Christmas Past

You already know that I love this time of year and lately I have been thinking a lot about about past Christmas times.  It is such a wonderful time of year full of so many happy memories! 

I have been thinking about the Christmas that I spent in New York. I spent a good part of my weekends in December exploring the incredible sights of that city. There really is nothing more magical than Christmas time in New York City.  If you don't believe me, just go watch Elf!

This time of year always brings so many fun emotions when I think about the Christmas that Brad and I spent more time counting down to December 28th then we spent counting down to the 25th.  For some reason getting married was just a little more exciting that year than Christmas was.

And I can't help but think of Christmas time when I was growing up.  I love how simple and magical it was.  I kind of wish it could still be like that.  

(I may not look like it, but I was seriously so excited for that little tutu.  I probably wore it everyday for a long time!)

But this year I am trying to spend a little more time thinking about this Christmas:

Because that's really what it is all about.  What an incredible thing to be celebrating!  I am so grateful for the birth and life of Christ.  I am so grateful to have a knowledge of his sacrifice for all of us and to know that he lives and loves all of us!

Merry Christmas to everyone!

Peppermint Anyone?

I love love love this time of year!  I also love to bake!  And thanks to finals being over with I am actually able to enjoy both of those things!  Lately I have been on sort of a peppermint kick.  I think that I have decided that everything is better with a little peppermint extract and crushed peppermint sticks on top.  So here is what I have been up to lately.  (Since I am no longer a captive to maintaining sterile fields, memorizing side effects, or waking up at 3:30 in the a.m.)

Peppermint Swirl Cupcakes:

Homemade Candy Cane Oreos

Peppermint Bark

My sister and I got together yesterday and made 12 pans of this stuff!  It is probably safe to say that we were on a peppermint high by the end of the day, but we had fun doing it... at least I did! And maybe if you are lucky you will get to try some of this stuff!

We will have to see what else is in store for this week!  It just feels more festive in my house when I make something yummy!  And it is always better with some fun Christmas tunes in the background!  I just love this time of year!  Yay for finally having time to enjoy it!

Cute Little Baby!

 Meet Claire Autumn

My sister Bethany gave birth to this sweet little thing on Oct. 7th.  She is so darn cute and I just wish I could hold her all day long.  She was nameless for a few days and so we kind of just got used to calling her baby, though I love the name they picked so I don't think it will be hard to get used to calling her Claire. 

  

I couldn't resist posting this pic, I think that there were a lot of people very excited to meet this little girl!

I know your jealous!!!

That you don't get to wear this styling outfit everyday:

and that you don't have this massive stack of massive books to decorate your front room:

I know I would be!

Yep- thats right my fist semester in the program is in full swing and it has completely taken over my life.  I had my second week of clinicals today and I loved it.  If only I didn't have so many tests!

Bryce Canyon

A few weeks ago Brad and I were watching the news and they showed a picture of Bryce Canyon. I was so surprised when Brad said he had never been there, so we decided to plan a trip down there. It is so pretty down there and we both just absolutely loved it. The weather was perfect and we found a pretty good spot to camp, This was only the second time we have gone camping since we've been married so I was a little nervous. But it was a complete success! We had everything we needed, stayed warm and dry and we enjoyed some delicious s'mores! Here are some pics from our weekend! If you haven't been down there, I would definitely recommend it- it is gorgeous!

First stop at Bryce!

Our extra large, extra gooey, extra yummy s'mores!

Getting ready to hike through "Wall Street"

Brad in front of "Thor's Hammer"

On our way home...

Looking Forward...

My sundays are filled with A LOT of free time, which gives me a lot of time to think. Today I have been thinking a lot about the things that I have coming up, some of them soon and others not so soon, to look forward to.

• The cookie dough cheesecake that I am hoping to make sometime this week.


• This Saturday when Brad will get home from camping with the scouts. He hasn't even left yet and I am already excited for him to get home!


• Our little trip to Bryce Canyon in a couple weeks!


• Not having to work on Saturdays. I only have 1 left!


• Finally starting the Nursing program. This brings so many mixed emotions but I think excitement and extreme anxiety can basically sum it up.


• A new calling. Don't know what it is yet but I keep on telling Brad that I am ready for one. I hate not having one, I feel like I am not really contributing.


• Someday sitting by Brad in church. I don't really even remember what it was like to sit by him in Sacrament, but I am pretty sure that I liked it. Maybe someday I will get to like it again.


• Someday being a mom. (Just to clarify, this is definitely NOT an announcement.)


• Someday watching Brad be a dad. I love watching all the dads at church and seeing how they interact with their kids. It makes me very excited to see what Brad will be like.


• Being able to go to this beatiful temple:

I seriously gasped when I first saw this picture. I think it is the most beautiful temple they have designed for a while. I can't wait to be able to go inside!

Reading over this list also makes me realize just how blessed I am to have these things to look forward to. I only have my Heavenly Father to thank for all of these things.

This is Historic!

My mom was able to get all of us free tickets to the Paul McCartney Concert last night.

My response upon hearing this news was- Cool- free? Sure, I'll go. Brad however was much more excited for the oppurtunity.

The concert was actually lots of fun! He played lots of stuff from the Beatles, which for some reason I wasn't really expecting.

About halfway through the concert Brad turns to me and says, "This is historic, Darc!" I just laughed! I had no clue this was such a big deal.

We all had so much fun though! Thanks so much for planning a fun night mom!