christmas this year.

this post is a little late, and i'm sure you can only imagine why. but christmas this year was great! early in the morning, zac woke me up, saying "come on! it's christmas!" we walked out into our living room where our christmas tree was lit up and beautiful, and opened our presents we got for each other. zac got me two filters for my camera, and i got him just dance 3, a game for our wii. then we hurried to get ready for the day, so we could go to church with zac's family.

after church, we all came home and changed into our pajamas and opened all our presents. jill and lyle had taken us christmas shopping when we went to park city last month, so we knew about most everything we were getting. but, nonetheless, it was still a fun time.

we spent the entire rest of the day being lazy: bumming around, taking naps, and watching the help. however, we did get our exercise in when zac broke out his just dance 3 game and had his whole family play it--including his mom and dad. it was the highlight of my christmas day!

in the evening, we all climbed into the swensons' car and drove to grandma and grandpa wallentine's house for dinner. there, i got to meet zac's uncle jared, who is a character! we also watched zac's 6-or-7-year-old, black cousin, kiki, dance this little heart out to a song playing on his mom's phone. it was so funny!



 

dear grandpa earl,

today you left me; you left our family. this morning i missed a call from my dad. i was at work when i found out what happened. immediately i left work, picked up zac, and drove straight to your house to spend time with the family, and to try to cheer grandma up. i cooked food and made cookies for everyone. then my siblings and i raked your front lawn, because grandma can't do that stuff. it was the least i could do, and i wish i could've done more.

the whole entire day, memories of you flooded into my mind, and i was surprised by how many i had. you are such a loving, selfless, and wise man. whenever i gave you a hug goodbye, you would always look me straight in the eye, and say, "we sure love you." whenever you were over, you would always put your arm around me and give me good advice, or tell me something that made me feel loved and special.

when i was little, i remember going to your house with my mom and little sisters at least once a week. there, it would be your job to pick up a papa john's pizza and bake it for us. i loved that. i remember playing in your basement for hours: riding pillows across the treadmill, playing the piano, and watching cartoons. today i went down there, and everything looked exactly the same. i wanted to lay on the couch and have another sleep over.

i remember, in the summers, going out to your garden and helping you pick blackberries and raspberries to eat. i remember playing in your backyard, and swinging on the swing under your back deck. i remember picking apples from the tree. i remember collecting nuts from off the ground under the tree, and going into the garage and cracking them with that huge, red nutcracker.

i remember when you and grandma would come over when we lived in our old house, and you would always call everyone "murtle." we thought that was so funny. and when you would give us a "squeeze," and not miss one birthday.

a couple months ago, in early october, when mom, grandma, steph and i were dropping grandma off after going to the general relief society meeting, i asked you if i could have a few tomatoes from your garden. you got me my tomatoes, but you also loaded me up with a bunch of other things, like extra tomatoes (i think i got about 10), a bag full of hazelnuts, and a head of cabbage.

on thanksgiving, we played bezzerwizzer, and you could hardly figure out how to play it. that made me laugh. you are such a funny old coot, and you always found the time to laugh at yourself, too. you were constantly looking for the happiness in life.

on christmas every year, you would make breakfast for everyone. you loved that; you loved serving. you are always doing something, whether it was helping a neighbor build something, or giving your garden vegetables away, or serving in the temple. you loved giving of yourself, your time, and your talents (and you have many!), which is why it doesn't surprise me that you died on your way to the temple.

grandpa, thank you for being an example to me. thank you for being my grandpa. thank you for being so strong in the church. thank you for supporting me, and loving me. thank you for raising my mom so she could raise me. i know i will see you again one day. i can just see you up there, doing exactly what you did here: being a missionary and serving people with all your heart. how does it feel to see your son, parents, and other family and friends again? how does it feel to meet the people you helped down here in the temple? i bet you're pretty famous up there. i can just imagine you laughing at us down here for being so sad.

i love you, grandpa. i'll see you soon, okay? :)

love, megan

hot cocoa date.

after making a lovely dinner of chicken breasts and mushroom sauce (i forgot how delicious that meal was!), husband and i went out to kneaders for a hot cocoa to share. ever since we discovered kneaders' hot cocoa last month, we seem to crave it on a regular basis, especially since it's chilly outside.



later, i'll tell you about how i spent my christmas, and what we did. i think it'll be one of my favorite posts, and you'll know why when you see it! i love my in-laws.

+++

also, happy seven-month anniversary to my wonderful love. seven months ago today we went to the temple to be married. it's been wonderful so far, and i can't wait to see what our future will bring!

(yes, i'm one of those people who recognize and celebrate month anniversaries. it's more fun that way!)

christmas eve: just the two of us.

christmas eve this year was spent with each other and no one else (unless you count the people at the mall, smith's and fresh market, where we searched for clementines to eat for Christmas and finally found some that weren't mushy). we slept in, and took our time getting ready. since we'll be at the swenson's all day tomorrow, Zac wanted to open up our wii in the morning and play our games we bought for it: mario kart, mario galaxy, and zelda, and so we did just that.

later on in the day, we went to the mall, where i bought a make up brush kit from sephora (thanks, boss, for the christmas bonus!). then, we wound up at smith's, getting ingredients for pizza, and also coke in old fashioned bottles. what would christmas eve be without our favorite food? a few days earlier, i had also decided that i wanted to bake sugar cookies, because 1) i've been craving those things for a week, and 2) i like baking for people. so husband and i baked some cookies after we made this for lunch (we double the cabbage, onions, and garlic, and don't drain the tomatoes, and it comes out divine). in between, we found time to play more wii games (hello mario kart; we meet again) cook and eat our pizza, and watch two old christmas movies: santa clause is coming to town, and frosty the snowman. how is it that everything christmas was always better back in the day than what it is now?

as things started winding down in our little apartment, we sat down and opened up the rest of our christmas presents--except the ones we got for each other; those will be opened tomorrow. it was hilarious to watch each other open the presents when we already knew what was inside, and act excited anyway. zac got a button-down shirt, some green pants, and a pair of headphones. i got two belts (that i am overly excited about), and a button-down shirt, as well.

tomorrow we will wake up early and spend the entire day with my in-laws. eating, opening presents, playing games, laughing and talking, and eating some more. it'll be weird spending christmas with a different family this year, but i am excited. i like the swensons.

i think to end this great day, i will go watch some of the lds christmas devotional with zac. merry christmas!

i'm dreaming of a white christmas...

this winter, i wasn't looking forward to snow, because snow = ice on roads, which terrifies me, mostly because my mom and i ran off the road... in the mountains... because of ice. i love the snow, but always get a little nervous when it starts falling. well, this winter, it has snowed a couple of times that i have noticed, but it hasn't yet stayed on the ground. i can still see the grass and the roads. it makes me sad. isn't the town supposed to be covered in snow by now? i hope, by some miracle, it snows for a long time on christmas eve, and i wake up to snow-covered everything! i am missing my utah snow.

the view of our street from our stairs. 

oh yeah, remember when i mentioned our wreath on our front door? well, here it is. she's a beauty. this year i'm really into red and green plaid for christmas. i think it's splendid.

salsa for dinner.

last night, husband and i were craving his mom's famous cowboy salsa. since we had bought all the ingredients for it the night before (we may have been craving it for a while), we stepped into our little kitchen and starting chopping fresh vegetables. the finished product filled up our biggest mixing bowl. we started to taste test it, and then, before we knew it, we had eaten half of that bowl of salsa for dinner, and we didn't mind one bit.



after we put the salsa in the fridge, we snuggled up on the bed and watched the latest christmas episode of our favorite show, the office, in our plaid pajamas. then i fell asleep within 3.64 seconds of when the show ended.

today, i'm not feeling too hot. i started feeling sick at work, and have spent my entire post-work day in bed playing on the laptop, eating ice cream and snuggling with husband, while he did the dishes, and kept warming up the heat pad for my stomach. he even set up the projector in our bedroom so he could be with me while playing zelda, instead of being out in the front room. he's my favorite, and i love him!

zachary max, thank you for taking care of me, and for hugging me when i double over in pain. you are my man.

happy list.

i am happy today. why? let me tell you the reasons.

1. my husband misses me as much as i miss him when we're both at work.


2. reuniting after those 8+ hours with a bunch of kisses and hugs.


3. it's christmastime!


4. homemade pizza, homemade salsa, and clementines.


5. getting a completely-filled-out cafe rio stamp card from my boss for no reason.


6. longing for newport beach. even just thinking about it makes me happy.


7. pretty things all over the world, like the dark clouds in the sky at night, and christmas lights that light up neighborhoods.


8. beautiful clothing. on people, on mannequins, on me.


9. the scriptures and everything that relates to christ.


10. little teeny tiny babies.

Ryan, Erica, Wes, Rachel, Zac and me just three weeks after Zac and I met.

christmas cookies.

Zac and I like sweets. It was a wonder that we went so long without baking chocolate chip cookies since we were craving them a few days ago. But finally, last night, we made some. Have you heard of America's Test Kitchen? Well, their cookbook is divine. DIVINE. We decided to try out their chocolate chip cookies, and they turned out very well. I was overly content.



While baking these delicious wonders, we watched The Polar Express--one of my Christmas favorites. How is that movie so magical? It got me excited for Christmas. Not only that, it made me realize how Santa and Jesus Christ are so mch alike. They both sacrifice everything they have to make our lives so much better. They both give us everything they have. They both keep an eye on us to see if we're being good. They both care about us. I could go on and on. What a wonderful similitude we can look at during Christmas. Let's just not forget who's more important, and what's more important: Santa giving presents, or Jesus Christ giving the Atonement and Eternal Life. I love him.

the polar express.

I got off work two and a half hours early yesterday, and when I did, I went straight to the school to pick Zac up from work, and we drove ourselves up to Heber with my family. After eating at Don Pedro's, we made our way to the Heber Valley train station, where we would soon ride to the North Pole on the Polar Express! Each of us were bundled up, because, even though there was no snow on the ground, it was really cold. When it was time to board the train, we handed our tickets to an elf named Soda Pop, and found some seats be the heater fueled by coal. My entire family took up seven benches, each bench fitting two people. As the train slowly started to move forward, I watched my parents shout, "We're going! We're moving!" to my niece and nephew, Brooke and Aiden, to get them excited.

The inside of the train was lit only by strings of Christmas lights running along the tops of the windows. Outside, you could see houses with Christmas lights. We made out way over a bridge and saw the lake on the left side. During the ride to the North Pole, we sang songs, told jokes, ate cookies, and drank hot cocoa. Jack Frost, with his microphone in his hand, entertained us passengers.

When we got to the North Pole, Santa Clause met us inside the train car, and gave everyone a Christmas bell tied with ribbon. He said hello to all the children. Brooke and Aiden were afraid of him, but Aiden eventually gave him a high five.

On the ride back to the station, I rested my head on Zac's shoulder and listened to the children sing more Christmas songs. The drive back to Provo took a good 2 hours or so, and I slept almost the whole way there.



Oh yeah, we also had an Ugly Sweater competition. I liked Matt's the best, although my mom looks pretty fantastic (see first picture).

the weekend.

Zac took me on a date last Friday. I finished reading The Help a month or two ago, and I've been wanting to go see the movie. Zac and I are complete dollar theater junkies. Why pay $8.00+ when you can wait a few weeks and see it for $1.00? So he waited until it came out at the dollar theater, and surprised me with it last Friday night. Not to mention that, before the movie, we went to Shopko and found everything we remembered about that store when we went with our moms when we were young teenagers (that store used to be like Walmart back in the day!), including bags of pistachios in bins in the aisles, the little corner of the electronic department, and even cow tails. Zac has been looking for cow tails for weeks. He used to like eating them when he was little, and we finally found them at good ol' Shopko!

When we got to our seats in the dollar theater, the movie was about the begin. We held hands for the majority of the time, and I was quite content watching the characters on the screen that I had read about weeks before. It was fantastic, especially since Zac was willing to watch it with me.

The next day, Saturday, we drove up to my hometown, Herriman, to help my brother, Matt, move. When he moved back from San Francisco about a year ago, he and his wife, Stephanie, and son, Aiden, moved into an apartment next to the high school in Herriman. Now they've gone and fond themselves a wonderful, huge, gorgeous house to live in, only a few miles from their apartment. Zac and I helped move things from the apartment to the car, and from the car to the new house. We helped carry things to their appropriate rooms, and we even got to ride in the Uhaul truck! It was a blast. Not to mention the free bagels.

In the process of moving, Daniel did a variety of weird things, which mostly involved laying on beds while posing like a model. It was awkward and funny. A few of my favorite places he found to lay were these: the 15-foot-high ledge in Matt's front room, Matt's queen-sized bed that Daniel set up in the bathroom, one of the six shelves in Matt's family room that frames the fireplace. Later in the day, I got to see Aiden. He's two, and loves me (most days). He calls me May-May. While trying to keep him entertained while Matt cleaned the carpet in his old apartment, all Aiden wanted to do was "jump!" which involves me picking up Aiden while he jumps, to make him jump high, and putting him back down so he can jump again. It goes by pretty fast--I bet one of his jumps is finished in about three seconds. He would grab and hand, lead me to the bathroom (because he liked to watch himself jump in the mirror) and say, "May-May, jump!"

After we helped move, Matt took us out (with my brother, Daniel, too) to Wingers. Matt, Daniel, and Zac orders the Endless Sticky Fingers. Daniel had the glorious plan of hiding a few sticky fingers in the popcorn bowl, which Matt stuck beside him under the table. For every plate of sticky fingers the waiter brought out, the three of them would add a few to their collection. The waiter was onto us, and said, "This is the most sticky fingers I've seen anybody eat!" It was pretty funny, and they had a stock pile of sticky fingers by the end of the meal.



Today, Zac and I went to church. There, we found out that our neighbor, Kristi, was sick. She and her husband, Scott, live in the other basement apartment of the house we're living in. When we found out, we offered to bring them some chili, since we had a whole crock pot full of it at home. I love serving, and hope to do more of it this month and throughout next year.

And since I have no other pictures of the events this weekend, except the two shameful ones of Daniel, please enjoy this picture of my old cat, Holy Santos. I LOVE this kitty.



By the way, did you know I'm a cat person?

Pizza and Books

When I picked Zac up today after I got off work, he was starving. I told him to think of what he wanted for dinner, and I would make it for him. After thinking long and hard, he decided he wanted pizza. I said okay. But, before we went home to make pizza, we went to the city library, because I've been dying to read another one for weeks, since I finished my last one.

Here's a story about me and books: I really, really like books about the Holocaust. Stories about people who lived in the late thirties/early fourties in Germany and surrounding places who saw what happened during the war through their own eyes just thrill me. I love reading people journals and biographies about what it was like hiding from German police in bunkers, what little food they got to eat in ghettos, and what torture they went through at the concentration camps. Sad stories, yes. But somehow I love them. I love reading about how much courage they had when they saw their sister being shot and killed, and how much faith they had that the war would soon end when German policemen were living in their houses and walking through their streets. This is why, at the library, I checked out three books: Anne Frank, The Zookeeper's Wife, and A Woman in Berlin. I think they will be lovely reads.



When we got home, we started whipping everything out to make pizza dough. Zac and I, we're good at doing things together as a team. When I was making dough, he was doing dishes; when I was slicing the tomatoes, he was chopping the bell peppers. We're pretty good at that. When it comes to taste, though, we're pretty different.

This what I like on my pizza: tomato sauce, cheese, sliced tomatoes, chopped bell peppers, red pepper flakes, sliced mushrooms, and cilantro (LOTS of cilantro!), baked crunchy. This is what Zac likes on his pizza: Alfredo sauce, more Alfredo sauce, cheese, garlic powder, chicken, Italian spices, and a little bit of something green (which, in this case, was cilantro), baked soft. So, for this reason, whenever we make pizza for dinner, we always make two, and share our pizzas with each other. It works out pretty good. And did I mention that my pizza looked like Christmas? Look at my festive self!



Tomorrow is December. Do you know what this means? It means it's time to start the 25 Days of Christmas! I got this idea from this girl's blog, and I love it! For every day in December leading up to Christmas, you do something wonderful for someone else. If that not the best idea for the holidays? Just say yes, because it is.

• Go out of your way--befriend someone today that needs a friend and follow through to Christmas


• Tell someone you love them


• Make a tree decoration that will remind you of Christ


• In your prayers today, give thanks for every blessing without asking for anything


• Try to be as kind as possible to others today


• Try not to quarrel with family members today


• Do a good deed anonymously


• Make goals for yourself--seal a copy in an envelope to be opened in a year


• Visit someone sick or lonely or sad


• Do volunteer work for some worthy cause


• Do something fun for a child or younger sibling


• Try to forgive someone who has wronged you, be reconciled


• Make a "give list" instead of a list of gifts you'd like


• Improve yourself in some way to please the Savior


• Quietly reflect and choose uplifting activities vs. shopping


• Phone or send a card to an old friend or family member


• Listen to Handel's Messiah


• Make a Christmas treat for someone else


• Be a calming influence today and control your temper


• Accept the gift of forgiveness--pray for some weakness and ask for help in repenting of it


• Look at Christmas lights--where does all light come from?


• Sing carols


• Do something nice for someone without their knowing it was you


• Be the first to say hello to people all day


• Ask someone to tell you about a past Christmas

We'll see how I do on these, and I hope you get the chance to do some, too! I also have a whole Christmas list of things that I NEED to do before Christmas, mostly because they're awesome and festive.

• Watch tons of Christmas movies (namely The Grinch, Elf, The Santa Clause, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Babes in Toyland, and the collection of old Christmas cartoons we have recorded onto a VHS tape)


• Play in the snow at least once


• Drink hot cocoa and/or egg nog by a fire


• Go see the lights at Temple Square again


• Go see everything Christmas at the Festival of Trees


• Spend time with family

Have a happy December tomorrow. Christmas is on its way!

Trimming the tree

Tonight, we trimmed our very first Christmas Tree. I had this planned for a few days, and work went by so slow today, because all I could think about was going to the store, buying pretty ornaments and rushing home to our little apartment to decorate our tree. We decided on white and gold, mostly because I saw a Christmas tree at Temple Square that had white ornaments, pictured here, and I thought it was really pretty. As we decorated our little tree (that matches our little apartment oh so well), we listened to our old Christmas records, and drank Coca-Cola from their glass bottles. I'm pretty sure that our smiles got bigger, and our eyes lit up a little more for each ornament we hung on that tree of ours. When it came time to put the star on top, we each grabbed an end, and put it on together. It was cheesy, but mostly cute, because we're newlyweds. :)

We also got our very first nativity set (I want to collect these!) from Zac's parents on Sunday (thanks Lyle and Jill!). It's gorgeous, and I love it. We set it up on Sunday night, and all the little Bethlehem people and animals are sitting on top of our bookcase in our living room. I also hung up a wreath the other night--it's a green pine wreath with a red, plaid bow on top. Our apartment is really starting to feel like Christmas, and it gives me a wonderful feeling inside. I think I might just make a paper chain out of green and red paper like I did when I was young, to count down the days to Christmas--I am that excited!

As of tonight, there are 26 days left. I already have some plans of what to do during the 25 Days of Christmas, which include watching the old Christmas cartoons like I did when I was little, and service projects--both big and small. Zac told me tonight that he wished there was somewhere cozy and quiet where we could go to get hot chocolate somewhere close in this town of Provo, so maybe we'll go on a quest to find a place like that, too.



By the way, don't mind the picture in the 6th picture from the top... We got that frame for our wedding from the wonderful Shanny, and we haven't gotten around to putting one of our pictures in it. In fact, I'm pretty sure that 95% of all the frames in our apartment are not filled. So, we need to go get some pictures printed. Merry Christmas in 26 days!