Too much to be grateful for

Can we just have 3 day work weeks and 4 day weekends every week? I sure loved having Thanksgiving and the Friday after off. It was so great to just spend time with family and friends and RELAX and do things I want to do! Thursday I played in our ward turkey bowl and my team didn't win, but then for the last game the winning team needed some people so I joined then and ended "winning" the turkey bowl and got to take a picture with the turkey trophy :) The guys above don't mess around. Then we went to Grandma's and stuffed our faces with food there then went home to get ready for round two, dinner with the Woodhall side! Both meals were delicious like always and it was awesome not having anything to do that day & spend quality time with the family.
 
Friday some of my fellow institute council members came over and we made center pieces, and decorations, & photobooth props for the ASU LDS Christmas dance for 6 hours!!! Gahhh we were more than ready to be done. They all looked beautiful though and it was great bonding with the girls and Jerem & Steven. After that I rushed to get ready to head to Royal Palms Golf Course to meet up with the Duffus' who were in town. We waited for the kids lessons to be done then headed over to Tempe Town Lake to run around and see the light parade down Mill.

I had Amelia and Kera attached to my hip the whole night! It was so fun doing everything with them, it felt like they were my little sisters I never had! The parade was a good time and we got sooooo many mini candy canes thrown at us! I was disappointed no one thought outside the box and passed out chocolate, covered in Christmas wrapping. Oh well Tina was cracking me up with how loud she would yell to get candy even if it was the same thing over and over. After that we went to go eat at Rustler Rooste which is so awesome!! Its a country bar type restaurant and when you get there you can either slide down the slide to get to the dining area or walk down the stairs Of course the kids and I went down the slide, more than once. Then the view from the tables is pretty neat as well.

Food was great, atmosphere was fun and it was a great dinner overall. Saturday was Christmas decoration set up, Kaitlin's Bridal Shower, then a surprise phone call to go on a double date to the Suns game. I was pretty excited because it has been too long since I have been. They picked us up and said we were riding the light rail and I thought to myself dang it, I thought I was done on this smelly, creppy thing for good once I finished classes last semester. But it was way more fun to be on it with people you know! There was a guy that sat across from us who was pretty much wearing all soda can tops! I was blown away at how many he had on him! Seriously insane. I kept trying to get the courage to talk to him about it, but he just didn't seem friendly nor inviting enough for me to strike up conversation. ;/ We arrived downtown and the plan was to eat at Mrs. White's Golden Rule Cafe (which is like the mother shop to Lolo's) and then go to the game. We walk down to the restaurant and it's 7:04 and they close at 7:00!!! :( They wouldn't let us in and said to go to their sons place (Lolo's). Haha so we figure we will get food to snack on at the concessions then grab something after the game. We sat at almost the very top but still had fun cheering on our Suns while Dallas was cheering on the Jazz. We blame him for the loss.

 Monday the 12/2 was our last institute council meetings for the semester. I didn't know going into the meeting whether or not they were keeping me on for the next semester. I told Brother Calton that I would love to stay on, but I wouldn't be able to help out much on campus and could only make the meetings Monday morning, and then help out with the social media, and videos. I was sad going into the meeting that morning thinking it would be my last but Brother Calton pulled me out and said he would like me to stay on one more semester if that is okay with me. I got a BIG grin on my face and said OF COURSE!! Being apart of this council has truly changed my life and helped me grow spiritually in ways I didn't even know possible. I am excited to see what else will be in store this upcoming semester and to get to know my fellow council members even more and serve those on the ASU campus. That meeting was still sad as 7 of the students did have to say goodbye and 3 gave their last speech. I sure am going to miss them all and am grateful what I have learned from them. During the meeting we talked about how the ticket sales for the dance on  Friday were low and if we didn't get it up to 150 couples we would have to cancel. I was thinking to myself, NO we cannot cancel this, we worked all day Saturday making these decorations! After the meeting I began recruiting even more people to come and began setting everyone up with someone to go with. I ended up setting up 7 couples! Haha it was great! By Tuesday we had 180 couples signed up to come and we were so excited we reached our goal. The rest of the week was pretty normal and Friday we spent all day setting up the gym and, decorating, and such. 2:00 we finally finished and I headed over to the Downtown campus to turn in my FINAL REPORT!! Holy cow that was an amazing feeling to hand my professor my last college assignment EVER! The drive back I couldn't help but just smile and think about how I have completed college. It truly is a miracle, and it feels so great! I then stopped by to see Paige and give her my grad announcement and gah I love her little baby girl Lydia. Then I rushed home to get ready for the dance.

Dustin Tenney was my date and the drive to institute we hit really bad traffic and it took us 50 minutes to get to ASU from my house... haha what better way to start off the night right? We had such a fun time at the dance though and laughed like 80% of the night due to me tripping over someone on the floor and falling on the ground not very gracefully. But Dustin was a good sport and still talked to me after that. He so easy to get a long with and it was just a fun night overall where another friendship was developed. I was happy how well the dance came together and all the long hours we put into it was worth it. Saturday I finally was able to go watch the little brother Bromley play some volleyball at regionals and its so crazy to see him be as good as he is. He is the starting setter and it takes a while to register like whoa he is GREAT setter. I am still thinking he is 13 and at beginner level. I am so proud of him and to see how far he has come! That night was our ward Christmas Party and Bishop treated us to Charlestons, where I had THEE best salad of my life probably. After Dinner we had a white elephant gift exchange, donuts and hot chocolate. I sure do love my ward. The unity we all have is indescribable and I love how Bishop Tinker is so involved and on top of things! I know the day is soon for him to be released and what a sad thought that is. Being apart of this ward has helped me grow up and become the person I am in more ways that I can even imagine. I love feeling like I have big responsibilities and callings and that I have given my all to the ward. Anyways after that we went to go visit Megynn and stayed there waaaayy too late but we just can't get enough of her! Soooo yeeeaahh... so she is home! Olivia and I went to the airport with the family and what a joyous reunion it was to have her back in our arms! I am so excited to begin doing all sorts of fun crazy adventures with her!

This week is my last week here at ADI and it has been jammed packed with getting these mailings ready! I love it, and I am sure going to miss these fabulous ladies I have been so privileged to work for. They have spoiled me rotten and have taught me many things that I can use for my future. :)