another one for mom...

as promised, here is what my mama and i worked on during the christmas break to spruce up the apartment a bit...

a couple of the sibs!

here are a few shots of the sibs during christmas break...

my not-so-little-anymore brother turned 16 during the break...i can hardly believe it! look out ladies, and look out fellow drivers!

i had to include this shot of bryan at tuba christmas at disneyland. it makes me happy. have i mentioned recently that i seriously love this kid?!

before i headed down to california for christmas, the big sis amy came to provo to play for a few days. i'm so glad she did! here we are at the oober exciting byu/baylor game...

temple square!

last night some friends and i decided to brave the cold and take a stroll around temple square to see the christmas lights. so worth it!

some of the group waiting in the joseph smith memorial building before heading out to the square...mike, jarrett, me, jeff, natalie, allen, emilye, staci

some of my favorite lights were by the assembly hall

i love to see the temple!

jarrett, natalie, allen, emilye, cassandra, jeff, marcelo, me, staci, mike

afterwards we went to hatch family chocolates up in the avenues for the best hot chocolate i've ever had in my life. seriously. i'm still salivating this morning. if you are ever in salt lake, i highly recommend this place!

my latest project

so, in keeping with the crafting kick that i'm on, i decided to spruce up my bathroom a little. (it was looking pretty sad!) inspired by a picture i saw on pinterest, i made these vases with a little jute and some ibc root beer bottles. here's the finished product...

it's amazing what a shower curtain and some vases can do to a bathroom!

this one's for mom...

while i was home during thanksgiving, mom and i got crafty making curtains for my kitchen. i'm kind of proud of myself if i may say so myself :) here's the end result...

(thanks again for your help, mom!)

thanksgiving!

after the asha convention, mom and dad picked me up from san diego and i spent the thanksgiving weekend back up at home. the week's highlights included playing with baby spencer, eating way too much, nertz, farkle, the l.a. auto show, and record-breaking 80 degree weather in november...

christmas comes early for bryan and me at the l.a. auto show

sunday was spencer's blessing day. this kid is seriously so adorable. here he is with mom and dad.

me with spence. have i mentioned how much i love this kid??

spencer in his tux

the fam--me, steve, bryan, dad, brandon, rachel, spencer, heather, mom, and amy

san diego!

the weekend before thanksgiving some fellow grad students and i traveled down to the asha convention in san diego...we had a great time! when we weren't filling our brains with thpeech facths, we saw some of the sweets sights of san diego. here are a few snapshots of around town...

karin, cambrie, me, and erika at the ghiradelli store

hotel del coronado!

karin, cambrie, erika, christine, sarai, and me at the san diego temple

sarai and me in old town

cambrie and me outside of the fiesta del reyes restaurant in old town