All I want for Christmas is no snow

Man! There is so much snow around here in Seattle. We have about a foot and that's more than I've ever had in my life in Seattle. It's been here all week and sometimes it gets better later in the day but then at night it snows more. Right now it's been snowing all morning and we can't really go anywhere. I just hope that it stops long enough for my flight to Mexico tomorrow to fly out on time and not get delayed or canceled. At least everyone is here for Christmas and we can enjoy that. I just want it to stop!

Finals, Vacation

I'm done with all my finals. I had them Monday-Wednesday this week. Every day I had one at 7am and on Tuesday I also had one at 11am so I was pretty tired for those last couple of days but it wasn't that bad. Tuesday night Brian and I exchanged Christmas presents, I got him Kung Fu Panda on blue-ray and he got me a new guitar for my guitar hero because my old one was broken. I was so excited! Now I am back home in Seattle, I left Tuesday afternoon. We were waiting in the airport for a long time because our flight was delayed but then we saw the Vach family which was so exciting because we played phase 10 with them for a while. Now it is really snowy and icy back home and we are stuck at our house but there are a lot of people here so it's alright. I will be here until Christmas day in which I will be leaving for Mexico to meet Brian's parents serving a humanitarian mission there, then off to California to meet the rest of his family and then I'll be heading back to Utah to start school again for Winter semester.

Snow

Ha! It's snowed last night in Seattle but now we have snow too. Muwhahaha!...

Well i'm not that spiteful I just wanted something to blog about. Oh and something else exciting is when I went to the book sell back I won a $5 bookstore giftcard which I used to buy 2 pounds of sweedish fish to share with my friends to spread a little Christmas cheer. 

Bridal Shower & Presents

So yesterday I went present shopping. I got Emily a rolling pin off her registry at Target and I also went and got Shari a Christmas present also. I didn't have any wrapping paper for either present so I used a Daily Universe I had today. Emily could totally tell her's was a rolling pin and Shari's had a huge cool bow ribbon thing out of newspaper. Emily's bridal shower was fun because I knew most of the people there. 

I'm Engaged!

So yesterday I got engaged. Here's the story

I had not seen Brian all day because I had to take a test and he was studying and going to work. But then his work was canceled so he just showed up around 5:30. I was pretty surprised because he said that he had work. We went to the Brick Oven and had a really good deep dish pepperoni and olive pizza. Then I came back to go the Becky's bridal shower at 7 while he went to go buy some movie tickets for later. We went to see Bolt in 3D which is such a funny movie, I love the hamster! Then we had nothing to do so we went to walk around the temple. Earlier during the movie he was playing with my CTR ring and seeing if it would fit on his pinkie. So at the temple we were just standing by the fountain and talking. Then he goes like he's going to give my ring back and puts the engagement ring on my CTR ring finger. I didn't notice anything at first but after a few seconds I did. I was like "what? That's not my CTR ring" Then he got down one one knee and asked me if I would marry him. I said yes then told him that he needed to put it on my left hand. So after that we just kept walking around the temple and talking. It was really great.

Pike Place

Over thanksgiving break Brian and I went to Pike Place Market in Seattle. It was fun, Brian got a shirt and found me a llama sweater. It is so cool, I love it! We also got flowers for mom because she hinted that she needed some really cheap flowers. Thanksgiving was so much fun with the whole family and Brian also. They like him and Brian said that he likes them too. So all in all it was a fun and exciting week.

Flashlght

This is Brian's and my project number two for our Mechanical Engineering Graphics class. We were supposed to use our disc shooter and make it parametric (add equations to the dimensions so you can just change one thing and you get different sizes as shown) but that would've been insanely hard and crazy! So in the end we took the easy way out and just made the flashlight parametric since this flashlight is very easy, not many curves. It is due today and we are almost done, we just need to print everything out and turn it in. It has taken quite a while and we have been working on it constantly for the past two weeks. So if you want a Laura and Brian original call now and it will only be five payments of $5.99.

Salt Lake

Brian and I went to Salt Lake yesterday. It was really fun.

We went to the Hogle zoo which wasn't as good as the woodland park in Seattle but it was great. We saw all kinds of animals like Giraffes (my favorite), Lions, Monkeys, Snakes, Frogs, Cougars, Penguins, Elephants, Bunnies, and all kinds of animals. It was pretty cold but we dressed warm.

This really cool lion drinking fountain at the zoo was so cool but they had already turned off the water for the winter so it didn't work. But I got to stick my head in a lion's mouth.

Brian at "Grandma's House" in "China". I'm not sure what he's wearing but he plays the drum pretty well.

After the zoo we went to temple square and saw the Joseph smith movie in the legacy theater. That movie is so good, I love it! Then we took a tour of the conference center, that place is huge and the roof is cool. I like all the paintings and everything. Then we went to the tabernacle which was tiny but the sister missionaries did a cool thing. They spoke from the pulpit and did a pin drop test and we could hear it from the back row without any microphones. It was pretty awesome.

We ate dinner at applebees which is a classic restaurant that is good anytime even though Brian had never been there. The food was really good and we did get that spinach and artichoke dip that everyone loves.

Then we went and saw Madagascar Escape 2 Africa which is a hilarious movie. If you liked #1 I would recommend seeing #2. It is funny. The whole thing about it is that they build an airplane to try and get back to New York but it crash lands and they end up in Africa and Alex the lion finds his long lost parents. They think it's a great place but then things go wrong and in the end it's all better and they stay in Africa.

I found this person on a bike on the sidewalk on our way to the trolley. It reminded me of the bike racks back home at 4 corners that look like bikes. Oh yeah, and the trolley was so fun, it was kinda like a monorail but cooler. It was free too so we rode it a bunch of times just for fun. It was exciting.

Disc Shooter

It's done! Brian and I finished our Project for Mechanical Engineering Graphics today. We made a disc shooter. It was such a fun project and I'm happy with how it turned out.

Two Times Tuesday

So today is Tuesday. I watched the devotional which was pretty good, I liked the First Counselor of the Presiding Bishopric that spoke. I ate lunch and watched it at Brian's house which is way more comfortable than the seats at the Marriott Center. I finally had a real lunch today. I've been needing to buy food and I did so now I had a PB&J, String Cheese, Granola Bar, and Cheez-Its. I loved it! After classes Brian came over to work on our Disc Shooter. It is coming along well and the hard part is over. Yeay! So that's it for Tuesday. Oh yeah, and It's election day today also, I wonder who is going to win.

Sat-ur-day, what a day, groovin' all week with you

Yesterday I went to the temple for the first time since I've been here because I just got my recommend. It was really fun; I went with Sara and Heather.
We came back and picked up Becky and went to IHOP for breakfast which was so delicious.
Then we went to Cold stone because I had to owe them Ice-Cream. We got in there and sampled so many flavors the lady that worked there gave us this weird look like if we were going to order anything or not :)
Brian came over to work on our Mechanical Engineering Graphics class project. We're making a disc shooter. We worked on it for 3 hours and didn't get much done. It was kinda frustrating but we figured out a bunch of things.
Brian and I went and played croquet with his roommate and his girlfriend. It was so fun, partly because it was dark and that we kept hitting each others' balls away. I actually did pretty well considering I've never really played croquet for reals.
So yesterday was a pretty fun day, and BYU won their football game which is a plus.

Squaw Peak Hike

So many of you have been speculating and wondering about what I've been doing lately. So today I went on a hike with Brian to I think squaw peak. It was a pretty long hike and we kinda got lost and walked through forest for a few hours but it was really fun. It was pretty challenging though but I enjoyed it. Here's a picture of Brian and I. For those of you who want to know, here are some facts about Brian: he's doing Mechanical Engineering, he's in 3 of my classes, he served a mission in Peru, he's in the BYU marching band, he likes scuba diving and camping.

BYU Triathlon

I did the first ever BYU Triathlon. It was a 200m swim, 6.2 mile bike, and a 1.8 mile run. It was so fun. On the swim I passed two boys and did really well. I didn't take too long in the transition but wasn't so fast on the bike. The second lap of the bike I was faster though. The downhill part was so fun because I got going so fast. When I got to the run I was tired. It was hard to keep running but I did. I was really slow but got through it and sprinted at the end. I didn't get an award and I don't know my time yet but I think I did really good and it was way fun. Here are the routes for the bike and run if you want to know. Emily has pictures on her blog and Facebook.

FAN!

Oh my gosh! So I made this fan for my Mechanical Engineering Graphics class and then I had to render it and put cool colors in it. It looks awesome! I love it. I made the hands a human skin texture and the base is Bronze and the grate is Gold veined Stone. I love the lighting and the angle and how the colors go together and the sky. AND it's hands on a fan. This is so cool.

Heather's Birthday

October 11th was my roommate Heather's birthday so Sara made a cake and I suggested that we make it into a castle. So I was in charge of designing it. I have NEVER decorated a cake before and I was nervous but it turned out good. I tried to show Emily but she was gone and then we ate it. Everyone was impressed and I was proud of it.

BYU Homecoming Parade

So I volunteered to be in the BYU Homecoming parade. I got to hold a banner that said Dean's Award for the college of nursing float. We also got free t-shirts. I love them.

True Blue Football

So I don't have very many pictures from the blue foam thing because somebody else took them with their camera. But I will be receiving them soon. But here is what I have for now. I got SO blue! We went down the blue foam slip-n-slide once and then somebody spilled blue dye on the ground so we went and coated ourselves with it. It was really strong. There were so many people there we had to wait in line for the slide for about 45 minutes but it was totally worth it! Afterwords I went to dinner group all blue and everyone was really surprised. Emily freaked out because I was so blue. It came off though, mostly. Just my fingernails are blue now. It was so fun AND there was free pizza which was a plus.

Tennis

I played tennis with Mike yesterday for an hour. It was fun. I found another tennis ball so now I have two!

Bike Ride

I went on about a ten mile bike ride today with Mike. We went on the trail that goes by Bridal Veil Falls. It was fun.

Chem Homework Bonanza Carnival Extreme

This is so funny. Here's an email I got from my chemistry TA who teaches my class TTh. He is hilarious. Made my day.

Hey friends,

I've decided to plant myself in the tutorial lab tomorrow (Monday) from 2-3 PM for the express purpose of helping all y'all with all y'all's homework assignment. It will be a veritable hootenanny of electron chemistry. Also, I'm reworking my office hours (in the sense that I'm about to actually have some), so I'll inform all y'all about those during all y'all's Tuesday recitations.

Your loving TA,
Uncle Dave

ps Lest you think in your hearts, "My, how ill-prepared we are for doing this homework!", I have it on good authority that everyone else is in the same boat. See? Not my fault.

Bridal Veil Falls Hike

Kate and I

Katie and Betsy

Betsy and I

Lost & Found Sale

I went to the Lost and Found Sale at BYU this morning. It was so fun! We got there at 6:30 and waited until 9:00. We were like one of the first 20 people in line. There were so many people there, it was crazy and of course everyone started running once they opened the doors. I got so much good stuff for only $12. I was so cool.

BYU Sweatshirt $4
Tiny Hymn book $1
Ping Pong Paddle $1
Tennis Ball $0.50
Basketball $4
Frisbee $1
BYU Beanie $0.50


Here's a picture of Chelsey, Kate, and Betsy who went with me. It was so fun.

Foil Dinners

So I made the foil dinners that Beth said was really good. They were so good! Everyone in my dinner group loved them. I forgot to take any pictures until most of the people left. In this picture is my roommate Sara and Kate from #2 who is really nice. It was a fun dinner. Thanks for the idea Beth!

The Great Gatsby Party

I went to a great Gatsby party the other day. Everyone dressed up. it was fun. I wasn't that dressed up.

BYU vs. Wyoming

Here's some pictures from the football game today. We won with 44-0. I sat by Jamie again. It was a really fun game. Jamie also has 2 pictures of me on facebook if you want to see those.

Jamie and Alex

Fan Base

I made this piece of my fan today. It is the base that the other pieces go into. It was definitely the hardest part to make yet but it wasn't that bad. It was actually fun after I figured it out. So I just wanted to show it to you so you can go "oohh, aahh"

ChemCompanion

So I have to watch this video thing online for my chemistry class and this part is so funny I just had to take a picture of it for you. The guy in the window is actually my teacher and he's great but sometimes funny things pop up n the big screen like he uses lego analogies a lot and once he was on the big screen rubbing his hair with a balloon while he was still talking in the window. It's hilarious!

Food Fight

So we had a food fight after the football game on Saturday. It was so gross. We made mixtures of flour, mustard, pineapples, applesauce, crushed tomatoes, and jello. It was nasty, there was like 20 people. We had so much fun. Here are some pictures from the whole thing. I got pretty bad, some got in my eye and mouth. I had to take like 3 showers to get everything out of my hair.

BYU vs. UCLA

I didn't bring my camera to the football game but Jamie did so here are some pictures of me that she took. I sat with the Ward which was mostly Callie, Jamie, Alex, ummm... and a bunch of other people whose names I don't remember. It was real fun, not fake fun. But it was really hot too and I got a sunburn but it was still really fun.

BYU

So I had to go to school today for a 9am Chemistry test review then I went to the lab to finish up an assignment. When I was there I really noticed the cool trees and scenery because there was nobody there. It was quiet and awesome. Here's some pictures I took.

GAHH!

AHHHHHH!

So I've been trying to install this CAD program for my graphics class and I started it 7am yesterday and at 2:00 today it "finished" but then everything went wrong and somehow it got messed up. IT TOOK SO LONG!! Gah. So I restarted downloading it today at 2:30 from the BYU library because the internet is much faster. So guess what percent is done now?

40% in only 45 minutes. I have had enough of this program and just want it to work. I need it to do an assignment due on saturday at noon so I hope it goes fast.

So now I am just sitting in the library waiting for it to complete and coincidentally I didn't bring anything to do. So i'll probably be here for another hour or so just surfing the internet waiting for it to finish. Oh and yeah when I was downloading it earlier it made my internet soooo slow that I haven't done much lately. It is much better here at the library.

Apple Crisp

So I made apple crisp today because I've had a ton of apples for over a week. I've been meaning to make it for quite some time now and I finally just did it. Emily and Neil came over to eat it and they brought Ice-cream. They enjoyed it very much. Here's some pictures of me and Emily and Neil. Neil didn't eat much though because he still felt sick. I think I still have some. Maybe I'll eat it later.

Fan Clip

Here's something I made for my Mechanical Engineering Graphics class, it's a plug in for a fan.

Snack

So this is what made to eat the other day because I was bored. It was very good and Emily and her roommates enjoyed it very much. I might even make it again sometime.

BYU Hat

The Terrace #1

Here are some pictures of my apartment and I made a floorplan of what the whole thing looks like. Sorry it's not to scale and I don't know why but I used paint to make it.

My room

My Closet

The sinks

The Kitchen

The bathroom

The living room

The entryway and hallway