The most WONDERFUL time of the year!

School's out!!! Landon and I have been working very hard this past semester. I am one semester away from my Master's degree and Landon is almost done with his first year in the Master's of Accountancy program at BYU. Phew! We look forward to the day our hard work pays off. We were able to celebrate the end of the year with the BYU Bowl game in New Mexico. It was relaxing and a nice free vacation. Now we have the rest of the break to spend stress-free with family, friends, food and fun. Here are a few pictures from the past few days.

GO #43!!

With the New Mexico Bowl Trophy!

The Pre-game Luncheon

Landon's High School buddies

Christmas Craft

I don't really decorate for the holidays. Now before you gasp and think what a terrible wife and homemaker I am you must understand I live in a box. Each nook and cranny is filled with things that belong in storage until we can move into a not-so-cramped place. If I were to decorate our little box would look like the little old lady on hoarders that doesn't have an inch to breath. Until then, the idea of getting decorations and stressing about finding a place to put them gives me anxiety ----> zits. It's just not good for me. Another problem with decorating is that I am frugal (aka cheap/stingy w/ $) so I don't want to put my money there. However, while browsing through Hobby Lobby I saw some adorable Christmas tree's. I didn't want to dish out the whopping $12 each for these tree's I was determined to make them myself. I think they turned out pretty cute and they fill up just the right amount of space. What do you think?!

Thanksgiving 2010

Thanksgiving was a great break from school, and the cold weather. We happened to leave before one of the biggest snow storms to hit Utah. I took the 10 hour drive with the brother's and sister in law and Landon came down a few days later. We made these cute little turkey's for everyone. It was a fun little project and think they turned out pretty cute.

We then took advantage of the beautiful weather and went on a family hike. It's always a good idea to do something active during Thanksgiving break to work off the pounds of food put on. Landon weighed himself before and after the FEAST and he gained 4.5 lbs! haha

Landon wanted to make the hike a little more exciting. (Arizona is pretty flat if you didn't know) so he ventured off the trail and climbed dangerously through cactus and unstable rocks to get to the top of a peak he saw some distance away. It had to stay behind to make sure he didn't die or get attacked by a mountain lion. See if you can find him in the second picture. He's WAY up there.

It was good to see friends and family and spend time on/with the things that I am most thankful for.

Last Home Game

The football season is almost over. We have one more celebratory bowl game in Albuquerque, New Mexico. We get to leave for an all-expense paid trip to cap off the year on Dec 18th. Thank you to our family and friends that always have positive things to say about Landon and the hard work he has put into the team.

4 Month Drought...

So it appears that my dedication to blogging was equally non-habitual; much like my journal writing of which this blog was supposed to replace. Life is very busy. But that is not an excuse because it really isn't TOO busy to write down memories and reflections on life's events. I could give up my time dedicated to Grey's Anatomy, or Biggest Loser or even Law & Order:SVU. But the ranking of blogging on my to-do list has it's obvious place (last).

But for my own sake, I would love to join in on bragging and posting about all the "Up's" life has dished out during the last four months. Do not be fooled... the "down's" have been scattered frequently but there are so many beautiful reasons I have to be HAPPY!! ( thanks sister for the song!)

While the weather was still conducive to being outdoors, we spent time with our favorite friends Colie, Blair and Shelb and Ryan hiking. It was beautiful and even though I complain a lot about the weather in Utah, the mountains and tree's really are beautiful.



We also got to spend a few days with my sister and her family up in the mountains. It was so much fun to be away from the city and hustle and bustle of life. We got to entertain the kids and ride four-wheelers and eat delicious food. It was such a fun, beautiful little vacay.

Cute boys!

My sister and I.

The boys being pulled by Landon!!

The amazing pool and lookout!!

This picture was taken right before Cole let go of one hand to say "One more" (before going to the slide) and then loosing his grip and pulling a backflip/faceplant into the wood chips. haha

This fall has been the start of another year of football. Landon has been working so hard and has been leading the defense in interceptions during practice! This year started off rough, but the Cougs are hoping to finish out strong. Landon loves football so much and I love when he's happy. He would definitely say it's a beautiful game.

Other news about Landon is that he has accepted an internship offer from the accounting firm Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC) for the summer in... wait for it............. PHOENIX!! That means we will be living in AZ for the summer and then hopefully return for good after he graduates with a full time job in Phoenix. I am so proud of him. Jobs are scarce these days and his hard work in school has paid off. He is so smart, motivated and ambitious and I am so lucky to have him!! What a beautiful opportunity for our future!

Because he was going down to AZ for some interviews, I decided I wanted to go too! So we got to be in AZ for halloween this year. Thanks to our friends we had some cute costumes. Our little "bones-man" (as Cooper called a skeleton) were so cute! It was so much fun to be around family!

I got to hang out with my cute pregnant best friends! I am so happy for both of them! Life is crazy and change happens fast, but they will be wonderful mothers and I can't wait to be aunt Courtney to more beautiful babies!

I got to spend so much time with my sister and my two nephews while Landon was doing school and work stuff. We got to ride the carousel at the mall, play in the park, eat Rosa's! (of course) and ice-cream. These boys are just too cute! Spending time with family and making beautiful memories is irreplaceable.

Beautiful kisses!

My best friend and sister Kasey! (so skinny and beautiful huh!)

This weekend my BIL Danny bought Kasey a flight up here to spend time with me in Utah without the kiddos. I don't know if Danny knows, but he was inspired. Being able to see my sister almost every two weeks this last month was just the remedy I needed to relieve the stress of school, health, work and life in general. I was feeling really weighed down but this weekend was the most fun I've had in a while. We got to eat at Tucano's, watch movies, play games, go shopping, cook dinner, eat treats, test drive cars, and mostly talk and laugh. I love you Kasey! (thank you danny, I love you too!!). What a beautiful weekend!!

The family!

I know this was a MASSIVE post. So congratulations to those of you who made it to the end.