Merry Merry Merry Christmas!

 OUR FIRST CHRISTMAS MARRIED!
Holidays in Texas!

Oh Christmas is a beautiful time! 

We have moved out of our little apartment in Rexburg, Idaho and we're headed home to Texas to visit, my family first for Christmas, then off to Chris' family for New Years.

We love the Holidays so much! Christmas is my favorite time of year! The air is chill and crisp, fires roar, hot chocolate steamy, lights strung up and blinky, the trees green and tall, presents and love for all!

Of course the real reason to celebrate . . .

The most important thing of all is how during this time of year we celebrate 

the Birth of The Savior of the World, Christ the Lord. 

Baby Jesus born, the humblest birth, in a manger with no crib for his head.

I love this picture illustrated by Simon Dewey. We couldn't quite afford a nativity this year so we bought these pictures and put them in frames. Perfect!

We spent one week in Round Rock with my Mom, Dad, and my sister Melissa. Of course we kept most of our Christmas traditions, played plenty of late night games, and ate too much good food!

Even though we moved out of our apartment just before Christmas we did decorate a little and we bought our very first little Christmas Tree! Our theme was Red and Gold!

This is our first little Christmas Tree! So cute it is just 3 feet tall!

 Of course with my family we had to make Ginger Bread Houses!

We had so many kits to make houses! My mom and I sat the longest working on multiple houses but everyone pitched in and made at least one house each!

This is Chris' unfinished home, poor gingerbread little ones don't have a door!

Candy, candy, and more candies!

This was the gingerbread home I made! With two little happy guys to live there!

The one on the left with the frowny looking face is my Mom's (it is my favorite) and the middle is mine and the one on the right my Mom started.

It was funny to see that my Mom also picked to do a red and gold Christmas theme. I love how full my parent's tree is! It just look beautiful!

Look at all those gifts! We had so much fun and we were making bets on who would have the most presents. We all thought it was Chris so we would sing "Oh Chris' Tree Oh Chris' Tree! . . ."

Chris looks so cute by the Christmas tree with a guitar! He tuned it and played a few songs! He is too darling!

My Mom's Gorgeous Nativity!

CHRISTMAS EVE!

Each year for as long as I can remember on Christmas Eve my family would gather together in our cozy living room and open our Scriptures and read the Nativity Story in the Epistle of St. Luke.
This year we read those scriptures and we read the scriptures about what was happening in the Amercia's during the time of Christ's birth, found in The Book of Mormon, 3rd Nephi.

We also watch a movie called The Nativity. It does an excellent job portraying the events as they happened, though it isn't perfect it is still really good! Our favorite!

I took this picture of our glowing living room on Christmas Eve. Beautiful!

This is our living room on Christmas morning after opening gifts! Awesome!

NAUGHTY or NICE?

Finally Christmas morning came and Santa decided everyone in this home was on the NICE list!

My parents were so very kind to Chris and I, we got everything we ever needed and wanted! They have taken such good care of us and we have been very blessed.

To: Mommy, Love: Ariel (too bad I forgot to sign my name on the tag!)

Miss Meliss, my sister, did some beautiful wrapping this year! J for Jocelyn (my Mom). Melissa wrapped all her gifts in this cute polka-dot and put letters on them! Adorable!

Here is Melissa right after we all finished opening gifts, look at the dogs! Haha cute doggies Cody and Pepper! They hung out with us all morning.

We had so much fun visiting my Mom, Dad and Sister.
Christmas was wonderful, my Mom made an amazing Christmas dinner and I love all her home cooking!
Chris had a blast with my Dad playing games and flying Helicopters! We wish we could have stayed longer!

Thank you Mom and Dad for everything!!! We love you!



Santa came again . . .

Wednesday after Christmas we packed up a car and drove to Houston.
We were excited to visit Chris' Parents and his sister Chantel.

This is the lovely tree Shauna (Chris' Mom) decorated. Under it are some of the gifts we brought for Chris' family from us and some from my parents, also the gifts Chris' family gave to us.

Chris' family was so considerate and kind to give us gifts as well! We had so much fun visiting and exchanging presents. We appreciate everything they got for us!

Christmas was so wonderful this year!!! We are so blessed, God has been gracious. Thank you everyone!

Gobble Gobble!

It is Turkey Day! Happy Thanksgiving!

This is Little Bear, he is super adorable!

This is the first year Chris and I did our very own Thanksgiving Dinner!

It was only Chris, Me and Melissa. We had an amazing Turkey that Chris injected with Cajun butter seasoning and marinated over night, then sealed in a moisture bag and baked for a few hours. It was perfect, super moist, excellent flavor, juicy deliciousness! He was my Turkey Man! I did all the sides and Melissa helped as well. Melissa's only request was to have stuffing. And everyone loves a good stuffing, so we made a cornbread stuffing, it was great! Also we had the traditional stuff . . . cranberry sauce, green beans, cream corn, hawaiian rolls, mashed potatoes (that I did make myself and they tasted amazing!) Also Chris' family has a tradition of having sparkling cider and juices for thanksgiving, so we kept that tradition for him and had sparkling cranberry-peach juice, and sparkling white-grape juice. It was all very yummy! And of course to top it all off we had the two pies I made. Pumpkin delicious Pie and Chocolate Chocolate Satin Pie!

DELICIOUS! GOBBLE TIL YA WOBBLE!

Chris was such a sweetheart! He surprised Me and Melissa and gave us these darling Little Bear's on Thanksgiving morning. I love Chris so much! He is so thoughtful!

We love our bears!!!

Miss being sick and rubbing it into my blankets!

Melissa had a cold almost the entire time she was in town with us and Thanksgiving Day she was feeling especially ill. She got me sick! I was sick all through finals week at school! But I was just fine on Thanksgiving! We all still enjoyed our Thanksgiving FEAST!

Thank you Chris, sweetheart for all you do for me! I love you!

Thanksgiving is a special time to remember all the things we are so grateful for.
And we really do have a lot to be thankful for!!

We are so very blessed with excellent health and great education. Wonderful families that we enjoy being with, who love us and take care of us when ever we need them and always! We have many talents that have enhanced our lives and not to mention the amazing technology of this modern time and all the small things that make our everyday lives easier. We always have food on the table and a warm comfortable place to live. We have great friends who are always there for us and are so much fun. I feel so blessed to have such an amazing husband who loves and supports me, our little family, and takes care of us. I feel so blessed to have such amazing parents who have taught me how to be a good and decent person, who have given me all the necessities of life and loved and cared for me through everything. I am grateful for their patience and support.

Thank you Heavenly Father for all that we have been blessed with!

Miss Melissa is here!

 Thanksgiving Break! Finally a BREAK!

Cheese! I am pretty sure we were sitting in with Chris during class.

My little sister Melissa flew to Idaho to visit Chris and I for Thanksgiving this year!
She flew in Sunday the 20th and stayed until after Thanksgiving, Saturday the 26th.

SUNDAY . . .
Miss arrived late, after spending all day flying then six hours on a bus from Salt Lake to Rexburg. Poor thing was so tired, but we went to John and Casey's (our brother and his wife's) apartment and played games and ate dinner and visited since they were leaving out of town on Tuesday. Joe and Michelle (our other brother and his wife) were there as well and also leaving out of town with them on Tuesday. We had fun then came home and tried to crash, but Miss and I stayed up late talking, like girls do!

MONDAY . . .
Early in the day Melissa and I went on a tour of campus (BYU-I) and they gave us free t-shirts! Then Miss came to a few classes with me and Chris. We ate breakfast and lunch in the cafeteria and instantly Melissa became absolutely obsessed with Cross Roads (as we call the cafe).

Later in the evening, we had Family Home Evening as usual, but this time we had Missy and my brothers and their wives, who are also all students at BYU-I. We all met up, and went out to play laser tag! Joe and John (my brothers) invited some of their friends with us, because with laser tag the more the merrier!

Miss on a racing horse at The Craze, just before laser tag!

Here is the whole crew at a place called The Craze, where we met for laser tag!

GAME ON! Can you tell what the teams were? BOYS vs. GIRLS!

After five, 15 minute, games of laser tag (where the girls whooped the boys!) we all headed to a place called Kiwi Loco. It is an amazing frozen yogurt bar everyone loved!

Miss and I right after getting our frozen yogurt! Those yellow balls on my spoon are these incredible things called Popping Boabba. They burst in your mouth with tangy fruity amazingness! It feels strange but so cool!

On TUESDAY . . .
We got some snow, and Miss loved it!!!

Obviously the snow fell in my eyes right at the perfect moment to create this very unflattering photo of me!

Missy at the BYU-I Bookstore with a giant Nutcracker! I really want one!

Miss and I went shopping around town and at the BYU-I Bookstore. Shopping, what girls do best! We came across these darling darling black bears in Porters (a craft dream store!)

I want one sooo bad! They had a whole family! A Papa Bear size, a Mama Bear a little smaller, and a Baby Bear little one!

WEDNESDAY . . .
Chris and Miss went shooting! I stayed home and baked pies for Thanksgiving (Thursday). I made one Chocolate Satin Pie and one Pumpkin Pie! My two favorites ever! Chris really likes Pumpkin Pie as well.

Chris loading up the guns. They took a hand gun and a rifle.

Wow he is a cute driver! Driving out to the middle of no where! (Which is everywhere in Idaho!)

Miss with the hand gun! Shooting boxes and all kinds of random things.

 

Chris is a pretty darn good shot, and I guess Chris tells me Miss is pretty good too.

Aim, Steady, FIRE!!!

Speaking of Fire . . .
Wednesday evening was quite crazy. Melissa, Chris, and I were watching the movie Super 8 (which was really good and really unexpected) and it had barely ended when all of a sudden every alarm in our apartment went off! BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP and STROBES FLASHING! We all panicked and threw on some baggy warm clothes because it is freezing outside. Miss grabbed her Teddy bear, I grabbed my stuffed puppy, and Chris grabbed the keys and we checked the whole apartment and we were just fine. So we decided to go outside because the alarm was outrageous and then we saw that the whole entire apartment complex was flashing and beeping! Crazy! We wandered around to see what was up and the fire-department, police, and ambulances had arrived.

But the GOOD NEWS is that NO ONE'S APARTMENT WAS BURNING DOWN, IT WAS JUST A FALSE ALARM, just someone burnt a little food. And then Melissa asked the firefighters to take a picture with us.

Miss and I in our baggy warm clothes with the firefighters who came to check out the false alarm.

THURSDAY - THANKSGIVING DAY!!!

Chris and I made our own dinner and celebrated just the three of us!
Chris was very thoughtful and gave me and Miss a cute Ty beanie baby bear in honor of Thanksgiving. Chris made an amazing turkey plus we had all the fixings and two pies so we all ate to our hearts content and laid around and played games the rest of the night until midnight . . .

FRIDAY - (Black Friday)
At midnight sharp the three of us piled into our truck and headed out to Idaho Falls to start Black Friday shopping! However, the stores were crazy crazy so we just walked around a few places and headed back home. Finally we all went to bed and slept in. Then the rest of the day we laid around and watched movies (mainly chick-flicks for Miss and I), visited and played games.

SATURDAY
Melissa had to leave early on Saturday morning, so we got up super early and drove her to Idaho Falls where she was to fly out and we said our goodbyes. We had a ton of fun and it was great to show her around Rexburg and campus. We wish she could have stayed longer!

We love you Miss Meliss!

Fall is for . . .

Fall is for Festivities, Halloween, pumpkins, leaves, hayrides, horses, hot cider, hot cocoa, pies, scarves, gloves, apple picking, sweet treats, games and fun!

This is a picture I took of a tree outside of our apartment! The fall colors are so beautiful!

  Today Chris was a darling (like always) and took me out to join in our small town's Halloween/Fall festivities. We decided to take a stroll down the street and found so many wonderful exciting things! 

There was a huge carved pumpkin contest with probably 50-60 really cool pumpkins. The prize was a new IPAD 2. 

Chris and I went to look at all of them as they lined the street. 

These were out favorites.

Chris and I LOVE this movie! This looks amazing!

I think my Mom would like this one. It is so cute and creative!

This is so clever!

This is for my Dad! Haha Apple!

Awesome! Van Gogh!

There were free Hay Rides pulled by huge gorgeous black Clydesdale Horses! I LOVE HORSES!!!!

SO of course Chris and I went on one of the Hay Rides!!!!

 I just love these animals! I want to take them home! BEAUTIFUL BEAUTIFUL BEAUTIFUL!!!!

Stunning muscular and perfect creatures!

Yes we did that! And I loved every second of it!!! So fun! I just love these type of things!

These are our little feeties as we were on the hay ride. We hung our feet off the edge!

 After our Hay Ride we headed indoors and found a cute Trick or Treat station set up for anyone to help themselves to Hot Cider and homemade goodies!

The treats really were good! All kinds of pumpkin cookies, spice cake donut holes, peanut butter and chocolate squares, and some other yummies!

Hot Cider! MMmmm!

 All over this little strip of town they had little "spooky" Halloween set ups!

This is so cute, it must have taken some time!

There were so many cute and creative set ups. It was just so much fun ot walk around with my love in the fresh fall air and feel the Halloween festivities come to life!

Life is GOOD! We are living it!