The Nutcracker

Last night Scott and I went to see The Nutcracker at Capital Theater in Salt Lake. We left early and ate at the Garden (top floor of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building) which was delicious. Here are some pictures from the view.























Here we are in the lobby of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building with the huge chandelier and Christmas tree. We were having a hard time getting a good picture though, these were the least fuzzy.























It was freezing outside, but we decided to walk the 2 blocks to the theater so we didn't have to worry about parking. It was so fun to see the lights on the way out.

Sint-Nicolaas Day

This year we continued our tradition of celebrating Sint-Nicolaas day on December 5th. We put out our shoes and "St. Nick" came and filled them! My mom is from Holland and so we grew up putting out our shoes on the night of Dec. 5 to find them in morning with presents! It was great because we kind of got 2 Christmases! To find out more about the holiday follow this link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinterklaas

I love getting presents for Scott because he is so easy to shop for! Besides that, he gets sooo excited for anything I get him! A couple of months ago we were in a store and we walked past the toothbrushes. Since he wants to be a dentist someday, teeth fascinate him. We saw the Sonicare toothbrushes as well and in passing he said, "some day I want one of these." Of course I noted that in my head and set about finding the best deal for my dollar (I am one that will research for days to find the best model for the best price). I found one, the Sonicare Elite X9500, in a package with 2 handles, 3 brush heads and one charger for almost the same price as one!

I also found, as I was reading reviews, a website
"Sonicseal" that sells silicon seals that go over the brush base to seal out the water so mold doesn't build up inside the base! It's a great product!! (it's the colored things on our brushes)

Scott was guessing for weeks what he thought I had gotten him (since he's so easy to buy for, he always guesses his presents!), but had no idea! We've been talking about Yoga lately because I want to get us both into it (I think it's a great low impact way to increase flexibility and strengthen necessary muscles!). He thought I'd gotten him a yoga mat, so he wanted to get me one as well. I love it! It's thick and not slippery either. I've been doing yoga on Jen and Lance's Wii Fit, but I'm excited to find a video to do a routine!

Christmas Dinner!

We had a department Christmas dinner on Wednesday, Dec. 3 for all of the faculty, staff, and retirees affiliated with the Department of Biology. With the aid of our office staff, we had a successful evening!

When I first walked in to set out our department gifts (this year we customized some mugs to give to each attendee), the maitre di came out to greet me. I was surprised to see Peter! Scott trained him on his mission in Brazil. Here is a picture of them:

After the dinner was over, we decided to take pictures in front of the giant Christmas tree they had in the room. Merry Christmas! (note: this was one of the last ones we took so I look tired)

I love Church

For information on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints official stance taken on Prop 8 please see: Newsroom

Please note as well that this information includes information from several other organizations heavily involved in the campaign for the passing of Prop 8: Catholic Bishops Decry Religious Bigotry Against Mormons

Also, I'd like to note the passing of Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, 91, of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles

The Family: A Proclamation to the World

This proclamation was read by President Gordon B. Hinckley as part of his message at the General Relief Society (Society of Women) Meeting held September 23, 1995, in Salt Lake City, Utah.

We, the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children.

All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose.

In the premortal realm, spirit sons and daughters knew and worshipped God as their Eternal Father and accepted His plan by which His children could obtain a physical body and gain earthly experience to progress toward perfection and ultimately realize their divine destiny as heirs of eternal life. The divine plan of happiness enables family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave. Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally.

The first commandment that God gave to Adam and Eve pertained to their potential for parenthood as husband and wife. We declare that God’s commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force. We further declare that God has commanded that the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife.

We declare the means by which mortal life is created to be divinely appointed. We affirm the sanctity of life and of its importance in God’s eternal plan.

Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. “Children are an heritage of the Lord” (Psalm 127:3). Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, and to teach them to love and serve one another, observe the commandments of God, and be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations.

The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities. By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation. Extended families should lend support when needed.

We warn that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God. Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.

We call upon responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society.

This proclamation was read by President Gordon B. Hinckley as part of his message at the General Relief Society Meeting held September 23, 1995, in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a great Thanksgiving this year! Scott and I decided to try our hand at cooking a Thanksgiving meal. We made homemade rolls, an apple and a pumpkin pie (with crust from scratch), yams, acorn squash, mashed potatoes, stuffing, mixed veggies, homemade cranberry sauce, and ham. We decided to make a ham because really, who loves turkey? :) We invited Scott's roommate, Carson, and my brother Kevin to join in on the fun.

Our meal... the table's too tiny for everything!














The pies... do you see the turkey in my apple pie?

Llama Face!

Doesn't this llama have the most perfect annoyed look on its face? Sometimes I feel like a llama.

New Phone

So I'm really excited because I just decided the other day that I needed a new cell phone. I'd had my old one for just over 2 1/2 years (the same amount of time I've been home from my mission), and it just looked sad. Scott called it my dinosaur (although his is just as old... I think mine was outdated the day I got it, I just didn't know any better).This is it, a Samsung M520. It's not the top of the line, but it's pretty fun. It can easily surf the web (an option always included in our family plan, but I was never really capable of using), play music, watch videos, make videos, plus an "on demand" feature automatically shows you the weather and recent news when you scroll over it. It also gives you a list of all movie theaters in your city where you can find the listings, times, and descriptions of all movies playing. It also has a removable micro SD card that I can pop into my computer and download all of my music and pictures without having to do it through the web! Like I said. I'm pretty excited!

Tastebud Teaser

So I've been thinking about a really great post to write about the significance of family, but I haven't had more than 5 minutes to write... and that just wouldn't do it justice. I also hate it when people don't post things on their blog because, "hello!" don't they know I'm reading it... and I hate waiting. :)

Therefore, I decided to just post a couple of pictures of what I've been doing in my sculpture class. Scott and I signed up for this class because he wanted it for dexterity practice (pre-dental) and I just like art (and I can take it for free).

Our first project was wax casting. We made sculptures out of wax, attached them to a wax pole, and then dipped them in plaster and sand 8 times. The large plaster mass was then fired and the wax came out so they could replace it with bronze. I only have pictures of the wax sculptures because we just barely cut the bronze off of the pole last week and we still need to grind them down to make them look normal.


My golfing men.

Like father like son







Scott's amazing boat... one of the oars broke though when we were dipping it in plaster.






The next project was a metal one... I don't like working with metal, so my projects were kinda lame. Therefore, I'm not posting them. But I'll take pictures of the actual bronze sculptures when those are finished... and then the stone cutting project which should be pretty cool. I'm doing a peach half with the pit coming out. Kind of like this picture, only in stone. We'll see if I have any natural hidden talent.

You've Won!

These are probably the best words to come out of someone's mouth at 8:30 am after a night of shuffling around a store in a super sale. Last night at the BYU Bookstore's sale, there were several raffle boxes where you could win a mountain bike, a kayak, a set of scriptures, a hand puppet, or a cook book. I of course did not win the cooler prizes, but my faith in raffles was renewed! I always said that someone has to win, why can't it be me? I won the cook book, it's not bad, large pictures of each recipe, etc.

You can find it on the BYU bookstore's website: here

Ahh the joys of winning.