Merry Christmas and Happy Hogmanay!

Well folks, Christmas has come and gone, but one thing remains: a large stomach. And no, I'm not referring to Jill's pregnancy (although I'm sure I will refer to it like that more often in the future). I had far too many goodies that, for some reason, have yet to leave me alone. Alas, such is life.

But enough about Christmas rolls (too soon?). Let's get on with what we did for our first Christmas as an old married couple!

First, last Tuesday, I received my printed and bound copy of my finished thesis. That means I'm finally done! I. Am. A. MASTER! It was a long time coming, but now my thecal matter is officially available to the researching world. Who knows, maybe somebody will read it one day.

On December 24th Jill and I took the front runner up to Salt Lake with James and Megan. We brought some games to play as we rode, which was great because a) we didn't have to drive and b) we got to play games.

Monopoly Deal. I pwned them n00bs.

We had a delicious meal at the Cheesecake Factory (which looked nothing at all like a factory, might I add). Then, we took a stroll through Temple Square, admiring all the lights and nativities they had set up.

The next day was, of course, Christmas.

I also need to point out the weather we had been having. Warm weather and no snow. Except when we woke up on Christmas morning IT HAD SNOWED! It's a Christmas miracle!

Anyway, on Christmas morning we got up and opened up our stockings. Then we made breakfast.

Out of focus selfies are the best.

Eggnog french toast, scrambled eggs, sausage, hash browns, and Tim Horton's Hot chocolate.

Then it was time for PRESENTS!

The tree looks bigger from this angle.

Basically, we had the best time giving each other gifts. I mean, yeah, it was great to get the biggest, fattest book on the planet (so excited to start reading it, too), but the simple act of giving was the best bit of the day. We were both so excited for the other as we excitedly exchanged gifts. I could have been happy not receiving anything, just as long as I could still give things to Jill (but now that I have all the things let's not go back in time and change that, okay? Okay.). But Christmas was a very special day for us, as I'm sure the first Christmas usually is for new married folk.

Ahem. Anyway...

We had dinner at Jill's Grandma Forsgren's place (with James and Megan) and then played games with James and Megan that night. Good times were had by all.

And then, of course, since there was snow on the ground, we went out the next day to make a snowman. Unfortunately, the snow wasn't that great, so we decided to be inspired by Calvin and Hobbes and create a special kind of...unfortunate snowman. This was the outcome:

That snowman has quite the butt.

It didn't really look anything like Calvin's, but hey, it never hurts to have a metal pole growing out of your head. Unless, of course, it does...

And so that was Christmas (and a few of the surrounding days). New Year's is just around the corner, so in farewell for now, I wish you all a very merry Christmas and, as the Scottish would (and will) say, Happy Hogmanay!

Apologies and a Family Photo

People. We are so. Sorry.

We are vile.

We are plumb useless.

We apologize profusely for failing to update this thing in, like, forever.

But we've been busy (excuse #1). We will try, from here on out, to do better. But we cannot promise once a week, as we have hitherto done. We will do our best, but it might be one in two (gasp).

But here's the lowdown on what's been happening.

Jill has been doing her practicum teaching in Spanish Fork. She absolutely loves the kids she teaches (1st grade), and I've seen her interest in them grow as her time there wore on. She really did love the children from day one, but her care and concern for them grew as the weeks went on. Isn't she just precious!? She's the best. She would always come back with fun stories from her days at school. What fun.

I have also been doing some teaching of my own. I was taking the class that is the precursor to teaching seminary as a full-time job, so I was able to hit the classroom here and there, and then for two weeks straight. It ended the week before last, and it was so much fun. I loved being able to teach and interact with the youth. It's something I would have loved to have done as a profession, but alas, I received an email today from my teachers saying I was not accepted. But they made sure to tell me that I shouldn't feel like a failure because I was able to bless my fellow classmates and those I taught. Nice words for sure. I'm not too terribly bummed out because I kind of knew I wouldn't get it, but it sure would have been nice. But the things I learned in that class and while teaching are some of the most valuable things I could have learned, and I don't think I could have learned them anywhere else. Now it's onward and upward, but at least I'll get to keep those skills I learned and all the knowledge that came with that class.

Also, we took family pictures yesterday. Here's one of them:

So yeah. There's that, too :)