Building a Gingerbread Train

On Christmas Eve, Martha had bought a gingerbread train kit and she, Corey and I put it together. It was a lot of fun because there were a ton of little candies rolling all over the table and the frosting tasted horrible so when you accidentally got some on your finger and licked it off it was nasty. We had a lot of fun. We were all eating the candies as we were putting them on and we had structural problems while we were making it so we constantly had to grab the train before it fell over, but it all came together in the end :)

Pumpkin Carving

For Halloween, Corey and I decided to be festive and carve our own pumpkins :) I was the designated pumpkin cleaner and scooped out all of the guts and then he and I made our own pumpkin creations. I think they reflect our personalities well. I haven't carved pumpkins in a few years so it was a lot of fun :)

Cancun!

During fall break, Paul and Bonnie invited Corey and I to go with them to Cancun, Mexico for a wonderful 8 day vacation from October 9th to 16th :)

The weather was perfect, the fish were ferocious and bit Corey and Paul’s toes, the food was delicious, the resort was huge and beautiful, the rooms had outdoor jacuzzis, the snorkeling was exciting, Corey and I dived and touched the bottom of the ocean, the Mayan ruins at Tulum were fascinating, the beach was relaxing, the jungle-buggy was hilarious, the cenotes were neat, the roller coaster zip-line was entertaining and threw me around like a rag doll, the shopping was fun, and, best of all, the company was amazing. 

Day 1 (Oct 9.)

Arrived at the Grand Palladium a little exhausted from the flight and long shuttle ride but very excited.  After exploring our rooms at the Royal Suites, we went to dinner at El Jardin and enjoyed some fresh lobster. 

Day 2 (Oct 10.) 

We ate breakfast at the buffet and found our own special box of “Zucaritas.” We spent the rest of the day exploring the resort and relaxing at the beach. The Grand Palladium had its own private beach for tourists with beautiful blue water and only a five minute walk from our room. Corey and I snorkeled for the first time and had a blast splashing around. We all dressed up for dinner and enjoyed some mexican food at the resort. 

Day 3 (Oct 11.)

Today we went to the Mayan Ruins of Tulum with an amazing Mayan tour guide, experienced a mexican taxi, held an iguana, ate dinner at the beach, fed raccoons, and watched a evening show and shopped at the resort. 

Tulum was very neat. There were flying acrobats, large iguanas, and we had a wonderful mayan tour guide who took us throughout the ruins and explained their significance and answered our questions. 

For dinner we had a huge platter of sea food with lots of shrimp, scallops, and muscles. During dinner a raccoon came up and snatched Bonnie’s roll off of her plate. Paul joined in on the fun and fed many raccoons throughout dinner. We had about five raccoons coming up to him for pieces of food. 

Each night at the Grand Palladium, there were merchants that would come in to sell souvenirs and there were evening dance shows for the guests to watch. Corey and I practiced our Spanish bartering for items. 

Day 4 (Oct 12.) Snorkeling Day! 

Today we woke up and went snorkeling at Yal-ku and saw tons of cool fish. We had a french dinner and then I danced the merengue on stage before the evening show. I performed in the pre-show entertainment by dancing the merengue (“pee-pee” dance) while trying to hold down my skirt and not trip on my feet. It was hysterical and the audience loved it :)

Day 5 (Oct 13.) Relaxation Day at the resort. 

Corey and I played mini-golf, had a massage, and experienced the hydrotherapy spa. Paul and Bonnie spent most of the day at the beach and the spa. We had a flaming  Japanese dinner with an amazing chef. After dinner, Corey and Stephanie took a half hour confusing but fun walk through the resort back to the Royal Suites.

Day 6 (Oct 14.) Hidden Worlds Cenote Park. 

We zip-lined, dived to see stalagmites, and rappelled into a cenote. Corey and I got to drive the crazy Jungle-Buggy to the cenote and I was thrown around by the roller-coaster zip line. 

We ate at the buffet for lunch and indulged on dessert :) There were no spoons left out so Corey ate his pink ice cream and sprinkles with a knife. I used a fork and Corey gave me a taste of his ice cream with his knife. 

Then we went to visit Playa del Carmen to experience real Mexican shopping. There were human statues, open air markets, restaurants, and the beach near by. We bought the remainder of our souvenirs, bartered, and had fun :) 

After, we ate dinner at El Jardin. The waiter let me help him prepare the food and it was a lot of fun :)

Day 7  (Oct 15.) Akumal

The best snorkeling was at Akumal. We spent the whole day exploring the ocean floor. Corey and I saw two sea turtles, Corey chased and caught one. There were two sting rays and many bright multicolored fish. Paul and Corey explored the shore and found seashells. Bonnie bought us all ice cream after swimming and  we all enjoyed the sun.

Day 8 (Oct 16.)

The last day in Cancun we spent packing and driving back to the airport. We ate at Bubba Gum’s for lunch and tasted the many ways to cook shrimp. The vacation was amazing, but it was nice to be home .

We Beat Donkey Kong!!!

So we accomplished what was impossible in both of our childhoods... we beat Donkey Kong Country on Super Nintendo. We stayed up way late tonight at completed it! It was AWESOME!! :) It took a few hours and Lee, Corey's suite-mate, helped us out when we were stuck and I watched for the last part of it, but it was super fun! It was a great stress reliever from school and it made me realize how things I found extremely hard in my childhood can actually be accomplished and those who did it (who were older than I was) were not a super-genius as I had thought. In ways it broke some bubbles.... But we totally accomplished it! haha. Great night :)

Homecoming House Decorating Competition

This year I am the Resident Advisor of the Poulson Honors House in Officer's Circle at the U. My house is WONDERFUL and all of the residents are great! Each year Officer's Circle participates in the Homecoming House Decorating Competition and the Homecoming theme this year was "Fovever Crimson." My house decided to use the concept of time to represent this theme. We made a giant clock out of cardboard with the hands saying "Forever" and "Crimson" and in place of the 12 we wrote "Pack 12." We found this huge Styrofoam painted Ute helmet in the basement and put that up. Then we cut out two hour glasses and had a clothes line of clothes from child to adult size with a sign above saying "Lifetime of Utes." I think we did great, it was a lot of fun to decorate and the judges liked it too. We didn't win because one of the greek houses did, but we had a great time and I'm way glad we participated in it.

Lexi's Volleyball Tournament at Lone Peak

Today Corey and I drove down to Lone Peak to watch Lexi play in a Volleyball tournament. She is on the JV and sometimes plays for Varsity for Lehi High School. Yes, She IS that Awesome. She does really well and plays middle or opposite most of the time. Dad and Cami were there with us recording the game and Lexi played very well and her team won 1st place in the tournament. They dominated everyone they played against. It was really fun to watch her play. Way to go Lexi, we're proud of you! :) 

7th Annual Legacy of Lowell

The Bennion Center (Service Center) at the University of Utah puts on an annual "Legacy of Lowell" where students are invited to come and participate in a variety of service projects for the morning. I went with my RA staff and helped remove an invasive species at "Bend in the River" which is on the Jordan River bike trail. We spent the morning pulling out goat-heads, the nasty weeds that have the seeds that have stickers on them and poke holes in bike tires and get stuck in your shoes. It was pretty fun and lunch was catered by Cafe Rio, which is always a plus :)

M.S. Dinner of Champions

Each year, Martha's boss Phil hosts the Multiple Sclerosis Dinner of Champions for the Utah chapter. This is my second year going with them and I really enjoyed it. This year the dinner was at La Caille which is neat because this was also my first time going there. The gardens are very pretty and there are PEACOCKS walking around the gardens all over, spies as Corey calls them, haha, but I love peacocks so it was really neat seeing them. We were able to see and hold a real Olympic gold medal, which is heavier than you would expect and very very cool :) I think I'm going to have to say another favorite thing of mine about the dinner is dressing up to go to an event. I don't get to wear a fancy dress every day so it's fun to do it on nice occasions like this. The Jazz Bear was there also and was named the Sportsperson of the Year and we were able to get a picture with him :) The dinner was great, and the food was very good, especially the desert sampler :) I really enjoy the M.S. dinners because it brings an appreciation for the ability to move and we honor those who suffer from the disease and all of their strength and also those who fight to find a cure. It's a great cause and has gone a long way in recent years due to support and research. The Dinner of Champions is about honoring athletes of the year, those who put efforts towards helping M.S., along with those who battle the disease. The Silver Hope Award went to Zeke Dumke for his wonderful efforts in starting the M.S. Society Utah Chapter and maintaining it through support and participation and for all the wonderful things he has contributed to Salt Lake City and its universities. He is truly an amazing person. Overall the event was rewarding and I had a great time :)

Football Games: Utah vs. Pittsburgh

Game number 1 of the season! Corey and I have MUSS tickets this year and are super excited to watch the games this year. Corey, Won Ki and I went together to this game. We were all pretty excited about the start of a new season and the game was a lot of fun :) It was a BLAST getting into the school cheers again and doing the "3rd Down Jump" to distract the other team. Utah was by far in the lead for most of the game and then Pittsburgh did a turn around right at the last minute tied Utah at the end. They had to go into overtime and Utah won! :) So it was exciting :) The excitement wasn't as high as a mid-season game but it was a lot of fun :) It's great being able to go to football games again :)