Jingle Bells, California, and Ringing in the New Year!

I'm pretty sure I'm the worst blogger of all time because I haven't even written about our Christmas adventures yet! But have no fear, because you all will get to read about the beautiful, magical, and sunny Christmas break BK and I were able to have this past year.

BK and I had the most wonderful Christmas Break in the world.  Not only were we able to go to Santa Barbara, but we were also able to go to San Francisco as well!  We did so much, it's hard to summarize it all.

Before Christmas break though, I had to survive finals week.  Believe me, it was not an easy task.  I worked my hardest, and {including the grades I got on my finals} I was able to end the semester with 5 A's and 1 B.  I was so happy, I cried.  It was a great way to end the semester and begin my 2.5 week long break.  This break was the first break I was finally able to not worry about absolutely anything! The first break I spent putting finishing details on my wedding, and my second break I spent studying for school.  This break was spent with my Sweetheart and my family traveling, celebrating Christmas, and starting the new year.  It was so perfect, I wish I could go back.  Here's a {very summarized} play-by-play of our fantastic vacation in California!

Saturday, December 21: Unfortunately, driving to Santa Barbara really isn't super fun. BUT, I'm so glad I got to spend an entire day with my love and he is the best driver. Road trips together are never boring.  Since we had to travel this day, we weren't able to make it to a wedding on Kurt's side of the family :( But CONGRATS to Spencer & Megan on being the

newest Mr. & Mrs. Witt!

Tuesday, December 24: Christmas Eve is my favorite! I love the excitement of Christmas, and I ESPECIALLY love Christmas Eve dinner when it's prime rib :) Anyways, I was able to see my dearest friend from high school, Flo! I love this girl to death and she's doing so many amazing things with her life.  I am so grateful that I made such a good friend in high school who was always supportive of the choice I made to stay away from negative influences. I am so blessed!

Wednesday, December 25: IT'S CHRISTMAS! We opened our gifts, packed our suitcases and headed for San Francisco! We stopped in Morro Bay {to see the giant rock; Kurt had never been}, San Simeon {to see the elephant seals on the beach} and then on to San Francisco.  We had dinner at the Boudin Sourdough Bakery & Cafe, where they have a swanky upstairs restaurant.  That is where we had Christmas dinner, and I wouldn't have had it any other way.  Now that we were in SF, I could get my seafood fix.  Kurt's a hater when it comes to all things seafood, so I had to get my fix. My shrimp pizza with sourdough crust was the perfect way to start my seafood-filled weekend. We then HAD to go to Ghirardelli Square and get sundaes.  They were to die for!

Thursday, December 26: We all walked around Pier 39 that morning and looked in all the tourist shops.  Is so fun seeing all the funny things they have.  We did this to kill time before our audio tour of Alcatraz.  It was SO COOL! I had already done it before {SF trip in high school for a singing competition}, but it was Kurt's first time in SF so I had a blast doing things with him.  We both found Alcatraz to be absolutely incredible.  We then went to Fog Harbor Fish House where I was {again} able to fulfill my seafood cravings with Ahi tuna. I LOVE seafood and all things fish, so I was in heaven.  I'm sure Kurt loved all the hamburgers and steaks he said in SF during prime Crab season :)  After dinner, we went to the Exploratorium.  That place is LEGIT.  It is full of all of these interactive sciency things. As much as I wanted to use as little brain power as possible during Christmas break, it was fun learning new things.

Friday, December 27: Today was a very momentous day because Kurt went on his first trolly ride! He was the happiest person in San Fran that morning :) We walked throughout China Town, then walked all the way to Lombard St., WALKED UP LOMBARD ST., and then walked to Ghirardelli Square {yes, we had to go again} to reward ourselves for all that darn walking we did! I'll be honest, I wasn't the hugest fan of having to walk up Lombard St.  But now I can say I walked up "the crookedest street in the world".  Even after Ghirardelli Square, we were starving. So we went to Carmel's Pizza. If you ever go to SF, you HAVE to go there. The pizza was incredible!

Saturday, December 28: Our last day in SF :( It was so sad leaving.  I think SF stole our hearts a little because it's such a dreamy place to be.  We had breakfast at Hollywood Cafe, where I literally got the largest omlet and mightiest hashbrowns I had ever seen. I couldn't even it half of it.  To burn off our breakfast, we went and walked across the Golden Gate Bridge.  I love the Golden Gate Bridge, and it was fun being their for Kurt's first time seeing it.  It was sad having to drive home, but I think we were all ready to be back in our own beds.

The rest of the break was so relaxing.  We went and walked on the beach, spent time with friends and family, and prepped for the long drive back to Utah before school and work started up again.  We celebrated the New Year with our friends, Jesse & Edith, and many other people.  Every time we go to SB we are reminded of how much we miss people there and how we can't wait to go back and visit soon!

So far, 2014 has treated our little family very well! We've been able to find more time to spend together, more needs and wants of ours are met every single day, and I'm back at school.  It's really hard to look at school as a blessing sometimes, especially when I spend 45 hours a week focused on it and it pretty much takes over my entire life, BUT I am glad I am back at school because everyday I get closer and closer to graduating.  MARK YOUR CALENDARS! I will graduate in August 2014 and I am SO EXCITED to say that I graduate THIS YEAR!  More and more blessing keep being poured upon Kurt and I.  We cannot believe how wonderfully 2014 has started off, and we can't wait to go on more adventures together this year!

There was a drinking fountain that was in a toilet at the Exploratorium.  It was right next to a regular drinking fountain, and this display talked about perception and how it's less likely to drink from the "toilet" just because of the way it looked. Kurt had no fear!

We got really into it and bought matching shirts for us to wear on the last day :)

Jingle Bells, California, and Ringing in the New Year!

I'm pretty sure I'm the worst blogger of all time because I haven't even written about our Christmas adventures yet! But have no fear, because you all will get to read about the beautiful, magical, and sunny Christmas break BK and I were able to have this past year.

BK and I had the most wonderful Christmas Break in the world.  Not only were we able to go to Santa Barbara, but we were also able to go to San Francisco as well!  We did so much, it's hard to summarize it all.

Before Christmas break though, I had to survive finals week.  Believe me, it was not an easy task.  I worked my hardest, and {including the grades I got on my finals} I was able to end the semester with 5 A's and 1 B.  I was so happy, I cried.  It was a great way to end the semester and begin my 2.5 week long break.  This break was the first break I was finally able to not worry about absolutely anything! The first break I spent putting finishing details on my wedding, and my second break I spent studying for school.  This break was spent with my Sweetheart and my family traveling, celebrating Christmas, and starting the new year.  It was so perfect, I wish I could go back.  Here's a {very summarized} play-by-play of our fantastic vacation in California!

Saturday, December 21: Unfortunately, driving to Santa Barbara really isn't super fun. BUT, I'm so glad I got to spend an entire day with my love and he is the best driver. Road trips together are never boring.  Since we had to travel this day, we weren't able to make it to a wedding on Kurt's side of the family :( But CONGRATS to Spencer & Megan on being the

newest Mr. & Mrs. Witt!

Tuesday, December 24: Christmas Eve is my favorite! I love the excitement of Christmas, and I ESPECIALLY love Christmas Eve dinner when it's prime rib :) Anyways, I was able to see my dearest friend from high school, Flo! I love this girl to death and she's doing so many amazing things with her life.  I am so grateful that I made such a good friend in high school who was always supportive of the choice I made to stay away from negative influences. I am so blessed!

Wednesday, December 25: IT'S CHRISTMAS! We opened our gifts, packed our suitcases and headed for San Francisco! We stopped in Morro Bay {to see the giant rock; Kurt had never been}, San Simeon {to see the elephant seals on the beach} and then on to San Francisco.  We had dinner at the Boudin Sourdough Bakery & Cafe, where they have a swanky upstairs restaurant.  That is where we had Christmas dinner, and I wouldn't have had it any other way.  Now that we were in SF, I could get my seafood fix.  Kurt's a hater when it comes to all things seafood, so I had to get my fix. My shrimp pizza with sourdough crust was the perfect way to start my seafood-filled weekend. We then HAD to go to Ghirardelli Square and get sundaes.  They were to die for!

Thursday, December 26: We all walked around Pier 39 that morning and looked in all the tourist shops.  Is so fun seeing all the funny things they have.  We did this to kill time before our audio tour of Alcatraz.  It was SO COOL! I had already done it before {SF trip in high school for a singing competition}, but it was Kurt's first time in SF so I had a blast doing things with him.  We both found Alcatraz to be absolutely incredible.  We then went to Fog Harbor Fish House where I was {again} able to fulfill my seafood cravings with Ahi tuna. I LOVE seafood and all things fish, so I was in heaven.  I'm sure Kurt loved all the hamburgers and steaks he said in SF during prime Crab season :)  After dinner, we went to the Exploratorium.  That place is LEGIT.  It is full of all of these interactive sciency things. As much as I wanted to use as little brain power as possible during Christmas break, it was fun learning new things.

Friday, December 27: Today was a very momentous day because Kurt went on his first trolly ride! He was the happiest person in San Fran that morning :) We walked throughout China Town, then walked all the way to Lombard St., WALKED UP LOMBARD ST., and then walked to Ghirardelli Square {yes, we had to go again} to reward ourselves for all that darn walking we did! I'll be honest, I wasn't the hugest fan of having to walk up Lombard St.  But now I can say I walked up "the crookedest street in the world".  Even after Ghirardelli Square, we were starving. So we went to Carmel's Pizza. If you ever go to SF, you HAVE to go there. The pizza was incredible!

Saturday, December 28: Our last day in SF :( It was so sad leaving.  I think SF stole our hearts a little because it's such a dreamy place to be.  We had breakfast at Hollywood Cafe, where I literally got the largest omlet and mightiest hashbrowns I had ever seen. I couldn't even it half of it.  To burn off our breakfast, we went and walked across the Golden Gate Bridge.  I love the Golden Gate Bridge, and it was fun being their for Kurt's first time seeing it.  It was sad having to drive home, but I think we were all ready to be back in our own beds.

The rest of the break was so relaxing.  We went and walked on the beach, spent time with friends and family, and prepped for the long drive back to Utah before school and work started up again.  We celebrated the New Year with our friends, Jesse & Edith, and many other people.  Every time we go to SB we are reminded of how much we miss people there and how we can't wait to go back and visit soon!

So far, 2014 has treated our little family very well! We've been able to find more time to spend together, more needs and wants of ours are met every single day, and I'm back at school.  It's really hard to look at school as a blessing sometimes, especially when I spend 45 hours a week focused on it and it pretty much takes over my entire life, BUT I am glad I am back at school because everyday I get closer and closer to graduating.  MARK YOUR CALENDARS! I will graduate in August 2014 and I am SO EXCITED to say that I graduate THIS YEAR!  More and more blessing keep being poured upon Kurt and I.  We cannot believe how wonderfully 2014 has started off, and we can't wait to go on more adventures together this year!

There was a drinking fountain that was in a toilet at the Exploratorium.  It was right next to a regular drinking fountain, and this display talked about perception and how it's less likely to drink from the "toilet" just because of the way it looked. Kurt had no fear!

We got really into it and bought matching shirts for us to wear on the last day :)

December Fun

For those of you who read our blog [okay...MY blog], I am sorry I haven't written in a while.  I know all of my die hard followers are extremely eager to learn about what BK [Big Kurt] and I have been up to.  Our lives are so exciting, it's probably been really hard for you to handle the fact that you don't know much about our lives from the middle of November to now.  But FEAR NOT! I am back, writing a long blog post the night before I take my last 3 finals.  So, for all of you who miss reading about the Witt Family, for my classmates who should be studying instead of reading this (because we all know that Pain Control is going to kick our butts tomorrow), or for those who really are in need of a study break because you're actually a good student, here you go!

Here's a little play-by-play of what's been going on with us :)

November 22-24: Kurt flew to Indiana to watch his brother, Jason, run at Nationals.  Jason runs Cross Country for BYU.  Since he is a senior in Cross Country, it was his last race.  I'm so glad Kurt was able to go.  I, on the other hand, stayed behind to "hold down the fort" in Orem.  It was the first time we had been apart since we've been married.  It was so hard to "hold down the fort" that I went and slept at my twin sister's apartment instead, and then made my way up to Ogden to spend time with Ryan and Kaylynn.  It was so much fun to spend time with family while Kurt was away.  Although I missed Kurt terribly, I'm glad we both got to be with other family members while we were apart.

November 27-30:  I had 2 days of school after Kurt came home from Indiana, and then Thanksgiving break started! I was so excited.  BK and I went back up to Ogden to Ryan & Kaylynn's house and spent the next several days with them.  We always have a good time while we are there.  We had a wonderful Thanksgiving together.  Shelly, Will, Alex, Brett & Rachel, and Jason & Faith all came up on Thanksgiving and we had dinner and played games together.  Well, Kurt played games while I got to hold my niece, Rachel.  She has a little special place in my heart (being my only niece) and we had some great auntie & niece bonding time.  It's so much fun to see how Alex, Brett & Dallin are growing.  They are such great boys, and are all so unbelievably smart.  I am quite proud of them!  We spend the day after Thanksgiving setting up Ryan & Kaylynn's christmas tree.  Well, everyone but me.  For some reason, I just watched.  I probably should have helped now that I think about it.  But I had way too much fun watching Dallin waving around branches of the tree saying, "Tree life.  Tree life.  Tree life."  That, my friends, is him talking about the Tree of Life.  People, this child is 2 years old.  I don't know about you, [but I'm feeling 22...kidding] but I think that's pretty incredible.  But Dallin has now learned that it is a "Chri-mas tree" rather than the Tree of Life.  Anyways, we had a wonderful time with them, and we are eager to go back and visit.

That Saturday was also the day we went to the temple for the month of November (I know, I know -- going the last day of the month isn't exactly ideal).  We were able to go to the Bountiful Temple in Bountiful, UT.  It was the 9th temple we've been to, (This week we are planning to go to the Salt Lake City Temple) and I'm so glad we've kept our little tradition of going to the temple every month.

In addition to the exciting things that happened to us, my beautiful twin sister, Christine, got engaged! Kurt and I are so excited for her and Payton, and I am definitely looking forward to having a "brother" in the Sienicki Family.

December 4:  Faith was super nice and invited us to her work party (she works for NuSkin).  We had dinner there, and then had a wonderful time listening to a private concert by Leann Rimes.  It was so much fun and we had a blast spending time with Jason and Faith.  We have also played many Monopoly games with them the past week or so.  Kurt has yet to win a game, but Jason and I are fairly good at holding our own.

December 6: Ward Christmas Party!  We went to a CATERED ward party that Friday night.  The food was sooo good.  I ate my weight in Ham.  We decorated a gingerbread house with our friends in the ward, but we didn't win the decorating competition.  That's okay though, because we had fun with our friends.  But, Kurt and I have come to the conclusion that we are terrible at guessing games.  They had a table with jars full of candy, and you got to guess how many pieces of candy were in the jar, and the prize was that you got to take it home.  We guess on ALL of the jars (about 12 or so) and we didn't win anything.  Nada. Zero. Nothing.  Good thing we have plenty of candy for Kurt at home.

December 7: Today was the day we planned on going to the SLC temple for the month of December and see the lights at Temple Square.  Well...the weather was TERRIBLE, so we couldn't drive to SLC safely.  Instead, we went to Malawi's pizza and Provo Beach Resort.  I noticed 2 things that night: 1) I can down an entire pizza in 10 minutes. 2) I am terrible at all things bowling, DDR, and Skeeball related.   Good thing my husband's love for me isn't based off of my arcade game skills.

December 11: We went on a triple date with Christine and Alex and went and saw Frozen.  It was such a cute movie! Plus, the opening and closing song of the movie was a song that I sang when I was in the BYU Women's Chorus, so I freaked out at the very beginning.  It was a sign that I was going to love the movie, for sure. I highly recommend going and seeing it.  I loved the music and the fun story line.  Although, I cannot agree with Elsa when she says, "The cold never bothered me anyway." Yeah...sure, of course below freezing temperatures never bother me.  All I have to do is wear a sparkly dress and I'm good to go! Nope...definitely not the case.  Our apartment is 76 degrees everyday and I'm always wearing a sweatshirt or have a blanket.  I'm California grown. Anyways, cute movie and fantastic music (I'm a big Idina Menzel, Kristen Bell, and Demi Lovato fan, so the music was my favorite part).

December 13: I went and spent time with my beautiful friend Jana, and was able to catch up over hot chocolate and cookies.  I miss seeing so many of my friends, but it's so fun hearing about what they are doing and how excited they are about their life and their future.  

December 15:  Kurt and I were given tickets (from Jenny) to Music and the Spoken Work and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert on Sunday morning.  It was absolutely incredible.  It makes me miss singing.  I sang in BYU Women's Chorus for 2 years, and it definitely made me miss singing in a Christmas concert myself. Deborah Voigt and John Rhys-Davies were so incredible to watch.  It was such an uplifting experience, and really made me look forward to the Christmas season even more.
After that, we went and had dinner KA (Kurt's cousin) and Clint's (her husband) place for dinner.  They have the cutest, most lively daughter, Kate the Great.  She is so much fun to play with, and can always make you laugh.  Plus, she always laughs at what you do, so she's great at building your confidence.  We had such a fun time playing dominos with them.  As we were playing, we were all really impressed with how quiet she was being, until we turned around.  Kate got into my purse, found my lipstick, and put [almost] the entire tube on her face.  She looked so beautiful.  I had no attachment to that lipstick whatsoever, and I'm sure Kate got a lot more out of it than I ever would have, so I'm more than grateful that she was able to take it off my hands.  She also found my full pack of Starbursts as well.  She didn't open those, but maybe my purse will be the future source of special treats and snacks once she is older.  Thank you KA, Clint, and Kate the Great for the fun times and the great laughs!

Today it is December 16th, 3 finals away from my 2 1/2 weeks of freedom from Dental Hygiene school.  I am so grateful for all that I have been able to learn this semester.  I know the next 2 are going to be more difficult than ever, but I am excited to gain more knowledge on something that I love to do.  Now, I probably should get back to studying for my 3 finals (seriously...3 finals? Who does that on the last day of school?!).  Below is a list of our favorite things about this December, and some pictures from some of the moments written about above.

December Favorites

Christmas Song: Kelly Clarkson- Underneath the Tree

TV Shows:

Kurt- Shark Tank, Monday Night Football

Alexis- The Voice, The Singoff, Project Runway, Once Upon A Time

Cookies: Sugar cookies 

Drink: Raspberry Cheesecake Hot Chocolate

New Gadget: Apple TV
Favorite Thing About the Christmas Season:
Kurt- music on the radio, inexpensive candy, and "watching lots of people think they're getting really good deals when they're actually not"
Alexis- the music and no school
Winter Activity: staying warm inside (Kurt says, "Cuddling and watching movies as we drink hot chocolate.")

This kid just cracks me up!

Rachel and Me on Thanksgiving Day

Happy Birthday, Dallin!

Dallin & the Tree of Life

Leann Rimes concert

December Fun

For those of you who read our blog [okay...MY blog], I am sorry I haven't written in a while.  I know all of my die hard followers are extremely eager to learn about what BK [Big Kurt] and I have been up to.  Our lives are so exciting, it's probably been really hard for you to handle the fact that you don't know much about our lives from the middle of November to now.  But FEAR NOT! I am back, writing a long blog post the night before I take my last 3 finals.  So, for all of you who miss reading about the Witt Family, for my classmates who should be studying instead of reading this (because we all know that Pain Control is going to kick our butts tomorrow), or for those who really are in need of a study break because you're actually a good student, here you go!

Here's a little play-by-play of what's been going on with us :)

November 22-24: Kurt flew to Indiana to watch his brother, Jason, run at Nationals.  Jason runs Cross Country for BYU.  Since he is a senior in Cross Country, it was his last race.  I'm so glad Kurt was able to go.  I, on the other hand, stayed behind to "hold down the fort" in Orem.  It was the first time we had been apart since we've been married.  It was so hard to "hold down the fort" that I went and slept at my twin sister's apartment instead, and then made my way up to Ogden to spend time with Ryan and Kaylynn.  It was so much fun to spend time with family while Kurt was away.  Although I missed Kurt terribly, I'm glad we both got to be with other family members while we were apart.

November 27-30:  I had 2 days of school after Kurt came home from Indiana, and then Thanksgiving break started! I was so excited.  BK and I went back up to Ogden to Ryan & Kaylynn's house and spent the next several days with them.  We always have a good time while we are there.  We had a wonderful Thanksgiving together.  Shelly, Will, Alex, Brett & Rachel, and Jason & Faith all came up on Thanksgiving and we had dinner and played games together.  Well, Kurt played games while I got to hold my niece, Rachel.  She has a little special place in my heart (being my only niece) and we had some great auntie & niece bonding time.  It's so much fun to see how Alex, Brett & Dallin are growing.  They are such great boys, and are all so unbelievably smart.  I am quite proud of them!  We spend the day after Thanksgiving setting up Ryan & Kaylynn's christmas tree.  Well, everyone but me.  For some reason, I just watched.  I probably should have helped now that I think about it.  But I had way too much fun watching Dallin waving around branches of the tree saying, "Tree life.  Tree life.  Tree life."  That, my friends, is him talking about the Tree of Life.  People, this child is 2 years old.  I don't know about you, [but I'm feeling 22...kidding] but I think that's pretty incredible.  But Dallin has now learned that it is a "Chri-mas tree" rather than the Tree of Life.  Anyways, we had a wonderful time with them, and we are eager to go back and visit.

That Saturday was also the day we went to the temple for the month of November (I know, I know -- going the last day of the month isn't exactly ideal).  We were able to go to the Bountiful Temple in Bountiful, UT.  It was the 9th temple we've been to, (This week we are planning to go to the Salt Lake City Temple) and I'm so glad we've kept our little tradition of going to the temple every month.

In addition to the exciting things that happened to us, my beautiful twin sister, Christine, got engaged! Kurt and I are so excited for her and Payton, and I am definitely looking forward to having a "brother" in the Sienicki Family.

December 4:  Faith was super nice and invited us to her work party (she works for NuSkin).  We had dinner there, and then had a wonderful time listening to a private concert by Leann Rimes.  It was so much fun and we had a blast spending time with Jason and Faith.  We have also played many Monopoly games with them the past week or so.  Kurt has yet to win a game, but Jason and I are fairly good at holding our own.

December 6: Ward Christmas Party!  We went to a CATERED ward party that Friday night.  The food was sooo good.  I ate my weight in Ham.  We decorated a gingerbread house with our friends in the ward, but we didn't win the decorating competition.  That's okay though, because we had fun with our friends.  But, Kurt and I have come to the conclusion that we are terrible at guessing games.  They had a table with jars full of candy, and you got to guess how many pieces of candy were in the jar, and the prize was that you got to take it home.  We guess on ALL of the jars (about 12 or so) and we didn't win anything.  Nada. Zero. Nothing.  Good thing we have plenty of candy for Kurt at home.

December 7: Today was the day we planned on going to the SLC temple for the month of December and see the lights at Temple Square.  Well...the weather was TERRIBLE, so we couldn't drive to SLC safely.  Instead, we went to Malawi's pizza and Provo Beach Resort.  I noticed 2 things that night: 1) I can down an entire pizza in 10 minutes. 2) I am terrible at all things bowling, DDR, and Skeeball related.   Good thing my husband's love for me isn't based off of my arcade game skills.

December 11: We went on a triple date with Christine and Alex and went and saw Frozen.  It was such a cute movie! Plus, the opening and closing song of the movie was a song that I sang when I was in the BYU Women's Chorus, so I freaked out at the very beginning.  It was a sign that I was going to love the movie, for sure. I highly recommend going and seeing it.  I loved the music and the fun story line.  Although, I cannot agree with Elsa when she says, "The cold never bothered me anyway." Yeah...sure, of course below freezing temperatures never bother me.  All I have to do is wear a sparkly dress and I'm good to go! Nope...definitely not the case.  Our apartment is 76 degrees everyday and I'm always wearing a sweatshirt or have a blanket.  I'm California grown. Anyways, cute movie and fantastic music (I'm a big Idina Menzel, Kristen Bell, and Demi Lovato fan, so the music was my favorite part).

December 13: I went and spent time with my beautiful friend Jana, and was able to catch up over hot chocolate and cookies.  I miss seeing so many of my friends, but it's so fun hearing about what they are doing and how excited they are about their life and their future.  

December 15:  Kurt and I were given tickets (from Jenny) to Music and the Spoken Work and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert on Sunday morning.  It was absolutely incredible.  It makes me miss singing.  I sang in BYU Women's Chorus for 2 years, and it definitely made me miss singing in a Christmas concert myself. Deborah Voigt and John Rhys-Davies were so incredible to watch.  It was such an uplifting experience, and really made me look forward to the Christmas season even more.
After that, we went and had dinner KA (Kurt's cousin) and Clint's (her husband) place for dinner.  They have the cutest, most lively daughter, Kate the Great.  She is so much fun to play with, and can always make you laugh.  Plus, she always laughs at what you do, so she's great at building your confidence.  We had such a fun time playing dominos with them.  As we were playing, we were all really impressed with how quiet she was being, until we turned around.  Kate got into my purse, found my lipstick, and put [almost] the entire tube on her face.  She looked so beautiful.  I had no attachment to that lipstick whatsoever, and I'm sure Kate got a lot more out of it than I ever would have, so I'm more than grateful that she was able to take it off my hands.  She also found my full pack of Starbursts as well.  She didn't open those, but maybe my purse will be the future source of special treats and snacks once she is older.  Thank you KA, Clint, and Kate the Great for the fun times and the great laughs!

Today it is December 16th, 3 finals away from my 2 1/2 weeks of freedom from Dental Hygiene school.  I am so grateful for all that I have been able to learn this semester.  I know the next 2 are going to be more difficult than ever, but I am excited to gain more knowledge on something that I love to do.  Now, I probably should get back to studying for my 3 finals (seriously...3 finals? Who does that on the last day of school?!).  Below is a list of our favorite things about this December, and some pictures from some of the moments written about above.

December Favorites

Christmas Song: Kelly Clarkson- Underneath the Tree

TV Shows:

Kurt- Shark Tank, Monday Night Football

Alexis- The Voice, The Singoff, Project Runway, Once Upon A Time

Cookies: Sugar cookies 

Drink: Raspberry Cheesecake Hot Chocolate

New Gadget: Apple TV
Favorite Thing About the Christmas Season:
Kurt- music on the radio, inexpensive candy, and "watching lots of people think they're getting really good deals when they're actually not"
Alexis- the music and no school
Winter Activity: staying warm inside (Kurt says, "Cuddling and watching movies as we drink hot chocolate.")

This kid just cracks me up!

Rachel and Me on Thanksgiving Day

Happy Birthday, Dallin!

Dallin & the Tree of Life

Leann Rimes concert