festival of trees

oh man did i get lucky in the husband department. i am a lover of all things crafts-making them, pinning them, craft shows, you name it. the festival of trees is one of my most favorite events of the year. d put up with rows and rows and rows of trees as well as the million pictures i wanted to take. this year's festival did not disappoint and it only encouraged my dream of  having 12 christmas trees in my home. we had fun taking bets on how many frozen trees there would be (me: 12 d: 9). how many there actually were: 8 i think. it was such a great night. after we went to tai pan and picked out stockings together and had dessert at the waffle love truck in the parking lot.

christmas parties a plenty

often we think of holiday's as stressful, busy, non stop commotion. i prefer them to be jam packed full of fun things to do. this year 4 parties have already happened and there are plenty more to come. i can't wait. 

first up: d's mom's family has a huge christmas party the day after thanksgiving with all 80 members. it was quite the ordeal. the man in the big red suit even decided to make an appearance and the children all left with balloon animals and candy. it was a lot of fun to meet even more of his family that weren't able to make it to the wedding and start the christmas season early. oh and our first picture with santa to complete our christmas bucket list. 

second: we had our ward (church congregation) christmas party and it was actually pretty fun. any time a polaroid camera is involved it is bound to be a good time. we had a cute christmas program with our one primary child, and then played christmas trivia. 

third: my work had a christmas get together and the turnout was great. we had a white elephant for the kids and they surprisingly loved it. then the adults had a gift card exchange which was quite hilarious to see. cafe rio, gift cards and great people sure make for a fantastic work party. 

fourth: not really a christmas party, but my dear sister's 22nd birthday was the 10th and we had a fun get together with her. complete with cookie butter cupcakes, a hot cocoa bar and a few round of werewolf,  we all had a lot of fun.

bring on the rest of them:)

christmas coasters

aka the easiest craft project ever. meghan shared this back when our blog was still up and running but i love this project so much i will share it again.

what you need:
15 cent coasters from home depot
scrapbook paper (in as many colors as coasters you are going to make)
mod podge
glue gun
felt

cut the scrapbook paper to the size of the coaster and spread a thin layer of mod podge on the tile. put the scrapbook paper on and let dry 15 minutes (you can skip this step if you want, mine just bubble if you don't). paint a few more layers of mod podge on top to seal the paper. when they are dry hot glue a square piece of felt to the bottom to keep from scratching tables.

Temple square and a letter to Santa

 As mentioned d and I made a bucket list for this winter. Tonight we accomplished two things- temple square lights and writing to Santa. It was packed at the square but it was so warm tonight we had to take advantage. We figured we would be back a few more times so we didn't linger for too long but it sure was nice outside. Walking around the temple grounds brought back all those wonderful wedding memories and I just love that I get to be right by where I got married. It is such a special sacred place. 

Macy's has their cute Santa mailbox set up with paper to write to Santa. 

How did I get so lucky with this boy. 

christmas bucket list

celebrating the holidays together is completely new for d and i. Since we didn't start dating until right after vday we missed the holiday season. This year we have gone all out and have so many fun plans. We created a Christmas/winter  bucket list to make sure we could get everything done we wanted. While there are so many fun things to do, we want to be as Christ centered as possible even with all of our fun adventures.

-temple square lights 

-visit Santa

-elf date- from the movie elf:)

-make gingerbread men

-make neighbor treats

-go sledding

-write a letter to Santa 

-look at the Macy's window display 

-snowball fight

-hatch's hot chocolate

-build a snowman

-watch frozen

-polar express night

-festival of trees
-tubing
-ice castles
-park city date
-sundance film festival
-macy's candy window displays
-lights at the gateway
-zoo lights
-take pictures with as many santa's as possible

-forgotten carols

-make sugar cookies 

football season

many of you know that i am a die hard ute fan. how it happened, i am unsure but it did and i am obsessed. football season is definitely a highlight of the year and this year was no exception. i did not have high hopes for this beloved team of mine, but boy did they pull off some pretty epic wins (don't worry, i haven't forgotten their epic losses as well). win or lose, rain or shine, a utah man am i.

first game of the season: idaho state white out

we were spoiled with our 4th row seats and danced with crazy lady ever.single.game. 

second game: fresno state

meg and i created a version of this sign last year and we are now known for it. 

third: washington state, pooring freezing rain

4th: usc blackout. our sign in all its glory

5th: oregon, the espn camera was on it quite often and this is one of my favorite moments captured. it is sideways but this is when that iconic fail of a play was happening and everyone is celebrating while meg and i are trying to see a replay.

last but not least, arizona. started out decent, left at the 4th due to hypothermia 

until next year football season. you will be missed. unless we happen to make it to the bowl game.

46 days

who knew 46 days could pass by so quickly. that is how long d and i have been married for. it blows my mind a little that time has passed by so quickly. life gets more exciting each day with this boy in my life and i am just so extremely blessed and happy to have him.

i always say i want to keep up on this blog and for real i am going to try because i have so much to document in my life right now. so here is to a new commitment.