Recent Happenings

For Valentine's Day Noah and I decided to stay in and make heart shaped pizza and sugar cookies. There aren't any pictures of the cookies because we ate them that quickly.

Noah insisted on cutting it zig-zag. Notice our initials? We ate each other's hearts.


The following day I took my activity day girls with another ward to the Crandall Print Museum. SO COOL! They are the cutest old men who love what they do.
I highly recommend their tour. It's a long one, but a good one!

We printed the bible!

On another note, can anyone believe that the school year is almost over?
My second year has gone by faster than the first!

A new year for a new me.

So here's an update:

We ran 10 miles. 10 miles hurts--especially up and down hills. This week we're running 12. Holy cow, when did I ever think I would be able to run 12 miles?!?

This year I resolve to:

Run a marathon.
Read the entire Bible.
Focus on the positive things that happen each day.
Learn more about financial investing so we don't live as broke artists and teachers for the rest of our lives.

One more thing I resolve to do that I will keep my little secret, but something that I was reading today really gave me the encouragement I need to press on. This is from an article called "Recognizing God's Hand in Our Daily Blessings," by D. Todd Christofferson he is speaking of a financial problem that his family struggled with, but I feel can be applied to many different struggles in life:

"There were times when I had exhausted all my resources, when I had nowhere and no one to turn to for help to meet the exigency before me. With no other recourse, more than once I fell down before my Heavenly Father, begging in tears for His help. And He did help. Sometimes it was nothing more than a sense of peace, a feeling of assurance that things would work out. I might not see how or what the path would be, but He gave me to know that, directly or indirectly, He would open a way...

Though I suffered then, I am grateful now that there was not a quick solution to my problem. The fact that I was forced to turn to God for help almost daily over an extended period of years taught me how to truly pray and get answers to prayer and taught me in a practical way to have faith in God. I came to know my Savior and my Heavenly Father in a way and to a degree that might not have happened otherwise or that might have taken me much longer."

I know that I will learn a lesson from this and I know that if I continue to pray and trust in God that he will bless me and help me to accomplish ALL my goals.

We did it!

After a week of celebrating, we made it back home just in time for the REI sale. Noah took off early this morning in search of more things to curb his appetite for camping, hiking, etc.

We had a FANTASTIC Christmas in Chicago where we ate delicious foods, watched copious amounts of movies, and enjoyed time with the fam.

Surprisingly nothing strange happened to us, except perhaps the very drunk individuals on the plane who discussed: relationships, alcohol, and the woes of not being able to get drunk enough on a tight budget in Utah. They progressively talked about these same things in a louder tone of voice throughout the plane ride.

And the only picture from the entire trip is Noah riding Sandy at the grocery store,

2 1/2 Years of Marriage

...and one beautiful, REAL Christmas tree!

Dear Nicole,

I would say that Friday was the sixth time someone told me I looked like you. At my weekly Friday meeting the fifth grade teachers at my school decided I am your love child and are unsure whether I'm really born of my goodly parents.

We should hang out and be twinners.

Love,

Becky

P.S. Apparently I have Tom's smile.

Thanks for a Thankful Day

For Thanksgiving I was in charge of:

Sweet Potatoes
Green Bean Casserole
Pies



(My pies were dang good.)
Punch
Centerpiece


Overall it was fun to be with friends and to have a low key Thanksgiving. :)






Noah learned how to carve a turkey from YouTube and wore such a cute little apron:


A big thanks to Martha Stewart for the place settings:


After Thanksgiving we...you guessed it--went hiking! Unfortunately for our bodies, it was a complete sheet of ice.


Highlight of the trip:
Sitting in the hot springs

Low point of the trip:
I slid over a rock and it went right up my bum. I lay crying on the trail in the ice for awhile. We realized that on every hiking trip I end up crying halfway through.

Overall, I'm thankful no bones were broken post feasting.

Race You!

"Noah, let's race to see who can get to bed fastest."

I won because Noah cheated. Cheaters never win Noah.