Belated Christmas

So even though it's been over a month lets talk about Christmas! It was our first Christmas together and it couldn't have been better! Christmas Eve we had dinner with family and did all that fun stuff, then that night JP and I decided to move our mattress into the living room and sleep there. Our tree looked beautiful if I do say so myself.

Then we spent the morning exchanging gifts and playing with our new toys (JP got an architecture Lego set and I got a gel nail light). After that we went to my parents house and had tamales and more gifts! It was fun to have the whole family together and of course we played games like always! It was a great day full of family and fun and I'm so thankful we were able to spend it together with them!

Just opening some of our amazing gifts from the parents!

Some family and couple pics, it definitely took us a 

while to get a good one of us all together!

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Then we were able to spend a week up in Utah with JP's family! We went to the movies at Jordan Commons in the VIP theater (I think that's what it was called?) which was so fun! Had a New Year's party with the family - where we toasted to the New Year at around 8 or 9 because of the kids and then we hung out with JP's friends. It was definitely odd to toast to the New Year four hours before the actual time, but it was still very fun! We also took family pictures which went surprisingly fast even with all the little ones!

I've never taken pictures in the snow so that was kinda fun! A little different 

than the family pictures we took in Arizona when it was 75 degrees!

JP was also able to go snowboarding, while I just read in the lodge! 

We went to Brighton and it was so busy! It was so cool to see him 

come down the runs though - I'm definitely not as good as him! 

Another day we also went to Park City and wandered around Main Street. I've never 

been there so it was really cool to go to all the little shops and art galleries that
they had there! And on the way home we saw this beautiful
sunset that I couldn't resist taking a picture of!

Start of the Holidays!

So a lot of updates, but we'll just start with Thanksgiving in Chicago! We were able to stay with JP's sister and her family for the weekend in the cute village of Winnetka and have Thanksgiving there with the in-law's. It was a lot of fun and it wasn't even too cold, which I was really excited about! We didn't take too many pictures, but here are a few from Thanksgiving day.

Just preparing for the big feast - apparently Jon got really into carving the turkey!

The beautiful table set up that Rachel did! It definitely didn't look this 

perfect after dinner, but everything was amazing!

On our trip we also went black Friday shopping a little with Rachel and got some really great deals that we were excited about. We spent a day downtown with everyone and got to see part of the city, which I was really happy about because I love big cities! And we just got to hang out with the family which is always a plus! Unfortunately we caught a little bug on our trip, JP started feeling sick the very last day, which was horrible timing because he had his final presentation the next morning on Monday after we got in from our midnight flight. But his presentation went really well so that was good. Then once he felt better I got sick on my last day of class! We were a mess for a couple days, but we're all better now and officially finished this semester on Tuesday healthy and cold free! I must say it's a great feeling to finally be done with this semester...and not be sick anymore!

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Last weekend we also took pictures with my side of the family! You know it's Christmas card season when you see ten different families in every spot at the park, but they turned out good! Here's a couple sneak peeks.

The whole gang and just the kids! I'd say we're a pretty good looking family!

Just having fun getting our pictures taken...we're pretty much models.

More October Festivities

So tonight JP's pulling an all-nighter to finish an essay for tomorrow and I'm trying to stay up with him...at least for a little bit - so far I've made it till 11:15! And that means another blog update to keep me busy! Anyway a couple weeks ago I was able to go on a girls trip with JP's family (AKA my new in-laws) to Oregon and it was amazing! It was the perfect relaxing getaway weekend and it was great to get to know my new sisters a little better. We stayed right on the ocean at Cannon Beach which meant a perfect view of Haystack Rock right outside our window - it was beautiful!

This is the perfect little cottage we stayed at. 

The sun was reflecting off of the clouds during the sunset, so pretty!

Of course I have to include Haystack.

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Then we can't forget Halloween! Or at least the days before when we carve pumpkins with the family. JP and I didn't do very well with the carving, but we tried our best! Nothing could really compare to my brother Garrett's anyway, he did a portrait of Dwight and it turned out perfectly! But we had fun and got to spend some time with my grandpa while he was visiting!

 Our carved pumpkins and what they're supposed to look like. Close enough right? Next year we're definitely going to have to step it up a little bit!

All of us and our pumpkins!

Fall Break

We were lucky enough to get a little break from school this weekend...our fall break was Saturday through Tuesday - ASU was so kind to go ahead and still give us the weekend off! But either way it worked out that we actually got to go camping for a night! But before I go on about that, we also went to the Komen Race for the Cure on Sunday with my family! We did a three mile walk in the morning to support breast cancer. It was fun to walk and spend time with my family, and the bag full of free granola bars didn't hurt!

All of us at before the three miles! There was a TON of people there! 

At the finish line! It had definitely gotten hot by then - it's October but still about 75 in 

Arizona and that was still in the morning!

We walked in celebration of my Aunt Elaine who is currently fighting breast cancer and almost done with her surgeries and everything after finishing chemo, she is so strong and we pray for her fast recovery! And in memory of my Grandma who we love and miss so much.

After the race we were able to spend the rest of the day with the whole Hunter clan and made amazing caramel apples! It was a busy and fun day for us all!

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Then Monday was camping! JP had been wanting to go camping since who knows when so we finally went when we had a break! We went up Monday afternoon and camped for the night. It was fun and relaxing to just get away and be together. And we made really good tin foil dinners that we cooked over the open fire - we were pretty proud of ourselves!

Of course JP loved being in the forest and building us a fire!

After dinner it got pretty cold and dark so we just decided to go into our new tent and watch the stars. It wasn't the most comfortable night's sleep but we made it through! Next time we are definitely getting a sleeping pad because 5 blankets still don't smooth out all the rocks!After breakfast we decided to pack up a little earlier than planned so we could still have some time to see a movie before doing some last minute homework! It was a short trip but just enough to get away and enjoy nature. But now it's back to school for JP and a girls trip for me on Thursday!

October Update

So since it's been a while I though I'd give a little update on the past month or so of our wonderful marriage life! First we started rock climbing!! JP wanted to start climbing this summer, but I finally agreed to start about a month ago because we had a Groupon and we've definitely fallen in love with it! I was a little scared at first about the whole height thing, but it wasn't too bad. We now go about 2-3 times a week and have a blast. It's our little workout and we've met a ton of cool people there - everyone is so friendly and helpful. The only downside is that we think JP just pulled a muscle or something in his shoulder so we have to take a short break - hopefully only a couple days! We went yesterday and it was really hurting him, but before that he finally got the V0- path that he had been working on for a couple days so we were excited about that!

Onto the next set of business...my birthday! It first started on Sunday when we went to my parents house for an amazing dinner of Rollie Pollies and a pudding layer cake! It was fun to get together with my family since we don't do that as often now that we're all married off. Then...Tuesday I officially turned 20 and JP definitely made it an awesome birthday! First he made me french toast and fruit for breakfast before school, then in between classes we went to Sacks and got a free sandwich and JP actually ditched his only class to take me shopping in Scottsdale and made himself my personal shopper. There are definitely perks to having a fashion conscious husband! Then after shopping we went out to dinner and dessert at Subzero (for free of course)! It was a great day full of free food and I finally got myself a really cute maxi skirt!

Oh we also finished decorating most of our house! There are still a couple unfinished projects, but it doesn't look too bad. We spent a good amount of summer trying to make our house look more homey and add all those little touches. We painted, JP built a couple shelves and we hung a lot of pictures - and it's finally looking good. Pictures will hopefully come soon so don't forget to check them out. Well I think that's about all for our update! Next time there might be mention of a trip to Oregon or if it's a really long time our Thanksgiving in Chicago!

Utah Weekend

Before school started again we were able to go to Utah one more time, which we were super excited about - and this time we didn't have to drive thanks to JP's mom! We flew up to surprise JP's dad for his birthday a little early and for the summer dance party! We just hung out with the family for a couple days and then of course danced! We were also able to visit Temple Square and drive around Little Cottonwood Canyon (I 'm pretty sure I got the name right...) and it was so much fun. The canyon was beautiful and I can't wait to see it in the fall maybe sometime this year! It was the perfect way to end our busy summer and we were so glad we could take a short trip to Utah before our busy school lives.

...speaking of school...we started that last Thursday. I started my sophomore year and JP is now in his Junior year at ASU. We're both loving our classes this year and can't wait for what the semester has in store for us. Both of us might also be changing jobs sometime soon so we'll see what that brings. It's a little stressful not knowing exactly what's in store for us but we know whatever it is it's for the best. But that's it for our little update, maybe next time we'll have job news to tell!

Reception Take Two

This weekend we finally drove up to Utah to have our second reception in Sandy. JP's mom and sister did most of the planning and decorating and it turned out amazing! We had such a fun time and it was the perfect summer backyard reception with friends, family, and of course great food! It was so fun to put on our wedding clothes again and be a "just married" couple - even though two months is still pretty close to newlyweds. Anyway...we loved every minute of it and our stay

 in Utah with all of the White family. 

A couple shots of the signs and decor in the backyard. It was beautiful! And I had to include that cake topper again - everyone loved it and couldn't believe that my mom made it! She's just so crafty!

We figured we'd take a few more bridals for the occasion while we were all dressed up again and they turned out so cute!

 And the food! It couldn't have been better - we had three food trucks and delicious desserts. We had a Mexican, Chinese and Hawaiian shaved ice truck and they were definitely a hit! Thanks to JP's sister Deb for the great idea and a very original reception!

 Couldn't resist including a couple pictures of our adorable nieces and nephews!

And we ended the night with dancing! It was a perfect {second} reception and we couldn't have asked for anything better! We're so thankful for all our friends and family who came to spend this night with us and JP's parents for hosting the whole thing!