Christmas Traditions {5 Days of Christmas}

Since it was our first Christmas together, Jose and I had 5 days of Christmas! 

On our first day of Christmas, we went to Payson for dinner with the Belnap family. We watched "A Wish for Wings that Work" and let Sadie and Landon open the presents we got them. 

On our second of Christmas, we had a lovely Christmas dinner together, followed by opening our Christmas pajamas and watching The Santa Clause. 

On our third day of Christmas, we woke up and opened our presents to each other and our stockings from Santa. Even Sky had one. We had a great time opening up our gifts and just being together. We spent that day playing our new games and then went to see Star Wars for the second time. Overall it was a very fun day for us, but Christmas was not over yet! 

On our fourth day of Christmas, we went over to Jose's parents for the evening. We ate dinner and then I pulled out the sugar cookies to have the girls decorate. We decorated the cookies together and had such a good time doing it! I hope to make it a tradition for years to come! After decorating cookies, we waited until midnight to exchange gifts. Then Jose and I drove home in the first bit of what would be a lot of snow. 

On our last day of Christmas, we woke up early and drove through terrifying snow and ice-covered roads to get to my parents house. One we arrived we ate, and then opened our presents. My family had set up a secret santa gift exchange so we got to exchange our gifts then and watch Nephew S open all his presents. Since he is 1 1/2 he is actually pretty entertaining to watch. Then we opened a present from Garrett and Caisa to everyone... pink and blue balloons, announcing a baby! It was a great surprise (that wasn't very surprising because Caisa seemed tired and nauseous at Thanksgiving...) Then came our favorite part of the day, Skyping Elder Ben! He was happy to see us and meet Emalee. We talked about everything coming up this year and about how crazy the last year was for us. He also bore his testimony in Mandarin for us to hear and we recorded it too. 

It was such a wonderful first Christmas for us! I look forward to many more together! 

Christmas Traditions {Festival of Trees}

One of my favorite thing we did this year was go to the Festival of Trees. We went on the last night when our nieces were performing on the main stage. So after watching them perform, Jose and I enjoyed the festival together. We had scones, and enjoyed walking among the beautiful trees. Our favorite was the Legend of Zelda tree, but we also enjoyed the Star Wars and the Harry Potter trees.

Christmas Traditions {Lights at Temple Square}

On Thursday, December 3, Jose and I went to see the lights on Temple Square with some of my family. It's something I had always dreamed of doing with the man who would be my husband. This year, I actually have a husband to go with! So we bundled up and walked around Temple Square. We saw the statue of Christ and listened to the nativity story on the lawn. As I looked at Mary and Joseph, I admired how supportive and understanding Joseph was to Mary. And then it hit me. My Jose is supportive and understanding too. My Jose is caring and kind. As I stood watching the nativity, I felt so much gratitude and love for my husband. I'm so grateful we had the opportunity to visit the temple grounds and reflect on the birth of Jesus Christ.

Also, it's so much better with a husband to keep you warm. 

Sky learned to {Swim}

A couple of weeks ago we discovered Barley's Canine Rec Center in Salt Lake. It's a place that not only boards and has daycare for dogs, but also has a dog pool! So we signed Sky up for a swimming lesson. I couple weeks ago she had her first lesson and did awesome, but just to be sure, we did a second lesson this week. This time was so awesome! She was jumping in the pool and swimming around like a pro. The only struggle is that she gets distracted when other dogs are around so we are going to do some reserved swims before trying open swim again. Just for memories and your enjoyment, here are some pictures of our "Otter Collie".

Coming up the ramp

Jumping in for the ball

Swimming with Mike (the instructor)

Halloween {Weekend}

My family has never really been into Halloween. I always liked the idea of dressing up in costumes, and having parties. So this year, Jose and I decided to throw a Halloween movie night with friends. So on the 30th, we had friends over to watch "Wait Until Dark". No one had seen it but me, and so I did have some fun with one jump scare. I made some extra special treats, including drinks. One was a "Witch's Brew"- lime sherbet with Mountain Dew, and the other was "Vampire's Blood"- cherry 7UP with red food dye to make it more blood-like. It was a fun evening but I forgot to take pictures. 

Then on the 31st, Halloween, we went Trick-or-Treating with the Oliver kids (our nieces and nephew). Jose took Sky and I was stationed with the second youngest who, about halfway through, got too much of a headache to keep walking and she took the youngest's stroller. So then Snow White and I walked a long way collecting candy. The older kids were plowing on when sweet Snow looked at me and said, "I'm done" and refused to continue. So Jose and I walked her home while the other kids finished. It was a different experience for me, as I have never taken a child Trick-or-Treating, but I LOVED it! I had so much fun! 

On Monday the 1st, we celebrated Dia de los Muertos with the McBrides. We invited them over to watch the Book of Life and enjoy some popcorn and sherbet floats. The girls told us all about their Halloween with their cousins. It was another fun evening! 

We had so much fun this weekend! We loved spending time with our friends and family this Halloween weekend! 

Big Bang in {Las Vegas}

For Jose's birthday in July, I asked him what he wanted and he told me he wanted to see Big Bang (a K-pop group) in concert when they come in October. So we bought tickets and started planning. Last week, we were able to go to Las Vegas and see the concert! 

On Thursday, we headed down to Vegas. We checked into our room at Mandalay Bay when we arrived, and quickly realized there was no hot water in the room. After a call to guest services and a visit from the engineer, we switched from the 8th floor to the 17th floor and this time, got a view of the strip! It was gorgeous! 

After resting from our drive, we went out for a late dinner at a place Jose found called Maggiano's. It's an Italian scratch kitchen and it was so good! The bread was hot and fresh, the pasta was notably handmade and delicious, the chicken and ricotta meatballs were perfect, and the desserts were incredible as well! The experience could not have been better! 

The next day we went out and walked the strip. We grabbed lunch at Shake Shack, which has the best shakes ever. And we explored the M&M store and the Coca-Cola store. At the Coke store, we tried 16 flavors of Coke from around the world. 

Then it was time for the concert! It was a dream to see a Korean group live! Jose had a huge grin on his face and he sang every song. I'm  so glad I was able to work everything out so that he could see this concert. We had a great time in Las Vegas and we are so grateful to have been able to go!

August {16th to 19th}

This week has been so much fun! I just had to blog about it!

Sunday, August 16th

Jose and I drove down to Payson to visit the Belnap and Spence families. We always have so much fun when we are with them and I just love playing with Landon. Sadie used to be interested in playing with me, but now she is a huge Jose fan and prefers him if he will give her the attention, which he does. I love our monthly visits to Payson and am so grateful to have them in our lives.

Monday, August 17th

For Family Home Evening, Jose and I joined his sister Janni, Jared, Arianna and Alia for the evening. It was so sweet to be welcomed into their home and have the girls give me a quick tour of their rooms (freshly cleaned just for me)! I loved watching sweet Arianna give us a lesson on prayer and had each of us share an experience about when prayer helped us in our lives. Then cute Alia gave us a great presentation on what to do with your body when we pray. It was such a special evening with them and I am so grateful for the sweet nieces I got just over a month ago.

Tuesday, August 18th

Jose and I invited soon-to-be-newlyweds Paul and Ziti over for a late dinner. We got to visit with them and be excited for their upcoming wedding with them. They will be married on Friday! Jose welcomed Ziti to the family and let them know that we would always be there for them.

Wednesday, August 19th

Jose's brother and sister-in-law invited us to Lagoon! I have wanted to go all summer and especially since Cannibal opened. So I was very excited to go and to spend the day with Herlan, Monica and all their cute kiddos. We started off on Rattlesnake Rapids and all got soaked! So we spent the rest of the day drying out in the sun and on rides. It was so cute to see Amrita (age 3) get scared on the swinging boat, and even cuter when Kajol (7) insisted on going on all the rides with me. And we went on every ride she was tall enough for together- even Wicked. I thought for sure she would come off that ride scared as all get out and not want to go on any other roller coasters. But she was a champ. I made sure to watch her face during the up and down and she looked terrified. But the second we pulled back in to the station, she was all smiles. That girl has no fear.

We went on so many fun rides and had such a good time with all the kids. But the one ride I insisted on riding with Jose on was Cannibal. I started to get nervous in the line and then when we got on my heart was racing. As we went up the elevator I kept looking at Jose and telling him I was scared. Then we pulled out of the elevator and sat at the top, looking out to the valley. I couldn't even appreciate the view I was so scared. Then the ride took off and from then on it was so fun! I loved every second of the ride! It's mostly the anticipation of it that is scary because after going once I could have easily gone again no problem.

It was such a fun day to spend with Herlan, Monica and their kids. I am so grateful they invited us along. I must say it is really fun to be called Tia Heather.

Jose's {Birthday} Weekend

This week it was Jose’s birthday! On Wednesday we went out to dinner together at the Cheesecake Factory! Jose and I love this place! We got some great food, but my favorite thing was the crispy crab wontons with sweet chili sauce. Of course, we also got cheesecake. It was a nice evening just to ourselves, but the birthday celebrations were just beginning.

I kept bugging him about what he wanted for his Thursday night birthday dinner and he simply said, “Surprise me.” So I did. On Thursday I had our friends show up all at once to surprise Jose with a party! I made a bunch of food and we played games and just chatted. Jose wanted Death by Chocolate, so that was his ‘cake’. It was so yummy! Jose had a great time with all of our friends!

Then Friday morning (his actual birthday) I made him breakfast and woke him up just before his alarm. He loved having breakfast with me before he headed to work. That evening, we went to dinner at his parents’ where we ate carne asada, rice, potatoes, and watermelon! Jose got tres leches for his cake that night!

Happy birthday to my husband, my rock and my best friend. I love you Jose!

Independence Day {Traditions}

Pretty much my favorite holiday is Independence Day. I love getting dressed up in red, white and blue, and going out to the various activities that happen this time of year. So of course, this year I got to take my fiancé to experience all the traditions I have come to love!

First off, Lehi Round-up week. This always falls the week before the fourth, so it's a perfect kickoff to the holiday. On Friday evening, we headed to main street for Lucky's snow cones, and found a nice spot on the grass to enjoy the kids parade. Then we headed to the rodeo grounds and picked up some burgers before the rodeo started. Lehi's rodeo has the BEST BURGERS EVER! Jose ate 4 because he liked them so much (and they aren't very big). We had a great time at the rodeo together and I loved sharing my favorite part of life in Lehi with Jose.

Another favorite part of this holiday for me is my neighborhood's annual block party. We spent a few hours the night before baking blue cupcakes to take. We enjoyed music, food, fireworks, and friends! My little niece came and, my goodness, that girl has a crush on Jose! She hugged him probably 20 times and kept telling him she loved him, and even asked for my seat so she could sit next to him! They were so cute playing together!

On the 4th, we plan to go enjoy the Thanksgiving Point fireworks, which is actually a new thing for me. I have gone only once before and it was a while ago. Normally I spend this week volunteering for Stadium of Fire and enjoying the show, but I decided it would probably be too much to do with the wedding coming next week.

So while we have enjoyed some old traditions, we are also thinking about all the new traditions we will be enjoying in our life together and with our future family.