Christmas Break 2011

We had a really fun Christmas and New Year's Eve this year! We ended up going to Salt Lake the weekend before Christmas to hang out with Richard's family and take some family pictures. Here are a few of my favorites:





Then, we stayed home in NOVA for Christmas and New Year's Eve. It was a strange feeling not being with either of our families to celebrate these holidays, but it was great to not experience the stress of traveling and to be able to spend it with such awesome friends.

Christmas Eve day, Richard and I headed out to experience our Christmas presents to each other... front row tickets to the Redskins v. Vikings game at FedEx field. It was so much fun to be so close to the field. Sadly, they lost (which will come to no surprise to those of you who follow football). But it was still SO much fun! I wouldn't want to go to an NFL game any other way.


One thing that was really fun about it was that we had a really good view of John Beck, BYU's former quarterback. I kept on loudly yelling, "Put in Beck!!" in hopes that he would turn around and smile at us. Alas, 'twas not meant to be. Also, I think everyone by me was very confused as to why I actually wanted John Beck to play (apparently, he hasn't been that great this season).



That night, we went over to Bethany & Ben's place. B and I have been friends since the very first day of our freshman year of college, so it was almost like celebrating with family. We had lots of fun with our old Alexandria ward friends eating fondue, playing charades and Trivial Pursuit and exchanging presents.



Fast forward to New Year's Eve... we first went to the Bell's house. Gina and I are in the PhD program together and have lots of fun together. It was great! And then we went to the Vigil's to bring in the new year in style (when Britni's hosting, you really wouldn't have it any other way). Check out her post here. Seriously, Britni should quit her job and be a full-time party planner!




The past few weeks have been considerably less exciting. It mostly consists of Richard going to work and then doing 4-5 hours of bar prep every weekday night (plus all day Saturday), and me getting ready for the new semester, watching The Bachelor, and slowly getting addicted to Pinterest. Hope you're having a great 2012!

My Promise

When I was a junior in college, I wrote for our college newspaper, The Daily Universe. [Side Note: the name of the newspaper is about to become a misnomer.] One day, my editor gave me an assignment for a story to write. There was an author coming to campus to host a "literary boot camp," and I was supposed to call him and interview him for the story. So I did, and I ended up talking to this guy, who was very nice. I asked him some questions about the boot camp and what not. Then I asked him the next question on my list, which was "what books have you written?" Now, if I hadn't been a complete idiot (or otherwise distracted, as I had just started dating Richard at the time), I would have looked him up on the Internet beforehand and figured out that this guy was seriously legit. But alas, I was, in fact, a complete idiot.



He answered, sounding a little bit confused: "Well, Ender's Game."

"Ender's Game..." I repeated. "Can you spell that for me?"

Silence. "E-N-D-E-R."

"Okay, thanks!"

I then continued on with the questions for my story. It's been about 5 years, so I can't remember exactly how his part of the story goes, but I think he eventually figured out that I had no clue who he (Orson Scott Card) was, and I somehow ended up promising him that I would read Ender's Game.



This Christmas, I finally made good on my promise! And I actually really, REALLY enjoyed it! So much so that I am now halfway through the sequel, Speaker for the Dead, which is equally good although written very differently.

Anyway, moral of the story is, ALWAYS, ALWAYS Google people before interviews.

Who Wore it Better?

From People! Style Watch:

Who wore it better? Emily Peterson or Malia Obama?



(From the official Obama holiday photo)



PS - I'm pretty sure we got this dress from the same store in Washington DC. The Obamas have good taste, what can I say?

A new addition...

May I (Richard blogging here) now introduce you to the newest member of our family... Constance...

I have been taking Octavia (our scooter) to the Metro on an almost daily basis for over a year, but my parents suggested it was probably time to upgrade the safety of my commute. So, now I am safely ensconced in a couple of tons of steel; I am enveloped in a cocoon of leather. Our thanks for the car and for Barry driving it out to us!

Richard's Doppelganger

Richard is famous!

From the December Ensign (p. 5):



Is it just me, or does this look just like him??

Thanksgiving Trip Nov 23-26

Chard and I had an excellent Thanksgiving in upstate New York with the Bylunds. We ate pie, ran races, saw waterfalls, ate pie, went to the temple, saw the home of "The Office," ate pie and hiked. Did I mention the pie?

We left late Wednesday to avoid holiday traffic and made it just shy of 3 am. Thursday morning we put on our running gear and headed out to the Webster Turkey Trot Four Four (it is called the four four because it is 4.4 miles long). The weather was unseasonably warm and we had a blast - minus the very muddy ending.



That night we had a amazing dinner provided by Emily B. and learned some fun new games (you can always count on Kevin and Emily to have the best games around!).



Friday, at the request of Richard, we drove up to Niagara Falls. It was fun but VERY windy!! There was constant wind at at least 50 mph, with gusts stronger than that. Richard was very excited to cross seeing the falls off his bucket list.



Saturday morning we did an early morning session at the temple, walked through the Sacred Grove with the Bylunds and then left for our meandering trip back home. On the way, we stopped at Watkins Glen, Cornell University and Scranton, PA (Steamtown Mall) - home of The Office! 'Twas very exciting.






We made it home safe and sound in JUST under 1100 miles for the trip.



Now we get to stay put for a few weeks before we head out to Utah. We will spend the next little bit finishing final papers and tests (Richard's LAST TESTS EVER!!!) of the semester before we get to relax. Happy Thanksgiving!

Dallas Trip, Oct. 28-31

Last weekend, we had the distinct pleasure of visiting the Hills in Texas. It was a great time! Best of all, I actually took pictures on this trip, as I now have an iPhone, yahoo! AND I recently (as in 10 minutes ago) learned how to create photo collages on Picasa. So, ladies and gents, for your weekend entertainment, heeeeeeeeere's Dallas!


We got in on Friday, and immediately prepared ourselves emotionally for the big game. Aaron's sister Hannah and her husband Josh were also in town from BYU cheering on the Cougs. At dinner, there was one taquito left, and we decided that whoever guessed the closest to the actual final score would win the coveted prize. These were the guesses:

Hannah: 28-24 BYU
Josh K.: 31-28 BYU
Rich: 31-21 TCU
Emily: 42-28 TCU
Jenny: 32-20 BYU
Aaron: 37-27 BYU
Kylee: 10-7 BYU
Spencer: 10-5 BYU
Joshua: 3-2 BYU (his actual guess was 2-1 BYU, but I helped him a little)

If you look up the score, you can see who won the taquito (I'll give you a hint... TCU won the game).



Saturday, we wiped our tears from the loss and headed out to a great carnival at an elementary school in Denton. Richard and I enjoyed sneaking some of the boys' Halloween treats and playing superheroes v. bad guys. (I'll try not to feel bad that I was invariably cast as a bad guy.)




After a much-needed nap and some playtime around the house, the kids suited up again for some more candy grabbin' at the church. Courtney was an adorable snuggly dalmatian, Joshua was Captain America and Spencer was Wolverine. Richard donned his best Cowboy garb, with a horse sidekick provided by the Hills. Doesn't he look dashing?




After a restful Sunday, (including dinner with Sara Zimmerman nee Zendejas and her husband), we celebrated Halloween day by carving pumpkins. I love all of the three boys' faces in these pictures. I guess the giddy joy of carving pumpkins is something that you never grow out of!



Before we left, Jenny and Aaron taught us a fun new game called Quiddler (by the makers of Set)! We love word games, so this was right up our alley. Then they gave us our very own game as a birthday present to take back to DC with us. We are excited to break it in this weekend!

Now, we are once again back in Fairfax mourning the loss of the nice weather (did I mention it SNOWED here while we were gone in OCTOBER?) and the cute antics of the Hill kids. Check ya later, Dallas!