when life gets ya down.

Today was just one of those days. You know, when nothing goes right, all the day long.

But when life gets ya down, here's what you need to do:

Get your handsome husband. Go to the store and buy a gallon of mint

chocolate chip ice cream (because a quart just doesn't cut it on

these days). Come home and put on an old Christmas record

from 1969. Listen to Christmas music while eating ice cream on the

couch with your handsome husband.

I'll tell you what, that put a smile on my face in less than five seconds.

...

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).

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!

A trip downtown.

Yesterday in the afternoon, Zac and I headed up to Draper to hit up the Ikea there. We went a couple of months ago, and that's when I saw something fantastic. It was a mirror inside of a fancily designed frame. I told Zac I wanted it, and he decided that I could have it for Christmas. So we spent about an hour walking through that huge store, and finally found my mirror! We also bought some Swedish food there (because it's tradition!), like mustard basil sauce, chocolate bars, and orange ginger thins, and snagged some lunch at the cafe, too.

When we finished our activities at Ikea, we drove another 20 miles north toward Salt Lake City. Zac and I here, we love a little store called Urban Outfitters. Unfortunately, the closest one to us is 45 miles away, in Salt Lake City. So we made the drive up there to shop. Because the store is so over priced (I seriously saw a shirt there priced at $250), we usually find ourselves in the sale corner of the store, but that doesn't mean that I don't LOVE to adore and admire the pretty bedspreads, dishes, books, records, cameras, and clothing that are not on sale. While browsing through the sale rack, Zac found a nice (and I mean nice!) pair of green pants. I've been wanting colored pants (preferably yellow, thanks) for the last little while, so I was kind of jealous when he found these babies. However, I did find two belts that I loved. Zac found a shirt to go with his pants, and we made our way up to the registers. Everything we got was on sale, which made me happy inside.

We left Urban Outfitters and the crisp, cold air hit us as soon as we did. It was a cold night, but the Christmas lights and people running through the fountains (are they crazy?!) made it fun.



When we were done watching these crazy people run and scream through the fountains, we decided to walk the four or five blocks to Temple Square to see the magical Christmas lights. It was a nice walk. It was chilly, and my arm was in Zac's. On our way, we saw the prettiest little house called the Devereaux Mansion. I wanted to live there right away, but decided to take a picture of it instead. When we arrived to Temple Square, it was wonderful. The lights were everywhere! I've been to Temple Square to see the lights every year, and it still impresses me when I go back. We walked around and saw the Nativity scene, and the temple that Zac and I were married in. I love everything about Christmas, and going to Temple Square just makes it that much better.



When our noses and feet were too cold to bear, we made our trip back to the car, with the other dozens and dozens of people. On our way home, we stopped by Kneaders and ordered a cup of hot cocoa to share and sat by the fireplace. I recently discovered their hot cocoa, and have decided it's my new favorite. There's a hint of coffee to it, and I think that's why I like it so much, which is weird, because I've never had coffee--I've just smelt it. When we finished our hot cocoa at Kneaders, we went to Walmart to do some grocery shopping. Among other things there, we bought our very first Christmas tree: a four foot pre-lit tree. We set it up last night, and it brings magic into our home, I swear. It's glorious. We are going to hang ornaments tomorrow night, so I'll post a picture of what it looks like when it's finished. I'm so glad Christmas is here. I can't wait for the nights where Zac and I are snuggled up on the couch in our jammies with all the lights turned out but the ones on our tree, drinking hot cocoa, and listening to our old Christmas records. That just sounds like heaven to me. I'm excited to start new Christmas traditions with my little family, and continue old ones, like watching old Christmas videos on Christmas Eve. This time of year is wonderful, isn't it?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Zac and I spent Thanksgiving this year with my family. On Thanksgiving morning, we all woke up really early to go out to breakfast at Village Inn at 7:45 AM. We met my dad's entire side of the family there. We sat at a booth with Sara, her boyfriend, Josiah, Daniel, his girlfriend, Erika, and Rachel. Zac and I both got chicken fried steak, mostly because it's delicious. I also got a strawberry crepe for the two of us to share. It reminded me when we made crepes at home a few weeks ago, with raspberries, strawberries, bananas, and nutella. That was a good night.

When Thanksgiving dinner came around, we had quite a few people there. My entire family was there, as well as both sets of grandparents, and my aunt Marsha and cousin Parker. We had a table full of people, and such great food, like mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potato casserole, and turkey, of course! I love feasts. And afterward, we had pie: apple pecan, pumpkin, and pumpkin cream cheese. My good mother even sent us home with a small little feast of leftovers. And the whole entire apple pie. Sweet.

Now Christmas is coming up. I've been listening to Christmas songs since early November, and I'm not even sick of them. We bought our first Christmas tree last night, and I was overly thrilled. I think we're going to decorate it tomorrow for Family Home Evening, so pictures will be up soon.