Our much-needed vacation.

We're burnt out.  It seems like this semester couldn't end any sooner.  Each day is filled with what seems like endless amounts of studying.
  
We decided to take a few days off from school and start our Thanksgiving break early.  I'm not usually one for skipping school, but it was for a good cause--we needed to go to the BYU vs Notre Dame football game in Indiana with the Beck family.  We spent the day walking around Notre Dame campus and taking part in the tradition there.  The campus is beautiful. 

 We were excited to see the Touchdown Jesus we had been hearing about.

 The game was freezing.  We heard afterwards that it was the coldest game recorded in Notre Dame history.  I didn't think I would make it through the entire thing, but alas, I did.  I used to think Utah was cold, but it's nothing compared to the Midwest.  Colby was really sweet making sure I was alright.  During halftime I went into the girls bathroom along with a hundred other women to warm up.  I spent about 10 minutes standing underneath a huge heater--doing so allowed me to make it through the second half of the game.  Sadly, BYU lost.  But it was all such a fun and crazy experience! 

We spent the next couple of days around the Chicago area and saw some awesome things there.  We had pizza from one of Chicago's best pizza places, went to an aquarium, and saw The Bean at Millennium Park!

The pizza place we went to was a pretty one-of-a-kind experience.  Not only was the pizza delicious, the atmosphere was pretty cool as well. 

  This was the first time I had ever been to an aquarium, so I had a good time there.

I had just learned about The Bean in my Humanities class I took during the summer.  It was awesome seeing it in person.

 After Chicago, we came back to Iowa so we can spend Thanksgiving with the family.  This trip has been so relaxing, we don't want to even think about the homework we need to get done.  Luckily we still have a few more days before we go back!


Oh and by the way, today is our 7 month anniversary!  Marrying Colby in the temple was the best decision I've ever made.  I am so excited to spend eternity with my best friend.  I know I have become a better person because of him.

Fall fever.

Lately we've realized how completely boring we are.  This is the most productive semester we have both had thus far in our lives, and so we have had very little time for fun.  Luckily, we were able to fit in some fun recently!

The festivities began when we went on a walk to enjoy the beautiful weather and fall colors!

Part of our busyness has consisted of volunteering with a 15-year old boy through a BYU service program called IMPACT.  He is really into reptiles, particularly snakes.  The first time we went and visited him, he took his huge 100-pound snake out of its cage and allowed it to wander throughout the living room--right by me and Colby!  Luckily, we survived; but it was terrifying, nonetheless.  We had the opportunity of going to an IMPACT Halloween party with him this past week.  While there, we carved pumpkins and he and Colby participated in a doughnut eating contest (Colby lost).

It was the 15-year-old's idea to make our pumpkin look like this.

On Halloween, we spent the evening with our good friends Tyler and Lindy.  We started it off by getting 50 cent corn dogs at Sonic and then we went on a "Halloween Cruise."  The cruise consisted of a boat ride that took us partway down the Provo river while the "captain" told us scary stories.  We were also attacked by a pirate who turned out to be very nice--he gave us candy.  The cruise was a fun and unique way to spend our Halloween.  Afterwards, we went and watched a scary movie.  It turned out to be a great evening.

The river was lined with really cool carved pumpkins.  Oh, and the flash of the camera was blinding.

This weekend we also went ice skating with Tyler and Lindy.  It was our first time going since Colby proposed to me last December!  We have so many ice skating memories including our first date and the proposal.

That about does it for our fun week.  Oh, except one more thing.  We bought plane tickets for the BYU vs. Notre Dame game!  I think it's kind of a crazy thing to do, but there's nothing that will stop Colby from going to as many BYU football games as possible.