We Did It!

We've survived the most intense and crazy semester of our lives. It's been such a whirlwind of stress and fun and random cold, snowy days. But now we have a semester off with only work to worry about which we plan on enjoying to the fullest!

A few things that have helped us survive this last week of school:

• Prayers. Heavenly Father really helps out.
• Watching The Office from start to finish. (During homework, at 1am, with breakfast...) We're on the very last season and it hasn't even been a week. Thanks Michael Scott and friends.
• Oreos & milk for breakfast.
• Christmas lights. Something about the ambiance of our living room with the tree and lights made it much nicer.
• Trying to be positive. Sounds easier than it is!
• Letting the house be messy. Sometimes that's just how it needs to be for a little bit. 
• Lots of love and support. We try to support each other and encourage each other to keep going. That helps a lot.
• Anchorman 2. Perfect stupid laughs to de-stress. (Bats are the chicken of the cave.)

Now we are most excited to go home to California for some 70 degree sunshine and Christmas with family. We leave tomorrow!! 

Hope you all have a fabulous Christmas and New Years!

The Little Engine That Could.

It's so hard to focus on the joy of going home to California for Christmas where there's warmth and family and In N Out when finals and end-of-semester nightmare assignments are raining over our heads like a black cloud. We are so fried that it's hard to even wake up knowing that your entire day is going to be insanely busy.

But of course there is ALWAYS time to blog.

It is warming up from the negatives and single digits here in Rexburg to some 30 degree weather which feels like summer in comparison. That's a positive note to the stress. Also we're seeing the second Hobbit movie at midnight tonight which should be really fun and a little bit of relaxation.

We really like midnight showings.

We're grateful we have the opportunity to go to a great school and be able to have awesome jobs and tons of blessings. Lucky for us, college doesn't last forever and finals week does end and life goes on. So don't consider this post a complaint. It's more our own self-discoveries to see that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

One more week. I think I can...I think I can...I think I can...

We Like to Party.

Last night we had our FIRST EVER Faldmo Christmas Party in our little basement and it was a total success! Candy Cane Spoons, Wrap-Off, egg nog, and lots of yummy treats! Our friends Steven & Blythe ended up bringing an entire medicine cabinet as their white elephant gift, and we gotta say, that's a first! It was totally fun and we couldn't ask for more fun people around us as we finish off our first holiday season as a married couple. Rexburg is definitely a frozen tundra, but it helps being around cool people!! (Pun definitely intended.) We loved hosting a party and we hope to do it more! Valentine's Day? :)

Happy Christmastime!

We're very proud of our homemade ugly sweaters.

  Stephen & Blythe

 Beth & Tom

 Shawn & Bethany

 Brett & Gidianny

 Jared, Lydia, & Heather

Lydia was very concerned about the intensity of the wrap-off.

 Julio & Ali

(I had to creepily steal this off Ali's Facebook because I deleted all the pictures

off my camera card in my OCD before I realized I forgot to save theirs...

but this is totes cute!)

Veggie Week!

This week we embarked on a journey to be "weekday vegetarians" where you eat like a vegetarian during the week and on weekends it's free game. We wanted to incorporate healthier meals with veggies into our diet and less meat, trying to follow the Word of Wisdom which is a Mormon thing that "encourages us to eat plenty of the fruits and vegetables that are in season, plenty of grains and a moderate amount of meat." mormon.org/beliefs/commandments (Also no drugs, alcohol, smoking, etc. But we're good on that end.)

Lucky for us, we created a few delicious meals and snacks from scratch and it was really fun! Definitely got us thinking more creatively. Except yesterday Steff was feeling sick and down, so we gave up and split a Costa Vida Sweet Pork Burrito and were in heaven. Then today we ordered pizza. Can't say we're not disappointed that our inner fat kids won this round, but we'll keep trying to eat less meat, more veggies and fruit, and healthy stuff! We at least like eating it which is more than a lot of people!

And tomorrow we're throwing the first ever Faldmo Christmas Party and it's going to be RAD!! We'll be sure to take pictures and blog all about it. We have some sweet games and prizes and sweaters and other awesome stuff! Our tiny basement is going to be filled with crazy Mormons drunk on non-alcoholic eggnog and sugar.

Anyway you should all try veggie week! It helps you realize you don't have to eat meat so often. We are going to try again soon. AND here's a few of the yummy things we had this week...

 Mashed sweet potatoes are one of our favorite healthy treats/side dishes!

Homemade whole wheat pizza crust with pesto, tomatoes, mozzarella, a little cheddar, and red onion! YUM! 

Tomato soup and mozzarella grilled cheese.

Homemade granola bars with cranberries, pecans, and honey! MMM good!