later in the evening so it worked out great! We had so much fun playing games, eating and hanging out with everyone and I loved being able to celebrate twice! I have such wonderful in-laws that couldn't have made the night end better! Thanksgiving was fantastic but I wish it came around more than once a year so we could all focus more time on what we have to be grateful for. Thank you to everyone who made the day so great!

Stay tuned for an update on our lives so far in December! We're only halfway through the month and have had a blast already!