Thanksgiving!

Jake and I enjoyed Thanksgiving with my family in Idaho this year. It was a semi-treacherous drive; there had been a big storm the night before, and we left just after the roads opened back up. We made it safely, though, and it was freezing when we got to Twin Falls. We stayed inside as much as possible. It was really fun to get to see the family and eat lots of PIE! It was especially fun to see our nephew, Will. He entertained us by constantly exclaiming, "To ufity and BEYOND!" Needless to say, he loves Toy Story.

Anyway, when we got back to Utah, Jake's parents gave us a turkey of our very own. Realizing that we would not be able to eat an entire turkey alone, we invited Nic and Becca over for Second Thanksgiving Feast. Jake made the turkey, and let me just tell you, it was delicious. Take a look at his gorgeous bird:

Jake carved this thing like a pro, and we all ate until we felt like curling up for a big, fat (literally) nap.

Halloween 'n' Stuff

For Halloween this year, Jake and I were able to carve pumpkins together for the first time, twice! First, we carved pumpkins with Steve and Allie. That was really fun until we realized that all of our hard work was in vain - the pumpkins were a moldy, juicy mess within three days. Sad though we were, we decided to try again when our Sunday school group decided to have a pumpkin-carving activity. The fruits (literally) of our labor:

 Jake's Pumpkin - So Awesome!

 My Pumpkin

Another recent adventure: making my first quilt. Jill, one of my really good friends from school, just had a baby at the beginning of October. So I decided to make a quilt for her baby, thinking that it would be a quick and easy project. After all, you just have to put a piece of fabric on either side of some batting and sew it together, right? Wrong. This was a really challenging project. Without my mother's advice and my mother-in-law's detailed instructions, I never would have finished. I think it turned out well, and I enjoyed making it. Here are some pictures of the quilt:

The End of a Great Summer

 (Sorry, I wrote this a long time ago and just never posted it. Enjoy.)

Jake went back to school today, which means that our summer is over. I'm really disappointed because, let's face it, schoolwork stinks, even when I don't have to do it. Anyway, the beginning of the new school year depresses me, so I decided to think back on all of the fun things we did together over the summer.

First, I graduated! My parents came down, and I walked in my cap and gown. It was definitely a good start to the summer. Then, Jake's parents took us to Hawaii! We went to the beach, we visited a really cool geyser, we went on a zipline tour, we river kayaked (sadly, there are no pictures to document this great feat of mine, since I know it's impossible to believe that this land-dweller would do such a thing), and we ate so much seafood! Here are a few pictures from our trip:

Yes, Jake and I decided to travel to Hawaii via alligator. You can see my dad, Ryan, and Will seeing us off in the background.

The view from our hotel room.

 

As soon as we got there, I started getting friendly with the locals. Aloha!

 

Yes, chocolated.

 

Why did the rooster cross the road? In Kauai, there are so many of them, they don't need a reason.

 

Spouting Horn. Like Old Faithful, but more reliable. And warmer.

 

 

Okay, the picture might be too small for you to see, but there is a turtle in this one. It's almost in the exact center of the photo. There is a brown spot just above the rocks. Turtle. Turtle. I like turtles.

 

Waimea Canyon. Basically the Grand Canyon of Hawaii.

 

Who lives in that house? Honestly. Let us push them off the cliff and take their home.

 

I was really excited about the plant life. This Bromeliad was in the gardens neighboring our resort, as were most of the following plants.

 

Lilies and lily pads. These actually exist.

 

There is just not enough concrete in Kauai. The local teens resort to plant graffiti.

 

There is a lizard in this picture. Can you see him? These were all over, and they change color like chameleons. So cool.

 

He's easier to see in this one.

 

Cactus in Hawaii? So many cacti. We saw all different varieties, and it was everywhere.

 

Chocolate Plantation! Yes, inside of those weird pods is chocolate. We got to taste the actual cocoa beans that were in them - it was pretty disgusting. They gave us some of the good, refined stuff later.

 

Pineapple. Who knew that it grew like this? I thought it sat down on the ground more, but it comes right out of there.

 

While I was occupying myself with plants, Jake was photographing the wildlife. Too bad we couldn't bring this little friend home with us. I'm sure it would have attracted many more for us.

Another winter has only further convinced Jake and I that we need to live in Hawaii.