it's beginning to smell and look like christmas

today i got home from teaching my class, turned on sufjan steven's christmas album, and peeled a clementine. the clementine smelled so strong, it was the first time it really felt like christmas to me even though we decorated our christmas tree and house for christmas last weekend.  looking through some of my pictures i've taken recently, it's beginning to look like christmas around our house too.

christmas kiss cookies - check

decorating christmas trees - check

favorite ornaments - check

snow - check (well sort of...)

christmas lights - check

clementines - check check check!

now if i could only get through the rest of this week (it's the absolute worst to be a student this time of year) and i will be feeling full-blown in the christmas spirit!  

oh and did i mention we got another nephew last week? steven ramsey facer. we love you already. that's the 4th capua baby this year - 4th!  it's a good thing there are so many babies around for us to hold and hang out with otherwise we might start wanting one of our own.

iowa day 4: madison's birthday and the last of photos

are you sick of iowa yet?  well, i'll be brief.  sunday was madison's birthday - she's 19!  {what???? how did this happen??}  we were excited to be there to celebrate her actual birthday with her seeing how this rarely happens when you live 1200+ miles apart.  we went to church in the morning, test drove my neighbor's subaru into the middle of no where, ate my dad's annual sunday brunch as a family, went to mcfarland park for more food and hide-and-go seek in the prairie {i know, so iowa}( my family goes here for my little sister and grandmother's birthday every year - can you tell my family is tradition-oriented?), and jumped on a late flight back to utah.  we were sad to leave and very sad to land in near-winter weather, especially when we found ourselves lost in a gigantic parking lot looking for our car (literally).  farewell, iowa!  we will be looking forward to seeing you again in december!

here's more pictures, hope you enjoyed my quad-rilogy {is that even a word?}

one thing i love about iowa is that if you drive 5 or 10 minutes in literally any direction, you will be in the middle of nowhere

iowa day 3: more food, nature, fun fun fun

1. blue note lemonades, hot chocolates, salads, sandwiches and soups @ stomping grounds and trips to the cupcake emporium where madison, davis, and sadie all work (have you noticed that all of my trips tend to revolve around my food?)

2. nature walk in the forest behind berrett & tina's house (and where i learned i might want to own a small dog of my own someday thanks to zeus)

3. delicious thai pineapple curry for dinner (which i will be sharing the recipe soon i promise!)

4. bowling @ perfect games (where even with bumpers, i didn't even bowl 100 - i know, embarrassing)

enjoy more photos!  (only one more day of iowa posts and then on with life we'll go!)

iowa day 2: instagrammed

the weather was perfect the whole weekend.  considering there are approximately 2.5 weeks during any given year in iowa where the weather is tolerable, we felt pretty lucky.  and better yet - it was beautiful.  i love the mountains, i really do, but i also love horizon lines that seem to extend as far as the eye can see lined with silos, trees of changing colors, and rows of harvested corn.

the first thing my students said when i told them i was going to be gone in iowa during friday's class (besides - "so that means we don't have to come to class??") was a big confused "why?" iowa is a pretty random place to visit to most people i'll admit, and while i wouldn't recommend it for your next vacation, if you ever find yourself there during one of the 2.5 weeks of tolerable weather, don't despair.

friday we:

went to the annual friday bruegger's bagels lunch bunch with my mom, aunts, and grandma (and even an uncle)

went to the ames high football game to watch my brother and cousins march in the marching band {ames high! aims high! - best high school slogan ever?}

and went "late night" shopping at hyvee for things like vegan ice cream and regular ice cream, chocolate, frozen cheese balls, buttermilk ranch dressing for the frozen cheese balls, sports drinks, flea medicine, and etc.  (thanks again dad, aka "the bank," for funding that little trip!)

and that's it and that's all and it was great.

p.s. you might have noticed that my dad has a black eye.  i forgot to mention that on day 1, he got in a little bike accident that required an ER visit and a few stitches, which left his eye black and blue for the whole weekend, which is why he will be getting a really nice and stylish helmet for christmas.  

iowa day 1: cc meets

this past weekend was so much fun + i took a lot of pictures (and considering its probably the first blog-worthy thing i've done since starting grad school)... i think i'll make a post for each day's events.

it was go! go! go! on thursday - in a good way.  we woke up thursday morning {night} at 3:45 in.the.morning. to catch our flight out of salt lake at 5:45 in.the.morning.  that was the first time in years i saw that time of day that i almost forgot what it looked like - and it's not something i want to see for another few years.  anyone who knows me, knows that the fact that i made it out of bed with minimal snoozing and to the airport before the sun rose is a minor miracle in my life.  anyway, straight from des moines, where we met my older sister's fiancé, a major reason we traveled to iowa in the first place, we drove to ft. dodge for my younger brother's cross-country meet (and 3 of my cousin's meets AND my younger sister's boyfriend's meet as well!)

my dad ran cross-country in high school, which spurred my older sister to run xc, which spurred me to run xc, which spurred my younger sister to run xc, which spurred my little brother to run xc, and oh yeah, which spurred more than half of my younger cousins to run xc as well so far - all of who live in iowa!  anyway, cross country is a sport i actually like to watch because you can watch the progress of the race throughout the course and this being the first race i ever saw my brother run made my heart burst with pride - seriously, i couldn't stop yelling/cheering.  

{me: "HUNTER! get up that hill!!!!!"} 

well me and my sisters with tanner and chris ran all over the course for my brother's, 3 cousin's, and sister's boyfriend's races  and i'm pretty sure we were just as tired as the people actually running the races...

we ended the day relaxing in my parent's living room after going to el azteca, drinking delicious (even if cancer-inducing) coke and eating taco salads, enchiladas, and mexican steak.  couldn't have asked for a better start to our fall trip - especially knowing all the while it was snowing in utah.

oh yeah, and in case you're wondering, {remember the purpose of our trip?} we totally love chris.