Annual Christmas Newsletter

Another year come and gone! We are full of gratitude as we look back on all that we've experienced this past year. Any words highlighted in a different color will link you to a past blog post of that event, click on it to read more and see pictures.

To view our past newsletters, click here.

January: We spent an evening at the Nickle Arcade with family, had a bonfire, and joined an intramural water polo team with friends! Kayla got the opportunity to donate plasma for the first time and McKay hiked Buckley Mountain.

February: McKay printed out an 8 foot descendancy poster, which grew to over 21 feet by the end of the year.

March: We hiked the Y with some friends, participated in the Festival of Colors, and went on a hike up the Provo Canyon. Kayla started her internship at All American Gymnastics and fell in love with her job!

April: We planted our garden--it turned out to be the year of the tomato! In the middle of the month we drove up to Rexburg for a little family reunion. The weekend was full of good food and great people. Kayla even got to go shooting for the first time. Our water polo team made it to the finals, and lost by only one point. We were so close!! We finished up our winter semester finals and got to relax and start our summer!

May: After a year and a half, Kayla finally changed her name! McKay became a certified Phlebotomist and we said goodbye to McKay's parents as they began their mission in MTC.

June: We used our Pass of all Passes and spent several afternoons at Seven Peaks Water Park, played some mini-golf, and went on a date to the BYU Bean Museum (Not a museum about beans, as you might think). We drove to Oregon for Kayla's brother's graduation from high school, and while we were there we went skydiving! It was insane. We also joined some friends in the ward and created an intramural kickball team!

July: We celebrated the 4th of July and Pioneer Day with lots of fireworks and friends and went swimming at Vanessa's more times than we can count! We grouped up with the same friends and were on a softball team this time, we almost won the championship game, again.

August: We participated in our first ever yard sale and really enjoyed it, Kayla had a root canal (ick!) and we went on a fun date to Trafalga with some friends where we played at least 8 games of laser tag. Summer was almost over so we squeezed in as many hikes as we could! We hiked to Stewart Falls and Silver Lake and then took on all 16.2 miles of the Narrows in St. George. After which we thought we'd never be able to walk again. We spent a week in hot, humid Florida at Disney World and Universal Studios with Kayla's family. It was an absolute BLAST!

September: We headed into our Fall semester, both full-time students and both working part-time. We harvest and gave away so many tomatoes from our garden, went swimming and diving with friends, and built up our emergency food storage supply.  McKay joined an intramural Frisbee team and Kayla joined a flag football team.

October: We celebrated Kayla's 21st birthday, McKay surprised her with a romantic candlelit dinner. Kayla's family came into town for Conference weekend and the guys were lucky enough to go to the most unlucky BYU football game of the season. We collected 7 perfect pumpkins from our garden and carved them with some friends, then Kayla flew home to Oregon for one of her best friend's weddings. When she was back we joined a big group of friends and headed out to Hee Haw farms where Kayla won a 15 lb pumpkin for not only catching a pig, but also kissing it! McKay then took that 15 lb pumpkin and somehow carved Einstein into it, totally one-upping the carvings we'd done with friends.

November: We went hiking with friends, finished up our gardening season, dropped of Kayla's brother at the MTC, and had a lovely Thanksgiving dinner with friends and family. We celebrated McKay's birthday with cake, presents, and a surprise paintball party! McKay had an awesome time and only came out with one welt ...while Kayla had seven.

December: We strolled the German themed Christmas Market with friends, and wrapped up our school semester by cramming all our finals into three days then hopping onto a plane immediately after and heading to Brazil!

Happy Holidays to all our friends and family! May we remember the peaceful spirit of Christmas as we celebrate our families, blessings, and most importantly our Savior.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="544"] Happy Holidays![/caption]

{ Birthday Season }

I'm gonna take a moment to embarrass my husband and sit here and gush about my birthday. It was a pretty usual day: work, school, homework, etc.

That is until my husband picked me up in a dress shirt and slacks. I immediately got anxious! Where was he taking me? What in the world was he doing?? Not only did he bring me a nice dress and heels to change into, but he also made me sit in the back of the car because he wanted to be my chauffeur.

So embarrassing.

But I kinda loved it.

I spent a good 5 minutes in sheer panic mode because I thought he was taking me somewhere nice to eat. And a fancy restaurant mixed with Kayla the klutz is NOT a good combo. I breathed a sign of relief when he pulled into our driveway and I caught sight of a pretty little set up on our front lawn. He had it all--white table, Christmas lights strung up, sparkling cider, and my personal favorite: Panda Express. It was the simplest romantic dinner we've ever had together and I absolutely loved it. I do regret not taking more pictures though! I was so flustered and caught off guard that it didn't even cross my mind.

He spoils me :)









But, it's ok that he spoils me because I totally spoil him too!

For McKay's birthday I planned a surprise paintball trip. And it was AWESOME. 11 people we able to come and we had a blast shooting each other. Few people know of McKay's "curious" side. And by "curious" side I really mean "super annoying why do you do that" side. (love you, hot stuff) It's the side where if you drop a hint about anything ever and he doesn't understand he will pry and research and do anything it takes to figure out what you eluded to. Which makes surprising him incredibly difficult. Well, I'm happy to say that I managed to catch him totally off guard! Coordinating a surprise party that isn't happening at your house sure is hard, I'll tell you that. People started showing up and he was getting so giddy and excited, it was so funny!





After the paintball we celebrated with some brigadeiro cake!



For the days leading up to McKay's birthday I did "12 days of birthdays" where I gave him a little gift each day. Some days it was a piece of candy or food, and on others a little note. It was fun! Really, McKay totally loves surprises and presents, his reaction whenever I surprise him with something is totally priceless, which is why I LOVE to surprise him all the time!





[caption id="attachment_699" align="aligncenter" width="224"] I gave him the game Chronology, he LOVES that game[/caption]

I gave him a 3D puzzle, and he had so much fun putting it together, looks like it's something I'll be getting him every year!





 

Hooray for birthday season!

 

{ Update }

This school semester has definitely been the busiest one yet. Now that I'm working at All American and not on campus anymore, we've had to figure out how to share the car with all the back and forth driving we do which makes for a rushed schedule most days.

McKay and I are both full time students right now, and everyday we leave the house around 7:45 and don't get back home until dark, around 6:30. And on Tuesdays and Thursdays I don't get home until 9. It's alright some days, but rough on other days. The weekend is really the only time we get to actually cook meals, clean, and see friends. But hey, such is the life of a college student. Which, by the way, we both only have ONE semester left. Just one. We graduate in April 2015, and I you have no idea how excited I am. Not only are we full time students, but we're both working at least part time. Right now I'm working nearly 30 hours a week at All American, and I would work 30 more if I could, I just LOVE it! I got the opportunity to go around to local elementary schools and help teach a 4-week introductory program to gymnastics for the kids there. It really is so much fun!

Here's what's been happening lately:
We went to my Uncle's cabin for Conference



I went home to Oregon to be a part of the most flawless wedding ever in the history of weddings



And got to spent lots of time with my fantastic parents while there, too!



We went to Hee Haw farms and I not only caught a pig, but also kissed it







McKay somehow carved this masterpiece



We hiked up Rock Canyon with some friends







We're pretty sure the neighbor's "outside" cat really wants to be an inside cat, because she's always visiting us (for hours at a time). And the colder it gets outside the more often she ends up staying in our apartment overnight.



Also, McKay is definitely her favorite human



And we said goodbye to our lovely garden.

Life sure is busy, but it sure is great.