Washington Winter Wonderland

On Thursday the 20th we flew into Seattle to spend Christmas with the Skeens. We packed up that night and left on Friday to stay the weekend at a cabin in the mountains of beautiful Mazama, WA (close to Winthrop). There was about 3 feet of snow when we got there and it snowed about 8 inches each day. We had fun snowshoeing, watching movies, and even cross-country skiing. So pretty!

24... whew!

So... Rachie's 24. We spent the weekend eating cake, you know how that goes. On Friday Andrew and I went to Salt Lake to check out the new Cheesecake Factory and to go see the Christmas lights at Temple Square. On Saturday we spent some time with Grandpa with some family and then on Sunday we had a birthday dinner with Kristen, Kevin, Jenni and Mitchell. Feeling old, but nice to feel the love in Provo. (Check out those candles!)

Our Christmas Tree

So in my family it has either been a bushy fir tree or a fake one with lots of branches. In Andrew's family, they preferred the look of the noble fir. We decided that it only be appropriate for our first Christmas to buy the Charlie Brown tree and to decorate it with popcorn and cranberries. We think it's pretty dang cute. What do you think?

Season's Adventures

The first few weeks of December in Utah provided ample snow. I had my first snow shoveling experience!

Gamers?

Since Mitchell came to Utah he has created a new influence in Andrew and my life. It is called X-Box. Since Mitch doesn't have a TV in his dorm room, he has chosen us to babysit his toy. I was a little concerned at first when I came home one day and Andrew had the door locked and he was sitting in front of the TV, kneeling with the controller in his hands, barely looking up at me, but after beating Halo with Mitchell he has settled down. Every once in a while he gets me to play Madden football with him. Here's a funny pic from this morning.

December 1st = First Snow

We knew it would be snowing soon, but only time would say when. This morning I snuck out of bed and peeked outside through the blinds and the only color I could see was white. I called Andrew out and he said... "Go play Rachie!" I said ok and I just jumped around for a little bit. As much as I hate the cold, I have to say I have always been excited when it first snows.

Frosted Grass, Sleeping Bags and Meteor Showers

For my astronomy class that I am taking this semester I am required to do several observing projects which I have to do on my own time. Last weekend I found out that there was going to be a meteor shower and decided that that would be easy and fun thing to do with Andrew. We slept from 1-2:30 a.m. on Sunday morning and got bundled up with sweaters, thick socks, jackets, beanies, whatever it would take, and luckily Andrew thought to bring our sleeping bags. We filled the car up with gas and drove up Provo Canyon to find a dark spot to watch. It was 3:30 when we got to Vivian Park. The grass was frozen and it was very cold. We laid out two blankets and then got in our sleeping bags and zipped them up around our heads and looked skyward. The assignment said that we needed to observe for two hours. Within the first 5 minutes Andrew and I saw the first meteor and we saw about 11 each within the first hour. We got through at about 5:30 in the morning and I was needless to say, very frozen, but it made for a fun, adventure. We have done our best to reenact the situation in this picture.

First Camping Trip

This was a spontaneous camping trip we had at the end of the summer. We left like at 9:00 at night and really didn't know exactly where we were until the morning. These are some pics of what we saw in the morning. We had hotdogs and s'mores for dinner, and toasted english muffins and oranges for breakfast. Andrew was very prepared and he even brought his water tablets, just in case.

Food Fight

I have always wanted to be in a food fight... you know the amazing food fight on the Peter Pan movie "Hook" with Rufio and the gang, but I surely wasn't expecting the banana cream pie I made to be plastered all over my face. Andrew started it, but I am pretty sure I won. What do you think?

Wedding Day

We done and got married! August 18, 2007 at 1pm in the Mt. Timpanogos Temple, American Fork, UT.