I want to wash my hands, my face and hair with Snow... What is Christmas with no snow?

Well, we officially got our first snow of the season. There were a few flurries on Thanksgiving Day but not enough to stick or cause much of a ruckus. This weekend, however, we got the legit, 100% white water crystals all over the ground. According to my iPhone, today's high was 22 with a low of 7. The current outside temperature is 15 degree Fahrenheit. The big issue here is typically the ice and wind. We only got 3-4 inches of snow which isn't too bad. Combine branches loaded with ice and strong wind, and you've got a problem. We had a small branch fall off our tree in the backyard probably due to this heavy ice, strong wind phenomenon. This afternoon we had a fun time watching our squirrels still run around the yard and chase each other. The weekend is now over, and now I have to face the fact that I have finals staring me in the face on Thursday. Time to buckle down and do some work.

You are protected, in short, by your ability to love...

Well, I've had a birthday since I last wrote. I am now closer to 30 than I am to 20. Sad. Oh well, I guess life goes on. I am grateful for all the nice presents and well-wishes. The fact that Holly also made Better-Than-Sex Cake made my birthday that much sweeter!

So apparently, people are clamoring for additional posts. Well, I will try to oblige you all with more posts and less time in between them. Our Thanksgiving week was a great one because we seemed to escape the worst of some bad weather in St. Louis and Utah. We were slightly delayed getting out of St. Louis due to a sudden downpour of rain, but we were able to get in the air fairly quickly. The day after we arrived in Utah, a severe weather warning instructed everyone to go home early from work. Businesses closed. Radio stations and schools were telling people to go home and await the "biggest storm in several years." We woke up the next day to barely an inch on snow. I was hoping for five-foot drifts sealing us inside the house for a day. But no... oh well.

One of the highlights of our trip was seeing the Scarlet Pimpernell musical at the Hale Center Theater (where the picture was taken). It really was well, right down to the quite realistic-looking guillotine.

Our Thanksgiving feast was wonderful, again complete with some of my aunt's famous homemade rolls. Couldn't eat to many for fear of gaining a few rolls myself! Holly and I's job to help prepare for the meal was to fold the napkins and place them at each place setting. Taking our assignment very seriously, we googled how to fold napkins. We tried to fold a shell, but it actually looked like a small turkey. People were impressed.

We also were able to have a few friends over for a small party/get-together. We got to see James and Ashley for the first time since they were married! Being married five months now, we were able to give them some valuable advice. Several other friends from school made the night great fun.

We were both really happy that my grandma could come spent Thanksgiving with us in Utah. We all love her a lot. Happy Thanksgiving from the West Family!

Lions and Tigers and Bears Oh My!...

Yes the title this time was somewhat a cop-out, but I'm sure you'll hear less creative sometime in the future. First of all, our new lawn is finished! It looks really great compared to what it used to look like. We are having to water a lot, but hopefully out efforts will yield strong, healthy grass next year. We really want it to drop deep roots before winter comes. Also, we have really enjoyed the wonderful colors now that it's actually starting to get cold.

We had fun last weekend with a little trip to the St. Louis Zoo with our neighbors. We only went for a couple hours because that's how long Boo at the Zoo Tick-or-Treating for the kids lasted. We saw a few animals (obviously bears and penguins were included). We will most definitely return to scope out the rest. As a raw percentage, we probably only saw 5%. This zoo is the 3rd largest in the country. Also this was the first time I have been to a zoo and have not heard of one of the animals. The bear pictured here is a sloth bear. It has long shaggy fur and long claws like a tree sloth, but is nonetheless a bear. Quite interesting.

We also are very happy with a new piece of furniture: a great multi-use bookshelf and early Christmas present. Took a little while to put together but really looks nice.

And last but not least, I was (unfortunately) the only one who wanted to dress up this Halloween, so I catered to my already well-developed physique and became the Man of Steel. Fortunately, Holly always dresses well and passed off as a great Lois Lane without trying. Cheers to Holls!

It's a bug-eat-bug world out there, Princess...

So I officially decided that I would try to improve my cleverness and make every blog title a line from a movie; 10 points to whoever can guess this post's movie! Life has been pretty normal around here. My final anatomy test is this week, so I am studying hard. Holly is starting to look for more full-time work. Our front yard is now under construction... You see, when we moved in, I told our landlord that I had worked two years in lawn care and that I would treat the weed-overgrown lawn myself if he would pay for the materials. Well he's a great guy and a real go-getter, and my conversation with him about the lawn turned into tearing out all the grass front and back, laying sod in the front, laying seed in the back, and re-pouring concrete for our front steps, walkway and sidewalk. So there are people doing work at our place every day. They should be done this week.

Two Saturdays ago, St. Louis had the Great Forest Park Balloon Race. Forest Park is St. Louis' equivalent of Central Park in NYC... It's huge. Events in the park included hot-air balloons flying around, lots of food, several shows (dance companies, etc.) and skydivers (pictured). Because it was incredibly hot, we only made it for the skydivers.

This past weekend, we enjoyed a relaxing weekend with friends and the General Conference of the Church. All sessions were just great. Then yesterday, we got back from a camping trip to a local conservation area about an hour away. This was our first camping trip together and will go down in history as our "worst-prepared for." We don't have much camping gear, and the little we did have, we forgot! Of course we remembered sleeping bags and tents and camp chairs, but we forgot our cool little camp table and our LANTERN! We set up camp in the almost-dark. We were saved by a cigarette-lighter plug-in light that my grandpa put in our car many years ago and two little key-chain flashlights I had in my first aid kit. I felt like a true boyscout when I remember I had stored those away in case we needed them. Holly did a great job taking care of food, and we roasted hot dogs for the first time on our new little barbecue.

The next morning we realized how NOT-alone we were in the forest. As you all know, Holly loves all types of insects and bugs but mostly the creepy, 8-legged variety. Not only did we encounter our fair share and the neighbors fair share of spiders, we were cordially greeted with a "Welcome to St. Louis and the Mississippi-River Basin!" from several other species of locals (see pictures). It was a great overnight stay, and we were glad to return home.

Life is great, and we're happy together.

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...

I suppose I should at least give somewhat of a background on the beginnings of our family with a who, what, why, when and how. Obviously you know the who: Holly and I. What: We got married! Why: Two words... tax break! Only kidding... we got married because we very much love each other and want to be together forever. When: This you should already know because it's in our little introductory piece on the top left side of the blog titled "About Us." But in case you missed it: June 26th, 2010.

Now we come to the How. How will be best described with the few pictures I'll attach with this narrative. The short version is this; in the short span of about 3 months, we were engaged and married, had two wedding receptions (one in WA pre-wedding and the other in Utah post-wedding), moved out of our apartments to my parents' house, moved to a new apartment in Saint Louis Missouri, and started medical school.




Needless to say we are just now getting into some semblance of a routine.


We have already hosted Ryan and Brianna here on their way out to Fort Bragg where Ryan is now stationed. We also hosted James Setterberg on his way out to Utah to reunite with his fiancé. We toured Busch Stadium where the St. Louis Cardinals play and even saw good ole Albert Pujols during a pre-game batting practice. After we went and toured the famous Gateway Arch.

Holly got a job at the local Subway working part time while she studies for her licensing exam in Therapeutic Recreation. I am attending medical school at Saint Louis University and loving the fact that I am finally learning the trade I've wanted my entire life.

St. Louis is unique for a number of reasons including higher crime and sales tax (~10%), but it is also unique in that a great many city activities are FREE! The St. Louis Zoo (3rd largest in the country) is free except for parking, as is the St. Louis Science Center, City Garden, Botanical Garden, and History and Art Museums among others. We are having a lot of fun and have already been to the Art Museum (partially under construction in photo).

So that is a light-speed summary of our doings the past few months. More to follow. Stay tuned!