And We're Back....

Yesterday......

 Today.....

Big difference, haha, but seriously we are glad to be back home in Provo and back to work and volleyball. We loved our little break and the time we got to spend with family and warmer weather. I took lots of pictures, but my camera died and I can't find my charger, typical, I know lol but when I find it I'll post more pics of our little Christmas vacay.

No Bueno

My Feelings on Snow:

Snow is stupid

Really not a fan

Hate being cold

It turns ugly

It's biased against poor people who can't afford a big SUV to drive around safely in it

It comes at very inconvenient times- like the holidays- like right now

It makes my hair very staticky/frizzy

Snow in Utah makes my black uggs white when I forget to spray them

This morning my car had to be pushed out of our driveway by Jeff and some very nice strangers so I could get to work- and Jeff and I have to somehow make it down to Vegas today/tomorrow and this snow is getting all up in our business and needs to back off.
That's all.

Grandma Shout Out

Just got a Christmas package in the mail from my Grandma- not only was it full of presents, but it was full of rocky road "mistake" fudge, homemade fruit roll-ups, homemade cider mix, and peanut butter chocolate bars. I LOVE my Grandma's treats and am so so happy she sends me my own box now that I'm married and am not at home for Christmas this year.

Love you Grandma!

p.s. I just had fudge for lunch- it was fantastic

Party it up for Christmas

Okay, so even though we don't like to decorate for Christmas, that doesn't mean we don't like to celebrate/party it up for the Christmas season.

 Some sledding action over Thanksgiving

 Cutie

 We went to Temple Square with our neighbors, Danielle and Trevor

 This is my pretty neighbor Danielle, I LOVE LOVE LOVE having her live next door to me! She's seriously awesome. Trevor's behind her, and I'm pretty sure Jeff loves sharing a porch with these guys because now he has someone to play smash/nfl with 24/7

Just got back from my office party- I know I look harsh, don't judge- it had been a looooooong day

 Ward Christmas Party

 Jeff and I decided to make cookies together- we'd never really baked together before....and I don't think we ever will again. These cookies turned out HORRIBLE- like, we couldn't even eat them. You know something is wrong with your food when even my husband won't eat it.

 I think our problem is that we distract each other too much, and too easily. Did we forget the sugar? maybe- forget the eggs? I think so.... but I couldn't tell ya for sure- Jeff was making me laugh too hard the whole time we were making these so...who really knows what's in them?

 It's all good

 Jeff's really food at making pancakes- I am not. You have to have patience when making pancakes and I have problems with flipping pancakes over too soon and splattering batter everywhere 

My new talent I've been developing.....catching signals so I can watch Seinfield

Meet the Grinches

Is it so bad that it's our second Christmas as a married couple and we have yet to put up any Christmas decorations? Not even a wreath or a bow- and especially not any lights or a tree with ornaments?

Every other apartment we go into is decorated- and they are so cute!

And I love them- because I love Christmas- except for some reason I don't love it in my apartment. With all of these newly married couples so excited to start their own Christmas traditions, I'm beginning to wonder what's wrong with us? And it's not that we didn't kind of try- the above pic is when we went to Target last week intent on buying all things Christmas- but what we came out with was some eggnog for him and patterned tights for me- oh, and a whiteboard. We just couldn't bring ourselves to get anything Christmas for our apartment- we went because we knew we should want Christmas decorations....but deep down I think we both want the hassle freeness and uncramped storage place more....and I say that next year will be different,

 but, that's what I said- last year.

The only thing that will save this grinchy couple will probably be our future kiddos- until then you'll have to find all of the Christmas fun elsewhere :(

Just Practicing...

Last weekend Jeff and I got to hang out with the coolest baby in Provo- that's right- we're talking about the one and only  Evan Chilton. It was so much fun! It also helped that he is really really cute.So many of our friends have kids now or are expecting their first, so it was fun for Jeff and I to practice since it will still be a while before we have our own :(. Evan is such a smart little boy- he can sign- I took two semesters of sign language in high school and Evan can sign circles around me.  I remember before Evan was born and Jeff and I were so excited for our friends to have their first baby!- and now we baby sat him :)

 Jeff and Evan were really cute together

Jeff played hide and seek with Evan for a long time- Jeff basically just

chased him around the house, it was adorable.

:)

Too Funny

Today at work I googled my birthday to see if I shared it with anyone famous/cool- it's really dorky to google your birthday I know, but it's the truth and I couldn't think of a cooler lie that made sense with what I'm about to share- First I found out that Sir Isaac Newton was born on Christmas, but that's not the cool part- this is: http://www.sonic.net/~billk/ haha

It's a support group for people born on Christmas! haha

It gives advice on how to deal with a loved one who

has the "misfortune of being born on the biggest holiday ever."oh boo hoo.

With tag lines like, "What's a Parent To Do If You Have a Christmas Baby?" or "How to Treat a Christmas Birthday Person," I was finding it hard not to laugh out loud at my desk, but then I read the list of all of the reasons why Christmas makes a bad birthday and I was going down the checklist about the downers like double gifting, people forgetting your birthday, never getting candles on a birthday cake etc. and I'll admit I was getting depressed and I was starting to doubt my okay-ness with my inconvenient birth- I even began to think I had laughed too soon and that I needed this website.....but then I found the tab titled, "December Blues," and the list of questions to assess depression over your Christmas birthday lol- call me insensitive, but when I got to the 5th question I was laughing again. So yeah, being born on Christmas is okay again and here's an even better list of

Why Christmas Birthdays Rock According to Me

1. I share my birthday with the day we celebrate Jesus

2. I'm always with family on my birthday

3. I'll always have school/work off

4. There's generally always a lot of yummy cookies around

5. Until I was Five I thought my birthday was the cause of an international holiday

6. The Lakers always play on my birthday :)
7. Sometimes I pretend the advent calendars are my personal bday countdown
8. Barbara Streisand sings a song about being born on Christmas that my mom plays for me every year
9. My middle name is Noel-and it's legit-
10. After opening Christmas presents, I'm not done! I just move on to birthday presents

This is me as a newborn in the stocking they send home Christmas babies in instead of the normal blanket. My mom said I waited until Christmas to be born (I was like 11 days late) bc I wanted to make an entrance- so yeah- even as baby I couldn't help being dramatic lol
my poor parents didn't even have a chance...

More From India...

I know I already posted some pics of my brother in India, but he got his camera stolen right after that so we haven't seen anything of what he's been up to in a while. For those who don't know, my little brother Cameron has been in India volunteering in a leper colony for the last few months. He'll be coming home soon to start school at BYU for winter semester.

Cam seems to love the elephants- he rode this one down the street

Some of the kiddos

 Pretty sure Cam got this pic from someone else, but I love the close ups of the kids- they're so beautiful and they are all so happy! This girl's name is Archana.

 Cam took a couple of weeks to travel through India outside of the colony. This is in Delhi.

 Evita

Gracy

Reminds me of Slumdog Millionaire

 Rosemary

 Trisha

 This is up in Dharamsala/or Mcdoenj- up where thousands of Tibetan refugees live

 Delhi

 Marina Beach in Chennai

 Fishermen in  Chennai

 This is on a train- the boy to Cam's right is a boy migrating from Nepal to India- I guess they became friends because he gave cam his head scarf.

 Camcam on his trek across India

 Working back at the Clinic

 Her name's Kaviya- she's one of the slum kids

 Up in Rishikesh- the gateway city to the Himalayas

 Seriously adorable- these kids are so happy with so little- makes me want to be a better person. I'm the type that gets annoyed when there's too much ice in my drink- these pics make me want to chill out-

I think I need to teach camcam a new pose- this is him in front of the Lotus Temple

This is real..... 

hahahaha

okay, so sorry for the longest post ever. I just don't do anything blog worthy and camcam definitely does. I also wanted to keep these photos organized somewhere- but if you're actually still reading this then you're probably my mom and you're loving it, so in that case I don't feel too bad :)