Mall of America

My sister Stephanie and I have been talking about going to the Mall of America for about the last 10 years. We finally took a trip up there to Bloomington, Minnesota in October. My birthday is in September and her 30th birthday was this past week so our trip was halfway between our birthdays. It was lots of fun to get away! We left on a Thursday and came back Saturday evening. I highly recommend going if you've never been! We also went to the IKEA there and got some great, cheap stuff.

Steph and I in front of the theme park:

Legoland was pretty cool:

The even had giant Lego men!

Another shot of the theme park:

This random guy (or girl) was walking around with a giant head promoting some restaurant:

On Friday evening we saw this group of people watching some kind of performance. When we walked by a second time on our way out we realized they were all Asian! It was so funny to see such a huge group of Asian people for no apparent reason.

At the mall I got two pairs of shoes, earrings and a cute blue short-sleeve blouse. Steph got a bunch of maternity clothes. I only wish I had more money to spend... but maybe we'll go back for my 30th birthday in 7 years (Jimmy will at least be making money by then!).

Oh and here's what my bedroom looked like when I got back:

I failed to take a picture of the kitchen (which was full of dirty dishes). What would Jimmy do without me?

Carving Pumpkins and Pumpkin Cake

Jimmy's friends from med school came over on Saturday with their wives (who are now my friends). We watched "The Proposal" and carved pumpkins! Here are Jimmy, Seth, Tara and Tyson carving away.

Tara, Eden and Seth:

Jimmy:

Tyson:

All of us (Seth, Tara, me, Jimmy, Bethany, Tyson and Eden)

Here's a close-up of our pumpkins (Bernice, Wall-E and little angry face). One of our neighbors commented that our pumpkin also looks like ET. Who knew he and Wall-E looked so similar?

We love little Eden. She's such a cutie!

My favorite fall dessert is pumpkin cake. I made it this week for book group and shared it with our friends on Saturday. This is what it looks like:

This is what it's made of:

Pumpkin Cake

1 box yellow cake mix - remove one cup and set aside. Add one stick of melted butter (or margarine) and one egg to the rest of the cake mix. Mix together. Press into the bottom of a greased 9x13 inch pan (spray pan with Pam).

Into a large bowl put one can of pumpkin, three eggs, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup sugar, 2/3 cup canned milk (evaporated milk), and 1-1/2 tsp cinnamon. Beat well and spread over cake mixture in the pan (it will be runny).

To the 1 cup reserved cake mix add 1/3-1/2 cup sugar (I use 1/3 cup and it's sufficient), 1/2 cup nuts (optional) and 1/2 stick softened (not melted) margarine or butter. Mix together and spoon onto the top of the pumpkin mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes. Cool and serve with whipped cream or Cool Whip. Keep leftovers in the fridge.

What I Miss About Provo

I've been really missing Provo this fall. It's probably because this was the first fall in four years that I'm not there! Fall is my favorite season and it's so pretty up in the Provo Canyon.

Some other things I miss about Provo:
-The first day of classes in a new semester
-The first Sunday at church in a new semester
-Seeing snow on Timp as I walked to school 8 months out of the year
-Fun ward activites with awesome food because the ward budgets were huge
-Walking or riding my bike everywhere (which meant we hardly ever bought gas)
-Running into everyone you could possibly know in one passing period on campus
-The BYU Creamery
-J-Dawgs
-Intramurals (especially Ultimate Frisbee)
-Being able to play a pick up game of Ultimate anytime with random people at Kiwanis Park
-Hot chocolate during finals week
-Free dances, volleyball games, basketball games, etc.
-My awesome friends in Union Square (love you guys!)
-Those few days of warm weather in March/April before you're hit with one last snowstorm
-Cinnamon bears from the BYU bookstore (both with and without chocolate)
-Pudding on the Rice
-Chicken Caesar Wraps from L&T
-Getting 10 boxes of cereal for $10 (they never have anything even close to that in Kansas)
-Bajio and Cafe Rio
-Feeding the ducks at the pond on 8th North
-Randomly seeing deer on campus and watching everyone freak out
-Going with Jimmy up to our spot on the mountain where we could see all of the valley
-Being able to go to the temple every month and only having to drive a few miles to get there (someday soon, KC!)

I could go on and on. Although I do really miss Provo and all my friends there, I know it was time for us to leave and move on with our lives. I'm so glad that we got to graduate from BYU and I can't wait to go back and visit sometime! My whole life I knew I wanted to go to BYU, and I hope my kids have that same dream. It really is an awesome place and I couldn't think of anywhere better to get an education.

Thank You Notes - October 2, 2009

It's time for another edition of Natalie's Thank You Notes.


Dear Old Lady at Wal-Mart,

Thank you for rudely interrupting my transaction at the service desk at Wal-Mart. I'm sure the other 10 people in line appreciated it as well. But who cares? You're old and you need help. That comes before anything else. And right when I thought you were done, you ask another question! Go ahead, keep ignoring the cashier after she asks you to go wait in line for the third time. And you just keep standing there pretending like you didn't hear her because she'll give you what you want eventually. That way you're time is not wasted (although everyone else's time is). I see your plan. It's genius. When I'm old I'll do just the same thing.

Thanks,
Natalie


Dear Winner of (insert any major prize here),

Thank you for being so unenthusiastic when you were presented with your prize. It really made me feel much better about losing when you didn't seem to care at all. It's not like I spent hours entering my name every day for months on end. Oh wait, it is. But go ahead, enjoy your million-dollar dream house/ hybrid car/ huge check/etc. You deserve it, and clearly I do not.


Thanks,
Natalie



Dear President Obama,

Thank you for sharing your opinion on absolutely everything that's going on in society. Who are you picking as the winner of the NCAA men's basketball tournament next year? Please, do tell! What do you think of Kanye's rude interruption at the VMAs? We're all dying to know. Our questions for your are endless. But it's like you have ESP sometimes and we don't even have time to think about your opinion before it's the headline on every major news show. Can we say crazy?

Thanks,
Natalie


Dear American Journalists,

Thanks for sharing said Obama opinions with us. It's nice to know you care as much (if not more) than we do. Now seriously, what does the president think about last night's episode of "Grey's Anatomy"? I don't think I can live another minute without knowing.

Thanks,
Natalie

Thank You Notes - September 25, 2009

In the spirit of Jimmy Fallon, I thought I'd take some time this Friday evening to write my thank you notes for the week.

Can I get some thank you music, please? Thanks.

Dear Mailman,

Thank you for being too lazy to reach all the way down into our mailbox to see if we have any outgoing mail. It's not your fault our apartment complex was too cheap to provide us with a better method for sending out mail. Don't worry, I'll just leave my mail out on the ledge tomorrow and pray it doesn't blow away. And if you don't see it then, don't worry about it, I'll just drive all the way to the post office instead. Don't let anyone tell you that you're not doing a great job!

Thanks,

Natalie

Dear Guy On the Highway Who Doesn't Use His Blinker,

Thanks so much for swerving in and out of my lane today on the way home without using your blinker. I really enjoyed having to slam on my brakes when you decided to jump in front of me at the last second with no warning. Who needs blinkers anyway? Heck, maybe we all should stop using blinkers and see how it goes.

Thanks,

Natalie

Dear Time Clock at Work,

Thanks for being so unreliable. One day your time agrees with the one on my phone, and the next day you're 5 minutes fast! It really makes me look good to be showing up at 8:05 when according to other sources it's only 8:00. This whole guessing game is so exciting. Please continue to add variety to my life, because when I'm running late you know just how to cheer me up.

Thanks,

Natalie

Dear Survivor Samoa,

Thank you for picking the worst cast ever to play the game this year. Not only do they suck, but they already sent home two of the smartest cast members. And you crew members sit idly by. Should not Jeff have some say in this? Can you please invent some kind of veto right? You already set one record with having the first person in history to be thrown out of a challenge. Here's hoping to many more such records!

Thanks,

Natalie

And finally:

Dear Blair Waldorf,

Thank you for proving that people don't change. Most people do some soul searching and grow up when they go to college. But not you! You're still the same manipulative, power-hungry girl we all know and love. I'm sure college is just like Constance Billard School for Girls and you'll fit in in no time. Just stay the same for our sake. It's fun to watch.

Thanks,

Natalie

If you haven't seen Jimmy Fallon's thank you notes, here's a favorite clip of mine:

http://www.hulu.com/watch/94114/late-night-with-jimmy-fallon-thank-you-notes

Twins in the Family, Crazy Kid Sayings

Like Amanda, I live vicariously through family and friends with kids since I don't have any yet.

Some of you may know that my sister Stephanie is pregnant with twins! We're so excited about it. She's having a baby boy AND a baby girl in the end of January. Yipee! I can't wait to take pictures of them.

So this is my sister who's 6 feet tall. With her first baby she wasn't showing for awhile because she's so tall and thin. She said she feels a lot bigger lately. But apparently she's not showing as much as she thinks.

Yesterday she went into a maternity store and this girl who worked there asked when she was due. She said "January" and I think the girl was due around the same time. Then she asked Stephanie what she's having and she replied "a boy and a girl." The girl's eyes just got huge. So Steph asked her what she was having and the girl said "just a boy." Then the rest of the time Steph was there shopping the girl was totally rude! I guess she was really offended that Steph was having twins and wasn't showing much. Can you believe that?

We love having so many nieces and nephews and are excited to have more! They say the funniest things. Last weekend we were hanging out with Jimmy's family and our niece Kaihli would not stop calling us "Uncle Natalie and Aunty Jimmy." Her mom accidentally said it once and then she just wouldn't quit.

On Labor Day I went boating with my friend Bryanna and her family. We were having a barbecue after and her 10-year-old nephew said the blessing on the food. In the prayer he said "and please bless the world to be happy." It was so cute, and apparently that's a common phrase in all his prayers which he came up with on his own. Then later he was freaking out about wanting a double burger while his mom insisted on a single. After he calmed down, he shook his head and said "gosh, kids these days" exactly how you would imagine an exasperated adult to say it.

I really hope that when we have kids we remember to write down all the funny things they say.

White Coat Ceremony

I know this is late, but Jimmy had his White Coat Ceremony for med school in the beginning of August. Here he is among his fellow students at the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences. Can you spot him? Hint: he's in the middle.


Here was Jimmy on the big screen after he got "coated" (I'm not sure if that's what you call it, but that's what I'm calling it).

Jimmy's parents and two younger siblings came to the ceremony as well. Don't they look proud?

I'm kind of making a weird face in this picture, but Jimmy looks really good.

Here we are again outside the auditorium on campus.

After the ceremony all the students and their guests were invited to a reception over at the Marriott Muehlebach downtown and had the best food ever (seriously - lobster macaroni, quesadillas, fresh fruit, key lime tarts and red velvet cake!). My mouth is watering just remembering.

I know it's been a long time since I posted! We moved in mid August and things have been crazy ever since. I promise to post more pictures soon.

In June I started a new job at the Bank of Blue Valley here in Overland Park. I started as a payment processor and moved up in August to a consumer loan processor. I work in a really fun department where we have snack days once a month with tons of yummy food.

Jimmy started school on August 10 and already finished his first unit. He got an A and was really happy about that. He's got two guys that he studies with a lot and they all work really well together. They're both LDS too so it's good that they have that in common.

I signed up to take Wilton Course II in October with two girls from my ward. I'm excited to make more cakes!