Horseback riding and BJ's

After a long night of horseback riding we treated ourselves with Pazookie's at BJ's. This has become one of our most favorite restaurants here in Thousand Oaks. The Pazookie is a fresh baked Chocolate chip cookie with A Scoop if ice cream on top and it is YUUUMMMMMYYYY! Oh, and as you can see, we also enjoy their water.

Halloween Fun!

Our Camera was out of commission for a while so some of these pictures are from a few months back. These paper bag works of art were created for a school project my friend Erin and I were assigned on Halloween. (Mine is the purple one with googly eyes.) One of my classmates thought is was so cool that he asked me if I would give it to him to wear to his Halloween party that night! I obliged and I'm pretty sure he won first place in the costume contest.:)

Gobble! Gobble!

This year we spent Thanksgiving with the P's family. I was so excited to go home for a few short days and share the Thanksgiving holiday with our families! It was a fun filled weekend. We took Christmas card pictures, went through the temple with Mark (Who is going to Guatemala on his mission), saw the Work and the Glory III, went to Deseret Book and Seagull Book and Tape (I really miss LDS bookstores), and we watched the Cougars kick some Ute booty! We returned home at 3am on Sunday morning so that we wouldn't have to deal with the Las Vegas traffic on Sunday night.

Thanks everyone for a great Thanksgiving!

The Best Tortilla soup EVER!

I have told so many people about this recipe that I thought I better just post it so that everyone can try it! It really is mine and Paul's favorite meal. Enjoy!!!

4 chicken breast halves
1 garlic clove, minced
2 Tbsp. margarine
2 14 1/2-oz. cans chicken broth
2 14 1/2-oz. cans chopped stewed tomatoes
1 cup salsa (mild, medium, or hot, whichever you prefer)
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 Tbsp., or more, ground cumin
8-oz. Monterey Jack cheese, cubed
sour cream
tortilla chips

1. Cook, debone, and shred chicken.
2. Add minced garlic to margarine in slow cooker. saute.
3. Combine all ingredients except cheese, sour cream, and chips.
4. Cover. Cook on low 8-10 hours.
5. Divide cubed cheese among 6 individual soup bowls. Ladle soup over cheese. Sprinkle with chips and top each bowl with a dollop of sour cream. (everything tastes better with a dollop of daisy:)

Event and Program Planning Class

As many of you know I am taking an Event and Program planning class this semester. The following two posts are the big events that we have had. The day at the lake was a class project and the cultural family potluck was a small group project. You'll see the four of us in a picture under the welcome sign at our event. I have learned a lot this semester and have really enjoyed sharing my Recreation management classes with all of the same people.

Event #2: Cultural Family Potluck

Event #1: A day at the Lake for Recreation majors and Alumni

Girls night!

A few weeks ago we held our first event for my "Event and Program Planning" class. I was on the donations committee. Our class did a great job of collecting the money that we needed, as well as some fun raffle prizes. We spent hours the night before the event getting everything ready. Don't worry...we made it fun!

HGTV Weekend

HGTV is, by far, my new favorite channel! After receiving great motivation from watching shows like "Designed to sell" and "Design on a dime", P and I decided to do a few home improvement projects of our own. We finally painted our IKEA kitchen chairs, Hung a new curtain, and planted a "garden":) I'm really excited about my kitchen herbs. Now I just need to learn how to cook dishes that I can actually use them in. . .

CHS Football

P and I decided to take a trip down memory lane and go to what we thought was CHS's Homecoming game. Turns out the Homecoming game was another two weeks away, but we still had a fun time.

One Wonderful Year. . .and many more to come.

P planned a wonderful evening for our one year anniversary... We had dinner in Malibu. The sunset over the ocean was beautiful.
Duke's is a great restaurant. We highly recommend the Shrimp!
P also surprised me with flowers that he picked out and arranged himself. Didn't he do an amazing job?! The card that came with them was really sweet.

On the way Home...

Graduation Day! Yes, P spoke at his graduation and did an EXCELLENT Job!

Family and Friends Graduation Dinner

Graduating Class Rotunda Dinner

Thomas Jefferson's grave

Monticello

We had a great time with P's parents when they came out to Virginia for paul's graduation.