SKAK

**Note: this was actually written about 2 weeks ago. I'm just now getting around to uploading the pics and posting it.

Well, November has come and gone, just like that. I'm always happy when time flies. This past month I spent in California. Several months ago, my friend KC suggested that I visit her for about a month while Spencer was gone. Her husband works long hours, and she thought it'd be fun to act like we were roommates again. Yes, a month is a long time, but if she was fine with it, and her husband was fine with it, then I was fine with it!

If you're wondering what the title to this post means - SKAK - it stands for Stacy, KC, Annie, and Kim. We lived together our sophomore year at BYU. And what do ya know, KC, Annie, and Kim, all live in the San Francisco area. It was a fun reunion indeed. Here's a quick recap of the trip:

BYU women's soccer games - BYU was awesome. They were ranked 10th. They ended up losing to Stanford, who was ranked 1st. They definitely gave us some entertaining games to watch!

Wicked- Definitely a highlight of the trip. An amazing play that I hope to see again sometime.
Movies: Blindside, Mr. Fantastic Fox, New Moon

Thanksgiving: Spent with KC's family. They had a turkey trot in the morning that was killer. About 2 1/2 miles, with lots of hills. One major hill. Probably steeper and longer than you imagine. Afterwards we then had the normal Thanksgiving feast. I contributed some mac and cheese and sweet potato souffle. Yum.

Black Friday: My first experience hitting the mall on Black Friday. I must admit, I loved it. I loved the energy and the "hustle and bustle" as they say. I'm thinking it will be a new tradition in my life.

Union Square: One Friday night KC, Ashton, and I went downtown to Union Square to do some shopping, eating, and admire all the Christmas decorations. Another highlight of the trip.


Pictures of Allreds: Kim's mom hired me to take some pictures of all of her grandchildren for their Christmas card. I was quite impressed that we even got 1 picture of all the kids looking at the camera and looking super cute. When you have that many kids who are that young, it can be quite a task.
Temple: KC and I did both a session at the temple and we went another night to look at the lights. This was a highlight for me since both the Atlanta and Laie temple are closed for renovation. I haven't been in a while, and won't be able to go again until probably next summer when Laie opens again. Oh, and props to KC for these pictures. She's a natural.

Baking Party: Kim had me over to join her mom and sisters for one of their traditions of having a Christmas bake off. Basically just listening to Christmas music while baking lots of different goodies. Cookies, caramels, peanut butter choc. bars, etc. Really fun and delicious.

Photo 101 Class: Both KC and Kim have the all intimidating dSLRs, and wanted to learn how to use them better. So we had a good time learning the ins and outs of big fat heavy cameras.
Group Gathering: We, SKAK, are all married. But we got married at different times. I wanted to be able to get together with everyone and their spouses. Because everyone's schedules are different, we were able to fit in a little bit of time to get together at Kim and Dan's house for some appetizers
Christmas Party: We went to KC's parent's ward Christmas party. For a church Christmas party, I'd say it was pretty rockin'. A fun band, great decorations, delicious food, a big success.
Christmas prep: Throughout the entire month, we were listening to Christmas music, watching Christmas movies, and buying Christmas Oreos and Ritz crackers. Anything Christmas we were all about it.

And now I'm in Georgia. I'll be here for a month. The plan is to pass time until Spencer gets back...which will be in March. I just want to say thanks to everyone who has been so kind and supportive while he's been gone. I'm bracing myself this year for Christmas and will try to just enjoy time with the family and friends I do get to see. Merry Christmas!