3 recent thoughts.

The following 3 topics have been on my mind, for the following reasons...

1. INTERVENTION. Michael and I watch the show Intervention on A&E every Monday night. It is about those who are addicted to drugs, alcohol, eating disorders, etc. They document their lives for a couple of weeks, and then hold an intervention at the end and give them a free ride to the best rehabilitation centers in the country. I always feel so happy when I see these people living their lives sober at the end. What a blessing. The thoughts I've been having all week after watching this show are, how incredibly sad it is how these drugs CONSUME FULLY these people's lives. And my question is, why why why start? I know that I've never been there, and I'll never understand. I never judge these people, I think they're so brave for getting help. I just feel sad for them. Especially the alcoholics. Because: drinking alcohol makes absolutely NO SENSE. Everyone knows that illegal drugs are bad for your body. But for some reason they think alcohol is no biggie. WRONG!It is terrible for your body and damages your brain and organs, yet people slowly let themselves become addicted everyday. I guess that's what breaks my heart. Is that it starts out casual and social, and then ruins lives. I'm SO thankful to have lived a life free of drugs and alcohol. It has blessed my health and happiness in every way.
2. CELEBRITIES. My friend Sarah from work and I share a love for celebrity gossip. So, it felt most appropriate for us to drive up to Park City and check out the Sundance Film Fesitval to look for our celebrity pals. Unfortunately, they were all hiding! What do they do all day??But we scored some pretty sweet free stuff and free make overs. Next year we plan on going clubbing at night dressed like skanks and then we're pretty sure we'll meet some. Anyway, I've been thinking about celebrities and how crazy it is that we treat them the way we do. And I'm totally guilty. They're just people. I mean really. They are actors, singers, athletes, but so are a million other people in the world, these ones just hit it big for some reason. They make absolutely DISGUSTING amounts of money, and why??? We all work just as hard as they do at our differet professions. It's a crazy world we live in! But it sure is entertaining and I'll keep supporting my celebs!3. THE TEMPLE. What a special place. I feel so lucky to have one right up the hill from me. I have had the chance to go twice this week, and it has honestly brought so much peace and enriching conversation into our home. It's mind blowing to me that I am able to be with my family for eternity. It's incredible. I'm so thankful. I am 100% positive that when I attend the temple, my relationship with my Heavenly Father and his Son grows tims a million. And they're building a new one in Payson. AWESOME!

Happy Birthday Michael!

Michael turned 22 on January 19th. I love birthdays and we had so much fun! Since Monday the 18th was a holiday and he had the day off of school, I was lucky enough to get the day off too so we could celebrate all day that day. It was absolutely wonderful to just spend 1 whole day playing and having fun. I had a bunch of presents wrapped for Michael and he opened them throughout the day. It started with breakfast in bed and he opened his card. Then, he opened Monopoly (a game we both love and played a bunch before his mission), and we played! Then he opened some gloves he's really been wanting and we went out to lunch at Tucanos (a place he's really been wanting to try and it was delicious!) Then, he opened some new socks because his have holes, and we went to the bowling alley. Then, he opened sparkling cider and we had cupcakes and cider. We were busy, busy, busy all day and we seriously had so much fun! Everything turned out perfect. Michael does so much for me, and I wanted to make sure he had a special day.

Michael was happy about the gloves :) He was like a little kid, everytime I brought out another present, his face would light up "ANOTHER ONE?!"We played some sweet arcade games at the bowling alley and Michael won us some prizes. I seriously felt like I was in middle school becuase we were both super into it. haha.

So, all of these festivities went down the day before his birthday and I wanted to make sure his actual birthday was special too. So, we had a bunch of friends over for cake that night. It was really fun. Michael is so loved around here, there were about 20 people there. If you've seen our apartment and it's size, then you understand that 20 is really like 50. Here is a picture of Michael leading us in our Happy Birthday song. hahahah!

Anyway, we had a great time. Happy Birthday, Michael. You are without a doubt, THE BEST :)

R-Rated

Viewer discretion is advised:

Michael and I were on our way to a lovely game night at some friends of ours, Charlotte and Jared Nelson, when we saw... what we saw. Michael was parallel parking and my eyes gravitated to the only light in the entire complex that was on. Turns out, their blinds were also open. Oh dear heavens. OH DEAR HEAVENS. They're living in a newlywed complex... you can only imagine what I saw. Their window was RIGHT ON THE STREET. Across from a single housing complex!What do you do at this point? I freaked and kind of flailed my arms and got michael in the mouth with my ring. Then, I needed a witness, so I made Michael look. We just laughed and laughed until I realized that if I was her, I'd be absolutely mortified and probably cry.

So, what did I do? Well, first of course we went to our game night and told Charlotte, Jared, Tiffany, Collin, Lauren, and Josh. Then, of course I had a heart and wrote that poor couple a note! They need to know. For pitty sakes there were teenagers out there looking up in the window! So I said:

Dear 404,
Don't forget to close your blinds. Just a friendly tip :)

Love,
People who don't live here, parked on the street, and saw too much... oops!

Just a day in the life of newlyweds in Provo... too good.

Our First Christmas MARRIED!

I could probably go on forever about how fantastic our Christmas break was. But I'll try to keep it brief and let the pictures do the talking. Michael and I had the greatest 1st Christmas imaginable! First, Michael's parents came to Provo to visit and it was great to have a visit with them. Then, we were able to take off to Oregon! And ohhhh was it ever JUST what we needed. It was so wonderful to be at home with my parents. I enjoy spending time with them so much and it just feels so good to be there. We had so much fun! Right when we got off of the plane we were greeted by Mom, Emily, Easton, and Carly and they took us right over to Marc, Connie, Kellen, and Caleb! Oh I was in heaven immediately. We went to the Portland Zoo and saw the zoo lights and it was fantastic!

I was only aboe to see Em and the kids for 24 hours but it was SO great to get my fix and squeeze those babies!! Look at this beauty:The festivities included: Cookie baking, game playing, movie watching, michael's first $5 gift exchange, opening presents, watching my adorable nephews play with their new toys, visiting with family, and my favorite part... just hanging out, relaxing, and spending quality time with my parents. It was awesome to have Michael with me on such a special day. For the past 2 years I've opened boxes from Taiwan and this year I got to open my boxes with him sitting right there. It really was so special to me. I just kept remembering the past 2 Christmases, wondering what Michael was doing and missing him. And this year- we were together. It was perfect.

Dad came down the stairs Christmas morning with his pants pulled up... just for a laugh hahaha. and it worked!

And of course- a new years BASH with the Mitchells! A great way to end the new year! With a toast and some games!!Thank you Mom and Dad for a great Christmas. And now, It's January. great. We have Michael's birthday to look forward to, but I miss my Christmas tree!!