5 Things They Never Tell You about "Winter Wonderland"s

I was pretty sure, moving here to Idaho, that I was prepared for the possibility of inclement weather. I thought Colorado taught me everything I needed to know to survive. I was wrong. This is for all you fellow Arizona natives, who may be heading up North...ever. Beware.

1. Ice coating your windshield is not a myth. And I'm not talking about that puny layer you scrape off with a credit card once a year. I mean a thick sheet that requires your defroster and a lot of elbow grease. Wherever you're going, leave 10 minutes early.

2. Wipe your shoes off 10 times before walking on anything other than carpet. That fresh snow absolutely loves to cling to the tread of your shoes. If you only scrape your soles 9 times, you'd better have a rail, table, man, anything as backup to break your fall.

3. Snow is calm and beautiful 95% of the time. Whenever there isn't snow, there is wind. Wear layers upon layers and your teeth might stop chattering.

4. There is such a thing as "Frozen Fog". This is when there is fog, and it's so cold, it literally coats everything with frost, while simultaneously lobbing teeny snowflakes at you. It's so freezing, it makes you want to cry, which would suck because your tears would freeze.

5. Believe it or not, it's all even more beautiful than in the movies. Perfect snowflakes actually exist, and building snowmen is a blast. As cold--and sometimes miserable--as it is, it's really pleasant to see the world painted white again and again.

Whenever I mention that I'm from Arizona, everyone here gives me a look of pure sympathy. However, I'm not so sure this season would be as fun if I'd grown up with it... I love AZ, but I'm also loving the snow! But now that I've warned you of all the dangers, you'd best stay away, or you'll end up in love with it, too! ;)

Stay warm, everyone!  xoxo

The Tales of Dan and Sara

Life has changed far too quickly for my poor blog to catch up. If you've been following along on Instagram, probably none of this will be news for you. However, for the rest of you, whether you like it or not, the events of the past month are throwing up all over this post...in the form of short stories, to mix things up.

The Tale of Tony Tony Chopper
So as you already knew, we moved out of Colorado and off to Snowflake. Chopper spent a week there with me, playing with my in-laws' Rotty, before we headed to the valley to my parents' house. That night, he got out of the backyard. We couldn't find him, though I searched until past midnight. The next morning, we put up posters, and within an hour we got a call. I was so relieved that he was safe with such a caring, honest family. It was a mom, her three little boys, and her parents-in-law.
So he was back home with my parents, and I headed back to Snowflake to meet Daniel. Being in his teething stage, in my absence, he took to chewing up Hilde's (my parents' dog) bed. Foam. Everywhere. Every day. After a week, my dad asked me to find somewhere else for him to live. I was crushed, but I understood that that's a lot of hassle for a dog that isn't even yours. Obviously, taking him up to school with us was impossible. The only thing I could do was give him up. And the only person I could think of was the kind mother who took him in off the streets.
So I called her, knowing she would be the only person I'd feel OK about giving him to. And she said yes. A couple days later, I drove down to spend time with him and say goodbye. I was a mess, but my dear husband calmed me down. I still miss him terribly, but Valerie sends me pictures often.

The One with the Fiesta
New Years Eve was very special. It was to be the party of the century in the Coley house. Daniel and I scoured the land for the finest ingredients to make Queso Carne. We each slaved over the kitchen, preparing for the feast. And what a fine feast it was! Authentic Mexican soda, chips and salsa, home cooked tortillas, Queso Carne, and Tres Leches cake! (I'm extremely proud of my cake)

The Accountant and the Music Major

So, we got into BYUI last minute. And I mean LAST minute. We left Snowflake on the Saturday before school started (less than a week ago), and arrived that Sunday to Idaho Falls. I met with a counselor on the first day of school, and enrolled in one religion class, and five music courses. FIVE! It's quite a rush, looking at your schedule and not dreading anything, but actually being excited to learn! It's pretty crazy. Daniel is an accounting major at the moment, testing it out to see if he likes it. He's actually rather enjoying his Macroeconomics class, so that's a good sign! We've so far been making good on our New Years Resolutions to study diligently. We'll see if our goals for exercise pan out ;)

The Nicest Lady and Her Dog

We just moved into our apartment last night. I know you're wondering, "Where have you guys been living all week??" Idaho Falls, my friends. A land of many wonders. One of them is the nicest lady in the world. She goes by "Carol", but I know she's an angel in disguise.... She is the grandmother of a very good friend of ours, and she so kindly let us stay with her from Sunday until Thursday. She'd make us dinner, feed us chocolate milk and ice-cream from her dairy, and let me play her gorgeous piano. And talking to her was such fun! And I haven't even mentioned Roxy! Roxy is the smartest, spunkiest Yorkie I've ever met. Seriously, being there was such a joy. And a life saver. We owe her one...thousand favors.

That concludes story time for today. I'll post more about our new place and school and stuff when I get the chance. :) Thanks for hang in in there, despite long absences through life changes. It's been a roller coaster so far!

14 Highlights of 2014

Here we are, at the end of another year. Pretty crazy, huh? I thought it might be kinda fun to reminisce on my favorite parts of 2014! (There are a LOT, so beware!)

1. Watching the first sunrise of 2014 together. We popped open a bottle of Martinelli's and cuddled up.

2. The proposal. It was a total surprise, and that whole day was simply perfect!

3. The Gilbert temple open house and dedication. Seeing the temple from start to finish, then being sealed there was so special to us.

4. Roadtrip to Utah with these cool cats!

5. Jerica's bridal shower! It was my first time meeting her, and seriously, she's the best! Christopher chose a good one!

6. Our wedding, duh! Someday I'll find and post all the pictures....

7. Traveling to Seattle to be at Christopher and Jerica's wedding. Such an awesome weekend!

8. This handsome man took me on my first fishing trip. The icing on the cake was seeing like 5 bald eagles, and catching 3 rainbow trout!!

9. Playing hooky at the zoo and meeting a childhood dream!

10. Catching frogs and playing frisbee golf at Perfect Park 2.0!

11. Bringing this little cutie home and watching him grow up so fast. Even though he's not mine anymore, he'll always be my Tony Chopper.

 12. That awesome weekend when Clara and Kim came to visit!

13. The best date ever in Sydney, NE.

14. Flying to AZ to surprise my silly sisters! They both danced so wonderfully in the Nutcracker!

2014 has been such a crazy awesome year! I visited 4 new states, drove thousands of miles, cooked more meals than I ever have before, and gained a whole other family! (Having 2 families rocks!) Daniel and I ended up no where near where we imagined, but we're closer than we've ever been. With so many adventures in one year, I can't wait to see where 2015 takes us! 

Happy New Year, everybody! Finish the year strong!!

Love Story Part 2: The Game, The Party, and The Guns

Our football team had made it to the State Championship, and we were stoked! Dan took me and a couple of friends to the Cardinal Stadium for a day of tailgating and "We Believe"-ing. We got there at about noon that day, and left around 11. By the time we got out of there, we were all tired and depressed about the failure we just witnessed. It was an hour drive home, and I was almost dozing.
Dan tried to lighten the mood by telling me about his favorite TV show. I tried very hard to listen and understand, but not a single word was making sense to me. The boys were talking about going out for pizza and wings, and I was trying to convince myself into it. It sounded fun and all, but I was beat. At the last minute, when Daniel was about to turn left, when home was right, I interrupted their conversation and asked him to take me home. My bed was calling me.

Little did I know, that one of his friends said that the reason I wanted to go home was because he was talking about that TV show. He said I thought he was a huge nerd. Dan didn't call me anymore after that. I thought he lost interest in me, and I didn't blame him.

Months later, a guy I grew up with was going on a mission. I went to his open house, and saw Dan playing chess with him. I went up to say hi, and ended up watching the whole game. One of them mentioned that TV show Dan was so fond of, and I said, "Oh, hey, weren't you going to show me what that's all about?" He said, "You want me to??" and I said, "Sure!" 

A short period of time later, he called me to set up a double date. We went out to the desert to shoot some guns, namely to test out his dad's new double barrel shot gun. Man, that thing KICKED! Hahaha! When it got dark, we picked up some In-n-Out and headed to Dan's house. And that, my friends, is where we watched the first five episodes of "Avatar: The Last Airbender".

Previously:

Part One: Becoming Friends

Bits 'n Pieces: Moving

1. A couple weeks ago, Dan and I decided to start a work out routine. It was really fun...for the few days that it lasted. How about we start on New Year's?

2. This weekend was so fun!! I surprised my little sisters by coming down to watch their Nutcracker shows. It was such a blast, seeing how much they've grown and improved! I also got to go shopping with my big sissy, and help out backstage with my mom!

3. While I was away, Chopper was at a kennel, and boy did he have fun! When we brought him home, he was so exhausted from playing all day, he went to bed hours early and slept the whole night! I'm so glad he learned how to play with other dogs, because he's gonna have the time of his life with Mila next week!

4. I only have 4 more days in Colorado. That is so sad!

5. Daniel and I LOVE to go to the movies! Our most recent flick was "Penguins of Madagascar". If you have little ones, go see it! If you have grandchildren, go see it! If you're a kid at heart, go see it! It was adorable!

6. Last week, we decided to make this Christmas season more about service. Since it won't really be possible to officially do "12 Days of Christmas Service" like we'd hoped, we're going to do 12 random acts of kindness this month! As of now, we have 2 down, 10 to go. So far, it's really really fun! I'm so thankful that I have a husband who'd do this with me :)

7. Chopper and I went on a walk today! Like a real one, not just up the street and back. He was really skittish at first, but on our way home, he seemed relaxed and confident. He's such a good dog!

8. This weekend, I had 3 of my favorite foods: Apple pie, Nori maki, and Candy Cane Jo Jo's! YUM!

9. I just realized that, even if we weren't moving, it might just be time to take down the autumn wreath from the door...and the hanging ghost in the living room. #autumnlover

10. So ya. Things have been CRAZY! Sorry for the neglect, y'all. And I apologize in advance that I probably won't write again until...i don't know. Moving stinks! In the meantime, I'll be on instagram ( @xosaracxo )!

The Best Day Ever

Two days ago, my husband let slip that he had a secret date planned. Rookie mistake: you don't tell me you have a secret date for later, because I'll be so giddy that you'll be forced to take me the very next day. Which is exactly what he did. ;) 

First surprise: Unbeknownst to me, Sydney, Nebraska is home to the very first Cabela's. The very. first. one. How cool is that?? We only live about 40 minutes away from Sydney, so what a fun date! We got ourselves some fudge, Dan held his dream gun (tricolored .45 1911), and we had a grand old time!

Some people like Bass Pro better, but to us...they're both great. Stick me in a room with real live taxidermied animals, and I'm happy as a bear! (Pun intended) I was, however, slightly disappointed that there wasn't a huge pond full of game fish. But, hey, the elephant made up for it!

Second surprise: A few weeks ago, I heard a commercial on the radio for a restaurant called Perkins. There was such a restaurant near my neighborhood when I was really young, but it went out of business over a decade ago. I still associate it with fond memories with my family. Hearing that they still exist got me real excited, and I had to tell my sweet husband all about it, to which he replied, "Perkins, who?" 

The dear man remembered my excitement, looked up the address, and took me for lunch. <3 It was just as delicious as I (was too young to actually) remember.

Third, very unexpected. surprise: As we pulled into Cabela's, after Dan pointed out our lunch destination, and as I gazed toward the half-frozen urban lake, I screamed. There, in the grass, on the lake, on the sidewalks, were hundreds of Canada geese! As a child, these were my favorite bird and I always dreamed of meeting one up close. 

Though they outnumbered me, they had reservations about my intended up-close meeting. As they fled faster, I knew what I had to do. The feeling of a hundred geese flying all around you is exhilarating! They certainly didn't want to, but they flew.

And so did I.

It was a day that couldn't be dampened by work calls, rent payments, or cold weather. As the chilling Nebraska wind froze my face, I couldn't stop telling my husband, "You are the best! You're seriously the coolest! I love you so much! Did you know that?? Do you know how much I love you?? I can't believe it! This is the best day ever!" I meant it.

My husband, everybody. Man of the Year. <3

10 Things to be Grateful For

1. The fact that my husband does have a job and can support our family

2. The beautiful, fresh snow from yesterday morning

3. That my dog got 3 vaccinations yesterday, and didn't whine once

4. That even though Thanksgiving isn't on time this year, we'll have it together

5. Pumpkin pie

6. That Lite Cool Whip tastes just as good when the real deal was sold out

7. Village Inn and Little Ceasar's

8. Warm, waterproof boots

9. The fact that the furnace blows a disproportionate amount of hot air into the bathroom, so every time you walk in you can feel any and all goosebumps melt

10. That the mice have no idea how to get onto the kitchen table: my one last grip on sanity

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all! May warmth and love be your companions this whole season! :)