Martin Luther King, Jr. Day - who knew?

We have never had this holiday off before. In high school, we didn't get the day off. At BYU-I I don't think we got it off (school may have been out, but I had to work). For the last two years, at ThomasArts, I definitely didn't get it off. Good news though, I now work for the government, and we get all kinds of perks, one of them being all the national holidays that we get off, including - Martin Luther King Day! Let me tell you what, it was an awesome weekend. We could definitely get used to having the day off together.

We kick-started the fabulous 3-day weekend with an amazing date night. We went to Taco Time (our favorite place to eat) and then...

We went to see Sherlock Holmes, which we had both really been wanting to see. We don't often splurge on movies in the "expensive" theater, usually opting for the RedBox debut. But we decided we deserved a night out. It seems like generally, when lots of people tell us they don't enjoy a movie, it ends up being one of our favorites. It turned out to be the case with Sherlock Holmes, as well. We LOVED it. We'll probably see it again as soon as it does come out at the RedBox. Or maybe I'll just buy it for Landon's birthday. :) I am also dying to get the soundtrack, the music was fabulous!

On Saturday, we talked our good friends Jesse and Catherine into going to the temple with us, and then headed out for some much-needed Vitamin D therapy. We both spend way too much time inside, especially me, and were feeling a little claustrophobic. So we went on a hike up Rock Canyon (which is incidentally right behind our house- seriously, we could walk there if we wanted to). We took our new back packing stove (thanks Mom and Dad!), some canned soup, hot chocolate, and yummy corn bread made by Catherine and had a picnic in the snow. It was beautiful, and so much fun! I can't wait until spring, when we can all go on a road trip together.

 

Landon teaching us about Geology

Hooray for married friends!

Sunday, we were invited to dinner by one of my roommates (Annika Howard/Winnings) - we are both from Rexburg, but we happened to be roommates in Palmyra, NY when I did my internship. I had heard all about her husband while we were there - before they were married, obviously - and she had heard all about Landon, who got back to Rexburg right after I did. So it was lots of fun getting everyone together and meeting each other. They have two adorable little girls and we had so much fun playing with them!

Thanks again for having us over! And thanks for this picture, which I completely stole from Annika's blog. .

Monday we decided not to plan a thing. We spent the day sleeping in, baking bread and homemade granola, working on some projects that we never seem to have time for, and getting our house in order for the week. It was such a great day! We love when we can spend so much uninterrupted time together. I've already looked ahead, we have President's Day to look forward to next, and then (another first for me) Spring Break in March! I can't wait for another adventure.

Christmas Time in the Burg!

Sorry this is belated...like an idiot I forgot my camera, so we had to wait for pictures from my very generous father-in-law. :) Thanks!

We spent Christmas with the Burgener clan this year. It was so much fun! This is the first major holiday that we have all been together, since Landon and I were married while Dallin was on his mission. Miles will be leaving on his own mission sometime this summer/fall, so this may also have been the last Christmas we are all together for awhile.
We arrived on Dec. 23, about 3 hours ahead of schedule, just in time for dinner! Haha, we had a lot of fun surprising everyone.
On Christmas Eve, we had a fabulous dinner: ham, potatoes, huckleberries, and chocolate cheesecake! Yum! I'm still dreaming about that ham...

After we were full to bursting, had read some stories and watched a classic movie called "The Very First Noel," we got ready for our Christmas Eve slumber...

It's tradition for all of the kids to sleep in Erin's room. If anyone else gets married, I'm afraid there won't be room for us all anymore. We had to rearrange some furniture as it was. But oh so totally worth it! Visions of sugarplums danced in our heads while Santa was busy filling stockings and setting out presents. About 5 hours after this photo was taken, Wesley woke up somewhat indignantly (we had slept through both of the alarm clocks the little boys had set) and announced that it was time for Chirstmas!

 We woke up the parents, rushed down the stairs, and found a wonder land waiting for us. We were completely spoiled. Landon got me a beautiful new coat, some Arthur movies, a new purse, and tons of books that I am way excited about. He got some Star Wars Legos, a new backpack from the MTC (Thanks Sarah!) and some much-needed clothes. We were also spoiled by both of our families. My parents gave us power tools and Burgeners gave us some fun things for our home. All-in-all, it was a rousing success!

After Christmas, the party continued for several more days. I especially had a blast with Elizabeth and Erin, sewing, cooking and watching lots of girly movies like Sabrina and the American Girl shows. It is a lot of fun having another family - I have been so blessed!

I can't believe how much Erin had grown up since I first met Landon. We always have a good time together talking and being friends.


Thanks Burgeners for making this a great Christmas! It was our third together, and in my opinion, they just keep getting better!

Reflection and Resolution

Well, 2010 has arrived. Ten years ago, we were worried about Y2K and the end of the world. We personally were eagerly awaiting the end of junior high. Five years ago Landon was in Peru and I was gearing up for my trip to Europe. 2009 was the year of surprise. One year ago, this is what we thought 2009 would look like. Boy were we wrong. Here are the highlights from 2009, and our hopes for 2010:

2009 Hallmarks:

• We said goodbye to Grandma Vera - she is still missed.
• We met Dallin at the airport when he came home from his mission to Slovakia.
• We bought a brand new computer and definitely have been loving it.
• Landon took first place at the annual spring research conference.
• Wicked. 'Nuff said.
• We fell in love with a little place called Manti.
• We celebrated the Burgeners' 25th anniversary.
  
• Kylie started a new job at UVU. She loves it.
• We made the big move to Provo.
• We took a fabulous vacation to Disney World with the Jacksons.
• We bid the Bronco a fond farewell.
• The first-ever all-Burgeners-included Christmas.
  
• Preston got married and Josh got engaged!
  

2010 Expectations:

• Landon's graduation will take place on April 22-23. (Party at our house!)
  
• We will be headed in the direction of grad school - the final contestants are New Hampshire, BYU, Wisconsin, and Maine.
• Landon turns 25.
  
• We will attend Josh's wedding sometime in the spring.
• We'll get to meet our second niece in May.
• Miles leaves on a mission this summer. Any predictions?
  
• There will be a trip to Peru sometime in the late summer/fall.

Beyond that, I'm not willing to make any more predictions. Leave that to the physics, I clearly don't have the "inner seeing eye." We'll just take what comes our way and love every minute of it!