I made this blog almost six months ago, and have been sitting twiddling my thumbs ever since. Actually, I’ve been getting a lot done — stuff I would’ve procrastinated otherwise — all because I was suffering from a common ailment. Writer’s block. Fear. Uncertainty. What do I want this blog to be?

I’ve given up on all of that, so here I go playing catch up…

In October we hosted our annual BYOP:

In attendance, though not pictured: Mandi and Brandon Burnham, Melissa and Justin Fox, Kayla and John Pennington, Sherry and Troy Hatch, Crystal and Jesse Rosenbahj

And I went to Duncan:

Where Mom and I took long walks and I tried to remember what it was like to live on a farm.

In November we said goodbye to Elder Haws:

Lance has been the ward mission leader in our local church congregation for about a year and a half now. That means he works closely with the missionaries who are assigned to serve in our area. Elder Hawes was a great missionary and we were sad to see him go.

And celebrated by 26th birthday:

The big birthday that put me closer to 30 than 20. We celebrated all weekend long by dining at Red Robin, declining a movie (“The Book Thief”) because at 9:30 it was “getting a little late”, riding our bikes, visiting the Mesa LDS temple with recent converts and friends Dorothy Scarlett (87) and Daria Wing (14), and hiking at Papago Park. On the actual special day, Sunday, we enjoyed a sunset with some pear cider, my birth story (journal entries written by my parents from the day I was born) and a pretty little watch Lance remembered I wanted. Doorway sign by Mandi and Brandon.

And went to St. George for Thanksgiving:

Four blissful days in St. George meant lots of food, family and fun. Lance solidified his spot as favorite uncle with the girls, and I snuck a picture of the infamous fro when we stopped by his grandparent’s home on our way out of town. Additionally, we went to Snow Canyon and Zion’s National Park.

And pretended it was already Christmas:

It’s true, I’m not at all opposed to starting Christmas early, even, say, the middle of November. On Thanksgiving Day we stopped by the St. George temple (has it really already been 3.5 years?) and snapped a photo of us on the grounds with the lights already glowing. Before we left, I made sure our tree was up.

In December I hosted a baby shower for Mandi:

And that deserves a post in and of itself. It was so stressful! But ultimately so fun to celebrate baby boy Burnham’s impending birth.

And Lance participated in multiple ugly sweater contests:

He’s always a winner in my eyes.

And we hosted our annual Gingerbread House Party:

In attendance, though not pictured: Mandi and Brandon Burnham, Melissa and Justin Fox, Casidy and Garrett Sens

We spent our first Christmas in Duncan, though I didn’t take any photos. What I remember most about Christmas break was beating Jon at Horse.

January took us to Utah:

Where Lance taught Maisie to ski and it was the cutest thing ever. Also, I remembered how to ski, but just barely.

Additionally, we visited our alma mater and saw the new Provo LDS Temple:

Walking around campus, driving by our first apartment and eating Burger Supreme was the highlight of that trip. Oh, and the fact that Lance was accepted to BYU’s MBA Program in the interview that brought us there.

In February we rang in the Chinese New Year at Sichuan Palace:

The two hour long wait was worth it.

And that catches us up to present times, at least according to my life on Instagram.