Christmas Eve-Eve-Eve!

The best part of this Christmas has been shopping for my husband....this was our first Christmas together as a married couple so I was very anxious to get him everything he wanted....just one problem--he didn't want anything! In fact he told me to not get him anything....I was a little stubborn when it came to this. I drilled him for days, suggesting some of the most desirous gifts....he didn't budge. He finally said that he wanted me to get him things he "needed". Let's just say I took this term very loosely!

The chilly weather, temple lights, lit Christmas tree, fighting shoppers (well I did all mine online this year so I lucked out on this one).....all these signs of Christmas just get me so giddy! And.....well there is one certainty that you can always count on in this life....

Presents + Cec = IMPATIENCE!!!

Yup, I was one of those kids who snuck around to find out what I was getting...and Clint knew this....So he was very adamant about hiding my gifts at his mom's house.....well this spoiled any plans I might have considered for finding out what I was getting, so I did what any dignified wife would do.....................I BEGGED!!....needless to say, it worked. We opened all our presents Saturday night.

The best was when Clint went to his mom's to pick up my gifts, I finished wrapping some last minute stuff and stuffing his stocking. He showed up back home a little while later and handed me a bag and told me to open it. I was a little confused because I was expecting the whole "sit down and open gifts together" scenario, but whatever, I ripped it open and found some doggie toys, food, treats.......I was so confused.....he knew (and loved it) so he handed me another bag and this one had more puppy stuff......I was starting to think that I was getting a puppy but there was no puppy to be found and when I asked him he said "well now you have all the stuff and you get to go pick one out!".....I was a little disappointed, so he asked me to come out to the truck to help him unload the rest of the boxes......as soon as I stepped out there was my little sister-in-law holding the cutest little white mini-Schnauzer pup I had ever seen!!!!!!....it was mine....I got a stinkin puppy, I could hardly believe it!

So yea we now have a little pup named Scooter! He is so much fun.....(I must say, he might be a little spoiled). We are planning to take a family pic soon so I will post it when I get it done.

Moore, Wigss, Henriquez, and Burgess...

This weekend was a BLAST!! It was a mini-missionary reunion. Moore, my district leader, and Wiggs, my companion, hung out with us this weekend. Moore came from UT to visit and we showed him around for the day.

We went shooting at the shooting range......I think we shot skeet.....or trap.....oh, I can't remember what the difference is. Wiggs and I were super nervous because neither of us have ever shot a gun and Clint and Moore (also Clint) were like pros.....well aclaimed pros.....they were talking about elk hunting and duck hunting and 350's and revolvers and shotguns.....it was all jibberish to us! At any rate......the score cards came back and much to their dismay they didn't do as good as they should have......I won't reveal #'s but let's just say I came out in the lead and Moore......well didn't do so hot.....he blamed it on the AZ weather change! Pfffhhh......

After our shoulders were officially dead (well mine atleast was), we went out to eat. Clint and I took them to the pupuseria....they were good sports and tried something new....not sure what they thought.....we had fun though.

We finished off the day at the temple lights. Man! It was freakin cold! Moore got really sick of hearing us wine about that so he threatened to throw Wiggs in the pool.....needless to say that shut us up pretty quick.....Moore is one of those guys you don't want to tease about something like that......he would actually do it!!!

Well it was a lot of fun....I was so tired after that....my shoulder was sore the next morning! Moore we hope it's not the last time you come out to visit!

Done with school....(for now)....FINALLY!!

So I just took my last final.....do you know what that means?......it means that I am officially done with this semester of classes!!! It was the hardest semester I have ever taken...and I knew that when I registered for the classes. Clint convinced me that I could do it and that it would be so worth it because then I would be done with my prereq's and I could just be done until I get into the program.....so I took his advice and I took Organic Chemistry and lab, Microbiology and lab, and Anatomy and Physiology and lab. I knew I would just have to throw myself into it 100% to get A's, so I didn't really do anything this semester other than school....I missed out on a lot of fun activities and get togethers. =(
But the good news is that it is over! Clint was right, it was so worth it. I took my Anatomy final yesterday at 7:30 am (thanks to those who talked me into taking it...I am so glad I did, it ended up replacing my lowest test score and bumped me up a letter grade) and then my Ochem final at 12:20....by 1:45 I was at the bookstore selling my books back!!! It is such a good feeling....I got the grades I wanted so I won't be taking any of them again! It was so nice to get home yesterday, turn on the TV and watch Grey's Anatomy without thinking "I really need to go study". It was nice to get to go to bed at a decent hour without worrying about what quiz I was going to take the next morning!
I am so grateful for those who helped me out, who supported me, tolerated me.....listened when I was in the middle of a major breakdown, and stood by on the sidelines to cheer me on! I couldn't have done it without you guys!!!!

Is this really Arizona!!?

So this morning when we went out to get in the car to leave for work we were so shocked!......there was FOG!!! I couldn't believe it! Clint hurried and got in the car (it was freezing).....I rushed in the house and grabbed my camera and made him pose with me for this photo moment! I was like "babe, look it's fog.....we have to get a picture!" He rolled his eyes, let out a gasp and of course humored me!! I love him! This was so cool.....it totally reminded me of Chicago....I had a melancholy moment on my way to work.

24 years old!

24 years old.....man I always thought that being this old would mean something......but not really.....just means that I am older. It's kinda fun to look back and think " when I was a kid, what did I think I was going to be doing when I turned 24?".


The good thing is I got to spend a night with my brothers and sisters. It was fun. Thanks

guys for coming despite the rainy weather and the waiting over an hour to be seated issue. Thanks for spending time to get out and celebrate! You guys rock! Thanks for the gifts girls.....I am wearing brand new jewelry today!

Elk Hunting

Clint, Alan, and Grampa went Elk Hunting. They had a lot of fun, from what I heard, without the women! That was the longest week of my life...I didn't think I was going to miss Clint so much but I did...it was terrible!

Halloween 2007

Tribe Smak-a-malkou-and-some

So the annual Halloween party was a blast! Candi did an awesome job, as always. Everyone did a great job on the costumes...hands down to the indian tribe's seamstress. I was very impressed with the work she did! There were some very creative costumes that really made up for them being last minute...winner of the prize!!

Hooters Dinner

Josue's 16th Birthday Dinner!

First off, let me start out by saying that Hooters is not what it is all cracked out to be...atleast not the one out here in East Mesa. Nonetheless, the boys were real excited to celebrate Josue's 16th birthday there. They thought they were the coolest teenagers ever! Josue, I have more pics if you want them for your "my space" =] .

Mission pizza creation

Our Homemade pizza creation!!
We were so proud of it!
I was so excited to eat it!

So here's the story behind this...we got a ton of Pillsbury dough for free (with our coupons) and we knew we weren't going to be able to eat that many rolls so I tried out a creation I picked up on the mission...HOMEMADE PIZZA! We even stuffed the crust with string cheese, which made for an awesome extra! So two cans of dough, some spaghetti sauce and tomato paste, cheese, and peperonies are all you need for this yummy creation! It made for a fun date night too.

Clint and Cec

So after a lot of convincing I am on this blog thing trying to figure it out. It might take me some time, but for now here is this picture of us. We went for a walk, we chased down this sunset and hurried and snapped some pics.