Andrea and I went Snowboarding last night at Brighton Ski Resort. It was the first time either of us had ever been night skiing. I had heard from friends that it was awesome and once I went night skiing I would look for every opportunity to go again. They were totally right. It was amazing!

It was a great time for us to get some more snowboarding time in before we move back to Texas. It was great because by the end of the night I felt like I was able to get all the way down the hill without falling, or snowplowing the whole time.

Yesterday the ski resort got 26″ of snow so there was a significant amount of powder. It was snowing the entire time we were on the hill. By the time we got to the summit we were snowmen, simply covered in snow. It was very fun to carve through the thick powder and most of the time I couldn’t see the top of my board because there was so much snow on it. I was afraid that I would cause an avalanche because every time I cut really hard against the mountain a huge wave of powder would fly out from beneath my board and go tumbling down the mountain. There were a few times however that we got into trouble. Once Andrea and I got stopped on a big flat part and even though we were still strapped to our boards we had sunk into the snow up to our knees. Then I unstrapped from my board and sunk into the snow up to my groin. I am a pretty tall guy, but that is a lot of snow.

Overall it was awesome and we will definitely be back soon.

When I was little, I LOVED Valentine’s day. Mostly because I looked forward to getting Valentines from my classmates and friends, and some even had candy in them. Those were the best. As I’ve gotten older, I guess Valentine’s day is less special to me because my birthday just overshadows it in importance. Yes, it is nice to get flowers and candy from your significant other, but how can that compare to birthday cake and parties?

We decided when we got married that Zac would be in charge of my birthday and I would take care of Valentine’s Day. I’m probably the only woman I know that doesn’t expect flowers from my husband for Valentine’s Day, but I’m okay with it. I prefer to save the money we would have spent on flowers, on something like dinner or a fun activity to celebrate the day. This year, I made a heart shaped pizza for dinner and we watched Chocolat, which I thought was going to be a romantic movie. It wasn’t, but it was still an interesting show.

For my birthday, we went to Good Wood BBQ and got ribs (which are my favorite), and they were delicious! And people say Utah doesn’t have great barbecue places. Okay, so maybe the amount of barbecue places leaves a little to be desired. But I would recommend this place to anyone who has a craving for tasty barbecued meat and is in the Orem/University Mall area.

Yesterday Zac and I celebrated Chinese New Year by exploring the various Chinese buffets of the Provo-Orem-Pleasant Grove area. We actually spotted quite a few, and chose the one with the most cars in the parking lot. It was pretty good actually! They had a Mongolian Stirfry section (that’s where you pick out raw veggies and meat, and they cook it in front of you), which we tried and liked. I discovered that my new love of green peppers has opened my eyes to so many more food possibilities. We now put green peppers on almost everything. Salads, pizzas, any Mexican dish, and now Chinese food! We even branched out and got some sprouts, which weren’t bad. I guess my taste buds are maturing. Still hate mushrooms though.

Lately I’ve been restless. We are looking forward to a move and a new job, but not until April. I’ve been looking forward to it, and I’m growing impatient. I love my job and the place we live here, but it is hard not to look forward and plan for the future. On the other hand, I am trying to soak up every ounce of what Provo has to offer before we leave, because I know that somewhere down the line, I will miss it. Not the constant barrage of snowstorms and the use of multiple ice scrapers on our cars, but the activities, events and people that make this place special to me.

By the way, I’m thinking of cutting my hair short. And maybe going darker. I’m just not a long hair person, I’ve decided. Well, we’ll see how brave I am.