January

It's funny how some months are just jam packed with things going on but others are kind of slow. The month of January was pretty slow in the Lind household. 

I started my internship at HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital in Sandy. It's about an hour drive each way. I am now an avid listener to traffic reports, NPR and new radio. I also have discovered books on tape. They are so neat! In just a about two weeks I was able to finish The Book Thief. I almost feel productive while I drive. I have loved my internship though. So this is a place where people come after they get out of the hospital in order to recover. My supervisor and I work with a team of physical and occupational therapists to help each patient recover. I was not expecting to enjoy this placement as much as I have. An added bonus is that they provide free lunch every day. At first I was nervous because you never hear good things about food at a hospital but I was pleasantly surprised. Here's Hawaian Haystacks and peas one day...  

We also moved into our place this month. We are living in a basement apartment in Ogden, close to Weber State University. We made our first furniture purchase from the DI for $20! It was a steal! Getting it down the steps and through our door was another issue but Taylor was resourceful and removed the legs and door in order to get the sofa inside. This is a picture of Taylor putting the feet back on... 

We're trying to discover the fun things to do in Ogden. So far we haven't found too much. One highlight was the Nicklecade. True to Ogden form, it was a little rundown but we had a lot of fun. 

Everyone I have spoken with so far has said that they hated Ogden to begin when they first moved here but now they love it. I don't hate it but let's just say that I'm anxiously awaiting the "love it" stage. 

December

The last month of the year. We made it through finals. I took my very last official final of my life. I have more tests to come but that was my last final for a class. You have to celebrate the little things. The day after finals, we moved all of our things to Ogden. With help from good neighbors, we were able to pack up our apartment in one day. The best part was that it all fit into our two cars. It's awesome not having a lot of stuff. I'm going to miss these days. 

To celebrate the end of the year we drove down and spent a few days in St. George. Taylor got to experience the Pink Palace first hand. My grandparents purchased a home in St. George a lot time ago and my grandma, being the hip and stylish woman she was, decided to decorate the entire home pink. We are talking carpet, wallpaper, stucco, everything. It's pretty epic! I have such great memories of visiting the Pink Palace for Thanksgiving. It was fun to be able to share them with Taylor. 

Since we had time, we drove over to Zion National Park and spent a few days exploring. I'm not sure if I have ever been there before but I was so amazed at how beautiful everything was. 

We did Angel's Landing trail. There were parts where we had to hold on to a chain in order not to fall. 

After St. George, we met up with the Christensen family in Salt Lake. My parents found a house to rent and all 20 of us were under one roof. It was a blast! The first day, a few of us went skiing. The weather was pretty hairy but it was totally worth it. Especially when I got to see Taylor ski for the second time in his life. He did a great job and was a good sport. He only fell twice! 

The rest of the break was filled a variety of Christmas traditions and celebrations. I was excited for Taylor to experience a Christmas with little kids. The magic of Christmas, presents, the nativity, lights, etc. all become more real with a child. Christmas with 10 kids is absolutely amazing! 

Singing Christmas carols with the Calvert's 

Christmas cookies with Grandpa Peter 

Our traditional Bethlehem dinner to commemorate how Christ would have dressed and eaten  

Opening presents Christmas morning  

This was one of my favorite parts - attending the temple with all of my siblings while Grandma and Grandpa watched the kiddos. (We really missed Hannah!) 

Temple Square Lights 

Getting to know Baby Peter! He's an absolute doll 

After all the Christmas festivities, we headed back east to kick off the New Year with the Lind's. The first day we were there we went to Amish country. I remember going with my dad when I was younger and eating Shoo Fly pie and watching the buggies pass by. It was fun to go back and see everything again. We went to an Amish Smorgasbord. I have never been in a room with so much food and so many people eating. 

We got to seek away one day and go back to Washington D.C. Oh how I love that city! Just driving through it again made me want to move. It has captured my heart and I don't know if it will ever let go. 

It was a great way to start the New Year and we couldn't be more excited for 2015!! 

November

Both Taylor and I were going to school full time and I was interning at Providence Elementary School during the month of November. It was pretty calm and there wasn't too much going on but here are a few of the highlights...

My cousins planned a girls night out. I am on the younger side of the Christensen side and most of them grew up in Utah together so I have never known any of them super well. Now that I'm older, married, and almost done with school, I feel like I have more in common with them and it was so fun to just chat and get to know them better. We were also celebrating that Aunt Callie finished up her cancer treatments and that she is doing well. It was a wonderful night!   

One night while in Logan, I got a call from Keri. I guess she was up in Logan picking up Chandler (Mckay's younger brother) so they could drive out to California for Thanksgiving. Unfortunately their car broke down as soon as they arrived in Cache Valley. They had some family friends help them out and we got to see them for breakfast the next morning. I know it wasn't ideal circumstances for the Perry's but it was so great for us! We absolutely loved having them and it was a confirmation to me that we need to live close. 

We also attended the USU vs. BYU game. I have to admit that I was totally torn! I loved my time at both schools but the Aggies are such rude fans. I don't know how to describe what they do but I was a little bit embarrassed to call myself an Aggie though. BYU won so it was still a win for me. 

This was our last meal in our studio apartment before the big move down south. It was all of the leftovers we had in our fridge. As we sat down to pray we noticed that everything was white-ish. Probably not very healthy for us but we got ride of all our food! 

October

October started off with a bang. We went down to visit Taylor's grandparents in Saratoga Springs for General Conference. Between sessions we went on a walk out to Utah Lake and someone invited us to use their row boat. It was so beautiful and I couldn't believe that it was October. Conference was fabulous and I am so grateful for the knowledge of a modern day prophet and being able to receive revelation for our day. 

For winter break we decided to drive out to the Reno area and visit the Christensen's. I had never really been out to that area but it was absolutely beautiful. Carter showed us around his two dental offices and was kind enough to make Taylor a retainer. Lake Tahoe was beautiful and I hope we can go back during the summer to explore more! 

Taylor was a favorite that weekend. We were going to bed one night and he said "It's so neat to hear Uncle Taylor. I'm Uncle Taylor!" They absolutely adored him. 

We went to our first girls soccer game and Reese killed it! We'll have to work on Taylor's comments to the referees. And imagine it wasn't even our own kids!   

While Taylor and Carter went on a Scout camp out, Steph and I got to work on the kid's Halloween costumes. Stephanie was so creative and coming up with something out of random objects. It made me so excited to have kids and be creative for them. 

Carter had a work party where they watched the Broncos game and he outfitted us all in the proper attire. 

For Halloween we decided to be chickens. Probably one of the most random costumes ever but it was fun. We got together with some friends and had a little party which was nice. Halloween isn't one of my favorite holidays but this one was fun.