Christmas Break!

So, I'm a little late, but we had an amazing Christmas break. We spent it with Chase's family, starting in Texas and then headed to Arizona to see Chase's grandpa and for Romney and Cami's wedding!

We went to Gilbert for a cousin's wedding, and that temple is beautiful! We were glad we could make it and that we got to see so much family. We went to St. David and stayed with Grandpa Trejo through Christmas. We went and cut down our own tree, which was so much fun!

When we got back we decorated the tree with home-made decorations and the Christmas lights that Grandpa Trejo had. Spending Christmas with Grandpa was so much fun. It was great to get to know him better and to hear all of his stories and insights, and play games with him (he killed all of us in Rummy 500).

We also went shooting Christmas day. It was windy and cold, but we had a blast. I married into a family of sharp shooters. 

                                

                          

Next up was the wedding!! Cami and Romney looked SO good and we are so happy for them! I'm sad that we didn't take more pictures, but I'm super excited to see the professional pictures they get back. We're really glad that we got to be a part of their special day!

The last day we were there we got pecans from Grandpa Trejo's pecan tree and said bye to Grandpa. I'm glad that we got to spend time in Arizona (even without a white Christmas) and so grateful for the best in-laws that made my first Christmas away from my family such a fun trip. I married into a really great family and am super grateful for the guy who made that possible :)

Thanksgiving 2014

Chase got a full week off of school for Thanksgiving and we decided to go spend in with my family. We flew into Charlottesville and spent a day there before heading up to New York City for a few days. We had so much fun and were so glad we got to spend that time with them! We also got to see my cousin Lauren and her husband Brian which was super fun (we didn't take a picture though... oops).

We were OK about taking pictures, but missed a lot of chances partially because it was freezing outside and we didn't want our fingers to freeze haha. 

We went and saw the Statue of Liberty, the 9/11 memorial museum, the tree in Rockefeller Plaza, and did some fun shopping around on Black Friday. We got to see the big piano at FAO Schwarz and tried to stay away from too many crowds. We also got to go see A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder and Wicked. Loved loved loved both of them.

Statue of Liberty

Thanksgiving dinner 

Rockefeller Plaza

I am so, so grateful for so many things // My family (immediate and extended) // The time I get to spend with them // A wonderful husband // The chance that both of us have to be in school right now // Getting to live in Texas // New friends and old friends // Close by and far away // Getting to travel // A healthy body // Warm house // Food to eat // Netflix to watch (haha) // And so, so much more // I'm especially grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ // And the chance to celebrate Him this Christmas season // Also for selfies like this left on my phone (love her tons) //

She's gonna kill me...

// Also pretty sunrises like this that make getting up for early flights a little bit easier //

All in all a pretty great week! Let the countdown to Christmas begin

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P.S. I cut my hair and got to donate it! It was a surprise for everyone but Julia, so I had to be pretty secretive about it. But it's been a really fun change so far! 

Halloween plus an Update

Life has been pretty busy around here. 

Chase has stayed busy with school - classes and test seem never ending and I'm not even the one taking them! We look forward to weekends as a break from all the classes, especially our Sundays when Chase doesn't study and we get to spend all day together.

I'm staying busy with my class, applying for student teaching, substituting here and there, trying out new recipes, and recently working on our Halloween costumes. 

We're both loving teaching the Sunday School class for the youth in our church and getting to do that together. Still loving board games when we find time, and dinner dates with other couples from our ward or from Chase's dental class. 

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When we were talking about Halloween and what we wanted to be. We wanted something fairly simple, but also something we both were interested in. We ended up deciding on our costumes of Calvin and Hobbes and had so much fun shopping for the parts of our outfits we didn't already have in our closets and putting it together. It required a little bit of sewing and lots of sharpie-ing but I'm extremely proud of how they turned out! 

Our ward Trunk-or-Treat was two days before Halloween and our costumes weren't quite ready. We threw some things together out of our closets to end up as a 50s couple. Funny enough, some of our friends dressed up as Doc and Marty McFly from Back to the Future and we ended up looking just like Marty's parents. It was great. 

That time I face-planted on the beach...

... and other adventures in Puerto Rico:

This year my dad decided that he wanted us to escape the cold for a few days and so we decided to go to Puerto Rico! Obviously I was in full support. Here's a quick recap of our trip:

While in Puerto Rico I decided I wanted to try authentic food as often as I could... now most of you should know that this could be a struggle for me. After our first night there I was convinced I had made a very good decision.

Super good.

We were lucky enough to go ziplining. It was SO much fun. I got told at every break to, "Stop braking so hard..." to which I replied with an awkward laugh. My siblings also thought it was hysterical. We all had a blast though and really liked the oversized gloves and helmets we wore.

The next day we decided to go to the beach. The boys convinced me to go in the water, but I probably should have stuck with my gut decision, because my face ended up looking like this:

Long story short I got thrown by a wave face-first into the sand. I came up with a bruised eyebrow, scraped forehead and cheek, and a bloody lip, gasping for air. If you want a more detailed story I'm sure my sister would love to share it with you. She thinks it's hysterical and we've spent lots of days laughing about it and people's reactions to it. 

We also went to Old San Juan. I LOVED the little town. All of the buildings were painted fun colors and there were so many cool little shops and restaurants along the cobblestone streets. My favorite restaurant (named for the breakfast I ordered) was La Mallorca - delicious.

 Old San Juan also has a really cool fort in it. 

Some of the people that got locked in the dungeon drew these really cool pictures on the walls that they've since preserved:

The next day we went fishing in one of the local lakes. Everyone was really good at it. Justin and Joshua caught catfish (and eachothers lines), Julia and dad caught peacock bass and red devils, and Annette and I got jaguar bass. I was surprised by how pretty the fish were. I also managed to make it through the day without touching a single fish - successful day in my book.

Our last dinner was my favorite food of the whole week. It was so, so good. We finished with a dessert made of cream cheese stuffed crepes, topped with cinnamon-sugar and frosting with ice cream. It was the perfect way to end the trip.

I had such a blast and couldn't have asked for better people to spend it with! Now I just have to figure out how to survive the -6 degree weather in Provo right now...