Holiday Cheer

This is what all of you are missing out on! We went to see the lights at Temple Square tonight and they were as beautiful as ever. It helped us get into the Christmas spirit being able to hear people on horse carriages singing Christmas carols and see an awesome display of Christ's birth with a narration. It's kinda neat to see Temple Square so busy with people speaking so many different languages at this time of year.

This picture is a street that takes you straight to the temple...about 3 blocks from our apt. (Bonus: no trying to find parking...just walking!!)
Here is a really cool nativity that shows Joseph and Mary with baby Jesus floating in the water, with shepherds and lambs surrounding them on the grass with the North Star on the top of the tree...
MERRY CHRISTMAS!! We will spend our holiday at home with some family. Luis and I have a few more weeks of school stuff, then we are HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS!!
And to all a good night.

Thanksgiving

We were able to celebrate Thanksgiving this year with My brother Chad and his wife Angela and their family. We got to see this girl!!! Unfortunately we didn't get a group picture, but jsut know we had the BEST food and the BEST company.So even though it was 55 degrees when we left SLC, it was around 30 degrees just 1.5 hours north in Logan! But that didn't stop hardcore Angela from going snow shoeing and she brought me with her and her friends. It was a first for the both of us, and we both really liked it. It was really fun to get outdoors and get a workout. And the best part is that I think I could talk Luis into this activity...maybe someday on a regular basis. So...this picture shows a mountain that we went STRAIGHT UP. It wasn't easy at all! It was steep enough to where we had to use our hands to help us climb up it and not fall straight backwards (not an exaggeration at all).
Us hot and sweaty...and happy...and hungry!
The views were to die for! So pretty to see the canyon at all different views...
This was NO Turkey Trot!! We went 3+ miles and 2.5 hours of climbing mountains, hiking snow trails, and crossing water (with iced logs...little scary). When all was said and done I was so excited to eat as much as I wanted in a warm house...love the holidays. Hopefully Luis and I can get out to do this some time next semester...he will LOVE it...

Trip to University Place (haha)

I was able to take a trip to my brothers to get some dental work done and had the chance to spend some time with family. It was the one of the FEW times in my life that I was excited to go to the dentist! My brother and his wife Summer were able to show me a BEAUTIFUL park they live next to. It is HUGE and even has water with islands in it. There is also a train that goes through it, which made one little boy very happy. My nephew Cash LOVES trains, and anything to do with them. Here he is below waiting for the train to come.
Us smiling...
And I couldn't resist posting this one...He is just so cute!
My teeth are always a work in progress, and I am excited to visit them again at Christmas time to get more work done, and to meet their new baby!!

Summer and I were also able to drive down to Vancouver and surprise my mom with a visit for a few hours. I rarely do anything without planning it ahead of time, and am grateful Summer brought out that spontaneous side of me. It was so much fun even though half the time was spent in the car. There is no place like home.

School and Luis' Bday

We are officially here in Salt Lake City, and LOVING IT!! It is so nice to be able to walk everywhere and be so close to everything! One thing I am not a big fan of is all of the traffic lights. I was at the VA doing my psych rotation which is 3 1/2 miles from our house. You'd think it would take 10 minutes to get there. Well...due to having to go through 22 traffic lights, it can take up to a half an hour to get home!! Annoying...

Well, finished my surgery rotation and LOVED it. I was very sad when I had to leave it ;( All those guts are pretty exciting to me ;) I was able to be the 1st assist in a lot of really cool surgeries. A few of them: bowel resections (the coolest ones), CABG, appendectomies, gallbladder removals (LOTS), Whipple procedures, fistulas for dialysis, and mastectomies. I can hardly wait for my cardiothoracic surgery rotation now ;)) I will say that the traumas the surgeon got called to were pretty crazy too, making me more anxious for my ER rotation. Still I am unsure of where I would like to end up working, but I am sure happy I have found things that I really enjoy doing so that when the time comes, I will be able to be more open to jobs that will be available.

Luis is doing well, studying harder than ever this semester. He (we) is so glad he will be done in May! (At least with this program...haha!) He is not 100% on what he wants to get his PhD in currently but hopefully soon we can figure that out. Whatever it is, I am just glad that I will be done with school in August. Whohoo!

Nothing over here is all that exciting but we love our simple life. I have LOVED the places that are a running distance away. So many different routes I can take. I really hope the FALL sticks around for a loooooooong time....I am hoping to post some pictures soon of the things I see on my runs. You WILL be impressed.

Luis' most recent find he is so proud of: baseball/football cleats for $20!! His favorite part is that he can change the color of the swoosh. Now he is ready for the ward to start a league already! (Can you tell he wasn't too thrilled to take a picture??)

Just over a month ago we celebrated Luis' birthday. Just the two of us since we really don't know anyone in Salt Lake, and we still kind of like each other, so it was still fun. He was blessed to get his entire birthday week (haha phlup) off from school (well, at least his classes...). He studied all week!! We have both realized we don't really like cake much and PIES are WAY better so now we are going to have pies for our birthday treat. He chose chocolate oreo cream pie with real whipped cream.
For his gifts, I first had the bright idea to get him a LOVESAC from KSL and make it a surprise. Well...I am glad it ended up not being a surprise (he snooped onto my computer and saw the searches!!) because it weighs more than you'd think! And it took us a good half hour to get it in the Camry, and another 45 minutes to get it out of the car! But WE LOVE IT!!!!!! And it was well worth the workout it gave us that night (and the next day...). Since this gift could have maybe had my name engraved on it, I figured I should get him a few things for him. First, got him his first stainless steal sauce pan...may not be that exciting for everyone, but Luis has been complaining about our Teflon pans because they don't get hot enough. It has made our lives a bit easier already.
Okay, so this next picture captures a glimpse of the best present...it was an umbrella. Yup. An umbrella. Luis was SO FUNNY when he opened it. He was spinning it on the ground when it was open and clicking his heals singing "I'm singin' in the rain!". He was like a child, being the most excited for the cheapest gift. Now I know...(lovesac is on his right)