It's official...

...it's Christmastime! And I love it. We bought our tree last night and are going to enjoy it for the 18 days we'll be home. I absolutely love Christmas trees, Christmas music, and all the fun Christmas events. We've already watched two Christmas movies and we have lots of fun festivities planned.

{we even have some presents under it already. Mostly thanks to Mom & Dad Brown}

Thanksgiving week- part 2

We had a delicious Thanksgiving dinner, with everyone lending a helping hand. Mom even found a new BFF, Samson, who brought us an extra table and table cloths!

{everyone minus me & Moose}

{Look, they're thankful for me!}

{We're really thankful for Mom & Dad for letting us vacation with them in their condo}

What's a Thanksgiving Day without some time at the beach? Honestly. Zach & Aaron went in the water while the rest of us just played on the beach.

{the sunset was absolutely beautiful. I have a million pictures of it}

{the parentals}

{Nicole}

{I love this picture- they're such a cute family! (Again, minus Moose)}

{check out that awesome sunset}

Friday morning we went on a whale/dolphin boat trip. It was lots of fun and no one got sick! We didn't see any whales, but we saw LOTS of dolphins and had a lot of fun trying to capture a picture of one of them in the air.

{no, we don't have a baby. It's Moose. But I thought this picture was cute. A little glimse into the future}

{again, they all look so cute}

{Nicole and I swam laps, so we decided Bear should swim too!}

Friday evening we tried to catch some lobster off the pier. We unfortunately didn't catch any, although we did catch like 5 or so crabs, but we had a lot of fun trying!

{the sunsets were all so beautiful. I guess we have the heavy traffic to thank for that}

{the fish heads we used as bait. mmmm!}

Saturday we headed down to San Juan Capistrano to see the Mission there, and of course to watch the BYU-Utah game (woohoo! On the last play I told Jared they should throw it to George. He said it'd be Pitta. And then, bam, George catches the winning touchdown. Loved it!)

{this picture reminded me of Rome}

{Nicole's idea. I'm only in it because she made me. I was sick, so I was really pale looking. But that's why it's now black & white!}

Thanksgiving week

Yes, we decided a day wasn't enough- we needed a whole week of vacation (minus the 2 days of working remotely).

We had so much fun down in Newport Beach. We enjoyed the warm weather, beautiful sunsets, tennis games, pool/hot tub time, delicious food, and good company.

{playing some Wii}

On Wednesday morning we were able to go to the Newport Beach Temple. It is a beautiful Temple, and it was nice to be able to be there with family (3 generations!).

Later that afternoon we spent a few hours volunteering at the Second Harvest Foodbank. We had a lot of fun, sorted a ton of food, learned that refried beans are considered a vegetable here (although I don't know what mother would agree with this), and enjoyed being able to give back to the community.

{Grandpa was awesome- he didn't even want to stop for a break}

San Diego

We had so much fun over the Thanksgiving Holiday! We traveled down to southern California for a weekend in San Diego before heading up to Newport Beach for a week with more family. We (me, Jared, Blake, Mom, and Dad) went to Point Loma lighthouse, Coronado Island, Balboa Park, Old Town, and the San Diego Temple.

It was very fun to see Tiffany & Cameron- we just wish we could have seen them for more than a few hours!

{Point Loma}

{Hotel Del Coronado}

{playing in Balboa Park}

{Botanical Gardens in the Park}

{I loved that the bell tower was playing Dvorak's New World Symphony...my favorite classical piece}

{Every Sunday for the last 92 years they have an outdoor organ concert}

Things I love

Once I find a product/business that I love, I am very loyal and I tell everyone about it. Likewise, if I find a product/business I don't like, I also tell everyone about it.

Here are a few things that I love (besides Jared, who would of course be #1 on my list...but he's not a product/business):

Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union. I grew up in this Credit Union...literally. Mom would bring me with her to work some times. I also have had accounts here since age 8 (and still do, even though I live across the country). And I worked here. I also have realized how amazing this Credit Union is as I've gone to other credit unions/banks.

The Milk Pail Market. This is an open-air European style market just a few miles from our house. I never buy my produce from the grocery store anymore. They have fresh, cheap produce, and even have fresh baked bread (amazing!) and lots of French cheeses.

Google Reader; Google Docs; Google Calendar. I love being organized. And all of these are perfect to stay organized. I can keep up on people's blogs without much effort; Jared & I can share lists or journals online; and we can put all of our calendar events on one calendar, no matter if we're at work, home, or anywhere.

Libraries. Especially Mountain View. The library is such a great thing- free books/CDs/DVDs....what could be better? Our library has a ton of DVDs, so we get to watch fun movies for free.

Costco Unbaked Tortillas. I never had these until Mom Collins fed them to us with Cafe Rio salads. I'm converted.

Blurb. I have made two books with them. And I'm very impressed. The books look so official (hard cover with your own image printed directly on the cover)- and you can completely create the layout on your own if you want. And they're really not expensive.

Recipezaar. I know there are a lot of recipe websites out there, but I love this one. Any time I want to find a recipe, or even get an idea of what to make with a certain leftover ingredient I have, I always find delicious ones on this site. I don't think I've been dissappointed with any of the ones I've tried.

Kirkland (Costco) Frozen Chicken Breasts. They're individually wrapped in plastic. And there's no freezer burn on them. Yes, they're slightly more expensive, but so worth it. I hate touching raw meat. Meat juice....yuck!

Brigham Young University. It's my alma mater. And I love it!

JetBlue. I love the comfy seats, all the treats they offer you (you can eat as much as you want!). And we get free flights from using our credit card.

Armstrong & Getty. I never listened to talk radio before. But these guys are so funny. I listen every morning on my way to work.


And while I'm at it, a few things I dislike:
Zion's Bank. Pretty much any credit union I've been to out here. Store brand yogurt. Walmart (too busy). DVD kiosks in the grocery store (I'm not good at bringing them back. One time I paid $11 for one of those DVDs after the late fees). Car dealerships. Denny's. Expensive clothes stores. IRS.

Frightful

We started a tradition of watching scary movies during the month of October. Here are this year's:

Halloween

We went to our ward's Halloween Party on Friday night. Our costumes weren't as good as last year, but they were easy! Note: Ignore my crooked crown. No one told me it was crooked!

{Me with Lina & Ruthie. Ruthie is my BFF..she comes and sits with me during Sacrament Meeting most weeks}

{Do you know what we are?}