Thanksgiving : Black Friday : Football : Christmas Tree

I feel like this title could double as my post! But don't worry faithful readers,I will write a post and maybe put up some pictures too!

Our holiday celebration started a week early when my mom,Dave & Jessie came to visit.It was so fun to have a full house:) We saw Harry Potter, shopped,put in a new light fixture,shopped,and had a pre-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving dinner.

We had a marvelous Thanksgiving Day. I watched the parade in the morning - and almost cried when the Rockettes started their high kicks - pathetic,I know. But can you think of anything that epitomizes Thanksgiving more than that? We had dinner with about 15 couples in our ward at the church, then watched football. One of my friends here was born in Casper (just like me) and I got to meet her dad. He knew a lot of the same people from there as me & his brother worked for the same people as my dad did. What a small world! I love Wyoming!

My neighborhood friends Sara & Rachel and I decided to go shopping on Black Friday . . . at 3 am. None of us had ever done the early morning shopping thing before - we hit up the GAP, Old Navy, and Target. Cody happened to be doing some shopping for yours truly at the same time. Apparently, we had a couple of close run-ins but Cody was a master of hiding so I am still in the dark about my gifts.

Today, we put up our Christmas decor and went to an auction. And, we are hoping our Cougs dominate Utah!

a post for america

This week I did 2 things to celebrate our country -- voted & ate at the Hamburg Inn No. 2.

Voting in Iowa is an adrenaline rush!  It's a little different to live in a place where the two-party system is, to put it delicately, thriving.  I registered on at the polls on Election Day and I thought the lady who helpd me was going to kill over because of my age & my political leanings.  Apparently, I am the anomaly here in Iowa City :) 

   

Last night, Cody & I went to dinner at the Hamburg Inn No. 2 -- a very small, dirty, greasy resturant downtown.  They served me phenomenal crinkle fries. (I ate them so fast that I didn't have time to take a picture!).  I know you are wondering 'What does the Hamburg Inn have to do with America?'.  So I will tell you : absolutely nothing.

Just kidding.  A few politicians stop by during the Iowa Caucuses -- just people like Mitt, Barak, John (McCain), Ronald (Reagan), Bill (Clinton), among others . . . no big deal. 

Well, we thought it was a big deal because we ate there :)  Maybe some presidential greatness will rub off on us!   

Cody showing off the jelly -- I don't know why.
 It wasn't that special. 
Those crinkle fries were special though.

halloween week

Victor, IA
population 900
about 60 miles from our house
taken 10/28/2010
NO SNOW!!! YAY!!!

We have had an eventful week -- a few highlights were:

- Driving 100+ miles 2 days this week. This makes me grumpy.

-Seeing our friends Elise & Joel at stake conference. They met in the same ward Cody & I did. Joel & I worked together at BYU and Cody & Elise grew up in the same ward.

-Seeing my old Young Women's President, Jeanna, and her ADORABLE girls (and husband too!), also at stake conference. Jeanna was like a second mother to me, just like so many of my other Young Women leaders.

-Watching the Sound of Music cast reunion on Oprah. I bawled twice. Once when a Vietnam vet talked about how the movie was his refuge while he was deployed AND during this clip (start about 50 seconds in with a box of tissues nearby).

-Watching the Giants dominate in the World Series -- especially their cute rookie catcher.

-Having our first real trick-or-treaters! The only problem is that nobody says 'trick or treat'. They just stand at the door and expect candy. Seriously?

the best intentions

the sunrise on my way to work a few days ago

yes, i drive to work while the sun is rising

I stink at blogging. It's kind of ironic, because I LOVE reading other people's blogs -- but then I think that nobody could LOVE reading ours :) I know that is far far far from the truth, so I am going to try really hard to jump back on the blogging train. I don't really think that I am going to try to recap everything that has happened since I last blogged, but I will leave you with a few of today's thoughts.

I love Iowa.

I love living on the edge of town and I love not living in the megametropolis that is the Salt Lake & Utah Valleys.

I love driving by corn & bean fields on my way to work. I do not love driving 2000 miles in 2 months of work.

I do not love Iowa's weather when it wakes me up in the middle of the night sounding like a herd of softballs with wings banging into my window. (It really was just an awful rainstorm with super turbo wind.)

I do not love when my kids cough in my face & get me sick. (But, I am not getting as sick as last year.)

I love blogging. And I will blog again, soon :)

a is for apple

On Labor Day, our sweet neighbors/friends invited us to go apple picking with them at a local orchard. We had a great time & ended up with a lot of apples. Like, WAY more apples than I ever would have purchased at once. I am planning on making them into some kind of treat, but I have had meetings at unearthly hours this week (7:15; 8:15; 7:30 -- keep in mind I have to drive at least 30 minutes before I get there) and have worked late, which doesn't leave much free time :(
So, keep the comments coming & let me know what I can turn my apples into!
P.S. That cute baby belongs to our next door through the wall neighbors & we love him a lot!

out of the mouths of babes

I feel kind of guilty for blackmailing people to get comments . . . but probably not guilty enough to never do it again :)

Does anybody besides me remember that old church movie 'Out of the Mouths of Babes'?



Well, I am thinking about carrying around a concealed video camera (is that even legal?) to create my own 'Out of the Mouths of Babes'. Or maybe it will just become a recurring series on this blog. Anyway, here is the latest installment -- short & sweet:

I went to a fourth-grade classroom to meet some of my new kiddos. Within about 2 seconds, I heard a little whisper from the back, "Who is that lady? She is pretty!".

And for the record, I did NOT look that nice yesterday. Or maybe I did. Is it ever a good thing if a 9 year old thinks you look nice? I just can't decide.