St. Louis Temple

While Luke and I were in St. Louis we had the opportunity to visit the temple. Although the St. Louis Temple is three hours away it is 'our' temple while we live in Champaign. It is such a pretty little temple.

Visiting the temple was the highlight of our St. Louis trip! It is amazing how visiting a temple, no matter where it is located, can make you feel at home. We loved the time we spent together in the temple. It did wonders to brighten an otherwise foggy grey day. We hope we can return to the temple very soon.

Meet me in St. Louis!

St. Louis is probably a pretty city. The Gateway Arch must be really tall. It's surprising that I don't know any of this for sure, since Luke and I spent a weekend in St. Louis and visited the Gateway Arch. The reason I'm not sure St. Louis is a pretty city and the Gateway Arch is really tall.... fog.

Luke had to go to Scott AFB to take a fluency test in Mandarin on Friday so we decided to make a fun weekend out of it and visit St. Louis. Unfortunately, because of the dense fog that hung over us the two days we were there, we couldn't actually see very much of St. Louis.

The following pictures are all in black in white. Black and white is how we experienced St. Louis.

Luke and I at the base of the Gateway Arch.

A surprisingly clear moment. You can see all the way to the top of the arch.

I really like this picture. You can see how the fog just obliterates the city in the background. Yes... St. Louis is back there somewhere.

My husband is so handsome!

Yes... I'm wearing a dress and yes... it was pretty chilly. We headed over to the St. Louis temple after visiting the Arch (pictures coming soon).

St. Louis was, well, to be honest, ok. Maybe we'll visit again... if it's a clear day.

Illini Basketball!

Last night, Luke and I attended our first Illinois Basketball game! Thanks to some sweet friends we had great seats. The Fighting Illini beat Penn State in an extremely close game. Now, the University of Illinois is #1 in the Big 10 Conference!

We were excited to break out our University of Illinois gear and support Luke's school! It's safe to say I've never seen so much orange in one place before.

Thanks Vance and Ali! We had a wonderful time! Go Illini!

Officially Graduated

I graduated from the University of Utah May 8th, 2009. Even though I've had my degree since that time, something funny happened when Luke and I hung it up today....

It felt official.

Christmas in TX

**Special guest column by Luke**

Marquette and I spent Christmas in Amarillo, Texas with my family. It was a lot of fun to see my family again, especially as they start to feel more comfortable with Marquette as part of the family. Basically this meant that we got to see a little more of Si's chest and Marquette was made fun of slightly more than usual. We had a great time though and it felt way too short.

also, as shown in the picture below, whenever we get together we have to compete in as many mental competitions/games as possible. here's how the tally ended: Scrabble: Luke. Boggle: Si, second game i would have won, but Si quit. Monopoly: My Dad. Mad Gab: Luke & Si. one on one scrabble Luke vs. Su: Su. Si vs. Su: Si.

as you can see, i was not pleased with how this monopoly game was turning out

We got to talk to Travis and that was a load of fun. It was great to hear from him and he seems to be doing very well, although having been on a mission myself, i know it's easy to fake good for an hour two times a year (but i believe him).

Lastly we took a family picture because Marquette's in the family and that seemed like the appropriate thing to do now that we have more of a female presence in the family. It's right here.

Christmas in Chicago!

Yesterday, Luke and I wanted to celebrate the end of his first semester of grad school and get excited for Christmas. We decided to brave the cold rainy snow and spend the day in Chicago visiting the cities well known Christmas attractions.

It was pretty cold and wet, but once we walked into the Museum of Science and Industry's 'Christmas Around the World' Christmas tree display we forgot all about what was happening outside.

The 'Grand Tree' which stands in the main rotunda is over 45 feet tall and is decorated in silver and gold ornaments. It definately helped the two of us feel the Christmas spirit.

We spent the rest of our time at the museum looking at 50 Christmas trees. Each one decorated to represent Christmas traditions in a specific country.

This is me standing next to the Danish Christmas Tree.

This is Luke standing next to the tree decorated for China. Taiwan did not have a tree.

We also saw trees decorated for the Ukraine (the spider web decorated tree on the left), Slovakia (the giant cookie decorated tree in the center pic), Kenya (decorated with intricately carved masks and animal faces, in the pic on the right), Iceland, Guatemala, and India (to name just a few).

After enjoying all the beautiful Christmas trees, Luke and I headed over to Michigan Ave. to check out Macy's Christmas window displays. We strolled along Michigan Avenue enjoying the Christmas lights, music, and general feeling of good will on the crowded sidewalks.

The Macy's window displays were fantastic. They showed how a child's letter, addressed to Santa Claus, made it all the way to the North Pole. (Hint: lots of help from the elves)

After getting nice and cold again, Luke and I headed inside to Macy's Walnut Room Restaurant where tables are arranged at the foot of this 40 foot Christmas tree. Unfortunately, the picture that turned out was of the bottom of the tree (it took two to catch it all). But you get the idea. It was absolutely beautiful.

Dinner was fabulous (and their hot chocolate is amazing). We ate until we could not eat anymore and then we ate dessert.

We enjoyed our Christmas trip to Chicago and the time we got to spend together. What a wonderful time of the year! Merry Christmas!

December

December is such a fun and busy month. A lot of little things have happened so far this month.

First, Luke and I reached the exciting milestone of our six month anniversary. Six months and going strong. Our ward had the adult session of Stake Conference that evening so we celebrated by going out to dinner afterwards.

Also, December means Christmas is coming! For family who won't get the chance to see our little apartment all dressed up for Christmas... this is how it looks. It is wonderful, homey, and cozy.

One of my favorite decorations to put up was the beautiful nativity set my Mother-in-Law gave me last year. It is beautiful and helps us to remember the true meaning of the season.

Lastly, Luke finished up his first semester of grad school! He took his last final today and he is officially done for the year (2009, that is). He is asleep on the couch next to me right now. Exhausted from all the hard work he did in preparation for his finals.

We have had a great month so far and we are looking forward to celebrating Christmas with family next week!