26 Reasons Why We Love BYU (in no specific order)

1. Andrew George
2. Dennis Pitta
3. Max Hall
4. It's not the University of Utah
5. We have class
6. Urban Myer has NEVER coached here
7. Steve Young
8. We have a National Championship
9. Comments like: "When you're doing things right, on and off the field, magic happens." - Austin Collie :) ha...ha...
10. The pre-game show
11. Most of our fans are sober, although a few have been seen smoking out back during half time just to make things colorful.
12. Rushing the field
13. The stadium: the most spiritual place on campus :)
14. Stacy Stink & Tara go here
15. Student wards
16. DTRs
17. John Beck
18. Johnny Harlene
19. Lavell Edwards
20. Cosmo's sweet moves (obviously he is not white)
21. BYU fans live across the nation and are still loyal
22. Our proud parents graduated from this beautiful institution
23. The tree of life
24. Rape hill
25. Spring twitterpation - the couples come out of the wood work!
26. Getting caught by the national anthem trying to flee in time from campus

Our Pumpkin Carving Escapade!

Matt surprised me with a pumpkin he bought for us at the store the other day. I was elated! However, we didn't get around to pumpkin carving until the day of halloween. We made a lil' monster on our pumpkin! Matt cut the top and I pulled out the guts - my favorite and Matt's least favorite part! Our jack-o-lantern turned out super cute:)

Halloweeners, Haunts, and Spooks!

In celebration of our undying love for halloween, Matt and I had a little party. On all Hallows eve, our guests arrived dressed for the occasion. Matt and I were the dynamic duo, Batman and Robin. After a day of cooking, we served "Death's Delight." We had pig intestines (noodles) with bile (Alfredo sauce) and coagulated blood (spaghetti sauce), Mummies (basically stuffed calzones wrapped like mummies),Human flesh (BBQ'd ribs), Witches' brew, etc. Everyone had a silly curse which added to the dining experience, such as yelling a pizza topping whenever someone stood up or always rolling your R's. We played mysterious games and watched a scary movie. It was so fun to dress up, decorate the house, and relish in halloween! Unfortunately, we did not get ANY trick-or-treaters, MUCH to my dismay. We had anxiously bought a cauldron and filled it with treats. However, we ended up eating the candy ourselves. It was such a fun night and we are so lucky to have great friends to share it with! Viva Halloween!
Special Thanks to Mrs. Cate for the lovely photos!

ONE week till the wedding!

Wow! The wedding is only ONE week away. I've been working on our "Maturing Matt and Mykel" wedding video. It is coming along slowly but surely! I should be able to finish today. As an added bonus...I am off to pick up our bridals and groomals CD!

THE APPLICATIONS ARE IN!!!

Matt finished his dental applications TODAY! We celebrated with Fruity French Toast and whooped cream for breakfast! We are SO exited and ready for interviews! WAY TO GO DR. MATTHEW to be!

Just Another Day in Andian Paradise

Wow…my last Sunday in Ecuador.
Showering this morning was an adventure. The shower is more of a trickle… and it is either all hot or all cold. I opted for the first option – it was a sauna, and took skill to avoid getting burned.
We only have one plug in the bathroom and one mirror. So, I tried using my webcam to do my hair – worked for a little while, but was really hard to see the details. We ate breakfast at the hotel and had wonderful bacon, eggs, breads, and juices.
Church was great. And – I hope this isn’t disrespectful- but they had the best sacrament bread I have ever tasted. We pretty much doubled their congregation. The ward is smaller here in Otovalo then it was in Guayaquil. The cutest little boy, Josue, was seated in front of me. He was super man in secret his dad told me. Josue was unbuttoned his white button-up shirt to reveal a dark blue superman shirt underneath. He was very proud of it. His dad really impressed me. He was so welcoming, spoke in sacrament, taught Sunday school, and brought his kids to church on his own. I met a girl named Diana in the bathroom – I was having some contact issues and my eye hurt. She was very friendly. She told me she was 13 years old. I asked her if I could go to young women’s with her only to find out that she was the only young woman there today and her mother, the instructor was unable to come. So, we had young women’s together. She was very patient with me and my Spanish. I said the opening prayer, we sang The Spirit of God, and then we read from the manual and our scriptures and discussed our testimonies. She really strengthened my testimony of diezmo or tithing. She told me she always pays her tithing. Yet, she only had one pair of pants, and no dress to wear to church. She is a modern day widow’s mite. She gives all she has. I loved talking with her and getting to know her. She lives like the daughter of God she is.
We returned back to the hotel and I became the “llama whisperer.” We had wanted to get some pictures with the llamas. I think llamas are quite wonderful! So my roommates weren’t quite as enthused and were a little nervous to get close. I brought the llama over and we were able to get the pictures we wanted. It was completely fine and no one got spit on by the llama.
It was certainly a day of rest. It is so serene up here! We took some pictures jumping on the dock. I actually jammed my toe in a moment of clumsiness and stupidity.
I spent a lot of the day trying to get an internet connection for Skype. The internet here is very temperamental. After testing a variety of locations in the lobby, I found one that worked a little better.
We went to dinner at a Mexican restaurant in the city. My entire GI tract has been screaming at me ever since. The food was different and delicious, but it sure is wreaking havoc on me now.
I got to talk to Matt on Skype a bit amidst the chirping crickets and bellowing bull frogs. Everyone seemed to be trying to reach a loved one. Katy and I were taking turns with the outlet power since we both borrowed crappy nursing computers for the trip. However, after Tricia’s got stolen, I am glad I did. Anyways, it was a conversation held in episodes to say the least.
Well, hope all is well. I love you all so much and look forward to seeing you at the end of the week – now that sounds weird, doesn’t it?
Peace Out!

To Otovalo and Beyond....

This morning came much faster than I had anticipated. We woke up at 5:30, stuffed the last of our things in our bags, and headed out the door.
The suitcase weight thing did turn out to be a little bit of an issue. I guess I just don’t understand the concept of “packing light.” I was fine paying the $10.00 fee, but I was 1kg over and the darn woman was going to charge me $20.00. After 3 weeks of dollar food, I was not about to pay $20.00 for shipping. I have become cheap, or maybe thifty, to put it more delicately. I went to another line, and the kind soul only charged me $10.00. However, the airline has this crazy system in which you have to wait in another line to actually exchange your money for the fee. To make a long story short, we waited in line for over an hour and a half, then ran through the airport, and caught our plane with only minutes to spare. It was a workout.
We arrived in Quito. The view was breath-taking. It is SO green and so quaint. However, we didn’t receive quite the welcome we had expected. Upon entering our bus, a man tried to help me put up my bags. He kept putting one on the front seat. I became frustrated and took it, saying “no, here” (pointing above my head. He tired to put my backpack up too, but I wanted to get something out of it. I was lucky. He turned out to be a thief. He took another girl’s bag, containing her computer, camera, credit cards, journal, scriptures, and ipod. Sick! They have this scheme. They pose as tour personnel. Unsuspecting, naïve tourists come onto to the bus and are happy to have someone help them take their luggage. False sense of security. Then, people on the outside would tap on the windows and ask us if we had loaded all luggage in the back, by the time you turned around, they were gone, and with your belongings. It was a very sad situation. She was able to cancel her credit cards and we were able to pitch in and replace her cash, but all the things that really matter – her pictures, her files, her journal, were lost. I felt sick. And it almost happened to me too. Yuck.
We rode the bus across the country side to Otovalo. Seriously…this is God’s country. People walked around on the small cobble stone streets with llamas and cows grazed on the side of the road. I love the Andes! A lot of the people here still wear the traditional dress. The men all have long hair, braided back and these cool hats. The women wear long dark skirts, a sash, and these beautiful white tops with lace and embroidery. They also wear these gold necklaces and their babies in a wrap around their bodies. The culture is so rich up here. Our hotel is absolutely beautiful. We are basically on the lake. The mountains/volcanoes are a deep green. The mist envelopes the lake in the mornings. Llamas hang out in the front of the hotel. To top it off, our rooms are cute little cottages. They also serve the most fabulous hot chocolate in the mornings. It’s a little nippy up here…quite on contrast to the “Sweatland” of Guayaquil. Anyways…it is absolutely picturesque!
We went to the Mercado/Market. The people weren’t pesty like in Guayaquil. They were proud of their hand crafts and willing to barter, but they didn’t chase you down the road if you didn’t purchase their product. They just seem really industrious, yet really relaxed. I loved shopping and bought some surprises for ya’ll at home. The jewelry was really cool. The make a lot of things out of taugwa. It’s actually as seed that they peel and then burn. It looks really cool. It was interesting to watching them take town shop. They are all small – most of them smaller than me, and that’s saying something – yet they carry enormous bundles on their backs – just like ants! It is amazing and I don’t know how they do it. I met a girl who was a member of the church in the market – I have only begun to realize how vast the church is! It really is extending to all nations of the world.
We ate dinner at a traditional restaurant. It was super good. They had these chicken crepes that were divine. They also had steamed vegetables – oh praise the Lord!
We came home to our quaint cottages. This place really is absolutely romantic. It is its own kind of paradise. I would love to come back any day!
We had a ladies’ night and watched she’s the man on my lap-top. There were like 12 girls all snuggled up on our beds, which we pushed together. It was great to kick back, relax, and laugh. I also found that the beds are very bouncy and make for great jumping beds .