Official

Guess what? Did I tell you? December 17, 2010 was my last day of college (maybe ever) and yesterday when I came home, I was so excited to see something on our doorstep. It was my:

DIPLOMA!

Wahoo, so exciting!

This little piece of paper proves that I am a college graduate. I graduated from BYU, the same university as my parents and my brother and sister-in-law. The same school I always wanted to go to, since I was a little girl. This is a big deal.

Once upon a time (aka March 2009), I wrote a list of 56 things I want to do before I die.


I have accomplished 8 of them, guess I've got a few more to go.

1. Marriage in the Temple
              June 26, 2010
5. Graduate from Uni
              December 17, 2010
9. Shoot a Gun
              December 18, 2010
14. Own and Raise my Own Pet (or a family pet)
              November 1, 2010
15. Submit Photography in Contest
31. Kiss in the Rain
44. Pull an All Nighter
49. Catch a Fish (again)

Now I want to make a list with Nate, of things we want to accomplish before we die.

What are some things on your 'bucket list'?

Cone Head

As many of you may know, our poor puppy got "fixed" last Wednesday causing him to need to wear a cone around his head (to make sure he doesn't bite or lick his stitches and reopen something up). We were told he needed to wear the cone for 5-7 days, so we decided last night we could save him and take it off.

The day Aspen had his surgery, he was SO out of it. He was so tired and wouldn't move very much, his eyes were droopy, and he was whining so much. Poor puppy!

The next couple days he started to get a little more used to having a cone on, but still hit everything and everyone as he walked/ran around the house.

The last few days he could finally walk up the stairs on his own (he learned he needed to hold his head high) and he wasn't running into everything, only a few things.

Finally last night we took the cone off, and I was so happy to see my cute puppy again. He looks so much cuter without being a cone-head and I could finally snug him tight again.

He really is leaning as much as the picture looks. This is the first day when he was MEGA drugged.

Poor baby trying to take the cone off.

On Sunday we decided to head up to deer creek reservoir, try our hand at ice fishing (though we didn't catch anything - because we didn't use our tent we couldn't see in the water and have no idea if fish swam by or not) and give Aspen a chance to run around. We weren't supposed to leave him outside very long (after the surgery) because the area wasn't allowed to get cold, so he wasn't getting as much exercise as he's used to.

He loved the snow that was there. There were feet of fluffy snow and he loved jumping in it (and we loved throwing him in it). He also loved running around on the ice (it wasn't too slippery due to a couple of inches of snow on top) and he probably got more exercise than he's ever gotten in his life, because he was running around so much.  We're guessing he ran 1-1.5 miles, wow!

Even with the cone, he could still fetch a frisbee.

Still so cute!

The frozen lake.

Dropping in a worm.

Cute, hah!

Love my baby pup.

ice-fishing

So, this year from the Berrett parents, we decided to ask for ice-fishing equipment. In Utah, winters last SO long, and we get tired of being inside all the time and just watching TV or movies for our entertainment. As we know we both (of course Nate more than me) already like fishing, and we've decided its too cold to go fly-fishing from the side of the river in the winter, so ice-fishing it is.

We've gone ice-fishing twice already. In the next couple of weeks Deer Creek Reservoir will be frozen over (and will save us about an hour on drive time) but we've driven up to Strawberry Reservoir to fish. We went again today, and unfortunately fishing was even slower than last time, but I think that's just how it is with ice fishing sometimes. But do not fear, because we got a pop up tent (for Christmas), and we brought our camping chairs and heater and we were quite cozy just sitting in our little tent. Its actually warm enough in there that we could probably take a nap even.

The first time we went we each caught 1 fish, which was pretty slow, but they were both huge fish. And when we brought them home their meat was so red, even redder than salmon you would buy in a store.

It was so scary the first time, thinking about it only being 5 inches of ice that is holding us from our freezing icy watery death. Plus (we learned afterwards) that the ice expands in the heat and kept sending dolphin-like noises and cracking sounds our direction. They even sounded like they were surrounding us, we got so scared. But after we realized our ice-fishing neighbors weren't moving we figured it was normal.

While waiting for fish to bite our lines we enjoyed chatting with one another and playing scrabble against each other on Nate's iphone and my ipod touch.

It's an amazing thing being able to see fish swim directly under you. Its especially cool seeing them on your line and how big they are, and trying to pull them up into your hole.

Here are a few pics from our first time ice-fishing:

Our first hole, with my line in it.

Waiting for fish.

The 19inch rainbow Nate caught.

My 22 inch cutthroat.

<3

So, whoever wants to go with us in the future, let us know. We'd love the company.

Gettysburg

Because we sat around for a lot of our vacation back east, when the whole Berrett family was available Thursday we decided we should drive a couple hours to see one of the cool places close by. We decided on Gettysburg, which I hadn't been to in at least 12 years and it had been a while for most the family too.

I think if I lived on the east coast I would be a lot more familiar with civil war history and all the different battles. Unfortunately though I have never, and I'm no history buff, so my knowledge of the subject is minimal. But, I still enjoyed seeing the monuments and memorials for all those who lost their lives or were wounded.

Here are a few pictures from the outing:

Although it was cold, it was a pretty day.

The whole gang (L to R): Sandi, Matt, Me, Nate, Dain, Ethan and Taylor

I couldn't believe how many unknown bodies were there. This was just one set.

Berrett and Harrison at Jammin Java

So, Nate's younger brother Taylor is in a band, called Berrett and Harrison. They'll be releasing an album sometime this next spring. And on Wednesday night we got to go to their show at Jammin' Java. Here is a link to their facebook page, so check it out if you want. Taylor is the singer and lead guitarist of the band.

And here are a few pictures I took.

Baltimore

Before we even got back east we decided we would spend the day of Monday in Baltimore with my family. It took us about an hour and a half to get to their home. Anthony and Jana live in the cutest row home with a porch and a balcony. And they have the cutest fluffy kittens living under their porch and I wanted to steal them.

Anyway, first we went to lunch at Cafe Hon. Which is this cute Baltimorian place, where they name the food after words and phrases that they say in Baltimore. I got a delicious turkey and bacon sandwich and everyone else's food looked delish too. 

Then we headed over to the Baltimore aquarium, which is way too expensive but was really cool too. They have this awesome area where you walk down a few levels of a ramp with a tank surrounding you. The tank had different fish and sharks. We also went to the dolphin show, which was cool but a little too environmental preachy, I wish the dolphins did more tricks, they only did a few.

I wanted to stick my finger in the middle of these

excited for the dolphin show

the only real jump any of the dolphins did

we were on the ramp level above them

some of the fish inside the tank that surrounded us

and a saw tooth shark too

inside a ____ mouth

now our turn

Mom and Dad's too

close up

When we got outside the sunset was gorgeous, so we snapped a couple shots. The evening air was so brisk and cold that we couldn't stay long and hurried back to the car.

love kissing my honey

see. beautiful.

 We ate dinner and had a birthday celebration for Zoe. She absolutely loved eating the frosting off her cupcake, or at least she loved wiping it all over her hands and face. We wore birthday hats and sang to her to celebrate. She is such a cute 1 year old.

Not so sure about the birthday hat

But very excited for cupcake

gimme

tasting the frosting

the party goeers

and more (plus of course I was there)

now she's really enjoying it

No, Zoe, don't touch your face. (Don't worry she was promptly given a bath afterward -which she loves)

We had a great time in Baltimore. I hope Nate and I can make it back sometime while Anthony and Jana and Zoe still live there.