Shredding

Ben and I have been wanting to go snowboarding for so long! The last time either of us went was about two years ago, and it was with each other, funny coincidence. Well, for Christmas, two of my brothers got day passes to Brighton! So I talked to Ben and we got our own day passes and we were able to go up with Alex and Steven for a day!

It was so much fun, I don't think Alex had been since before his mission and it had been at least four years since Steven went. It was a blast spending the day with all of them! We were all out of practice so it was perfect. We stayed away from the black diamonds and hung out at the kiddy terrain park.
I'm glad we were able to go at least once this year!

Bye Bye Bunny

We've got some catching up to do.
Remember this post?
We absolutely loved that little bunny. When we finally moved into our apartment, I begged the landlord with every bit of persuasive writing I've ever learned from English classes to let us keep Rio. Of course, the answer was simply "no."
I was heartbroken, I probably cried more than necessary. My dad continued to keep Rio at the house until I could find someone to take her.
In between renewing KSL ad's, and frequent trips to Walmart to get bunny food for a bunny I didn't even get to see on a regular basis, I made a discovery. Our little girl was, in fact, a very big boy. I don't know what was wrong with the person that sold HIM to us, but we distinctly asked for a girl, and we got the opposite. It was as if that little bunny matured over night, because as Ben put it, "He just wanted to fertilize the universe." It was such a strange day, but we still loved that little bunny! So the first thing I did was get on KSL and change all the ad's I had for a female bunny, to a male bunny and it only took a couple days before I finally got a text from someone that wanted to come see him.
Luckily I was at work when the guy came to get Rio from Ben, or else I would have lost it. Needless to say, no more pets until we can keep them for good. If we ever have kids that want pets, I'll probably go get it the minute they ask for it.

Happy Holidays

Tis the season to take down the Christmas tree and put away the eggnog. So I guess I better get to blogging.
This was Ben and I's first Mr. and Mrs. Christmas together and it was busy.
We got our first tree together at a black Friday deal at Target, and of course once we put it together the lights didn't work. We took it back, and a few weeks later I caved and bought basically the same tree for almost twice as much money. I wanted a tree!
We didn't do anything Christmas-y all month. Just too busy I guess. I'm really upset we didn't go to Temple Square.
Our festivities didn't start until Christmas Eve. My family had the good old "Bowling Movie Pizza" day that we do every year. The only bad thing was that Ben had to go into work at 3 so he was only able to come bowling. I missed him all day, it really sucked not having him there.

 On Christmas day we opened gifts at Ben's parents house with his little sister. It was fun opening present with everyone. Ben's parents were far too kind this year, they got us a brand new TV! It was such a relief getting rid of our monster in the front room.

We got so many other gifts, and Ben got freaking spoiled. I keep asking him if that was his best Christmas ever, because if it wasn't, I don't think I want to know what was. My favorite gift that I gave him was a T shirt with two of our favorite shows mixed together, I've had it for months and could not WAIT to give it to him. I also drove to Lehi the weekend before Christmas to pick up tickets. What kind of tickets you ask? Why tickets to see one of our favorite teams play the Jazz!!

 Afterward his Mom made everyone breakfast. Ben's family started a little tradition a couple years back, I'm not sure where they got it from, but here's how it goes: They have a little green pickle ornament that one of his parents hides in the tree, once it's hid the kids come and try to find the pickle in the tree, whoever finds it gets a prize! It took us SO long to find that dang pickle this year!

After breakfast we went to my parents house and had lunch with everyone and opened Christmas crackers. It's a Scottish thing we've been doing for as long as I can remember. Here is the history behind Christmas crackers if you're interested.

That night we went to a movie with Ben's family then went and played a board game at their house. It was such a long day, but it was fun seeing all the family.

Happy Burpday

I'm 21! I never thought I'd see the day!
This was the last good, big birthday. I don't know how excited I'll be to turn 30, 40, 50....etc. I wanted this one to be a really good one, and Ben made sure it was. He kept saying how he "dropped the ball" this year. He builds up my birthday too much, then he feels guilty when it doesn't meet his expectations. Poor guy. He did a wonderful job of treating me all day. I was able to get the day off from work, so we were able to spend the whole day together.

First, I had to go renew my drivers license, 5 years went by really fast. The whole time I was at the DMV I was just remembering the first time I was there, getting my license for the first time.
After, Ben took me to the mall, and we went on a bit of a shopping spree. We had dinner plans at P.F. Changs, one of my favorite restaurants, so then we headed over there. 
Ben had planned a huge get together to celebrate my birthday with almost all of my family and all of my friends that are in town. It was a wonderful surprised and I love that he put so much work into getting everyone together. Kristine helped so much too and I know both Ben and I appreciate it.

To end the festivities, on Wednesday we went to the Trans Siberian Orchestra concert up in Salt Lake. My parents got me tickets for a gift, and I loved it. They put on such great shows! This year was my least favorite of their performances, but still so entertaining.

Birthdays come but once a year, and I'm so lucky to have people surrounding me that help to make it such a special day

It puts a big smile on my face:

I want this on my wall. It's so wonderful.