Black Tuesday

Since everyone is posting about what they did on Valentine's Day (fondly referred to as "Black Whatever-day-of-the-week-it-is" in my family, I figured I would too.

I spent my Valentine's Day on a labor and delivery floor. Pretty appropriate I think. Then I made dinner for the sister missionaries which included heart shaped sugar cookies.

Quite the productive Black Tuesday if you ask me.

Crossing Paths

There are a few people in this world that I'm convinced I would be friends with if our paths ever crossed. The guys in this group are some of those people. Brad Pitt is another. But that's another story for another day...

I've felt that way since jr high (or was it high school? I'm getting way too old and losing my mind.) when I first discovered their amazing-ness. And yes, amazing-ness is a word :) It was reconfirmed yesterday. These guys are genius.

 I especially like the one in the red pants in this video

So, if by any chance any of you happen to know these gentlemen, (or Brad Pitt for that matter) please, send them my way :)

New England

You should know that people in Boston are CRAZY about their sports. And they're indiscriminate as to the sport as well - hockey, baseball, basketball, football; each elicits sheer madness in the citizens of this state.

I feel as though it's an important part of my initiation to being a resident of Boston that I also take pride in their sports teams. Bearing that in mind, all I have to say is:

GO PATS!!!

Danerisms

My nephew Dane is such a funny kid. He cracks me up every time I see him. Thought I'd share a few of my favorite gems over the years (though you may have to know him to find them as entertaining as I do...):

{On our road trip to Arizona to visit Andy and Bri}
Dane: "Hey Grandma, hey Mique. Stop it being naughty and listen to mom. She's trying to talk to you."

{On a car ride when the sun was shining into his eyes}
Dane: I need some glasses.
Grandma: Well I don't have any extra for you to wear.
Dane: Just give me your glasses.

{While I was on the phone with Linds on speaker on their end}
Dane: Mique, I need to tell you something.
{Linds still talking to me in the background}
Dane: Mom, I'm on the phone.

{Brookie and Dane reading a book about birds}
Brookie: This bird is a penguin.
Dane: No, it's not a penguin!
Brookie: Dane, trust me, it's a penguin.
Dane: No, it's not a penguin! It's a tufted puffin!

{Telling us the story of their dog Cooper attacking a cat}
Dane: Mique, I need to tell you something, I need to tell you something. Cooper intacked a cat.

Oh man, I love that kid. He always keeps you on your toes :)

Lost

Sometimes when you lose your glasses it's really hard to find them since you can't see anything without them...

It's a vicious cycle.

January Birthdays

January is a busy month for birthdays in my family. We have Daddy's, Brookie's and Campbell's all in just a few weeks. Unfortunately I missed both Brookie's and Campbell's, but I can't miss out on doing a birthday shoutout. And since there are three of them, this is going to be one long post :)

Let's start with Daddy. I know I already did a post about him for Father's Day, but I truly can't say enough how much I love this man. He is one of the most hardworking, humble, patient, kind, loving and selfless men I know. Even when I call him at work and he's really busy he still makes me feel like he has all the time in the world for me. He makes me feel so good about myself every time I talk to him. He's one of the most outgoing people I know and people everywhere can't help but love him. I swear, it's impossible to go anywhere with him without him running into another friend. He's such a good example of truly caring for others.

Daddy and me in the grounds of the Jerusalem Center

Next, Brookie. She is absolutely the most loyal person I have ever met. She's one of the first people I call when anything happens because I know that whether the news is good or not, she will support me 100%. I can always count on her to cheer me up with I'm down. I can't even count the number of times I called her crying when I was applying to grad school, convinced that I'd never get accepted. She such a way of calming me down that few people possess. She's always there for people when they need her, even when it's not convenient. She's always so much fun to be around. We can go from having really deep intellectual conversations to singing at the top of our lungs to Prince - regardless of what we're doing, I love spending time with her.

Don't mind the fact that I look like an idiot...

And finally, Campbell. It has been so much fun to see her personality develop over the last 2 years. She is so strong, independent and determined. She always makes me feel so loved when I see her. She loves being with people and playing with them. She's also a major dare-devil and way more brave than I will ever be, and she may be as accident-prone as I am, though that's still up for debate.

Campbell and Bapa (kinda...)

I have such a great family! And I'm so glad I got to spend so much time with all of them over the break.

Now back to that paper I was writing. Come to find out, writing birthday blog posts is much more fun than writing papers. Who knew?

There's no place like home

During my almost 4 week break from school (can I get a Hallelujah?!) I've had the most wonderful time. Due to my camera being broken I have very little photographic evidence, but here's a list of some of my favorite things I've done over the break, in no particular order:

• Spent all of my time with family and friends. How glorious.
• Had a get-together with freshman friends

photo courtesy of Courtney's blog

• Went to a mini-Jerusalem reunion
• Had hilarious dating conversations with some Provo friends
• Knitted an infinity scarf that I've wanted to do for ages and two other scarfs that my mom introduced me to
• Slept in every.single.day. (Don't judge me. I was making up for lost sleep from the semester.)
• Celebrated three family birthdays and one friend birthday
• Went to St. George and basked in the warmth
• Played TONS of games
• Went blonde
• Ate ridiculously good food (this deserves a post of its own)
• Went to the movie theater for the first time in 5 months
• Had a girls night out to go shopping
• Played with my cute nieces and nephew

There were other things as well, but if I wrote them all down I'd be here for days. Needless to say, it was a perfect and much-needed break. It's never long enough when I go back home because there are still people I didn't get to see and things I didn't get to do, but I'm so grateful that I was able to do and see as much as I did. There really is no place like home.