Christmas Break

What a great Christmas Break we have had! There is so much to catch up on, I must start at the beginning. Snow storms kept us in the apartment those first few days of our break, which I don't mind at all. We had so much snow at our apartment, my car had to be dug out. Some blessed souls in our ward brought over their snow blower and snow shovels and dug out all the cars on the street. I am so grateful for all the kind people around me! Chad and I had our first Christmas together, on December 20th! It was Saturday morning, we woke up and opened our presents from each other (that we had wrapped and put under the tree only a week before!). We made breakfast and spent the day laying around our apartment. Our big present to each other was a new TV (thanks to Chad's parents for their help purchasing the TV!). We actually bought the TV on black friday, so we have been enjoying it all month. Chad has enjoyed his video games more than I thought possible with the new giant flat screen. I surprised Chad with a new football and a Colts jacket. He surprised me with Mamma Mia, Elf and pillows that match our couch. We also bought some games and clothes. It was so fun to have a little Christmas morning all to ourselves!

These are some pics of our new hoodies and our Christmas tree. It was a little mangey looking, but we loved it anyway! Also, sorry the one is sideways, I don't know how to rotate it!

This year for Christmas, my mom did a little 12 days of Christmas. We had so much fun opening a little gift every day. We got new hoodies, giant cookie skillets, beanies, a cute blanket, games, christmas stories and movies, and so much more. When my parents first brought us the box of wrapped gifts, I thought Chad was going to go nuts! He wanted to open all the gifts the first day! The last gift of the 12 days was a giant picture of the Manti Temple. It is gorgeous. It is brown tones and looks like it has been distressed (I think that is the correct term). I have seen them in Deseret Book and wanted one for so long. I love it!

We spent Christmas Day with my family in Gunnison. My family is all grown up, and not much fun, so thank goodness for neices and nephews! It was fun to see them so excited about all their new things. My parents bought a Wii as a family gift. We spent lots of time bowling, boxing, and all the rest. We spent 5 days in Gunnison (thanks Chad for being so patient :)) We had a party with my Dyreng cousins, which is always a good time. The boys played a little basketball game. I think my dad was in heaven with all the ball players in the family, and thinking of what a great team they could make. We also threw a baby shower for Sam. She and Casey are expecting a baby boy in February, and we are so excited for them!

It is nearly New Year's Eve, and the beginning of a new year. This year has been the best yet. It is crazy to think that this time a year ago, Chad and I were just friends in the ward. I never would have thought that I would marry him and be this in love with him. I have truely been blessed this year. We are celebrating this great year with some friends tonight, although we will miss Meg, she just had a baby on Christmas Day! Let me just wish you all good luck with your new year resolutions. I know I am going to need luck to get through mine! Happy New Year everyone!

The First Month...

Ha! It worked! I love it when things work on the first try and I don't have to get frustrated! Anyway, things have been going so good for Chad and I. The wedding was great! It was such a perfect day for both of us. Everything was beautiful and went smoothly, all except the mix up with the capes! In the dressing room at the temple, I put on this white cape that my cousin Stacey let me borrow, because it was FREEZING! So, we are taking pictures outside the temple and another girl walked up to me and told me I had her cape. I guess there were two and I grabbed the wrong one and took all my pictures in it. Oops! It is a funny thing I will always be able to laugh at. I will also always laugh remembering that Chad's family decorated the wrong car in the church parking lot! A day after the wedding, Chad and I flew off to California to board our cruise of Baja, Mexico. We had so much fun. It was great just to relax and spend the entire week together. I am a terrible picture taker, but here are just a few we were able to take on the honeymoon.
This is Chad and I at the restaurant in Ensenada. We sat on a beautiful balcony and made our own Mexican food. It was a lot of fun, even though I burnt my eye after touching the hot peppers. :(

Above are some pics at Catalina Island. We went sea kyaking around a couple miles of the island. It was gorgeous. We stopped here at "Frog Rock" (does the rock look like a sitting frog to you?) and played around on the beach.

The two pictures above were both taken at Ensenada. The second one is a picture of the actual Black Pearl! It there in the bay for some movie promotion or something.

Well, after the honeymoon we had a reception in Powell, Wyoming (Chad's hometown) and then came back to life in Orem. We have had a blast putting our apartment together. We recently spent the Thanksgiving weekend with Chad's family. We spent the weekend shopping (well I shopped and Chad played the wii), bowling, going to the Jazz game, and of course eating! It was fun to see them all again. My brother Casey brought us our first christmas tree all the way from Gunnison. I bought some decorations at Tai Pan (part of the weekend shopping) and we put the tree together. It is a little scrappy looking, but we love it! And... I think that pretty much covers the first month and a half of Chad and Mandi. I can tell that I am going to like this blogging thing. Thanks to all those who talked me into it!

My First Blog... I hope it works!

Well, I caved. I am now a blogger. It is something that everyone has been telling me to do, which is why I have not wanted to do it. I have this problem where I don't want to do things that everybody else is doing or tells me to do. For instance, I used to love watching The Office, now, it drives me crazy and I refuse to watch it, just because everyone else is. Anyway, this is my first post and a practice, lets see if it works!