Humble beginnings

I thought I'd post a few pics of our little apartment with our very FEW Christmas decorations.  Yes the key word is few!  But I am happy we have at least a few things to make it seem a little more like Christmas.  I'm especially grateful that we have our little Christmas trees.  Chad's mom had a tradition of giving each child an ornament every Christmas.  This has come in very handy indeed since we had no decorations for our tree to begin with and now we have exactly 24 ornaments!  Needless to say I am very grateful for that tradition because without it we would have two little bare trees.  Thanks Teri!  As we got out our Christmas decorations Chad got a little ambitious and decided he would decorate our apartment with Christmas lights.  Normally I am a little picky about decorating our apartment and prefer to do it myself, but Chad beat me to the punch and the lovely window decor is all Chad!  :) I thought it was too funny to take down and so this is what our apartment ended up looking like this Christmas.  

Our cute manger scene with no stable with Chad's random lights strung throughout.

This window light decor is Chad's master piece!  Although you can't see it in the picture, the left side blinks, but the right side doesn't.  Yes, it's a special treat to see this.  Too bad you all can't come to Nebraska to see it in person!

Chad next to our cute little trees with his 24 decorations.  You will have to ignore the green spot on the carpet...it's been there since we moved in and the owners keep claiming they are going to "take care of it as soon as possible."  I think we've grown so accustom to it that we really don't even notice it's there.  Chad says it adds character to our apartment.  So this is our humble beginnings for our first Christmas together, it's not much, but we sure do appreciate what we do have.  We are so excited to be able to spend Christmas with family and friends in Utah this year!  Only a few more short days and we will be there!  

A Missouri Thanksgiving

Chad and I were able to go to Missouri for Thanksgiving.  All of Chad's family was together for Thanksgiving for the first time in about 9 years.  So it was extra special to be able to be a part of it.  We have fun playing games, watching movies, going shopping, and just talking.  I feel so blessed to be a part of such a wonderful family!  They are such great examples to me!  I had fun getting to know all of them better too.  One of my favorite things was when we all piled into the car together to go Christmas shopping.  Of course the Thanksgiving dinner was delicious!  I have never been a fan of yams before, but this time I really enjoyed them!  So tasty!  We also were able to go out on a double date with Chad's friend Dan and his wife.  We ate at a little mexican place and it was delicious.  Chad ordered what Dan likes to call "the caldron of goodness" haha It was huge!  Then afterwards we went to the Christmas lights that you drove around through.  It was highly entertaining!  It was so great to be able to just relax and not have to think about school or work for a few days!  Thanks Teri and Steve for letting us stay with you!  We love you all!

Eating our yummy dinner at El Charro

Dan and Leisel

This car just cracked me up!  This car was decked out with antlers and topped off with a red nose.  Only in Missouri!  haha

All of us packed in the car together

David playing games

Me and Kevin

Megan, Alex, and Ethan.  What a cute family!

Kevin and me just being silly.  Kind of a scary picture

Mark and Chad playing a little fooseball

Megan and Steve working hard in the kitchen

Erica and Jeff

Cute Ethan during one of his many photo shoots :) 

Teri and Ethan

GO UTES!

I know I'm slow about getting around to posting this about the big game, but life has been pretty crazy lately and so here it is finally.  Last Saturday was the BYU/Utah game.  Which is a big deal not only because they are rival teams and it's one of the biggest games of the year in Utah, but also for the fact that Chad is a BYU fan and I am a Utah fan.  We are both determined as well that our team is better than the other.  But we all know who the truly good team is of course....Utah!  Sorry for all of you out there that are not Utah fans, but I just had to say it.  On the day of the big game we were fortunate enough to be invited to a party to watch the big game.  I say fortunate because this party was being held at our friends apt. and they are huge U of U fans.  They were only going to invite people who were fellow U of U fans, but they made an exception with us since we are a mixed U of U and BYU couple.  Lucky us!  They even allowed Chad to wear his BYU shirt, but they said they reserved the right to make him remove it at any time.  The rest of us were all decked out in our finest U of U apparel to show our support.  It was such a great game!  I loved being able to watch it, although I wished even more that I could've been there.  I love watching football!  I was so happy that the U came through with a great win over the Cougars.  Way to make me proud!  

Year in Review

I was just thinking over the past year about all the many things that have happened this year. It's been a busy one that is for sure! It's been full of many wonderful things.-The best of those of course was getting married to Chad! If someone had told me in January that I would meet a cute BYU engineering graduate and we would date and getting married that summer and then move to Nebraska I would've told them they were crazy and never believed them! I wouldn't have believed them because I had this grand plan all laid out that I was going to finish up school, run marathons, and then travel to Europe. Yes, it all sounded so great! However, the Lord had a different plan in mind for me.-A much better plan! I know I could've probably gone on my merry little way without Chad, but life is so much greater now and I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful husband. He is so sweet and thoughtful and now I can't imagine life without him. So here are some pictures of what I have been up to this year. Sorry there are lots of them and I don't know why but some are randomly small. Enjoy! Me and Chanelly at her surprise b-day party
"This is what fun is!"

Erica, Cambria, and I playing at the party

The chalkenbaukers! Way too much fun!

Playing on the balance beam at at YSA activity

Me and my mom at Wicked! Loved it!

My Dad and I after riding the Screamer at California Adventure. My poor Dad got sick. What a trooper!

Disneyland! Love it!

Playing at Disneyland

Me and my mom on the Indiana Jones ride.

Cambria and I after running the Ogden 1/2 Marathon

Visiting Chad in Missouri. This is the Precious Moments place. :)

At the Centerville parade on the 4th of July

My cute work buddies! I miss those ladies!

Out to lunch with my work buddies again.

My Provo roomates

Me and Chad after we went ring shopping!

I got this shirt for Chad for his birthday. He was sweet enough to wear it for me. Go Utes!

Getting my bridal pictures

Our wedding day!

The Burgin clan at the reception

Together Forever!

Can't Hardly Wait!

This morning on the way to work Chad and I heard a Christmas song on the radio and it got me all excited for Christmas. There are many reasons why I am excited this year. One reason is because Christmas is my favorite holiday. I love getting people gifts, spending time with family, and eating yummy foods. I love Christmas decorations and going to see the lights at Temple Square. One of my favorite things is having Christmas breakfast with the Petterborg side. This has been a tradition as long as I can remember. All of my aunts, uncles, and cousins get together and have breakfast casserole (So yummy!) in the morning at our family Christmas party. This party usually is topped off by some sort of competition such as basketball, fooseball, football, or any kind of game that we can think of. But this year I am extra excited since it'll be me and Chad's first Christmas together! I'm excited to start our own little family Christmas traditions that will hopefully be carried out year to year like some of the ones Chad and I have grown up with.

This year we are going to be able to go to Utah for Christmas! yay! I am so excited that I can't hardly wait! We will be there for two whole weeks! The weeks were flying by when we first bought our tickets, and now time seems to have slowed right down and it feels like I am stuck in the middle of November. What's the deal?! Don't get me wrong now...I love November for it's own thing...Thanksgiving.-Which I am also excited because we are going to Missouri to spend it with the Burgin clan. That'll be a party! But I think it slowed down because in my mind I was so sure that we were at the end of the month already and that Thanksgiving should be this week instead of next. Apparently I am just a week ahead in life! I'm excited to be able to spend time with family and friends in Utah. Plus I can't wait to see my cute nieces and nephews! So the count down to Christmas is officially on!

Other than being excited for Christmas life continues to be pretty busy for us. Chad is working hard in school and spends long days there and then has started going back again at nights to study more until late at night. You can tell the semester is winding down and things are getting pretty intense. This has made me realize I need to get more hobbies to keep me entertained while Chad is at school. Any suggestions? Thanks to Megan for entertaining me with her Wii Fit while our husbands are at school. For any of you that haven't tried it I would highly recommend it! I don't know if I got any kind of a work out, but I sure did laugh pretty hard!

Lists of the day

My cousin Lori did a post about lists and I just loved it. I am also a big list person. It must be a Petterborg thing. I love to make lists at work and at home. However, my favorite part about making the lists is being able to cross items off after I have accomplished that task. I have decided to make a list of things I want to do while I am here in Nebraska for the next three years. So here it goes:

1. Go to a Husker's football game
2. Visit the tractor museum (that's just so I can say I've been there)
3. Go to the Lincoln Zoo
4. Go to the Omaha Zoo
5. Go to the Winter Quarters temple as often as possible
6. Run on the Lincoln trails
7. Go to the Farmer's Market
8. Go to the aerospace museum
9. Go to World's of Fun (We are going for sure next year Jana!)
10. Ok I'll be honest, I'm already running out of things to put on my to do list. Maybe those of you who've been here in Nebraska a little bit longer can help me out because I'm fresh out of ideas. :)

Here are some lists of favorites and other random things about me:

Favorite Movies to watch:
1. Rocky IV
2. I love Lucy
3. Two Weeks Notice

Favorite Movies to quote:
1. How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
2. Dumb and Dumber
3. Tommy Boy
4. Cars (just kidding this is actually Chad's favorite)

Favorite TV shows (that I would watch if we got television):
1. The Office
2. One Tree Hill

Favorite places to visit:
1. Disneyland
2. Hawaii
3. Bear Lake
4. Denmark
5. Sweden

Places I want to visit (outside the US):
1. Italy
2. England
3. France and pretty much the rest of Europe
4. Africa
5. South America

Things I do when I watch TV:
1. Cuddle with Chad
2. Sleep
3. Exercise

Pet Peeves:
1. People singing the wrong words to songs
2. People putting their feet too close to me (I have feet issues)

Books I love to read:
1. Anita Stanfield novels
2. The Twilight books

Favorite Disney Movies:
1. Mulan
2. Toy Story
3. Robin Hood
4. I pretty much love all Disney movies

Favorite music to listen to:
1. Rascal Flatts
2. Keith Urban
3. The Wicked soundtrack

Chores I don't mind doing:
1. Cleaning the kitchen
2. Toilets (I know I'm weird)

Chores I hate doing:
1. Ironing
2. Cleaning the shower

Stores I love:
1. Target
2. Charlotte Russe
3. Forever Young

Things I love to buy:
1. Shoes
2. Sweaters
3. Jeans

Things I want to learn to do:
1. Get better at wake boarding
2. Speak better Russian
3. Make good rolls

Things I love to do with Chad:
1. Cuddle
2. Tickle wars
3. Watch I love Lucy
4. Ride a tandom bike
5. Go on walks
6. Swing on the swings

Things I have learned this week:
1. Never to get an account with US Bank
2. Entertaining kids for 4 hours of church meetings is hard
3. Go to the eye doctor right away when your eye is irritated

Things to do today:
1. Exercise (checked that one off already)
2. Work (thank goodness it's Friday!)
3. Make dinner
4. Fold laundry
5. Go to the temple

Since our trip to the temple is over an hour each way that knocks out a good portion of our day so I think that is as long as the list is going to get for today.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween everyone!  For Halloween this year we decided to have a small get together and just hang out with some friends.  I thought it would be a great idea to make pumpkin pie because I knew it was one of Chad's favorites.  I've only made a pie once by myself before and I didn't have to even make the crust that time.  So of course it was an adventure for me to attempt making homemade pumpkin pie with homemade pie crust.  I know there are some of you out there that are "Betty Crocker" and to you this is no big deal, but to me as a beginner it is a very big deal.  After I had the pies all put together I threw them in the oven for the allotted amount of time.  When the timer went off I went to pull the pies out of the oven.  As I grabbed the second pie I lost my grip and it slide from my hands!  Fortunately I reacted fast for once in my life and caught it before anything happened.  It really was a miracle!  Sometimes I think I could have a blog that is just about my adventures in the kitchen because I have so many!  But the pies turned out and I was happy about that.  While I was making the pie the boys sat and played the Wii.  They are hooked on this tank game and determined to conquer it.  I have played it before and it didn't do anything for me, but Chad absolutely loves it.  We ended the night by watching Pirates of the Carribean III.  Which is sort of a Halloween movie right?  Even though we didn't dress up we still had a great Halloween!

My big Halloween accomplishment!

Me congratulating Chad after he broke the record on the tank game.

Friends hanging out.  

This is Chad "in the zone" playing his game

Husband on a leash

Many times Chad and I have gone somewhere and gotten separated and we've had a hard time finding each other because one of us isn't a "self-contained" person and forgets their cell phone. Some of you may have already heard this story, but I just couldn't resist blogging about it because it is the perfect example of why I am beginning to think that I need to put my husband on a leash. Last weekend Chad and I went to the mall to do a little shopping for him. Chad's wardrobe is in need of a major makeover that is long overdue. We arrived to the mall only 15 minutes before closing time. We were cutting it a little bit close, but since I'm a fast shopper I wasn't too worried. We stopped in JCPenny because they were having this huge sale. After rummaging through the clothes for a few minutes with no success we decided to move on to another store. We hurried to the other end of the mall to one of my favorite stores. I quickly picked out an outfit for Chad and sent him to the dressing room. Three minutes later we were at the checkout happily making our purchase. I'll have to post a picture of Chad in his new outfit for you all to see how handsome he looks! Then we rushed back to the other end of the mall to JCPenny where we had parked. We just made it in before they closed the gate. I wanted to grab something in the women's department and I told Chad I would just be a minute or two and for him to wait, but he took off and headed down to the men's department not wanting to be caught hanging out in the women's section. I made my purchase in just a couple minutes since I knew exactly what I was looking for and headed downstairs to find Chad. In the mean time Chad had found some pants to try on and was in the dressing room. So when I went down there and made a lap around the men's department he was no where to be found. I decided to make a few more laps just in case I had missed him. After having no success with that I headed upstairs again thinking maybe he was upstairs looking for me. Now keep in mind that I had forgotten my cell phone and had told Chad that when we arrived at the mall...otherwise this whole situation could've been solved in seconds. Anyway, I went back upstairs and after a few laps around the women's department I still couldn't find him. Where could he be?! I stopped and asked the women at the jewelry if she had seen someone that met Chad's description. She said she hadn't and since their were pretty much only us and about 3 other people left in the store she would know. Then she suggested that I overhead page him. I had to laugh to myself because it made me think of the movie Charly. If you've seen the movie you will know what I am talking about. Chad is very similar to Sam in that movie in a lot of ways. I decided to pass on her suggestion and give him a few more minutes. After a while I gave in and had the lady page him. The two ladies at the jewelry counter assured me that he would come as soon as he heard the page, but he didn't. After another few minutes went by they asked if I wanted to use their phone to call him. I took them up on their offer and dialed Chad's number. It rang and rand and then went to his voicemail! I left him a message and continued to wonder where he could be. Now according to Chad he heard the overhead page, but chose to ignore it figuring he would be just a few more minutes in the dressing room. Chad decided to buy something so as he got to the checkout counter his phone rang (which was me calling him) and he didn't answer it because he was making his purchase. As the cashier rang up his purchase and saw his name on his credit card he said to Chad "Hey, aren't you the one they overhead paged a few minutes ago?" haha Any of you who know Chad know that he hates that kind of attention being drawn to him. Meanwhile back at the jewelry counter these ladies are starting to suggest that my husband has left me at the mall and forgotten about me! How could he forget his wife after only being married 3 months?! haha Finally Chad came upstairs and when he came into my view I said "There you are!!" Which embarrassed Chad even more. This isn't the first time something like this has happened to us either. Hence the reason I am now in the market for a leash for my husband. I told him I'm going to have to get him one of those backpack leashes they have for kids just so I can keep track of him!

Somebody's got the giggles

On Friday we went over to our friend's house for dinner. While we were there we played Balderdash. Which by the way is a way fun game to play and we had a blast playing it with our friends! We were with a creative bunch and so the answers people came up with were hilarious. One of the most entertaining parts of the night was when Chad was the reader. Knowing the correct defininition he would then have to read all the silly definitions that we managed to come up with. Every time his face would turn bright red and he would giggle as he tried to read the definitions. For the life of him he could not keep a straight face! This just made the rest of us laugh watching him attempt to hold in his giggles. I wish I would've had my camera to catch these funny moments! His smile is pretty much the cutest thing! I love that he's a giggler too! We are quite the pair! It seems like it is always so much harder to stop laughing when you are not suppose to be laughing. I had this very same problem growing up. Without fail almost every Sunday when I was younger my brothers would do something or say something that I found funny and then I would get the giggles. The bad thing was that I couldn't stop! My mom would then grab me and put my head into her lap to try to muffle my giggles. Anyone who knows me can attest that once I get going I'm pretty much useless. :)

BBQ

On Saturday we got together with a bunch of the 1L's (aka 1st year law students) and had a BBQ.  It was so much fun to get together with everyone and get to know them all better.  We had a blast chatting with friends and playing at the park.  Thanks to the Husted's for putting this all together!

Erick, Chad, and Brad.  They had all kinds of fun playing at this park together!

Cute Jana and Brad!

Chadley and I playing on the swings!  I think I'm still a kid at heart because I love playing on the swings!

More friends

Megan and Erick

Chad and me eating at the BBQ

Chad and his boys enjoying photo time on the playground! haha

Some of us had a little more fun than others.  :)