Our Dear Prophet

Gordon B. Hinckley ( the prophet of our church- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints or Mormon Church) died tonight at 7pm. We are deeply saddened by the news but are happy to know that he is with his wife and loved ones. He was an amazing man and an inspiration to us all. We will miss him very much!

Our Weekend Getaway

Chris had a rough week at school and just needed to get away. So we headed down south about 2 hours to beautiful Monterey. It's a beach town of sorts but has lots to do in the winter as well. We had a lot of fun!

This is the view of the bay as we approach from the North.

Monterey has a famous 17 mile scenic drive that loops around the unique coastline. It is the only private toll road West of the Mississippi. There are a bunch of famous golf courses as well.

Of course we had to stop on a few greens to show Chris teeing off right next to the ocean. The courses are mostly all public and are literally right on the beach. A lot of pro tours happen on these courses. This hole was right next to the road so we went on when no one was looking.

A picnic spot just accross the road from the hole.

It was a beautiful beach. The picture doesn't do it justice.

This is a lookout spot called Point Joe. It's for you Guiseppe! We thought of you. It's basically just a big group of rocks that jut out into the ocean and create some very rough waters.

Yes, this is an actual place to tee off!! Chris really wants to play here! You have to make your shot accross the ocean to the green 200 yards away! I couldn't do it. Any I wouldn't go searching for my ball in that water!

Chris just as content as can be!

Yes, we have lots of shots of the greens because we are golf enthusiasts.

I can't think of a more picturesque place to play golf. When it's warmer of course! But there were actually people playing.

The rough waters off the coast. I may just have to paint this!

Another point off the drive. There were lots of cool tide pools to look in!

As we continued along the drive we came to the famous Lone Cypress tree. The Cypress trees there were so cool. They have such sharp crisp lines!

Talk about adversity!

And then we arrive at the famous Pebble Beach course. It's open to the public so we took a stroll around.

The first hole. So many famous golfers have been here! Chris hopes to be one of those someday. It's only $475 to play and that is with at least 2 nights at the hotel at $500 a night! LOL. Work hard Chris!

Chris on the 18th hole. It was just beautiful!

The Lodge. It was so classy inside. I loved it!

Another shot of the 18th hole right on the water.

That night we went to Cannery Row which is a famous street in Monterey that just has a lot of fun shops and art galleries. They also have fantastic fudge! I had a small piece of the milk chocolate peanut butter caramel. Hmmmm....

And of course we had to get back to the hotel in time to see the Packers and Giants play. Chris wanted to see who our boys the Patriots were going to destroy in the Super Bowl. Yes, we are Patriots fans. C'mon Boston! Well technically New England but they play in MA. Close to my house there!

We are Thomas Kinkade enthusiasts so we had to visit his gallery. He is actually from the area about an hour away. He's only 50 so we will be seeing lots more paintings by him. Yay!

In the window they had a picture of Yankee Stadium that he did. Yeah....it was on clearance. LOL. JK! Inside he had a sketch of the painting of Fenway that will be coming out in two months. It's already almost sold out. I can't tell you how much we were tempted. Chris wants one of his paintings so bad and to have one of Fenway was just perfect to him. Maybe when we get out of dental school.

We also went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium which is famous for the research they do of the undersea canyon just off the coast of the bay that is 2 miles deep! We watched of movie there called Mysteries of the Deep that had all kinds of crazy creatures that they have discovered. It was crazy! It would be nice to have my own bioluminescence.

This fish was HUGE! It's called a Sun Fish and it was over a ton!

And the view from the patio at the aquarium. It got really warm that day so we got to take off the huge coats. Then it was back to real life. We had a great time!

1st Annual Steffi Ball

Our good friends Josh and Steffi threw a great party this past weekend. It was Steffi's 1st annual 29th birthday party. Josh turned their bonus room into a winter wonderland. Chris and I helped decorate. I made all the snowflakes and Chris helped with all the white paper and streamers. Josh did a fantastic job! It was a black tie event so we had fun getting dressed up.

We took high school prom style pictures. LOL. It was a lot of fun!

This was the spread of finger foods. I made some "Wicked Goods" (cookies) in the back corner. They were a big hit. I guess I'll have to share my secret recipe. Steffi's friend Megan had some tasty creations as well! The meatballs and terryaki chicken kabobs were a hit! The lighting was all by candlelight and very romantic but the flash made it look like day. Josh also put white confetti on the ground to make it look like snow.

Here's our birthday belle. We love you Steffi!

All of us singing happy birthday.

The amazing cake! It was Lemon Chaffon and made by the same people who did their wedding cake. Great job Josh with the Tiara and snowflakes (all edible).

The happy couple!

And Steffi gets the first piece so her wish comes true! Here's to all of your 29th birthdays to come!

The Dryer Adventure

So, we were having some problems with our dryer not drying properly. Since the machine is only 2 years old, I figured that it was probably the dryer vents that needed a little cleaning. We called our landlords to see when the last time the vents had been cleaned but they have been very unresponsive lately. So we took it upon ourselves. The space was very small so we had to get creative on getting the dryer out. I then climbed back there (because Chris was still on doctor's orders to take it easy) and found a whole bunch of clogged lint up the vent. Now the dryer drys like a dream! Little Fact: Clogged dryer vents are a fire hazard so they need to be checked at least once a year. We were lucky nothing happened!

Chris being the patient husband and helping to get the dryer back into the space. We had to improvise quite a bit!

It's All Done!

I just wanted to let everyone know that the broken leg saga is now officially over. Chris got his screws out of his ankle last week and the stitches out yesterday. It is all over!! Thank you to all of our friends and family for their support and prayers! Now we just get to deal with insurance companies... Hooray!

New Year's Eve Keroke

Singing our voices away

Dayna and I did a lot of singing on New Year's Eve. Chris joined in as well and sang "Save the Last Dance for Me" with me. Then of course Nate and Chris sang and various other combinations. It was a lot of fun. I may have more pictures of this coming soon.

St. George's Beautiful Sunsets

Well the pictures just don't do it justice. The clouds were the weirdest looking things! And the red mountains were just flaming red. The scenery there is just beautiful!

Kicking off the Christmas Sweets!

I did a private session of kickboxing with Chris' mom over the break. It was a lot of fun! For her first time, she was great!

We didn't know Chris was snapping these shots. I'm not the only one who likes to take pictures...

Hhhmmmmm.....that works off about 1/100th of all the stuff I ate. It is back to the gym when we get home!

Bowling Mania

We went bowling with our bestest friends Nate and Dayna on New Year's Eve day. Our bowling names were Betty and Howard. The second game Chris changed his name to Big Fat Strike. He bowled 191!! Yeah....that leg doesn't look broken anymore! It wasn't slowing him down!

A new addition to the Lanier family

Our dear friends Brian and Jen Lanier welcomed a new baby girl in November and named her Addison. While we were in Vegas, we went to her blessing. I got to hold her and she feel asleep in my arms twice. She is a darling baby!

Jen is the sister that I never got. I do love my 5 brothers but she is a great friend and people always mistake us for sisters anyways because we look a lot alike. I'll have to find some better pictures that show it.

Congrats Brian and Jen! We love you!

Ashley Get Her Ears Pierced

As a Christmas present I took Ashley (Chris' youngest sister) to get her ears pierced. She was only a little scared but she wanted the teddy bear anyways. It was cute!

Smile while I hold this gun up to your ears and prepare to stab you....not so much fun!

But it was over quickly and they look great on her! She picked out these pretty zirconia studs. It was a fun day!

Little Ash Bash Gets Married!!

Chris' youngest sister got married on Dec. 15th 2007 in the St. George, UT LDS temple. We are so happy for her and her new husband Chase. He's a stellar guy who treats her very well. Plus, he is a great gamer which gives him huge points in our house! Welcome to the fam!

The grounds of the temple were so pretty for pictures. I loved the old granite tall stairways. They were a little steep and slippery that day. Ashley is sporting my veil that I wore at my wedding. It was her "something borrowed".

It was beyond cold that morning! We were all freezing taking the pictures. Between shots, Ashley wore Chase's coat. Poor thing! Short sleeves and freezing weather made for a memorable day. For all of us! I had on open toe shoes and thought that my toes would freeze off.

We love you guys!!