Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

I guessed it would start snowing on December 4th and Casey guessed the 5th. While Casey was in San Diego enjoying better weather and the game (Dec. 1st), I got to enjoy the storm that rolled through and brought the first snow of winter, so we were both wrong on the date : ) A lot of it melted after, so it wasn't too bad, but then it snowed again today : ( I'm just glad the ugly brown mountains are covered up. The last two pictures are the gutter next to my work. The water had frozen in them and created the neat looking texture/patterns.

BYU v. Utah

What a game! What a game! Definately one of the most exciting games this season, especially the last few minutes. I'll admit, we were a little nervous at 4th and18, but Max Hall and Austin Collie pulled it off for their Cougars. Then Harvey Unga just put the icing on the cake as he bowled through a few Utah players for the final touchdown. We ended up winning 17-10. I just love college football and will definately miss the excitment of home games once we're gone.

Jonas, Me, Casey, and my Dad. We were so glad they could come and enjoy such a great game with us.

Max Hall doing his thing The scoreboard after it was all over.

The fans rushing the field.
Casey after he rushed the field. It was pretty much his dream day : ) He even touched the MWC championship trophy.

Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving because we did. We spent it with my parents, brothers, and Casey's cousin from Pennsylvania, and had a grand 'ole time. It was nice to just relax and sleep in. We also played games and my mom and I made my Christmas cards. We left late Friday night after watching the BYU v. Louisville basketball game, and to make sure that we made it back with plenty of time before the BYU v. Utah football game. Thanks to my parents for a wonderful Thanksgiving break filled with fun and food.

Some of my mom's decorations. She always does a great job!

The table all set for Thanksgiving. Doesn't it look beautiful? My mom got out the china and everything.My Mom and Dad checking the turkey. The got the recipe from Food Network and it was delicious!

The food...

...and fun! This is a back machine my dad got forever ago. It sure is fun to play on.
Casey's cousin Malcolm. He just started his freshman year at BYU and we love having him here. He is so sweet and takes Casey and I out to lunch with his dining plus when he has extra money, which is pretty much every week : )
Darts. My sister got this dart board for my dad and it is so much fun!

My Mom and I making cards. They turned out great! Thanks mom!

Intramural Football

Another season of intramural football has come and gone. Casey says it is his last, but when you're a coach with an 18-3 record, I think you should give it one more try : ) They had a really good team this semester and the last few games were really exciting. Unfortunately they lost in the semi-finals, but it was good while it lasted. I just love watching him play sports. Cheering him on is one of my favorite things to do.

The Team. Top from Left: Nate, Kevin, Richard, Spencer, and Evan.

Bottom from Left: Morgan and Casey

Casey snapping the ball.

Morgan running with the ball. He was one of the fastest players on the team.Casey's second biggest fan. She absolutely adores him and even says his name.
Casey's eye. He probably wishes he could say he got it in a fight, but he actually ran into Richard as they were both rushing the quarterback.
A few days later and the black and blue comes out. I felt so bad for him.

Tagged!

I was tagged forever ago by my friend Jenna Sellers and then recently by Ashley, so I figured that I had better get going on this. The rules are you write 6 things about yourself that not everyone knows and then ask 6 other people to do the same. So here it goes...

1. I LOVE FOOD! This includes cooking it, eating it, watching it, reading about it, etc. You name it and I probably do it. Food network is my favorite channel. Whenever sports or whatever else Casey is watching isn't on, I choose to watch food network. I think chef's are amazing and I get a lot of good ideas from the shows. I'll also read cookbooks and look at menus online just for fun. I especially like planning what I would get if I went to a particular restaurant. Then there is the fact that I love to cook and am constantly finding new recipes online to make. Casey obviously benefits from this obsession : ) I am a fan of themed meals too. I like everything to fit together. Birthday parties and holidays are going to be so much fun at our house.

2. I have some weird eating habits. For example, I like to eat my snack foods in even numbers. I do this with cookies, candy, chips, pretzels, and pretty much anything small that is snacked on. I also prefer whole chips to broken ones and will pick out whole chips from the bag that are about the same size. I also match up my french fries by size and in even numbers. Sometimes I will eat my cereal in even numbers if it's applicable and always say "It's going to be a good day" if there is an even number. And if you weren't weirded out already, I like to eat colored cereals in rainbow order. This usually applies to Trix, Fruit Loops, and Lucky Charms. With Lucky Charms I'll also count the marshmallows as I'm eating them to see which shape won. So Technically, I like to play with my food. *I would like to note that I don't have to do this, but I usually do and if I have an odd number, I usually make Casey eat the last one : )

3. I love trivia! I pick up random facts all the time and commit them to memory because you never know when I might need them. This makes Scene it!, ESPN Scene it!, Trivial Pursuit, and the music game some of my favorite games to play. I also like to watch trivia games like Jeopardy, Who Wants to Be A Millionaire, Wheel of Fortune (kind of the same category), and stuff like that on TV. I often do crossword puzzles to sharpen my skills too. Casey has become hesitant to teach me sports facts because I'm getting better and better at ESPN Scene it!

4. I'm a lot bit competitive. I don't like losing. Casey sometimes uses this to his advantage to frustrate me when we are on opposite teams. He'll tease and antagonize me so that I do worse. Also, Showing no mercy is a by-product of my competitive nature. My family has banned me from playing Monopoly because I won like 6 times in a row and wanted everyone to play until I had every dollar. As I've gotten older, I've gotten better at controlling my competetive spirit, but please don't get offended if I give you the evil eye while playing a round of Uno : ) (Just kidding, I would never do that during Uno)

5. I am a huge fan of water. I think it is absolutely beautiful. Casey's mom always gets everyone a calendar for Christmas and I always ask for one with something to do with water. Lakes, oceans, rivers, waterfalls, etc. I love to swim and can do it for hours. Colder water doesn't really get to me either, so when everyone else heads for the hot tub, I'm usually still swimming. My favorite family vacations were when we used to go to Lake Havasu because it was so hot that you had to stay in the water all day. I specifically requested that we move somewhere that had warmer water nearby because I'm a fish. I just need it.

6. I'm a gamer. I like to play and watch video games. I'm not good at all of them, but I do like to play. My favorites are animated/cartoony games. I owned 4 X-box games (Mad Dash, Harry Potter (which I got for my 18th birthday), Halo, and Fusion Frenzy (the best game ever!)) and a controller before we even owned an X-box. A couple years ago, Casey got me Dance, Dance Revolution and 2 mats for Christmas and I love it. I also like one arcade game in particular: Police Academy. Casey got lucky here because when he wants to play Halo until 4 in the morning with his friends, I'm okay with it because I like watching them. I also used to "borrow" my brother's game boy and play Pokemon, and I beat his Scooby Doo game on Christmas Day before he did.

I think I've written enough secrets about myself for now, although there are plenty more since I'm a woman of mystery. My co-workers say that I come off quiet and sweet, but they know the real me, and now I've given you a glimpse of me too : ) I now tag Janelle, Jocelyn, Jaleen, Joanna, Kerstin, and Fran.

Spoooooky Halloween Dinner

For Halloween I wanted to make a special dinner, but it had to be quick because I get off at 5pm and Casey had an intramural game at 9pm, but the team meets an hour early to practice (they won by they way). This is what I came up with. Did I mention I love Halloween? : )

Bloody Enchiladas with Eyeballs

Beating Heart Salad (my least favorite, but it was all I could think of)
Spider Web and Eyeball cookies

Carving Punkins

Better late than never is my motto, so here are Halloween pictures. I love Halloween! For FHE the Monday before Halloween we carved pumpkins because it's fun and I needed a pumpkin for our work Halloween party. I took 3 times as long as Casey, but art takes time : ) It was fun and we were happy with our finished products.

Casey hard at work. I thought he was cute with his tongue out and everthing.

Taking out the gooey seedsThe back/side of my pumpkin. It took a lot of work, but it was worth it.
Our finished pumpkinsUs with our pumpkins. Notice the strategically placed BYU blanket next to Casey's pumpkin : )

BYU v. UNLV

The second away game we went to was the game against UNLV. We went down with our friends Spencer and Carly on Saturday morning, went to the ESPN Zone, had lunch at Casey's Uncle Mont's house, went to the game (which we of course won), In-N-Out, drove to Mesquite, stayed there Saturday night, then drove home on Sunday. It was a quick trip, but we had a lot of fun and it was definately worth is to see BYU beat UNLV.

Casey dominated the football game and got 94 points

Carly and Spencer playing ice hockey Carly and me playing the shooting game. Carly won :( Casey rowing down the river. I just thought he looked so cute in this picture.

Chris Weston came up for the game and Jay was working in Las Vegas, so we met up with them at Casey's uncle's and later that night. I'll explain Casey's black eye later.The four of us cheering on our cougars.

Homecoming Weekend - Timpanogos Caves

Casey's mom always comes to visit for Homecoming weekend. It's always a good time when she comes. My favorite part is Homecoming Spectacular, which we went to on Friday night. It was fantastic this year! Even Casey was entertained and has a new found respect for the BYU Ballroom Dancers. My favorite was when they danced to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir humming "If I Could Hie to Kolob." It was beautiful. On Saturday, we woke up early to hike to the Timpanogos Caves. Casey's mom and I had heard about them, but never been, so we figured this was a good time. It was a beautful morning and we had a nice (slightly tiring) hike to the top. Then we hurried home to get ready for the Homecoming game against Air Force, which we won. Homecoming weekend has become sort of a tradition and it's one that I hope lasts.

A view of Alpine from the mountain

I was standing in the striped area. The funny part was that it was only a 3 foot long stripe. Casey's mom had a hard time with the hike. She had just had her appendix out 4 weeks earlier. I had a cold and wasn't feeling my best either, so we were glad to get to the top.The heart of the cave

Popcorn rock

Caramel topping rocks
Tight squeeze

We saw these steps on the way down and thought they were pretty
At the top of the world These ledges had sharp rocks sticking out. I guess they didn't want anyone lingering.
Casey's mom was always ready with her camera.