Reflections of 2008

I can't believe how fast this year has gone by. I feel like the entire year has been a whirlwind. The highlight of course was getting married in March, which is probably what has made the rest of the year a bit of a blurr!! Anyways, here are some of the happenings of 2008......

Brett proposed on New Year's Eve (actually in the afternoon). There couldn't have been a better way to start out the year. I was on cloud 9 for the entire duration of our 2 1/2 month engagement. I was giddy, smiley, and in love. I think Brett was thinkin' "How did this happen again?" New Year's Eve will always be special for us!

Brett and I got married on March 13th, a VERY monumental day for both of us. We were so lucky to have so many of our family and friends there to share the experience with us! I remeber the sealing like it was yesterday. You all know how newly weds are.....which pretty much sums up the rest of our year being giddy, smiley, and so so in love!

I watched more football than I've ever watched in my life. Brett played and watched a lot of football. I learned after the first home game that it is routine to go home and watch the game on tv again, and then watch the other college games that are on. We also followed Brett's brothers' games on tv as much as we could. I think I finally understand the game now. If not, I'd be pretty dense after watching it as much as I do! I love it though. I especially love watching Brett play, I get so excited for him!

Earlier this year, Brett's mom Sheri found out she had breast cancer. It was quite the scare and so unexpected. Thankfully, she is cancer free, after several surgeries, medication, and radiation. With the help and prayers of friends and family, Sheri was able to get through it! And she tells of all the little miracles that happened along the way!

I became a Diet Dr. Pepper addict. I used to enjoy a Diet Coke every now and then, but this year, Diet Dr. Pepper became my vice. Why? And how do I stop?

I started a new job at MarketSplash by HP (formerly known as Logoworks) as an Executive
Assistant/Operations. It's been a great learning experience for me and I've met a lot of new people. It definitely has it's moments of stress but I love it!

While Brett was thrilled to get a suga' momma for a wife and thought he might trick me into keeping it this way, he was not so thrilled to get many "honey do lists" as I have slowly domesticated him this year. I work full-time, he is a full-time student-athlete, so we both cook and clean:) Sometimes it's like pulling teeth though.

I made new friends at work and with some of the other wives of football players. We both got to know our new in-laws much better. We took on new nieces and nephews and it's been so much fun!

Brett started the Business Program at BYU this fall. I don't know how he does it with football, but he always gets good grades.

Faced my biggest fear and taught Gospel Doctrine for the first time. Thank goodness Brett and I team teach. Surprisingly, it has turned out to be really fun when we prepare well. When we don't, I'm a nervous wreck. It's been a neat experience for us to study and teach together.

Okay, maybe the year isn't all a blurr.....I could go on and on now. I'm grateful for all of the people that have helped make 2008 such a great year for us. I'm especially thankful for Brett, he's such a great husband and my best friend! And yes, I'm stilly giddy, smiley, and so so in love:) I think Brett is too!!

Happy New Year Everyone!

Christmas in Alamosa

Brett and I spent Christmas with my family in Alamosa, Colorado. It was so much fun to have all of my family home and to spend the week together. Brett and I's gift to each other this year was a new camera. We figured it was a good investment, and we definitely have fun with it! Here are some pics of our week in Alamosa. My 17 month old niece, Gracelyn, was the center of attention all week, and I couldn't help but take lots of pictures of her! She is a wild one. Playin in the Snow!She's a little Amazon woman!

This one is my favorite....so precious. Love the cheekers:)Grandma "Bebbie" & Gracie

Carly and Spencer
Gracie, Ashley, Tyler, and RalphieSurprise visit to Grandma Sally's! Sitting around talking & sippin' cocoa.

It's a tradition to get new pajamas every Christmas Eve. My mom had a hard time finding pjs to fit Brett, so the boys got baskbetball shorts and t-shirts. Get used to it mom! haha!

Las Vegas Bowl

Last Saturday BYU played U of A in the Las Vegas Bowl. Unfortunately, we lost and it wasn't how we'd hoped to end the season. But the overall trip to Vegas was a blast! We stayed at the Planet Hollywood right on the strip. The team had practice, meetings, and film during the day, so it allowed the wives plenty of time for shopping, eating, more shopping, more eating, and more shopping! ha!! But at night, we were able to spend time with our hubbies. Everyone went to the show Stomp Out Loud, which was amazing & very very loud! And a few of us went to Steve Weirick's Magic show another night. There were a few luncheons and dinners that the Bowl put on that we got to attend as well. Here's a sneak peak of our fun week:

The Water Show at the Bellagio....I think this is everyone's favorite thing to see/do.

Outback Steakhouse hosted a dinner for both teams at Freemont Street. Dinner was outside, in the middle of the street! A bit chilly. Our friends Kellen & Sarah Fowler.....we had so much fun with these guys. They took us to the most amazing Creperia at the Paris hotel where we indulged in dinner & dessert crepes.

Me, Sarah, and Lyndsey BaumanThe night before the game the team moved to the Ritz Carlton Lake Las Vegas Hotel. So Saturday morning before the game, Brett's family and I went to visit him real quick. The hotel was amazing, looked like an Italian Villa. And we just happened to run into Santa outside.

Of course, the one thing that would have made this trip even better would have been for BYU to win. But I'm glad Brett and I were able to have a fun week together. I'm especially glad to have a little break from football, the traveling, and finally having some weekends together again! And then on the other hand....I'm already excited for next season:)

Splash the Halls

Friday night was my work Holiday Party, Splash the Halls, as we called it! Lucky for me, I was in charge of planning it this year! (Special thanks to those who helped, especially Curt & Elizabeth!) The party was at Pierpont Place in Salt Lake. The venue was very urban chic and had such a cozy feel to it! Everyone enjoyed (at least it seemed like they enjoyed) a nice night of dinner, dancing, and prizes. Brett & I won seasons 1-4 of the office (I didn't rig the raffle, I promise). Brett was thrilled. It even came with a Dwight Bobblehead doll! Fantastic huh? It's Monday and we've already watched Season 1....and Brett has finals???
Here are a few pics from the night.

The Venue:

The Buffet:Joe Muscolino's 6 Piece Band.....These guys were amazing!A little bit of Dancin': So relieved everything turned out okay!

Oh Christmas Trees!!!

It just doesn't feel like Christmas without a Christmas Tree! I was so excited for Brett and I to buy, decorate, and have our very first Christmas tree together! He was a little hesistant to buy one since it will only be up for 2 1/2 weeks before we leave for a bowl game, but I insisted! So we went out and bought a real tree from Lowe's. Neither of us had been tree shopping before so we were amazed when we looked at the first tree in the first row of the bunch, looked at it, gave each other the nod, paid for it, and were out of there in 10 minutes! We went and bought some decorations and some lights, and now our little tree is glowing in our living room. Now it feels like Christmas! We didn't get crazy with the decos, but we like it!

We also did something fun for our neighbors and good friends, Chase and Ashleigh Carlson. Ashleigh really wanted a tree but Chase was bein' a scrooge and didn't want to get one this year. And he wasn't budging. So Monday Brett and I went and bought them a tree for Christmas, put a bow on it, and left it on their front step. Then we hid outside until Chase got home (Ash was already inside) We wanted to see their reaction. Ashleigh was thrilled, but I think Chase's exacts words were "You Punks." But within a couple of hours, their tree was fully decorated (much better than ours) and Chase was feeling the spirit of Christmas and happy to have the tree! I won't call him a Scrooge anymore. They invited us over later to see their tree and SURPRISE, there was a gift under it for US! It was a Shark (you know, the dust buster). They are too nice:) Thanks guys! Brett is using it daily, and I'm loving it! It's a toy for him.

We are lucky to have such good friends as our neighbors. What a fun way to start out our Christmas!

Thanksgiving

I hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving! Brett and I drove to Thornton, CO and spent the Holiday with his parents! We enjoyed a delicious feast with the Carlson family (I think there were 50 or more people there!!) and then we went and saw the movie Australia. I definitely recommend seeing it, even though it is THREE hours long, it's so good and definitely a chic flick. Brett and Craig didn't know that's what they were in for, so they were a little disappointed, haha! We spent the rest of the weekend shopping and lounging around. Brett and I pretty much knocked out our Christmas shopping in two days!! I've never done that before. We are practically done and it's such a relief!

It snowed while we were there....finally, it feels like Winter!! But then our drive home today took us 9 1/2 hours due to the snow! (usually it's a 7 1/2 hr drive). For about an hour and a half straight we were driving 5-10 miles an hour....shoot me in the face, I was cursing the snow! Just when I thought I was so happy to see it! Ha!

But we are home and now have the Christmas Holiday to look forward to!

Family, Friends, and Football

Most of you know last weekend I was in Colorado for Brett's game on Saturday against CSU, and then we both stayed for John's game against the Broncos on Sunday! It was a weekend of family, friends, and football.

One of my best friends from college, Karah, was able to come to the CSU game. We played volleyball at OSU together and hadn't seen each other for almost 2 years. Her and her fiance just moved back to Colorado so they came to the game. She finally got to meet Brett and I finally got to meet her fiance Joseph! It was so fun to see her:)
My mom was able to come to the game too!! Love her:) Justin (my little brother) had a wrestling tournament in Denver so my dad was watching him. But my parents, brother, Brett's parents, Kim, and Brett and I were able to meet up for dinner after the game.

Brett's dad, Craig, had the honor of carrying out the Alumni Flag on Saturday's game against CSU, leading the team on to the field. He was a little nervous; thought for sure he'd lose his pants, trip and fall, drop the flag, or even worse, pass out while running the length of the field. He did great though....his pants stayed up, he didn't trip, and even better, he didn't pass out! Here are some pics of Craig in action.

The Broncos vs. Dolphins game on Sunday was a blast. It was a little weird to be in the Broncos stadium and to be cheering for the Dolphins though. My whole life I've been a Broncos fan and I never thought I'd be in their stadium, cheering against them. Only for you John! It was a close game, but the Dolphins pulled through.

Crazy Broncos fan!!!

We got to hang with John for a bit after the game!

Halloween

One of Brett's teammates Reed White, and his wife Hailey, threw an awesome Halloween party Thursday night. Here are some fun pics of all of the costumes.

Thanks Reed and Hailey for such a great party!

Magic Nails

I have some time to kill before the game this afternoon, so I thought I'd tell you about our Magical Day yesterday. Kim (my sis-in-law) and I flew into Denver yesterday. We're here for a packed weekend of football, BYU vs CSU today and Dolphins vs Broncos tomorrow
We flew in at noon so we had the afternoon to play! After grabbing lunch and window shopping a little bit we decided to go get pedicures!!! Sheri (my mother-in-law) took us this place "Magic Nails" where she is a regular. MAGICAL!!!
I left having a whole new love for pedicures....I don't think I really knew what a good pedi was before today. We got the Deluxe treatment....I didn't know what I was in for, but it included an exfoliating massage, perafin wax treatment, and this crazy buffering technique.

They use a kitchen mixer, with a sander attached (instead of beaters )to sluff off the dead skin. Sheri couldn't sit still while they did this. I'd never seen anything like this before.....way to get creative with kitchen tools.

Sheri and Kim.....Sheri couldn't sit still while they buffered her feet....tryin' not to giggle. It is pretty ticklish!

Lovin' it......thank you Magic Nails. I look forward to going back:)

8 is Great

Another Tag.....but why not? My hubby is in a hotel tonight getting ready for the game tomorrow, so really, what else do I have to do??

8 Tv Shows I LOVE to watch:
1. So You Think You Can Dance
2. The Office
3. Food Network
4. Biggest Loser
5. 24
6. Saved by the Bell (I love watching the old re-runs while I'm at the gym!!)
7. Oprah (if I'm ever not working)
8. Reba

8 Things You Did Yesterday...
1. Woke up at 5:45 and THOUGHT about going to the gym, but slept in instead:( I hate it when I do that.)
2. Went to work:)
3. THOUGHT about going to the gym after work....again, just a thought!
4. Ate at Chili's for lunch. Dang I wish those chips were bottomless.
5. Went to Wal-Mart for 3 items and left an hour later with 10 items.
6. Played Donkey Kong Country on SuperNintendo with Brett
7. Concocted a Chinese Chicken Casserole for dinner.
8. Watched The Office with our friends, the Knapps.

8 things I'm looking forward to
1. Baking Pumpkin Seeds! Love them!
2. Seeing one of my best friends from college and vball teammate next weekend at the
CSU game, and meeting her fiance!!
3. Family Reunions
4. First Christmas with Brett!!!
5. Seeing my Grandpa Mortensen again some day:) I miss having a grandpa & miss him and all of his silly pranks and jokes.
6. Being a mother.
7. Brett being done with school.....and right now, who knows when that will be??
8. Spending the Holidays with family

8 People I am Tagging!
1. Mom (time to get blogging)
2. Ty & Ash
3. Tami Lou
4. anyone else
5. who
6. thinks
7. 8 is
8. great!!

Kids Do the Darndest Things

When I say kids, I mean Brett! Sometimes, he does things that only kids do. Sometimes, I feel like I'm married to a 7 year old. I think he does it so that he never gets in trouble, because he knows most of the time I will laugh! Most of the time he is right and I laugh my head off! Let me give you an example.....

I usually do the laundry for us, and 75% of the time Brett is good about helping with folding and putting away his clothes. But 25% of the time I fold his clothes and will put his pile on the bed for him to put away. And 25% of the time that pile sits there, folded, either on the bed or on the floor, for several days. When he's finally had enough of my nagging, he'll put the pile away.

Well on Saturday morning I placed a pile of his clothes on the bed. To my surprise, the pile was gone later that afternoon. I was thrilled Brett put his clothes away without me having to ask or nag......SO I THOUGHT. Sunday afternoon I went to grab something on the night stand by Brett's bed and found the same pile I folded the day before, squished between the bed and the night stand!!!!

He really put them there so he didn't have to put them away and he wouldn't have to hear my complaining! Tell me this isn't something a 5 yr old would do? To them cleaning means hiding things in places that mom won't find them, making mom think they did their chores, and getting that treat mom bribed them with to do the cleaning in the first place!!! Poor Brett doesn't even a get a bribe!

I coudn't help but laugh when I saw the hidden pile of clothes. When I busted Brett he just laughed too. I know these trickes didn't fly by Sheri (Brett's mom) so why does he think they will work on me? Hahahaha, I'm laughing while I write this. Brett is right, most of the time I laugh so much that I can't get mad at him!

Brett says it's what I get for marrying someone younger than him! (I am 6 months older than Brett, pfff)

Friends = Fun

We started out our weekend having a FUN friday night with our friends Chase & Ashleigh Carlson and Andrew and Tawny George. Chase and Ashleigh just got a Nintendo Wii, so Friday nigth we had a Pizza and SuperMario 3 party. It was so fun and so hilarious to see all of us acting like we were kids again! Thanks for all the laughs guys!

Saturday Brett and I went with our friends, Rich, Kellie, & lil' Macey Knapp for a fall drive around Alpine Loop, stopping at Cascade Springs. I think we missed all of the "pretty" fall colors, we will have to remember to come earlier next year. I think late September is usually the best. But we still took some pics!

This was a cool looking tree stump in front of this swamp! Of course, Brett is goofin' off trying to get frisky! No luck! ha!

After our fun little drive we went out for Thai Food. Brett has only tried Thai food once before, so this was a fun place to go!! I'm not sure he loved it or wants to go back, but it was worth the experience. Plus, we needed to branch out from our usual Cafe Rio, Rumbi, Noodles. Thanks Rich and Kellie for being adventerous with us!

The rest of the night was spent playing Super Mario World (the one with Yoshi...Brett's favorite) and Donkey Kong Country at the Knapps! It's so funny how we can just pick up these games again, remembering all of the secret tricks and passages, and ways to beat each level. Again, more laughs!!! The Knapps even let us borrow their SuperNintendo for a little while.

Now, it is Sunday night and Brett is sitting next to me playing Super Mario World.....and has been trying to beat this "special" level for the last 30 minutes. I have to fight him for a turn because he wants to be the one to beat it! We will probably be here all night!

Thanks FRIENDS for a FUN weekend!

Kisses to Die For

I love this time of year.....but curse all of the yummy treats and sweets that start showing up everywhere! I saw a recipe that used these Special Edition Pumpkin Spice Hershey Kisses and immediately went to the store to buy some. Albertsons, Macy's, then Smith's....none of these stores had them But today, I found ONE package at Target. It was their last one. All I can say is I am in love, and Target better be getting some more in stock soon. They taste just like pumpkin pie.

These other delicious little treats are easier to get a hold of, maybe not as popular as the Pumpkin Spice kisses, but still wonderful! Candy Corn Kisses....they melt in your mouth and even look like candy corn.

Now, I've just gotta try to make these festive treats last longer than a few short days....I swear I could eat them all by the end of the week. It's at this time of year that I really wish I didn't have such a sweet tooth.

Warm Me Up with Some Soup!

Last week I went to Craig, Colorado to watch my younger brother play in the State Golf tournament (which he placed 7th overall in!!), and to spend a little time with my parents and my aunt and uncle that live there. After walking around a golf course all-day long, in 40 degree weather, wearing flip-flops and a light sweater, I wanted nothing more than to be in a warm house, enjoy a warm meal, and curl up on the couch. Lucky for me, my aunt made this delicious Chicken Taco Soup that warmed me right up!

I felt the same way after yesterday's chilling football game against UNM. It wasn't as cold as we all expected (and thank goodness for no snow) but by the time it was over, I was COLD! So this Chicken Taco Soup was just what we were all craving. It is so easy and so yummy!

Chicken Taco Soup

Ingredients

1 onion, chopped

1 (16 oz.) can chili beans

1 (15 oz.) can black bean

1 (15 oz.) can whole kernel corn, drained

1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce

2 (10 oz.) diced tomatoes with green chiles

1 (1.25 oz.) package taco seasoning

3 whole skinless, boneless, chicken breasts

Directions

Stir onion, beans, corn, tomato sauce, dice tomatoes, and taco sauce into a slow cooker. Lay the chicken breast on top of the mixture, pressing down slightly so that it gets covered by other ingredients. Set slow cooker to low heat, cover, and cook for 5 hrs.

Remove chicken breasts from the soup and shred. Stir shredded chicken back into the soup and cook for 2 more hours. Top with shredded cheese, sour cream, and crushed tortilla chips if desired!

***My mom taught me a great trick to shredding chicken. I just removed the chicken breasts from the chili, placed in a bowl, and beat the chicken breasts with a hand mixer. It shreds it perfectly even and fine. It works great when making chicken salad!

It was so nice to come home from the game yesterday with a warm meal ready to eat. And now we will be eating leftovers all week! I love how easy crock-pot meals are. If you have any great ones, send them my way!

Denney Defense and a Few Funny Pics

BRETTY played a great game last night against Utah State. Thanks to the Salt Lake Tribune, who called him Bretty Denney in the paper today, I have my new nickname for Brett! Here are some great pics from the game. As you can see, he had an intimate moment with the Aggie's quarterback! haha!