Christmas Celebrations

It's been a while since I've posted, but we celebrated a lot for Christmas this year...
The Larsen siblings (and spouses) had a Fondue party and gift exchange!

Tim got a nice work shirt for when he has to wear big kids clothes, and I got some nice kitchen stuff.
We also had to go see the temple lights. The DC temple is actually pretty well know for their Christmas lights and programs. They have some type of program in their visitor center every night of December. We got to see piano player Marvin Goldstein. It was really neat!
They also had nativities from all around the world.

At home, we had our own celebration and opened some gifts we couldn't take on a plane. Our favorite gift is a new TV thanks to both sets of parents :)
And my favorite: Christmas in St. George! We almost didn't make it with all the airline problems, but it made me enjoy it even more once I was there. We had a great time playing Wii and making a gingerbread/graham cracker house, but I mostly just enjoyed time with the nieces and nephews! We got Kate and Makayla hair glitter for Christmas, and the top picture in the collage is of Kate putting some in Tim's hair...so pretty!

Before leaving, we visited the Dinosaur track museum. For those of you who haven't been there, a land developing company found raised prints when turning over some large rocks in deep soil. What happened is that when dinosaurs stepped in the sand, their prints were filled in with water and sand that hardened, so it is like a mold of their feet. They are really helpful for paleontologists, and St. George is now a cool place for them.

Christmas in Old Town

Tim, Aubrey, and I went down to Alexandria to check out the boat parade on the Potomac. Walking down the streets of Old Town was like walking in the story "A Christmas Carol.." The parade had some pretty awesome lights -as you'll be able to see below.

We also got to see Union Station in DC with a cool train display.

I should have majored in Art...

This is what I do at work...

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a great Thanksgiving this year with just myself, Tim, and Aubrey (Tim's sister). We started out with a Turkey Trot downtown, then made our own feast. I have to say we did a pretty good job on the Turkey for our first time.

The final product of our apple picking adventure. A pie entirely from scratch. Some of you know I want to have my own bakery someday, and this bakery will have pie.

Aubrey and me running across the National Mall

If you look close, you can see the Washington Monument behind us!

The next day at work, a guy who knew I was running said he thought he and his wife both saw me on the news. I saw a camera when I was running, so I smiled at it, and we'll just assume I am famous now.

What you've missed

Though most of the leaves have fallen, and the blue skies are often gray and wet now, here is a picture of what those of you who have not been here missed this Fall. I've said it before, but the camera just doesn't do it justice. It was beautiful.And I promised a picture of our apartment a long time ago, so here is one of our living room. The entrance, kitchen, and dining area are to the left, and our bedroom and bathroom are to the right. It's pretty modest, but we like it.

Philly

The only thing Tim really wanted for his Birthday yesterday was a Philly Cheese Steak, so we up and drove through 4 states to get one. Actually, we'd been planning the trip for a while, and Tim's parents and Aubrey came with us. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was the first capitol of the US, and a lot of important things happened there to make our country what it is today.
I was most excited to see the historic sites, especially the Liberty bell. I found out: 1. It is located inside of a building (it makes sense, but I always thought it was outside); 2. It used to just be called the statehouse bell (or something similarly boring); 3. It has been a symbol of liberty for the country, the Abolitionist Movement, and later the Women and Civil Rights movements; and 4. It helped with one of the clues to the National Treasure in the movie.

Here are the descriptions of the pictures below going across...1. Independence Hall (tours were sold out, so we only got to see the outside.) 2. Ben Franklin's Post Office (no US flag because they didn't have one at the time he started it) 3. The sign outside Benjamin Franklin's gravesite 4. Elfreth's Alley - the oldest continually inhabited street in the US 5. Betsy Ross' House 6. A flag hung on the side of her house 7. Tim and the back of Independence Hall 8. Cool Bank of Philadelphia sign 9. A main street in Philly with lots of flags.
Of course, Tim got his wish. A Philly Cheesesteak "wiz wit." This is how you order when you want the sandwich with (the original) cheese whiz and "wit" onions. You may also notice his drink says "Pat's King of Steaks." Pat's is the original cheese steak place.

Mine was pretty delicious as well. Though I ordered a "provo wit."And a trip to Philly isn't complete without visiting the "Rocky Stairs." They are actually at the art museum, but we all took our turns making the pose. In honor of the event, I even wore my "rocky" jacket. Here are Tim, Me, and Aubrey (Aubrey's jacket is kind of camo-looking, so you'll have to look close).
There is also a statue of Rocky (the only public statue of a fictional character) on the grounds. Aubrey and I were pretty hard core in the picture above, and below is Tim showing everyone that I am the winner of my match. -of course.
We also had a great time celebrating Tim's birthday on Sunday and Scott and DeAnnes, and Tim sure got spoiled! He got a game called Ticket to Ride, and we all had a really fun time playing it.

Happy Birthday, my Love!

What we did with them....

After our apple picking adventure, we had to do something with them. I found a recipe for apple pie filling you can freeze, and it is pretty delicious! This is on our second attempt. The first time, Tim was cooking unsupervised and put 2 TABLESPOONS of cinnamon in it instead of teaspoons. It just didn't work.

I haven't gotten around to the actual pies yet, but I'm looking forward to that too!