The fun never stops!

Hello friends!
This week has, of course, been busy, but it has been full of good times too. On Tuesday night we went to a "Help Your Baby Sleep" seminar were we learned some good strategies and tips for doing just that--helping baby sleep. The seminar was at Babies R'Us; they put on a lot of seminars, so we'll continue to be on the lookout for some more that we can attend.
Wednesday was very busy; I had class all day, and then I got together with my friends Alex, Megan, and Emily--we studied for over two hours for our Bible as Literature midterm. (It was all worth it because the exam was pretty easy!) A little while later was my baby shower! Grandma Carter and Aunt Connie came so that was awesome to see them there. Brianna planned a wonderful shower with lots of goodies; I am so thankful for everything she did! We had a wonderful night--we ladies were laughing the entire time! I got a lot of great things: clothes, blankets, a bather, booties, lotions, toys, etc. Thanks again, Bri :) It was amazing! Here Chris is modeling "Daddy's Survival Apron," made especially for him by Grandma Carter. It comes complete with pockets for emergency numbers, a bottle, diapers, wipes, lotion, and pacifiers!This was Chris's favorite bib for Liz, so naturally I had to get a picture of him with it! I think my Dad would appreciate this bib, too!!*An enormous THANK YOU to the Chaffin's who are going to give us a rocker! They're awesome!
Thursday=Chris's Happy Birthday! My sweet old man turned 27. I bought him a new BYU hoodie for the special occasion. We celebrated with dinner at Los Hermanos, where the waiters and waitresses sung to Chris and even brought him some fried ice cream!
I got to campus early on Friday morning because President and Sister Sikahema and Lana came to town and they graciously treated us students from the stake to breakfast at Scoreboard Grill in the Cougareat. It is ALWAYS wonderful to see the Sikahema's here in Provo and to catch up on NJ news! They brought us Phillies gear--always a joy to support our Phillies! On Friday night, Chris's birthday festivities continued: we gathered the gang together at our apartment for some cake (pumpkin spice cake with cream cheese frosting) and ice cream (pralines and caramel; vanilla). Here Chris is modeling his new Longhorns hoodie (thank you Holden's!) as well as modeling the "Hook 'em Horns" sign:
Making a wish before blowing out the candles!We then rushed off to the Provo Towne Center--we had tickets to see High School Musical 3! As for the movie itself, it was fun! Brought back memories of my own senior year haha, although I never broke out into song spontaneously ;) Really though, good movie! *See the first two before going to this one.
Oh yes--our Relief Society held a "Fantastic Friday" (aka Super Saturday, but on Friday). I made these for Lizzie's room: what do you think? We're going to get a small shelf and place these on top. I painted them to match her bedding :)
We went to the temple on Saturday morning; it was so nice and peaceful (isn't it always?). From the temple, we picked up Bri to come watch the BYU vs. UNLV game at our place because Steve was working. BYU won 42-35...well, we won. ha. We could've done better. Anyways, the Lee's stopped by with some Sonic drinks, which was very nice of them. The Carter's were up from Monroe so we met them at Costco to say hello and to catch up. We wanted to take the Stapley's out as our thank-you for putting together the baby shower. So, Steve finished work and we met at Olive Garden--too busy. So we all drove over to The Old Spaghetti Factory where there was no wait and enjoyed some goooood food. Of course we had to walk through the mall and we ladies got our rings cleaned. :D
Have a wonderful week--talk to you soon!

The calm before the storm

Greetings from Provo, UT!
Some notables from this week:
--I handed in my GRADUATION APPLICATION on Thursday! Oh man, I'm so close to graduation. After this semester, I will be able to taste graduation--I'm sure of it. April 2009, here I come!
--We bought a crib mattress yesterday. Chris was amazingly gracious to put the whole crib ensemble together while I wrote my Jane Austen criticism paper. It looks terrific! Thank you Husband!Look at the detail in the bedding. I had to take a close up so you could see all the sea creatures.
In addition to the mattress, we bought the stroller! It's a Baby Trend Expedition Travel System. We got the big wheels we wanted for maneuverability. That's one more big item crossed off our to-do list. We're still on the hunt for a chair/rocker/glider/whatever you want to call it, that is decently priced.
--On Friday night, the group of us (when I say group, I mean the Killion's, the Holden's, the Stapley's, the Lee's) were treated to a tour of the Haunted Forest in American Fork. David, Steve H.'s cousin, said that since he hadn't bought any of us wedding presents, he would take us to the Haunted Forest. Awesome! We had a great time. Some of the costumes and tricks in there were pretty clever, I must admit. I think my years going through the Haunted House at the Elks Lodge and the Haunted Hay Rides at the beach gave me some experience in not becoming terribly scared (at least that's what I told myself). We then hit up the Cafe Rio in American Fork for some good food.
--Last night brought us some DIVINE COMEDY. SO funny! Divine Comedy is BYU's premier comedy sketch troupe. I've been to a show (or two) every year that I've been here at school and it is always a treat to see them perform. I really laugh when they parody BYU tendencies and the like. Go check them out: www.divinecomedy.net. Here are the couple pictures (sorry Holden's; I forgot to take a picture of you...I thought I did. :(
We then invited everyone over to our place to watch some football and Be Cool. Be Cool holds a special place in the guys' hearts; the boys, especially Steve H. and Chris, quoted it all the time when Chris and I started dating, and I had no idea what they were talking about. Chris and I happened to see it on sale recently, so we bought it and we knew we had to get everyone over so the wives could finally watch it and understand what the husbands had been talking about!
--I'm just over 32 weeks along...drum roll please! Only a little bit of time left before the world becomes a better place :) My mom bought her ticket to Utah this week. She'll be flying in on December 10th!! I'm not exactly smiling in this picture, but you get the idea.


That's all from this side of the U.S. This next week is so busy--I don't know if I will have time to breathe. Luckily, some good things are happening (aka my baby shower!) so I have these good things to look forward to. Have a great week!

Skip the fall; let's go straight into WINTER

Chris and I woke up yesterday morning to see snow falling gently onto the streets of Provo. I guess I shouldn't be terribly surprised, since I'm a senior and I've experienced this before...but the first bit of snow gets me every time. There was no transition this year! Summer ended; the temperature dropped a little, and then all of a sudden, SNOW. Where did fall go?
I'll drop a shout-out to East Coast falls. Wow. Where to begin? Bottom line, they are spectacular. Thousands of trees means tens of thousands of leaves, all of which turn delightful shades of reds, oranges, yellows, greens, and muted browns. The air is crisp, crisp, crisp--a benefit of being next to an ocean. Sunny skies with strong winds means you find yourself wearing jeans and a hoodie with your Rainbows, a cup of Wawa hot chocolate in hand, watching some high school soccer. Or perhaps you're visiting a pumpkin patch, with a mug of hot apple cider in your hand and a handful of ginger snaps in the other. I appreciate (and miss) falls a lot more now that I haven't been around a Jersey fall for a solid four years while I have been here at school. Love the Fall, my friends!
This week, as usual, was both busy and fun. We had a Cherry Hill NJ Stake Reunion at the Wilk on Monday night--always a pleasure to see President and Sister Corbitt, to be with the Jersey crowd, and to LAUGH. Naturally, we bring the husbands/wives, fiancees, and girlfriends/boyfriends to become more indoctrinated into the Jersey ways :DFriday night was awesome: BYUSA sponsored a married student catered dinner in the Wilk Ballroom, complete with Mindy Gledhill playing the piano during our meal and Comedy Sportz providing the entertainment afterward. The best part--it was free!
The Stapley's

The Holden's
The Lee's
The Killion'sThey really had us laughing! Then we went to the Holden's to watch Iron Man--if you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend it. Here we are, the group!

Saturday was jammed packed. We stopped by the Holden's again, this time for the men to watch Texas vs. Oklahoma and other important football games happening around the country. BYU played New Mexico yesterday afternoon and the Lee's came to our place to watch with us. We won, 21-3 and we are #9 in the AP poll: Go Cougars! Kung Fu Panda was playing at the Varsity Theater on campus so we went with the Stapley's (another movie I recommend you should see if you haven't). And finally, Ashley and Chris came over and we watched The Skeleton Key--creepy! but good. We were so happy to have these two over because we have so much fun together! All in all, we had a wonderful yesterday. :)
Today brought a calling for Chris--say hello to the newest Scout Master of the Pleasant View 2nd Ward! Chris's extensive background in scouting will really be beneficial here. He is very excited to take the boys out on some camping trips! Well, that's all from our end--have a great week!

Welcome to October!

This week with school was fine. ...Nothing too exciting to report. Although I must say I feel bad for the people who sit directly behind me in my classes. Liz bounces all over the place, which makes me really fidgety. I feel like I'm never sitting still, so I'm sure it can get frustrating for the people who sit behind me and who get to watch me move into 153 positions during a fifty-minute class...Oh well ;)
Friday night brought some Jersey people into town, from Rexburg, Idaho (where BYU-Idaho is located). Dawnelle and Jonathan Sarlo came down with Dawnelle's younger sister Hannah and Alex hosted a 18th birthday party for Hannah. It was amazing to be around Jersey people--it always is! Here's a picture of the girls:
We were very excited for Saturday morning, because our friends Rob and Jamie were AWESOME enough to give us tickets to the Saturday morning session of General Conference. We made it just in time, had great seats in the balcony, and were ready for some words of inspiration. Imagine my surprise when President Monson announced five new temples to be built: including one in PHILADELPHIA! I almost fell out of my seat! Ask Chris, tears were coming out my eyes because I was simply and completely overjoyed at this wonderful news. A temple in Philly! That will cut our (when I say our, I mean Cape May New Jerseyites) temple trip time: rather than a three and a half hour drive, it will be less than two for the Cape May crowd! Man, I can't stop smiling when I think about a temple in the City of Brotherly Love :D Chris turned to me (while we were still in the session) and whispered, "So I'm guessing we'll be out there for the dedication?" Oh yes, Husband--you got it! We took some pictures outside (in the rain) after the session ended.
*On a side note, my brother Elder Jett sang with the MTC Choir, who performed during the Priesthood session of the Conference. His face appeared on the screen three or four times, so I'm told! :D
After the session, we left Salt Lake and headed north to Clearfield to visit my Aunt Tawna and Uncle Dan. As usual, we drove up I-15 through Chris's mission areas! I love it when we go up there because I feel like I am right there with Chris, when he was there...if that makes any sense. We always have a great time when we go to Clearfield. Bottom line, my aunt and uncle are the best! They won't let us lift a finger during our stay, and their grandkids are always a joy to see. I've seen most of them grow older! Naturally, Sunday afternoon today arrived too quickly. Tawna and Dan were nice enough to send us some with soup and french bread. On our way back down, we made a stop in West Jordan to say hello to Grandma and Grandpa Carter, who gave us some homemade jam to take back to Provo with us (yum!). Chris said we'll have to have some bread and jam for breakfast tomorrow--I'm fine with that!
Well, I still have some homework to complete before class tomorrow--I couldn't do ALL of my homework while on the mini-vacation in Clearfield! ;) Have a wonderful week!