'Twas Our 2013 Christmas

'Twas December, the last month of twenty-thirteen,

and our days were so full, they required caffeine.

There were presents to wrap, Christmas cards to mail,

and, ok, a new addiction to watch (this show about jail).

There were Indianapolis sites to hit before we left for a week,

including a house full of 86 trees  - some new, some antique.

Those 52,000 lights kept that house in high degrees,

they don't even turn on their heat - they just turn on those trees.

People tour their house for four hours every night,

and they don't even charge you to see this holiday sight.

We found another dose of cheer at Indy's Museum of Art

We heard there were pre-WWI decorations, so we had to take part.

Little did we know they had much more there for you - 

carolers, Christmas crafts, even a live reindeer, too.

Then it was down to Evansville for one week's time,

full of family, food, games - just sublime.

We slept in late and laughed more than enough.

Seeing Christmas end is always so tough.

But Christmas Eve night I sat and stared at this tree,

and had time to stop and reflect on what Christmas truly means to me.

Then soon after that, it was back on the road.

But this time, a van! three kids! Parent mode.

We drove two cute girls, and one cute boy,

up to our house, to prolong our Christmas joy.

Their parents came too, just a few hours behind us
I'm sure they were wondering in what state they would find us.

But their kids were so sweet, and we kept all three alive!
They were dreaming of sugar plums when their parents arrived.

We woke up, ate cereal, some of us chased the cat,

then headed to the Children's Museum, the nation's biggest, at that.

There was the Yule Slide, the dinosaurs, pirates in a play,

and enough other things to entertain us all day.

After a downtown tour and dinner, they were back in their car,

and we were back to wishing our families weren't spread so far.

But don't worry, it's not over! We really spread our Christmas thin.

That night was our gift-giving celebration (Amazon for the win!)

To Michael: A trivia lover's complete world guide

and a remote control helicopter - the boy could have cried.

For Maddie: A helmet, to protect my riding head,

plus Boggle (come play!) and a five-year journal, to jot in before bed.

A package from Utah brought more even more Christmas treasure,

including these childhood keepsakes - their value has no measure.

You may see a silly stuffed dog with a torn hole in his knee,

but that's my lifelong friend, sweet Delta Doggie.

Plus a Pocahontas nintendo game that I can't believe works anymore,

but it's hopeless... 9-year-old Maddie will always have the high score.

And don't mind the tired face in that picture up there,

I've been sniffling and coughing, still looking worse for the wear. 

But even sick days can't take away from our great Christmas break,

I mean, look at this last gift, for heaven's sake.

A snow cone machine. For reals. Can you believe it?

From sweet friends who said they saw it and just couldn't leave it.

They remembered how hard I searched for snow cones last summer,

and looks like this year, the search won't be such a bummer!

We'll have our very own snow cone party, be there or be square.

But first we'll get through winter, and real snow. Beware.

That was our Christmas. It flew by, so fast.

I can't believe it's already added to Christmases past!

So now, to New Year's. It will be fun too, right?

Merry Christmas to all, 

and to all a good night.

The Post-School Weekend

Life has slowed down a little around here, and that is a welcome feeling! Michael rocked his finals and his hardest semester yet. We are a little intimidated by next semester (supposedly the worst of the four-year dental experience), but we will just take it one day at a time! We celebrated at the Cheesecake Factory and the Hobbit on Friday, and Michael even went to Sephora with me for a minute even though it was supposed to be his night :) Good man. If you know Michael, you know he's got some skills at getting things for free - so here he is with his celebratory (free) pina colada at our celebratory (free) movie outing after our celebratory (free) dinner. Crazy kid.

And since there are so, so many good movies adding up on my to-see list, we even knocked out another one the next night. I'm telling you, this change of pace has been so great! The Naylors came along to see Frozen with us, and I was loving every minute of it. I had no expectations for that movie because I honestly haven't seen or heard a lot about it. But I was in love with it. Cute songs, funny characters, great voices (why did I not know Kristen Bell was a singer? Why can I not sing like Idina Menzel? These are big questions). And Thomas Naylor's constant commentary (snowman! reindeer! snowman! princess!) makes for big improvements on any movie going experience. He and the movie had me cracking up so much. Maybrie loved it too, as long as the music didn't build up too much. She requested that we leave every time that happened.

And then Sunday we had some friends over who also suffer the effects of finals week for a new end-of-the-semester tradition. We each created parts of the Cafe Rio experience that we so miss, and combined forces for an extremely tasty Cafe Rio recreation. At one point Maybrie was heard exclaiming, "This is the BEST. PARTY. EVER!" But I'm pretty sure we were all missing out on whatever the kids were doing at that point. But it seems like everyone had a good time, in their own way.

Look at that deliciousness. I even picked up some tinfoil "bowls" to really get in the right mindset for this experience. Even though it tasted SO good, we all ended up reflecting on why oh why it still doesn't taste the same. Who's sending me a Cafe Rio salad for Christmas? Anyone? If you want to give our copycats a try, we found them all conveniently located together here. 

Then we finished the night trying to find a new TV series to waste time on together, ended up three episodes into this one, and then proceeded to have bad dreams about it. Well, just one of us had bad dreams. I wish I could say it was Michael... but, I wouldn't be fooling anyone.

After a totally celebratory and relaxing weekend, it's hard to get back to the semi-grind on Monday! Back to work for me, and Michael is still coming downtown with me to study on campus all day. He has to take Part I of his boards examinations in January, so no lasting rest for the weary. We are so looking forward to Christmas! I sent a flat rate package home to Utah today that might very well explode before arriving there, despite my layers and layers of tape. I have way too much fun picking out presents for my cute family. The wrapping part ... not as much fun. Not nearly as much fun.

Eight more days to Christmas! And I haven't even watched Elf yet. Yikes.

Football, Turkey, etc.

Before I start this post, I need to ask you something. Have you ever been to a tiny dance recital? As in, tiny little girls just barely old enough to understand that they're at a dance recital, up on the stage following their teacher's hints in the front row? I hope you have. If you're my parents, you went to way too many of those. 

And if you have been to one, do you remember the little girls who forget some of their tiny dance, look around, realize what is supposed to be happening, and then they go into fast forward mode because they will not let any move they've learned go un-danced? Rather than just catch up to where the group is at, they have to speed through the entire portion of the routine that they zoned out for, before finally catching back up with their neighbors. Those girls are in every group, and thank goodness for that, because every eye on the audience is usually watching them with a big grin.

My point is, that's how I'm running my blog during these busy months that always feel like a sprint to the end of the year. I could just look around and realize that what's passed is passed, and I should tell you about today. BUT. No. First I'm going to go in fast forward mode and speed through all the happenings that have gone un-blogged as of late. Here.we.go.

BYU vs. Notre Dame - what a day. The best part was having Michael's friend/old roommate/old mission companion/tandem bike buddy (story for another day) visiting us for the game. We miss our Utah friends! We just loved having him here and catching up with him.

Enough about the best part...let's talk about the worst. Ooooh my goodness, people, those temperatures. I have never been so cold in so many layers of clothing. It was a record cold game for that Notre Dame stadium. We were so grateful we could be there for that monumental moment. .... 

Really though, it was actually pretty fun. Survival mode was entertaining, and we made friends with the fun Notre Dame fans all around us. I mean, they couldn't hate us too much, right? (Scoreboard.)

We went up early that day and had fun exploring campus. We saw a bagpipes concert, the players' walk through the crowd, a lecture about Mitt Romney and the effect Mormonism had on his campaign, and ate lunch at The Huddle. We met up with another one of Michael's friends from Evansville for part of the day, and we all loved seeing the beautiful campus. 

Thanksgiving finally came around this year (wrong week, am I right?) and we were so happy to head down to Evansville for some family time. Rachel came in from Colorado and Katie from DC, and Diana's family from Iowa. We even got to see Michael's grandparents, who were visiting from Utah. I love being with family! Nothing is more refueling than that. That could also be due to the amount of food we ate. So, so much food. I don't think we were ever hungry for 6 days straight.

Then it was home to this little guy! Our tree is just tiny small, and pretty simple, and I am in love with it. I stare it so often. Christmas trees bring such a sweet spirit into homes, and I love having our own small version of those things. Homes, Christmases, family... just our size.

The last few weeks winter has been raging. Single-digit temperatures with wind chills stealing even the few degrees we have. Humidity really does a number with cold weather. I now believe that no one can own too many pairs of slipper socks. They must be kept on at.all.times. 

Also, I'm currently accepting applications for a Christmas present wrapper. I'll pay you in English Toffee and good conversation. 

Life Lately

Things have been happening around here. Blogging just hasn't been one of them. Let's just get right into it.

WICKED finally came, and we went on our long awaited date to that beautiful, fun play. Getting tickets for my birthday in September was so happy, and every time I remembered we were going in November I would get just as happy all over again. It was like the birthday present that never stopped giving. Wicked gives me goosebumps (and some tears) every time. I even went to it by myself once when I was on a business trip, because I just can't not see it if I'm within a reasonable distance. Michael liked it. I don't know if he loved it, but he liked it.

My sister came into town! Kind of a quick last minute trip, and it was so fun having her around. We had a pizza/pajamas/Pitch Perfect party (so many p's) one night when Michael had to stay late in the lab at school. There was even a fleeting moment when she actually held our little cat. If you know this girl, you know that's a big deal. Animals are not her thing... especially cats. I think Kitty kind of senses that, and it doesn't help things. So this was a big moment.

We drove down to Louisville on Saturday to go to the temple and to see Michael's dad. He was nice enough to bring a couple bikes so that the four of us could go for a ride along the river. It was actually a beautiful day, once you were moving enough!

This bridge was especially fun to ride along, and it had music playing over speakers. We did about 15 miles together and had some delicious BBQ for lunch before heading back to Indianapolis. It's so fun being surrounded by different cities and visiting them with family.

I actually put Ali to work while she was here... She just knows how to get things done so I couldn't help it! I get to work with the 8-11 year old girls at my Church, and learn about Christ with them through fun activities and service projects. (It's called Activity Days.) This last week we had our annual "Modesty Fashion Show" and Ali and Michael helped out so much. We decorated, made yummy treats, and had fun watching those girls have a ball. Their parents and the Young Women in our Church came to watch them. We gave each of the girls a little mirror with a note that says "Inside is a Daughter of God." I know that each of those girls truly are daughters of God. I love getting to know them and helping them come to know that fact for themselves. They really are special. (That night they modeled four categories of clothes, and the last one was pajamas... if you're wondering about the PJs in the picture.)

Sunday started out with Michael's favorite thing in the world, blueberry coffee cake. It's honestly the only food I've ever seen him overeat on. But it doesn't even count as overeating because... well, he can afford to eat about a dozen of these coffee cakes if he wanted to. It's definitely good stuff, but to Michael it about tops everything else.

Ali and I played a piano duet in Church that day, and it went surprisingly well considering we laughed the ENTIRE time the first time we practiced it. Sisters are so giggly. And then the rest of our Church meetings were cancelled for the day because we had storm and tornado warnings - so, back to pajamas and coffee cake! We spent the day eating good food and playing the Wii and just laughing. I so love family. The weather was crazy, but no tornadoes touched down in Indianapolis. Quite a few did throughout the state and Midwest, though.

Tomorrow we are headed to South Bend to watch BYU beat Notre Dame. Um, please look at this weather forecast. I bought 6 packs of hand warmers and I don't plan on limiting them to my hands. I read that with the wind chill combined, it will feel like 7 degrees during the last half of the game.... holy moly, wish me and the Cougars good luck.

Go Cougs!

Michael and His Birthday

Michael and I share almost two months of being the same age each year, then he moves on without me. Here's a picture of his dental life in action. He brought that project home to "catch up" but really I think he just wanted to impress me with his fire tools. It worked. Michael's dental life also kind of stole the excitement from his birthday - he had his monthly exam the very next morning. Basically he studied all day between phone calls from friends and family, and I just made a lot of food in the kitchen since he still has to eat at some point and food was our only form of celebration available. #dentalschoolprobs

He requested raspberry cheesecake for his birthday, and I did a slightly poor job of bringing this recipe to life. Maybe we'll just blame the results on the fact that I don't have a Springform pan, but there was definitely more to it than that... I have a love-hate relationship with Pioneer Woman recipes.

Michael has a love-hate relationship with pictures, but it is actually more just hate. I took this picture like 15 times, and you get the blurry one because he's making uncooperative faces in the other 14. I don't even know if he remembered to make a wish, he was so intent on being difficult through the whole experience. 

He brought his wishless birthday on himself.

Michael had no idea what was coming for his birthday. I kind of let him get comfortable with the assumption that I bought him Apple TV, because he's had his eye on that. But we actually had a BYU birthday instead - with some game day t-shirts and tickets to the BYU vs. Notre Dame game this month! We'll drive up to South Bend just before Thanksgiving and see our Cougars play. I'm sure we'll get all nostalgic. Unless we're too cold to feel any of that sentimental stuff. The best part is that Michael's friend Jason is coming out and heading to the game with us! Michael had no idea. Thanks for helping me pull off the surprise, Jason!

We seriously love all our friends out here, we have so much fun with them. We had a little FaceTime action between all the studying so that Thomas and Maybrie could wish Michael happy birthday, complete with some original song and dance. These two just love Michael. When they see me, and Michael isn't around, it sometimes results in tears.

It was a good day, even though studying tried to take it all. Michael slept about three hours last night, so his 26 experience is starting out a little sleep deprived. He got an A on his test though! Probably his birthday present of choice. 

Well no, THIS is still his #1 birthday present of choice... should I be worried about that? 

Happy birthday, Michael! I love, love you!

This is Halloween

There is a black cat that has become taken with our back porch lately. Her yellow moon eyes beg for food, and she's in the right place to play that trick. Our own little cat watches from inside, completely fixated with the view out of her window. She's deeply offended to see an intruder sharing her food. Occasionally she hisses, but mostly she just moans. A completely disappointed whine.

We woke up to rain beating the windows. Mornings are holding onto darkness longer these days, and you feel it when you work through routine. I made my way downstairs, where the increasingly familiar sound of whining from my cat met my ears. It was obvious why - the black cat was eating her food once again, but this time inside her house. Inside my house. "Michael, you let that other stray cat in? I thought we agreed! One was our max!" Despite my slight relief that this little animal was warm through a storm last night, I couldn't hide the fact that I was annoyed.

"What are you talking about? I never let it in," Michael said, as he came in the kitchen.

"You didn't? But ... it was already down here, when I came downstairs. I think it has been here all night," I told him, staring at those big yellow eyes that stared back. Without the glass barrier, they seemed to lose some innocence.

She must have slipped in when I closed the door last night, I decided. We sent her back outside after breakfast and then left. Work and school wait for no one, not even Halloween.

That afternoon we rounded the last corner to our apartment, and the black cat bolted across the street in front of us at the last possible moment. With just a slight swerve, and the smallest of shudders, I was in our parking spot and making my way up our walk. I went straight upstairs, always ready to turn my business casual to casual as quickly as possible. There, at the top of my stairs, were yellow waiting eyes. The black cat watched me pause. We both stared, for just a moment. This time I knew I felt no sympathy for it, and its eyes seemed to understand the same. How did it get in?

I shooed it outside, nudging its final inches out the door with my foot. My own little cat was instantly there, circling between my ankles as a thank you. That night, I was too aware of the windows. I kept my glances elsewhere, avoiding eye contact with any potential eyes on the other side. I thought I caught glimpses of bright, reflective yellow here and there, but I refused to meet the gaze. And I refused to touch the doors, until Halloween had passed.

And with that, here are some possibilities you can take or leave:

|| Maybe only the first paragraph is true. ||

or 

|| Maybe this is the real reason why Manchester Village has a "don't feed the cats" rule. ||

And here's a little list for you if you're in the mood for some spooky short-story reading, which happens to be my Halloween celebration of choice. No scary movies. No haunted houses. Don't even try reading these out loud to me. I just like a good short story reading session with hot chocolate, and Reeses pumpkins are always invited.

|| The Signal-Man by Charles Dickens ||

|| The Monkey's Paw by W. W. Jacobs ||

|| The Statement of Randolph Carter by H.P. Lovecraft ||

|| Oh, Whistle, And I'll Come To You, My Lad by M.R. James ||

What spooky short stories do you love?

October's Ruthless Fly By

Months slip by quicker than days sometimes. They seem so substantial, four-ish whole weeks. And even when they're filled with a few of those days that kind of crawl, months still find this way of slipping by and suddenly being gone. MIA until next year, when they'll pull the same trick. Normally I just shake my head and move into the next set of 30 days, full of its own holidays and plans. But when it's October? That always makes it just a little harder. We spend so much time rejoicing in leaves and pumpkins and cider that by the time you're really settling in, November is already there waiting. 

And nothing against November, but two Octobers in a row isn't something I'd complain about. It's the month that gets busy people to pile in cars just to drive and look at leaves. People who sometimes rush through those 11 other months with hardly a thought. That's something, October. It's also the month that turns air and apples into something crisp, and people look around just a little more. I still don't know where Michael and I are going to "settle down" some day and live a permanent life, but if October was an option, it'd be high on my list. I would totally live in October.

In other news, we found treasure yesterday. No maps were involved, but it was technically hidden and it felt kind of thrilling. We had two red pomegranates sitting idly by in our kitchen, and we decided to get involved with them. We had to utilize a YouTube video to be successful, and the process didn't disappoint. Isn't it amazing how many jewels are packed away in one solid pomegranate? All of them so protected for so long? We just kept finding more and more. All of them deep red and threatening to stain clothes and fingers.

Michael and I used to pick pomegranates in Jerusalem. They weren't even ripe in the summer there, but we still picked them because it felt so perfect. We'd sit with friends on the hill outside the Jerusalem Center looking at this view and talk and laugh, or just look at the city. Those were good moments. I don't remember if I was already falling in love, or if I ever wondered if I'd some day eat a pomegranate with Michael in our own kitchen. But we did fall in love. And we did eat a pomegranate in our own kitchen. And that was a good moment, too. That summer flew by. October flew by. Someday I will say the same about life. 

So, here's to filling it with more good moments.

Pure Michigan: Part 2

The next chapter of our Michigan trip felt like a step back in time. We reached Mackinaw City to take a ferry ride across Lake Huron to Mackinac Island. Don't ask me to explain that spelling discrepancy to you, but both are pronounced [Mack-in-awe]. And awe is right. Look at this place:

There are only bikes and horses on the island, no cars. The main street right at the docks is adorable and touristy, but there is a lot more to the island. Native Americans lived on the island until the 17th century. Britain established Fort Mackinac there during the Revolutionary War, and two battles were fought on the island during the War of 1812. It's not quite four square miles, and we rode the eight mile path around the perimeter twice. We couldn't get enough of it!

The island is hilly and full of forest and just beautiful. At one point Michael led us onto what we later found out was a ski path. That was fun on bikes... and we went up to a lookout point by that arch there. Seeing a mountainous arch just made my Utah-born heart fill with joy. Riding my bike on a ski path to it, not so much. Our first day there was full of fog and clouded skies, but the next day was completely clear and sunny. Both are good.

There were just so many exploration options in the middle of the island. Like this staircase that looked so appealing going down but then magically turned three times as big when it was time to go back up. We also rode through the area of the island where all the residents live. It was interesting to read about what life is like as a permanent resident on the island (most of the homes are summer homes, but almost 500 people live there year-round).

We stopped by the Governor's House, but the Governor was not there. June and July is the right time to go to Mackinac Island, apparently. But I'm all for the fall. There was a sign to not pet the dog, so we hung around a little bit hoping to catch a glimpse of said dog (and probably pet him), but apparently he is with the Governor. Not on the island.

The cemetery was best explored on the foggy day. It felt like we were the only two people on the island. I always love finding the oldest date in a graveyard that I can. But there is always so much sad math to be found.

The Grand Hotel looms over the island in all its majesty. It boasts the largest porch in the world, and you can't even go inside after a certain hour if you're not completely dressed in formal wear. To be honest, you're not even allowed to ride bikes on the road in front of the hotel. But if you don't see that sign until after you do that, consider it beating the system. We did. The hotel has been visited by Mark Twain, Thomas Edison, multiple presidents, and Michael and Maddie Daetwyler. (The road in front of it, at least.)

We found our own personal beach spot that was complete with an endless supply of perfect skipping rocks. We're talking round, smooth, medium-sized beauties. Michael holds the record at nine skips and for some reason I have a glass ceiling of four. A short-distanced four. But it didn't take away from the experience.

Oh those Michigan sunsets.

We stayed in a hotel that I'm convinced was haunted. Not because of any actual experiences. Just because it was old and full of ominous photographs from ages ago. Had to be haunted. Michael fell asleep within seconds, as always, and I proceeded to watch two (2) movies all by myself, because I was possibly just avoiding the moment that the lights had to be turned out... I am so extremely good at creeping myself out.

But, even with my haunting suspicions, I was so sad to leave the island the next morning. We set off on our ferry back to the mainland, and I just stared back at this place with so much love for it. I want everyone to go. You, reading this. You should go. Don't think I took the time to link these two Michigan posts all up for nothing. This is your travel guide for your future visit, and we will gladly come with you.

I mean, the island is famous for fudge, and we completely forgot to buy any or even try a sample. So, looks like we'll just have to go back soon.

Pure Michigan: Part 1

Michael had a Fall Break from dental school last week. He probably could have slept through the entire thing, but we decided to hit the road instead. We have been needing a good dose of fall colors around here, so we packed up our bikes and headed north.

North, north, north. See that loop we made? The drive was beautiful. We loved driving next to water and seeing the gorgeous views and colors. Josh Ritter sang us the whole way there. And back, for that matter. Road trip music at its finest.

Our first stop: Grand Haven, MI. We stopped for (an extremely delicious) lunch and decided to ride the bike paths out to the boardwalk and lighthouse. We met so many friendly people on that trail. I feel like they all had golden doodles, taunting us. Oh how we will love a puppy some day. We'll be making another trip to Grand Haven next summer to catch their famous musical fountain and to experience the boardwalk at peak season. Maybe we'll even try our hand at the annual sand sculpture contest. You just wait and see.

It was a clear, beautiful day, but all the posted warning and safety signs definitely give an ominous feel to the water. You can just tell that Lake Michigan knows how to storm. The water was freeeezing but we couldn't resist walking through it. Grand Haven is, after all, one of the best beaches in the country according to Good Morning America, so...had to embrace the cold. Not as much, though, as the man who was going for a full on deep water swim. He talked to us afterwards, acting like it was nothing. Maybe your body just provides some extreme acclimation if you're always surrounded by a beautiful tempting beach and cold water.

Back to the road. 

Road + Dr. Pepper = Happy.

Our next stop was Leland, MI. We went up here and stayed at a hotel Michael's parents told us about, called Falling Waters Lodge. It was awesome - water ran right by our hotel room, with salmon trying their hardest to swim upstream. We could have been entertained by that for quite a while. 

I also kind of loved the loud water noise while we fell asleep that night. (Side note: Michael falls asleep in about 6 seconds, average. I'm pushing one hour most nights. I told you I was getting older. You just rolled your eyes.) 

We watched the sunset over Lake Michigan, and it was gorgeous. 

The "Pure Michigan" slogan is probably the best branding I've seen from any state. All the people we met and cities we drove through just seemed to keep that message impressively consistent. Michael is ready to move there, actually. I insist we take a winter trip there before he becomes too enamored with that idea...

Sunset, take two.

The next morning we grabbed breakfast at a local bakery and hopped on our bikes to explore the town a little more. Leaves were everywhere and I was just completely happy. It felt just like fall should feel. 

I feel like I wore my love for September on my sleeve just to have that month hold out on me. It was full of 80-degree days that I refused to recognize, and instead continued to make soups for dinner while wearing fall sweaters and ignoring the overheating that most definitely happened. Fine, September. Let October show you up. But next year you better put in a little more effort.

Then, it was back on the road for our final stretch up to Mackinaw City, to catch our ferry to THIS magical land.

But that is a post for tomorrow. Stay tuned.