Reflections of Christ

If you have not seen this art exhibit, you are indeed missing out. I got to walk through it in the Mesa Temple visitor center, and it is just amazing. The spirit is so strong in that room. The entire thing is about Christ, with wonderful paintings that reflect his life. I found this link to a slideshow of the art accompanied by music which is just as moving and powerful(http://www.reflectionsmg.com/reflections-of-christ-videos.php ). Take a minute to watch and listen, and remember that "He is the reason for the season." Merry Christmas!

Reflections

I haven't had such a bad night in a long time. Last night I had to study for my Math final (you would never guess how hard math for elementary teachers is), put together a presentation for Children's Literature, finish 4 sections of Math homework, and feel very pregnant on top of it. We ended taking a break from my crash studying and accompanied our cousin Danielle for her birthday dinner at Pf Changs and it was so nice to see the girl cousins and not think about rational numbers for one. As we returned home, the craziness resumed and I was in bed by 11:30 (way past my bed time). I tossed and turned till 1:30. I could not stop thinking about how blessed and loved we are by our father up above. I could not survive without my darling husband. I am so grateful for his desire to serve and to be the best companion and friend I could have. What would I do without him?
The idea of charity has been on my mind alot lately. How easy and how hard it can be to be charitable. It is so easy to be selfish, especially this time of year. My little brother is on a mission and I get to correspond with him every week, religiously. He is away from home, freezing to death in 8 degree weather, and yet all he says to me is "Kris, I love this work. I am so happy here!" It just melts my heart. In one of his emails, he mentioned that one of the sisters in his ward who is a new convert, made some mocassins for my baby when she found out that Elder Chavez's sister was having a baby. This woman, who doesn't know me, out of the goodness of her heart is making something for my child. I can't express what I felt. This is what the Christmas spirit is about. It is so comforting and uplifting to know that there are good people all around us. Its the simple things that make this time of year so special and yet they are the things we overlook to do. I hope that we can all take the time to do the small things that make a difference in other's lives as well as our own.

Tis the Season for Giving

For those of you with little ones who devotedly write to Santa in hopes of a splendid gift, you can drop off those letters at your Macy's department store's Make A Wish foundation mail box. For every letter received, Macy's will donate $1 to the foundation. Maybe its time I rekindle my relationship with Santa for a good cause...and so should you!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was great. And I was SO grateful just for the opportunity to take time off from work and school...pregnancy makes everything so much harder to do! Kudos to all you girls who have kids and are expecting (Jessi, Heather, Stacey, Katie), because its tough! How do you do it?! Anyway, we spent the holiday in Scottsdale, I got to see my parents and little sister a couple of times :), went to a Suns game where we got lucky again and scored excellent seats (Hey- they won this time!), went to see the lights at the Mesa Temple, etc. I always love being in Arizona and this time was probably the hardest to leave. Why doesn't life just work itself out the way we want it to?

Little Update

Here is our little one! I am so excited to reach my second trimester(finally)--thx heather ;) and hopefully feel better. Although I am sick as a dog most of the time, our baby seems to be doing just fine. We get to find out the gender in a couple of weeks! Yay!!

We still love the SUNS...

Chip and I went to the Jazz vs. Suns game in Salt Lake this past Monday with our good friends Aaron and Naida. I was actually feeling quite normal that night and that alone was awesome. We grabbed some dinner, and headed to the game with high expectations. Sad to say, I may have jinxed them again. This is the third or fourth game Chip takes me to (2 here in Utah and 2 back home in Phoenix where, I may add, Mom and Dad have kller seats...just 5 rows from the court) and they always lose! SO it is Chip's conclusion that it must be me, so he says he will not take me anymore. So sad for me!

First comes Love, then comes Marriage...

Yup...then comes Chip with a baby carriage! We are excited to have a little surprise join our family in June. Although pregancy has not been fun for me at all, I am very hopeful that I will love every part of motherhood. I have been wanting a baby since I was like 5, and now its hard to believe I am getting a real one! I came across this picture of my mom and I, where she is giving me my favorite type of bath..in the sink. It was taken when I was 6 months, on vacation with my parents in Acapulco, Mexico. I look forward to doing the same things I loved growing up with my own little one. I just love this picture, what a great woman God gave me for a mother. Hopefully I will be as good as a mother as she is.Te amo mami.

HaPPy HaLLoWeeN!!

This Halloween was a little different for us. I have not been feeling great lately and yesterday was no exception. We decided to stay home and enjoy a scary movie together. We figured it would be fun to hand candy out, although....we only had ONE trick-or-treater. SAD! We definitely are living in the wrong city. (Another good reason to move to AZ--we love Halloween and its sad not to see any ghouls and goblins walking around at night!)

However, last week we did get to go to a Halloween party and this past Monday we had FHE with Danielle and Todd..We carved pumpkins and ate some very good coffee crumb cake with The Nightmare Before Christmas playing in the background. We loved it! Can't wait for next year.

Daynes Reunion

Chip's late grandmother's family (Dorothy Daynes) holds annual reunions and this years was held on the 30th of October at the Church History Museum in Salt Lake. One of her sons, Uncle Rick is an amazing Genealogist and we learned that the Daynes family tree has been traced back to even before the Church was established, which is a breakthrough that they had been working on for more than 30 years. Coming from a family where I am only the third generation in the Church, I am so amazed and captivated by genealogy. As we toured the museum, we came to an organ that was donated by the Daynes family by Joseph Daynes, Chip's great, great, great grandfather. He was a prodigy musician who in his childhood played for the Queen in England, joined the church and made the trek to America to join the Saints in Utah. Here he was asked by president Brigham Young to play the organ at General Conference, the same one that is displayed at the Museum. Isn't that amazing! I just love church history.
After the tour, we had a family dinner at the Lion House and got to visit with Uncle Rick, aunt Nancy and Jessica. What a neat family I married into.

Just for Fun..

My cousin/sister Jessica tagged me and thought it would be fun to do and at the same time see what other people reply with.
8 Things..
8 Favorite TV shows...
1. The Office
2. The IT Crowd
3. LOST
4. House
5. Heroes
6. Friends
7. Seinfeld
8. The King of Queens

8 Favorite Restaurants...
1. Taco Cabana
2. Chicos Tacos
3. Taco Tote
4. The Texas Roadhouse
5. Katsura (sushi....yummmy)
6. Cattleman's (the BEST steaks in the world..in Texas, of coursE!)
7. P.F. Changs
8. Applebees

8 things that happened yesterday...
1. I missed church because i was really sick
2. Chip and I made my mom's recipe for shredded beef tacos with guacamole, very good!
3. Chip beat me in Mario Kart...again
4. Had a visit from our home teachers
5. Watched lots of tv snuggled on the couch
6. Ate buttery popcorn
7. Talked to my sister and mommy
8. Went to bed at 10!! I was a happy camper

8 things to look forward to...
1. Getting a new job
2. Starting the education program
3. Thanksgiving break! AZ here we come!
4. Christmas at home..
5. Receiving a letter from Ariel
6. Getting my brand new purse in the mail!
7. Halloween!!!
8. Chip finding a job that he loves

8 things I love about Fall...
1. Red, orange and yellow leaves on trees and scattered everywhere
2. Chilly air, yet not freezing
3. Decorating, decorating, decorating!
4. Pumpkin patches
5. Strolling Park City with some hot chocolate
6. Chilly nights perfect for warm dinners
7. Drives through the canyon
8. Pulling out winter clothes

8 things on my wishlist...
1. Being a stay-at-home mom
2. Visiting Texas more often
3. Moving to Arizona
4. A golden Lab
5. Having my sisters, mom and Dad closer
6. An awesome hairdresser/sister at my disposal...ahembri.
7. A new winter wardrobe
8. A big fat steak :)

8 people I tag...
1. Fabi
2. Bri
3. Angelle
4. Jessica Adlard
5. Angel
6. Cory
7. Katie
8. Amber

Vegas Time!!

For the second time this year, we are heading out to Vegas to play a little. Ruth, one of my good friends from Mérida, México is coming to visit tomorrow and we are mainly going to do the honors of introducing her to the over-rated prestiged Sin City. I do have to add that no one has to twist my arm to go to Vegas (unless it means going during the months of July or August--it is HOT as heaven's nemesis), so I am quite excited about it.

The last couple of times we have been there they have been pretty much "we are here, let's walk down the strip and time to go" kind of a thing and this time I will actually get to venture during the day as opposed to 12pm and discover all of Vegas' jewels. The super exciting thing is that my friend and I are going to Cirque du Soleil's KÀ!! I have heard both negative and positive feedback, mostly positive, but who cares?! It's Cirque du Soleil! Anyway, enough bragging. By the way, we are also very excited to stay at Ryan and Brigitte's house and see them and my darling nephew and nieces. Stay tuned for Sin City report!

OuR SpOOky LiTtLe LaIR

Chip's favorite holiday of all time is Halloween and I think his fancy for it has rubbed off on me big time. I LOVE decorating our house for it. Last year, we got really, ridiculously into it and it was so creepily done that it scared away trick-or-treaters! Literally. There were daunted little kids standing on the sidewalk in front of our home being pushed by their parents to go collect their treats. Their faces were awesome. Chip even set up speakers by the door with really creepy halloween sounds and music. This year we are almost done, but we want to make it even scarier than last year. Thought we would share our progress. Cackle, cackle!

Farewell, Elder Chavez

This has been a looong week for me. Last week we were in Texas for my little brother's farewell. He will be serving a mission in Kennewick, Washington Spanish speaking.We left Wednesday morning and got there that night after 14 hours of driving..really. Once we got home, it was all non-stop. We enjoyed seeing friends and family but boy was it hectic! We had about 150 people show up at my mom's house for the farewell party! It was a lot of fun. We also went to our stake's softball games where Chip was one of the star players, went to Alexa's volleyball game-she's way better than I ever was, did some shopping, and ate at our favorite restaurants that are only in El Paso (yup, even Chico's Tacos-Chip loves them!).

We also managed to squeeze in a visit to the Temple in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. With the exception of Alexa, my complete family was there. I can't describe how wonderful that was. I have a great testimony of the blessings of the temple. I have seen how it literally brings families and relatives together.

We returned to Utah on Monday and then picked up Ariel at the airport on Tuesday. That night we went to dinner at Chang's and came home to carve a pumpkin. At least he got to semi-celebrate Halloween :) ! Wednesday morning came, and surprisingly I did pretty well until I set foot on MTC ground. It had finally hit me. My little brother is not so little anymore and was leaving us for a long time. I am so grateful that he has the opportunity to do so. He and his companions will share the gospel the way two other young men did with my mother and my dad's mother. If it had not been for them, I would not be where I am now.

Game Night Bloopers

Last night we went over to a friend's house for games and treats. There were 5 couples, all from our ward, including Chip and myself. We broke out the Battle of the Sexes games and just had a blast playing it. It is soo funny to see how different girls and guys are. The guys would make fun of how the girls discuss potential answers amongst themselves and we, in return, would be amused at how stupified their faces looked with some of the questions.
One perfect example. I read the following question: What is the name of the international association that promotes women's rights to breast feed in public?
(Stupified look on ALL the guys, complete silence as they ponder until I decide they won't know it anyway)
The answer is "La Leche League" (Spanish for "The Milk" League). REALLY! No joke. SO anyway, CHip starts running with this ridiculous name and says "They should have called themselves BOOB or something like that instead!" Of course everyone is lughing histerically, and then...Jordan (one of the guys) says "YES! For Babies On Our Breasts!" I almost died laughing. Needless to say we had a great time!

A Craving for The SouthWest

I can't wait to go home! I miss my whole family, my dogs, the "Southwest" (thanks Cakes;) ). Luckily, I only have to wait 2 more weeks. I am such a desert girl! I love the warmth, the beautiful and fresh summer nights, and great genuine Mexican food at my fingertips. I have never seen such beautiful sunsets anywhere but in the desert. There really is no place like home.

Salt Lake Getaway

This past Thursday, Chip and I made our way to downtown Salt Lake to use a certificate that we had to a bed and breakfast called Armstrong Mansion. We have been to another B&B together before called the Castle Inn for our wedding night and sorry to say, this one does not come even close! However, the Armstrong Mansion is a mansion that was built in the early 1800's and is very quaint. It was so nice to wake up semi late and just walk downstairs to a yummy breakfast.
That day we had dinner at the Texas Roadhouse which we love and then checked in at the b&b and since we had some time to spare before our date to see grandma, we took a stroll around Temple Square. I LOVE to go back to the temple, even if its just to walk around the gardens. It always brings me back to our engagement and wedding day.
After enough walking it was time to go see Grandma Joan who is Chip's grandmother on Mom's side. Aunt LeAnn who is from Colorado happened to be in town and staying with her so we got to spend the evening chatting and catching up with them. They are some of the neatest ladies I have ever met! They are just as cute as my mother-in-law. I hope I am as beautiful as Grandma Joan when I am a grandma! The next day we had lunch at Rubio's (we never pass up on this place when in Salt Lake) and then headed to Hogle Zoo. Chip had never been and this was my second time. It is a cute place to spend an afternoon at. We especially enjoyed looking at all the different types of monkeys and tried to figure out which ones we look like the most. We love to monkey around!

Congratulations to the Grad!

Chip is an official college graduate and we celebrated him this past Saturday. We had a barbeque in our backyard with Chip's closest friends and some of our family members. It was a lot of fun! The day was beautiful, not hot at all, and the company was great!

I actually made something that everyone liked ;)
My cute friend Heather..
Jeff and Heather and baby Dylan

Who else??? Of course...DAve!
Mark
My handsome brother Ariel and I

Politically Correct

Ok, so being naturally funny is not one of my knacks . However, I am very proud of a joke I truly made up myself. I guess after listening to Sean Hannity day after day on my way to and from work, I have seriously become obsessed with "Stop Obama Express". As a result of my serious reflection of my political stand, I came up with this corny and cheesy joke that I am so proud of. Ask me if I'm going to vote for Obama............... Are you ready for this??? Answer: OBA-MA- DEAD BODY!!!!

Haha hehe...lol...Haha. Hope you thought it was funny too. If not, I hope that it at least made you smile as you thought I am retarded :)

Amore Fraterno

My younger brother Ariel came up to visit last Saturday and will be here until next Monday. He is leaving for his mission soon and this was the perfect opportunity for us to spend time together before he leaves. I have loved having him here and being able to interact with him and Chip together. Its funny to me to see how much im becoming like my mami. I will turn on church music Sunday mornings to wake up "my boys" (chip and ariel), worry about ariel when he goes out with friends for a bike ride to Utah lake at 10 pm , etc and although it annoys the heck out of them, it has been a lesson for me. I can finally say that all the questioning and worrying that my parents did was really justified and unquestionable. What a blessing good parents are. Life definitely has a way of answering some of life's mysteries through "a-ha" moments, at least for me. It seems like I learn to genuinely empathize with someone until I'm in their shoes. Maybe if they were all designer shoes it would be easier? Don't mind me.

By the way, CHip is an official college graduate!! We are all SO proud of him. All these years of hard work and perseverance have finally paid off. I know few people who are so determined to reach their goals and will stop at nothing. Now that Chip finally has time to have fun without pressing school matters, we have been able to do some fun things. Yesterday we went rafting down Provo river and had a great time.

YaYa PaPaYA

If you have little girls who love to dress up, these are the perfect girly-girl dress up skirts and tutus! My very talented cousin is promoting her new Halloween line and she is having a giveaway. You can enter to win a free outfit by going to http://www.yayapapayatutus.blogspot.com/ !

Happy Pioneer Day!

This past 24th of July was Pioneer Day which is a holiday here in Utah. We had Laura and VIcky over for a barbeque and then our good friends Dave and Mel and baby Jackson joined us at dusk for fireworks. We had a really good time!

Little Updates..

Well, first off...if you haven't seen The Dark Knight, you must! I honestly haven't been this impressed by Hollywood in a long time. I am not a huge super heroe fan but honestly, im on the path to conversion to Batman cult. It was so awesome! It was definitely a fun date.
Onto more relevant things, my not-so-little brother Ariel got his mission call to serve in the Washington Kennewik (probably mispelled)Mission. He reports to the MTC on October 1st. He is so excited and we are all so happy! It is hard for me to believe that the little three year old boy sitting on a missionary's lap with the missionary's name tag on his bib is actually ready to go on his own mission. Just writing about this is causing tears to trickle down my cheek. Another great blessing for our family is the news that my sister Fabi and cutest brother-in-law Oscar are expecting their first little one. I am so excited to be an aunt! A friend of mine once commented that the things that define her life are the "little moments", more so than the spectacular and sporadical events. I couldn't agree more. I am so grateful for these little moments and for the special touch they bring to my life.

FaMiLy ReuNioN

Before heading out to California, Chip and I left a day early so that we could stay the night in Vegas and see our good friend Matt who is hilarious and such a neat guy. Luckily for me, the boys took me to my favorite place in Vegas which is a boba parlor. They have the yummiest bobas ever!If you have been deprived of one, please see your nearest boba place. You will thank me for it ;)

Mom and Dad Price very generously put together an incredible family vacation in Mission Bay/San Diego. All the four boys and their families were there, which was really neat because Ryan and Brigitte and fam have recently moved back to the States after being in Germany for 3 years. I loved getting to know them since I didn't really get to do so during the crazyness of our wedding.

We spent most of the time at the beach or at the pool at the resort, which was so fun. We got to go to Sea World, which sadly, loses its fantastical magic as you get older. However, I still loved every minute of it and didn't fail to be impressed by huge Shamu. The boys got to go scuba diving and Chip saw all sorts of crab and exotic fish in the La Jolla cove which is also where Bri took our family pictures. Something Chip told me I should include on here is the detail that I flashed a fourth of San Diego. Chip was teaching me the proper way to body surf and on my first successful attempt, I came out of the water with my chest completely bare. The look on his face was hilarious. He rushed over to me and said " Kristal! Your top is gone!" I had no idea. Guess that will be it for body surfing for me.

We went to very yummy seafood places (heck-even Rubio's tastes different when you have access to fresh supplies!),strolled down the boardwalk, played lots of board games with everyone crowded in mom and dad's room before bedtime, went to Belmont park to ride the famous rollercoaster, and just enjoyed each others company. I'm lucky to have two families that I love being a part of.