"Oh wonderful snow, don't you wish you could roll about in it like dogs?"

 YES. To quote Coldplay "When you're still waiting for the snow to fall, it doesn't really feel like Christmas at all." Let me tell you, Coldplay was right! Not even that there is no snow, I can handle no snow, but it's 60 degrees here people, there's not even a chill. No matter how many times I listen to "The Carpenter's Christmas" I still can't quite get into the spirit of things. But alas, I will persevere. However, I was walking downtown today and saw a group of people dressed in red. One lady with a red balloon came up to me and said "Hello, we are here spreading the Christmas cheer and giving balloons to people who aren't smiling." Did I really look that grumpy? She gave me a hug and went on her merry way. Then I saw some people dressed up as carolers, so now I feel a little happier about things. But I was left walking around alone downtown with a balloon in my hand like a child. Anyway, it's a good thing  we are headed to good old Blanding Utah for Christmas to be with Randaroosky's family. I am beyond excited. Only a couple more weeks until we leave.


If you read my last post you will remember that I promised a story of two drunken men on Thanksgiving. It's really not that exciting, but here it is. Rands and I were on our way home from seeing the new Hunger Games movie (it's super good by the way) As we are walking I see two guys just sitting on the sidewalk. As we walk past one of them says "Hey, do you guys know where the nearest bar is?" Being super knowledgeable on all the most hip hoppin' bars in town I said "There are some that way downtown, but they are probably closed." In a slurred manner he replies "Yeeeeeah we checked. We are literally just waiting for a cab so we can go back to our hotel and get drunk some more, but... can we hang out with you guys?" Randy replied that we were old and married and we would be no fun to hang out with and we wished them a Happy Thanksgiving and left. It made me sad to think that someone's Thanksgiving consisted of just getting drunk all day, but I will always remember the two drunken fools that wanted to hang out with me on Thanksgiving. Manny and Fred. (i'd like to imagine those were their names.)

Let me explain, no there is too much.... let me sum up.

Here I am sitting in our little apartment in Claremont California writing my first blog post. Hopefully this will make up for all those sporadic journal entries I made growing up. You know the entries that end with "more tomorrow" but the date on the next entry is two years later. Yep. That is totally me. Where to begin? Recently I have had a lot of big changes in my life. In December 2013 I got married. 2014 Randy was accepted to Graduate school in California, we both graduated from BYU-Idaho and made the big move here. I will admit, I was more than a little nervous come the morning of the big move. Tears were shed as I snacked on carrot sticks and listened to Queen. Yeah, I'm a big baby. But nevertheless, we packed up in our Budget truck and made the 22 hour drive to Claremont. That was the hardest part. Sitting in the car for hours on end, not knowing what it would be like when we got there. But we survived and are loving it here! Our ward is fantastic. There have been so many kind and generous people who have gone out of our way to make us feel welcome. That's the great thing about the church; you have a family everywhere you go. I am the newest choir director and have been laden with the task of coming up with an entire Christmas program. (it wasn't that hard, I stole one from online. don't tell) Randy teaches the youth (12-15 year old) all the guys think he is hilarious and all the girls have crushes on him. Next week is Randy's last week of his first semester in Graduate School. Of course, he rocked it. I am so proud of him. He was made to be a Scholar. But not this girl. My first thought when I graduated was "Yes, I never have to go to school again." (or take another math class) I teach voice lessons from home and I LOVE it. It's seriously the best thing ever. I have 8 students right now, but I hope to continue to get more. I love being able to do what I love for a job. Not only that, but I get to meet a lot of interesting people I would have never met otherwise. I have many other things to comment on such as family, dealing with the fact that there is no snow here in December, and a story of two drunk men on Thanksgiving, but alas it is very late, so I will leave you with some photos of random things that have recently happened in our lives. Enjoy!

Randy asked me to marry him. (it's a really great story in case you were wondering)

We got married two days after Christmas (sorry mom) 

I performed in my Senior Recital. It was the most stressful process of my entire adult life, and my voice was gone by the end of it.

I thought I'd add this little beauty. Did I mention I love Opera? At the burg I got to be in Operas ALL the time and I loved it. This was the Ride of the Valkyries by Wagner. We presented it with a more modern twist by dressing up like bikers. My Character was Grim Gerde. And yes I will be naming my first child that. Regardless of gender.

And yes, we were Clark Kent and Lois Lane for Halloween. And yes we won a prize for best couples costume. You're welcome world