Christmas

Since the last post we have completed another semester at BYU-I, and have been enjoying our Christmas break in Rexburg, Idaho. Chris and I both had a very successful semester with good grades (more like GREAT grades) and one semester closer to graduation. Once the semester was completed we opened one of our Christmas presents since we already knew what it was, which were Kindles, and that way we would be able to have time to enjoy them before school started once again. I lucked out this semester in not having any finals and was done December 14th. I enjoyed my break for a couple days and then came down with the flu and wanted to DIE! It was mainly a very miserable one day, but took me a couple days to recover from that.
We have been busy catching up on things that get very much neglected while in school and enjoying our much needed relaxation. December 23rd, we made a little day trip down to the Logan Utah Temple, which can be read about in my other blog. On the way home we stopped and visited some very good friends in Idaho Falls before making our way back to Rexburg. Then Saturday we went shopping for our Christmas dinner and picked up a very nice ham that was on sale, which makes it even better. We also went to a white elephant which was a TON of fun and we were able to spend time with friends.
Christmas morning we got up very excited for Christmas and remembering the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ, the greatest gift ever given. We had some very delicious Christmas rolls that a friend gave to us to have Christmas morning. We then went through our stockings. We were going to open presents after church, but I just couldn't wait anymore. After opening our presents we got ready for church and had a very wonderful time filled with a Christmas message.
After church we prepared dinner and invited two other couples over that didn't have any plans for Christmas dinner. (We would have invited more over, but I figured our little apartment can only hold so many people). We had a wonderful dinner with a very delicious, juicy ham, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, homemade potato chips and rolls, and homemade pumpkin pie. It was oh so good, and we enjoyed spending Christmas with friends. After dinner we played board games and that ended up going until almost 10pm when we realized what time it was. It was truly a wonderful Christmas!
Now I am very excited to use our new GPS (which would have been very useful this last summer while we were in California). Also enjoying the last week or so of our break before our last and final semester at BYU-Idaho. It has been a wonderful time going to school at BYU-Idaho, but I am very excited to see where we end up next and open another chapter in the book of our life.

We have a Secret Santa!

I had just opened the door to go check the mail and here was this Christmas countdown sitting on our doorstep. I feel so special and it is so creative! It is a cookie sheet with a Christmas countdown and magnets. I couldn't believe it and felt so happy that someone thought of us! Last year we had received a gift card as well and I remember how over whelmed I was with love of those who had given it to us. I don't have a clue who it could be from but I wanted to post pictures of it and thought I should take pictures of our other Christmas decorations that we had up. I would have just taken pictures of the apartment, but it is kind of mess from just getting back from Nebraska. I know it probably isn't, but I feel like it is. Here is our cute little countdown calendar that someone left for us.Our stockings all hung up with my plate that I made last year and the nativity. The fish tank with some decorations. NutcrackerAnd of course the Christmas Tree!
I am so excited for Christmas, the break from school and remember the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. It is such a wonderful time of year!

Thanksgiving and Nebraska

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving break and very much enjoyed the time off from school. For Thanksgiving we went over to George and Cindy Speer's mobile home for dinner. They are amazing friends and used to live in our apartment complex, but moved in April. We had a great dinner, watched movies, and played games.
Then November 28th-December 1st Chris and I went on a trip to Scotts Bluff, Nebraska for the Range Beef Cow Symposium. It was a great experience and we did a lot of networking and learned more about possible companies we can work for. The school arranged the trip and had 15 of us that went over for the symposium. We learned so much and were glad for the experience. We were going to tour a ranch but some plans changed and we were watching weather conditions. Luckily we had gotten ahead of a storm that was coming in and were able to make it home safe. Now it will be to just start apply for jobs during Christmas break.

Range Plants Trip

November has been a very busy month. November 11-14th I went on a field trip with my range plants class to Southern Utah in replace of the final. We camped at Lytle Ranch owned by BYU. We were suppose to leave at 6 am but didn't end up pulling out until 6:30 am and arrived at the ranch at 8 pm to set up camp in the dark, that was interesting... part of arriving so late was we went the back way so we can stop and look at plants. That is one thing that I didn't like about the trip was that I was on plant OVERLOAD!
The second day of the trip was a LONG day. Got up early, had our plant test of the plants that we had learned the day before and then went on a hike around the ranch looking at plants. Plus to add onto it the first night I didn't get any sleep at all because it was so freaking cold and just getting used to sleeping in a new area. We didn't know what the place looked like until morning because we arrived when it was dark. We hiked around, went back to camp for lunch and then hiked some more. I was SO tired! We then sat around the campfire after dinner. Here are some pictures around the ranch where we were hiking. The weather was actually very nice and sweatshirt weather, just cold at night, but what do you expect, it is a desert.

Sunday we got up early to drive an hour and a half to church in Pine Valley. Their were closer churches, but they didn't have the vegetation area we were looking for. When we arrived we were sure if we were going to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints because it is nothing like what the buildings look like today. It was just a small branch and this is actually the oldest operating building of the Church and we were able to have a tour afterwards before going and looking at more plants and taking our plants test of plants we learned the day before. The people there were so nice and even invited all 15 of us for lunch at their house and beds to take a nap.
Heading back to the ranch from Pine Valley. We stopped in this area to collect red sand and of course look at plants. Lets just say we stopped a LOT to look at plants. That is what got really annoying, hop in the van drive for 5 minutes, jump out collect a plant sample and the name of the plant, hop in the van, drive another 5 minutes and repeat. But I learned a lot and it was a lot of fun other than being burned out with plants.

Monday we then packed up camp and headed out to leave, but before doing that we took another plants test. We had a slow start in leaving because the dirt road to the main road should only take 20 minutes, but it ended up taking 40 because we kept stopping to look at plants. Our professors can point out this little itty bitty cactus that you can't even see in the distance while driving pretty fast. I guess they just have an eye for plants. However I am getting to the point to where I can do that as well, just not small plants though. I just name them and say the scientific name and family name when I see a plant that I know.

Introducing Spook!

Well since our last update on the fish we had a few deaths. The first was Shark Bait the otocinclus and then out of the blue Apollo our guppy that we have had for a year. When Apollo died Titian our platy was pretty bummed. He sat in the corner all day, didn't eat, and was very depressed. Him and Apollo were pretty good friends. I hear people say all the time that fish are pretty dumb and don't have any personalities, but I would have to say that you are very wrong about that statement. In the time that we have had fish, which is almost 2 years now (first starting with goldfish and then moving to tropical fish), they are very smart and each one has their own little personalities and quirks about them. For example: Apollo was always the fish that would swim to the side of the tank by the door when we came home. Mr. Clean likes to chase the mollies, and they bob up and down when I wiggle my finger thinking they are getting something to eat. So on Halloween we went down to Idaho Falls to get another friend for Titian because he was so depressed. We have have had him for a month now and he is such a great fish. We named him Spook because of Halloween and here he is with Titian! Here is a good picture of Plucker our balloon bellied molly

And Mr. Clean our peppered cory catfish (he is my favorite)