Pictures and Cards

We are sooooo married: we sent out Christmas cards this year! I wanted to do it last year, but Mr. Mitchell was a little 'anti.' After we received Christmas cards from friends and family he agreed that I could send out Christmas cards the next year. Yay!

In September my wonderful friend from BYU, Lindsey Cardoza, agreed to take FREE pictures of us. Mind you, she did this while she was 8 months pregnant. I decided since we'd been married for over a year it was appropriate to have family pictures taken and that we could use one of them in our Christmas cards. Now that the cards are in the mail I am excited to share some of the other pictures with everybody! (It was tricky picking a picture for our card because Paul and I were both being fussy about them. We ended up choosing one that didn't really show either of our faces. Convenient, no?) 

Here are some of the pictures:

I love my Grumpy Gus. Anyway, we couldn't afford to print as many cards as we would have liked so that we could send one to lots and lots and lots of people. I've decided to instead share the little gem on here. 

I was super stoked to have postcard Christmas cards and it just made my day when they arrived in the mail. I waited a few days to mail them out so that I could just have them for a bit. I'm weird like that.  Anyway, even if you didn't get a postcard from us, we probably love you! (Unless you're a stranger taking a peak at our blog...we don't love you...you are welcome to keep on peaking, though.)

We wish everyone a Happy Christmas and hope you'll check back for our Christmas updates!

November News

How's that for a snappy post title? It's concise, alliterative, and embodies what the post will hold. (I don't know what the inordinate amount of attention placed on my post titles is all about. I realize I've been a little obsessive about them.)

In November we spent a lot of time being sick and so not much exciting happened. We do have a couple of events worth sharing, though. One weekend we went up to Mendon to help my sister do a Thanksgiving feast. She called and asked for our help because she felt that Mr. Mitchell had the right 'dramatic flair' to play the part of Master William Brewster. I found that quite humorous while Paul couldn't quite decide whether or not he was supposed to be offended, and so we decided to help.

 The setting up process.

 My sister (a.k.a. The MasterMind)

 Mr. Mitchell (a.k.a. Master Brewster)

 Part of the kitchen crew

 Governor Bradford, Master Brewster, Squanto

Two of the best servers

While we were in Mendon we decided to attend the Logan, UT temple since it was so close. There were many brides there that day and it was freezing! (It made me extra glad that we got married in the spring.) It's a beautiful 'pioneer' temple and we're happy we were able to go.

 Can you see the bride?

 It was snowy and beautiful.

The bottom was cut off because we didn't want all of the cars in the picture.

Shortly after our weekend in Mendon it was my birthday. We celebrated by going to Tucano's with friends (thank you Mark & Liahona, Benson & Marisa, Colby & Talyn, Ashley & date, for coming with us) and then coming to our apartment and playing Disney Scene-It while eating cake and ice cream. I received many birthday wishes through the mail, phone, and person, and I feel so grateful for those. 

 Paul was being goofy so I told him to straighten up.

 He decided to poke me instead.

And then he couldn't stop laughing.

We returned to Mendon the next weekend to spend Thanksgiving with my sister's family and my brother's family. We had a great time talking and eating and watching silly videos. Unfortunately, Mr. Mitchell and I have no documentation of the event. We also went Black Friday shopping after most of the madness had ended and finally got ourselves a printer...now that we have two weeks until graduation. Woo!

Things are going well and we are grateful for our family and friends. Thanks for reading!

We Did Some Stuff

I had no idea what to call this post and since Paul hates blogs and would not give me a blog post title this is what you get.

First, we will fill you in on Homecoming. This actually occurred before Vernal, but I didn't feel that there was enough meat in the story to share it on its own. We decided since it was our last semester at BYU we should go to the Homecoming dance. We went to the semi-formal and, when we first walked in, one of the little BYU people informed me that my dress was too short for me to be allowed into the dance. (Mind you, she was telling me this as her own dress was riding more than halfway up her thigh.) I couldn't believe it! I don't think I've ever been accused of being immodest my entire life! Mr. Mitchell also wasn't very happy with this news. He asked for a refund if they weren't going to let us in. They said, "No, but, you can go home and change." "Really? We're going to have to drive all the way back because my wife's dress is one inch above her knee cap?" "Well, we do have some napkins she could pin on the bottom if she wants." At that point, I was laughing out loud. It was so outrageous; the inconsistency of enforcing the BYU Honor Code, the girl's thigh, and the absurd idea to pin napkins to the bottom of my dress was just all too much.
We went back and I changed. We came back and I was admitted since I was no longer dressed as a trollop and Mr. Mitchell kindly reminded them to enforce the Honor Code consistently. Right after he said that we went into the ballroom and there was a girl whose dress ended right at the bottom of her butt cheeks. No joke. I was so in shock that she had been admitted into the dance and I had not been that I just stood there with my mouth gaping open. She must've seen me because she started tugging at the bottom of her dress, but it didn't do anything. It really was just that short.
I moved on, however, and Mr. Mitchell and his trollop (me) had a great time dancing and eating cheesecake.

Mr. & Mrs. Mitchell at Homecoming

After Vernal we kind of forgot that Halloween was on its way until a few days before. We went to Jaker's Pumpkin Patch to pick our own pumpkins since I think buying them from a store is lame. It wasn't quite as cool as the pumpkin patch that I grew up with, but it wasn't too bad either. We found good sized pumpkins, we played in the corn pit, we watched kids playing around on top of the hay bale maze, we marveled at fat pigs, and laughed our guts out at the curiosity of the children as a male donkey started getting "assertive" with the female in his pen. "Daddy! What is he DOING?" is probably our favorite quote from that outing.

 Balancing our pumpkins.

 I loved the corn pit.

This picture doesn't properly convey the size of the pig.

Since I was in the Halloween mood and I had heard good things about Gardner's Village I asked Mr. Mitchell if we could go. He agreed and so an outing was planned. My sister's family happened to be in town that day and so we took two of her kids with us and had a good time trying to find all of the witches, window shopping, and eating the most delicious caramel apple I have ever eaten. My nephew enjoyed sucking on suckers shaped like plungers that you dip into powder in a toilet bowl. Yum. 

 My niece and nephew posing with one of the mummies.

 This witch was HUGE!

 I was happy to see that witches enjoy a variety of activities.

I think this witch is a little cramped.

Our actual Halloween day ended up being a little hectic because we had to buy Mr. Mitchell some new pants. Within one week all but one pair of his jeans ended up with a hold in the crotch, so it was imperative that the pants shopping was done. With the crazy traffic and trick-or-treating at the mall, we got back to our apartment a little late and missed most of our trick-or-treaters. We did get to carve our pumpkins, though. Can you guess which one belongs to who?

 Kitty Bat

 Toothsome

Our pumpkins flanked our doorway.

That gets us caught up on our October activities. We have some November ones that we're stoked to share with you but, I'm too tired right now.

We Went to Vernal

We were once again invited to go to Vernal and party at the Daniel's house. Mr. Mitchell's brother, Joey, came with us and so we were only able to be there for a few hours this year, but it was a good time. We missed the apple picking, unfortunately, but we were able to make it for the cider pressing.

A "Bigfoot" moment for Paul

The sweet cider press.

Bruce - he usually has his eyes open.

The boys (Bruce, some kid, Paul, Joey) hard at work. 

Here's a brief video tutorial on the cider-making process (youtube said that it could rotate the video, so, I tried it out; so far, it's not working - enjoy the crick in your neck).

I enjoyed busying myself with the non-human participants of Daniel Cider Day, namely, Lacy - the old dog, Sasha - the new pup, and piglets.

During this time I learned that I have a slight fear of large, grunting pigs; however, because I was able to placate this one with an apple I was then allowed to play with her babies.

After this we ate the goat the Daniels roasted, admired their pumpkin arrangement and then had to leave. Like I said, we were only there a few hours. If you'd like, you may compare it to our Vernal trip from last year.

Minor Change

This minor change which has occurred means that Mr. Mitchell will find less hair in the shower and on the bathroom floor and in his bed and on his couch and in his coats. It also means that I will save about 30 minutes everyday trying to keep up with my hair.

(If you haven't figured out the minor change, I just don't know what to do with you.) 

I don't care for how I look with short hair, but it was a necessity at this point. Plus, it feels nice.

September in a Nutshell

As is the case with many people in this world, our lives have been a little crazy. I have been busy with my student teaching, work, and church calling, and Mr. Mitchell has been busy being a full-time student, working 30+ hours a week, and his church calling. So, here is September in a nutshell and if people want further details, they'll have to ask.

First, we went to a birthday party for my baby friend Talyn. She just turned 21. Yep, she's a baby. Her party was sweet, though. It was James Bond themed and classy. Just check out the pictures if you don't believe me. (Unfortunately, there is no picture with Mr. Mitchell in it. Take my word for it, he looked hot.)

Next, with help from my dad, we got our bed moved into our apartment from the storage unit in Logan that my sister and brother-in-law so kindly let us use. All summer and for the first week of the school year the mattress was on the floor. It is sooooooo nice to have a bed again. After we got the bed assembled we went to the Mt. Timpanogos Storytelling Festival. We chose the "Laughin' Night," and let me tell you, we laughed. It was hilarious; at one point I had tears coming out of my eyes. (The thought of George Washington saying "Red hot mama," among various other things, was too much for me.) We got there nice and early so we could get good seats.

I then had a lazy Saturday trying to catch up on sleep and schoolwork while Mr. Mitchell hiked Mt. Timpanogos with his friend Dave. They were very Boy Scout-y on their hike since the actual Boy Scouts were apparently losers. The Boy Scouts littered the trail while the old-men-Eagle-Scouts (Mr. Mitchell and Dave) cleaned up after them. Their hike was beautiful and it kicked Mr. Mitchell's tail.

Speaking of Dave, we went to see Dave and Ashley's baby blessed. Mr. Mitchell was invited to be part of the circle and we were invited to brunch afterwards. It was very sweet and the baby is adorable. We're super, duper happy for Dave and Ashley.

One of my best friends, Heather, had her birthday this month and I really dropped the ball on this one. She came to visit me a couple of days after and I decided to make her birthday cookies while she was there. They turned out to be possibly the worst cookies I have ever made. Sorry Heather. I like you more than the cookies say.

Mr. Mitchell and I took a drive on the Alpine Loop to say goodbye to summer and hello to fall. The drive was very relaxing and beautiful and I wish the pictures and videos could do it justice. I'm just gonna say that it's difficult to take pictures and videos of your surroundings while cruising on a motorcycle.

Lastly, I decided to capture Mr. Mitchell in a natural state. (The dishes on the floor are also part of that natural state.)