Happy Anniversary!

It's hard to believe a year and a half ago today we were doing this...

It seems like just yesterday I was convincing this cute red head to marry me!

Thanks for being my best friend. I love you babe!

BYU vs. UNLV

Coming into this game, I thought that one of two things would happen. 1. We would be mad about the TCU game and ready to dominate. Or 2. We would be totally flat. Looking back on the game, I realize we did both. The offense came out all fired up and started the game with a 80-yard kick-off return that resulted in a touchdown. They scored on nearly every possession! But the defense was pretty awful because unfortunately, UNLV also scored on nearly every possession. I do have to give them credit for stopping UNLV from scoring on their last possession, but other than that....

I guess that's the problem with starting the season with 2 shutouts. Winning isn't enough anymore. It was a beautiful day. We did win and we got a picture with this huge Cosmo. So I guess I don't have much to complain about.

Pumpkin Carving

Friday night we went over to Jason and Diana's apartment and had a pumpkin carving party. The idea was for us to watch Hocus Pocus while we carved the pumpkins. But it ended up that I carved the pumpkin while Roger watched the movie. I watched Hocus Pocus probably a million times growing up... I practically have it memorized, so it was ok. I just thought it was funny. I'm a huge perfectionist, so it was probably better this way.

Pumpkin Patch

On Thursday night, we went with our ward to a real pumpkin patch down in Santaquin at the Big Red Barn. We took a "hay ride" to the pumpkin patch and then we got to pick out our own pumpkin. We didn't really know what to expect, but it turned out to be a very fun activity. And it was much funner than just going to the grocery store and picking out a pumpkin there.

On the hay ride. And yes, I am wearing my cheer sweatshirt, beanie, and scarf. I'm cool like that.

Boo! We're ghosts!

The perfect pumpkin!

Pumpkin Crunch

This week for our autumn desert we made Pumpkin Crunch. It's my Grandma Ford's recipe (adapted just a little) and it is another one of our favorites. Enjoy!

1 large can pumpkin (1 lb. 13oz.)
1 large can Evaporated Milk (13 oz.)
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 box yellow cake mix
1 1/2 cubes butter, melted and cooled

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray sides of 9x13x2 pan. Mix pumpkin, eggs (slightly beaten already), milk, cinnamon, and sugar. Pour into pan. Sprinkle cake mix over mixture. Drizzle with cooled butter as evenly as possible. Bake 60 minutes or until cake seems done. Serve with Cool Whip on top.

APX Year-End Party

The APX Year-End Party is legendary... They totally spoil their sales reps, so this is only natural. I reconcile the prizes account and I have been seeing invoice after invoice come in for the year-end party, so Rog and I were excited to see it for ourselves. They played the Price is Right, Deal or No Deal, and Office Fued (like Family Fued). And they gave away 2 cars, 6 scooters, 50 mountain bikes, A LOT of cash, t-shirts, hats, bags, and much much more! It was crazy! We didn't win anything, but everyone got a t-shirt, hat, and bag, so we didn't leave empty handed. We went with Norm and Sarah Johnson (our upstairs neighbors) and had a GREAT time! Here we are modeling our new APX gear after the party.

Bridal Veil Falls

Yesterday we parked at Canyon Rim Park and walked the mile or two up to Bridal Veil Falls on the Provo River Parkway. It was a great day and the leaves were beautiful! When we got up to the falls, there were A LOT of people there. This wouldn't have been anything out the ordinary because it was a perfect day for this activity. But a large group of the people were not your regular hikers. After a minute or two of looking at the people, we figured out that it was a wedding (a very white trash one).

I know, we couldn't believe it either! Pretty sure we were in ALL of their pictures as we played on the rocks and stuff. Haha... Anyway, here are some pictures from our day.

SYTYCD Pictures...Finally!

Here are some pictures from the So You Think You Can Dance Tour from back in September. I just got them, so I figured I would post them. Looking at these pictures reminds me of what a great time we had! I can't wait until Season 5!

We remembered everything...except cash for parking. Thankfully they took checks, so Ashleigh wrote one out. I've never seen anyone write a check that fast in my entire life. So we took a picture with the carbon copy of the check.

Season 4!

In our seats during intermission...

Applesauce Cake

For our autumn desert this week we made Applesauce Cake. We discovered this recipe last October and it is one of our absolute favorites. The only problem is every time we make it the center falls. Maybe I'm just a bad cook, but I think it has something to do with the applesauce. (If anyone has a secret about how not to let the center fall, feel free to share. I won't be offended.) Anyway, even if it doesn't look all that pretty, it tastes awesome. You just have to make sure the center is cooked. Here is the recipe:

2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 eggs
Vanilla frosting (I just use the Betty Crocker frosting)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 15x10x1-inch pan. In a large bowl, mix four, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Add oil, applesauce, vanilla, and eggs. Beat with electric mixer on low speed until smooth. Spread in pan. Bake 28 to 32 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes our clean and surface is deep golden brown. Let cool and then frost.

The cake on one of our cute Autumn dishes thanks to my Aunt Tracy!

And Rog taking a big bite! MMMM!

BYU vs. New Mexico

Last Saturday was the BYU vs. New Mexico game. The forecast was for rain and snow all day, but luckily it was just COLD. It's funny how a little over a month ago I was posting that it was too hot and now it is too cold. We bundled up and managed to stay warm. It wasn't a blowout like we had come to expect, but it was a win... Unlike the BYU vs. TCU game last night which I decided will henceforth and forever be the game we don't speak of (so don't expect a post about that). Here we are in our matching beanies.

My Autumn Craft

Everyone has been posting all the cute autumn crafts they are making, so I decided I wanted to make one too! Last Friday night for our date we went to Roberts and Home Depot to get all the supplies. At Roberts we got the letters and rub-ons. Then at Home Depot, we had them cut this board to the right size and the nice guy in the tool rental department let us use a drill to put the holes in. Then I stained the board and applied the letters and rub-on leaves. Finally we put the wire through the holes and ta da! I was very happy with how it turned out and it was so easy!

21 Days to Form a Habit

Lately I have become very bad at getting up when my alarm goes off. I know that I need to get up and exercise, but because I am not supposed to run until I go to my follow-up appointment (still a week away...GRRR!), I am very unmotivated to get up and go on a walk.

Yesterday I decided that I have had enough of my laziness. Even if it is just a walk, I really do feel better when I do some sort of exercise before work. I've heard that it takes 21 days to form a habit. So for the 21 days I am not going to let myself push the snooze button. And then hopefully when it's over, not pushing the snooze button will be a habit!

Today was day 1 and I am happy to report that I did not push the snooze button, I got up and went on a very nice walk up to campus. I got to see the sun coming over the mountains and it was just lovely.

To motivate myself, I am going to keep track of what day I am on by writing the number of days it has been since I pushed the snooze button on the calendar in our bedroom. Today I wrote a big 1 in orange because I am excited that it's autumn!

Freezing Peaches

A couple in our ward asked us if we would split a box of peaches from a fruit stand with them. We were feeling adventurous, so we agreed. We used a few for our peach crisp, but then we still had A LOT of peaches left. So we decided to freeze them. We had no idea it was such a complex process, but we figured it out. Here are some pictures from our adventure. We are excited for many yummy peach shakes and to have peach topping for pancakes and waffles!

Before shot.

Boiling the peaches, so the skin would come off easily.

Slicing the peaches. Rog was such a good helper.

Sucking the extra air out of the bags with a straw.

After shot. TA DA!

Peach Crisp

Our first autumn desert for the month was a yummy peach crisp. It was easy and very delicious!

Here is the recipe for anyone that is interested:

2 1/2 pounds fresh peaches, peeled, pitted (I used 4 medium/large sized peaches)
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup soft butter

Butter an 8-inch square baking dish. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Slice peeled, pitted peaches into the prepared baking dish. Sift together the flour, sugar, salt, and cinnamon into a medium bowl. Cut butter into flour mixture until mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle crumbs evenly over peaches in baking dish. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until topping is golden brown and peaches are tender.

If the peaches are pretty juicy, mix 1/2 cup sugar and 3 Tablespoons flour with the peaches before sprinkling the crumbs over the peaches.

I'm an aunt!

Actually I have been an aunt for about 9 months now, but it didn't seem real until I got to play with my nephew last weekend! Edda had Aiden on Roger's birthday, January 5th. But they've been living on the west coast (San Fransisco, CA and Tacoma, WA). So we were very happy to finally get to meet him while we were all in St. George for the marathon. I technically wasn't supposed to lift him because he is over 15 pounds, but since we probably won't see them again until Christmas of 2009, I decided this was an exception to the rule.

Run, run, run... My dad used to always do this to me when I was a baby and I'm definitely going to do it to my own kids.

Aiden can crawl all over the place! He's so cute in his "bear" outfit.

Yummy finger!

Yup...that's my nose Aiden!

St. George Marathon

Last weekend we went down to St. George to watch Roger's mom, Dixie, briskly walk her first marathon. It was rainy most of the morning which is very unlike St. George weather. I made sure to give my dad a hard time because he does every time he's up in Northern Utah and we have less than perfect weather up here. She finished in just under 7 hours which is a great accomplishment. We were so proud of her!

Almost there...

Crossing the finish line!

Getting her medal...Roger considers this the most important part of a marathon. (He wore his for at least 2 days after the Top of Utah Marathon and he would have worn it longer if I would have let him.)

All the Dixie Kids (except for Irving - he had to work) in our matching shirts!

Recovery Update

My surgery was last Tuesday (a week ago), so I figured I should update you all on my recovery. And since I am waiting for a report to run (it takes an hour and can't be interrupted), I figured I'd do it now.

I did end up working last Thursday as planned, but only because I knew I wasn't going to be working Friday and I didn't want to use more than 3 days worth of PTO in one week! Thursday night we drove down to St. George for the St. George Marathon. Roger's mom walked the marathon, so his whole family came to cheer her on (more on this in another blog). Anyway, work on Thursday was fine. Of course I would have rather been home sleeping, but I survived.

All weekend I was kind of a grumpy Chief. I was tired and it seemed like every time I stood up the bubbles from the carbon dioxide they pumped me up with that hadn't found a way out yet would all rush to my shoulders and it hurt. But other than that, I was fine.

On Friday we called to schedule my follow-up appointment and they told us 3 weeks was the soonest they could schedule it. I was VERY annoyed with this because Dr. Jacob told us to schedule it for 1-2 weeks from my surgery. And he told me "to take it easy" until I came to my follow-up appointment. No running, biking, lifting anything over 15 pounds, etc...

They also said that the pathology report of my cyst would take another week or two. I had remembered Dr. Jacob saying it would take 2-3 days, so I was also frustrated about that. And they said that they usually only call on the pathology report if it shows cancer. By this point I was freaking out. We told them to PLEASE, PLEASE call when the pathology report came no matter the result, but hung up unconvinced that they would actually do that.

So yesterday when they called and left a message saying they had the results from pathology, I almost had a heart attack because I was convinced that the only reason they were calling was that it did turn out to be cancerous! AHHH! I called them back and was very happy to find out that it was a regular boring cyst!! NO CANCER!!!! Yipee!

It seems that the bubbles have all found a way out and I can finally make it through the day without a nap, so the only evidence of my surgery is my ugly, multi-colored abdomen. It turns out I bruise pretty easily, so my stomach is every shade of the rainbow!

Now that I am pretty much healed, I want to say thank you to everyone that helped me during this adventure. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa Ford for bringing dinner all the way from Salt Lake, thank you Diana and Jason for keeping me company while Roger was at the temple Tuesday night, thank you Rachel and Bryan Martinez for your yummy tacos, thank you mom for listening to me and taking care of me even when you were far away, and thank you to everyone that asked how I was doing. Finally, thank you to my wonderful husband for taking care of me, for putting up with me when I was grumpy, and for loving me! I love you babe!

My First Real Surgery

I had my wisdom teeth out the summer of 2005, but other than that, no surgeries for me...until yesterday. The day started out bright and early because we had to be there at 7:15. First they checked me in and I had to fork out $500 for my deductible! I'm pretty sure that was the worst part of the day... Then they took my blood, made me pee in a cup, and get in one of those very attractive hospital gowns. This is me waiting for them to come get me.


After about a half hour of waiting, they wheeled me over to Pre-Surgery where I got to talk to Dr. Jacob and the Anesthesiologist. It took 2 tries, but they got an IV going and wheeled me into Surgery. And I don't remember anything after that until I woke up in Recovery! Here are some very unattractive pictures and a video Rog took before the surgery.

While I was in Recovery, Dr. Jacob talked to Rog and gave him some pictures they took during the surgery. Dr. Jacob said the surgery went very well. It turns out there were two smaller cysts on my right fallopian tube and one larger cyst on my right ovary. He drained the two smaller cysts and drained and cut out the larger cyst. He told Rog that he had to blow up my abdomen a lot because I'm skinny and have strong abdomenal muscles. (Confession: I HATE doing situps, so I haven't done many since coming to college. So I was kind of excited that he said I have strong abdomenal muscles. Apparently running has kept them strong.)

After I woke up and the lady in Recovery gave me a couple ice chips, they wheeled me back to my room where Rog was waiting for me. I was so happy to see him and hear what Dr. Jacob told him. Roger had been studying for an accounting test he has this week during my surgery, so he asked me some questions and surprisingly, I was able to answer them pretty well. (I know, I'm an accounting freak!) Here are some pictures from after the surgery and another video.

After they finally released me, Roger took me home and then went to get my meds. (I've been on Percoset since about 2:00 yesterday, so I'm a little worried about how I'll feel when I run out.) Roger had to work at the temple last night (I got a sub.), so my sister, Diana came over to babysit me. And my sweet Grandma and Grandpa Ford brought me some chicken noodle soup. I watched a few episodes of Friends and then we watched Baby Mama and Hercules.

Today I watched Enchanted and have just been chillin' around our apartment. Rog had to go to class today, so I've been a little lonely. My goal is to shower before he gets home. I have 3 small incisions - one in my belly button and one on each side by my hip bones. They used some super glue for skin instead of stitches to seal me up. I feel pretty good other than my stomach muscles are super sore, so every time I move I can feel it. And my stomach is just a little swollen (mostly my belly button). I'm not such a fan of that! Everybody keep me in your prayers tonight because I told them I would be back at work tomorrow. If I feel awful, it won't be the end of the world if I don't go, but I really would like to get paid and I don't want to use all of my PTO!