Fall Crunch, Munch, and Sniffle

Have I mentioned fall is probably my favorite season? I love when the leaves changing colors, I love bundling up in sweaters and scarves, I love steaming mugs of hot chocolate, and I love Halloween. I love crunchy fallen leaves, tasty apple desserts, and the chill in the air. I even love drizzly days like today (pictured above^).

Since Clark will most likely be MIA next fall (due to insanely long banker hours) this is our last "real" fall to celebrate for a while.  Plus this weekend was supposed to be a break after a really really difficult week of papers and tests (P.s. - the crunch). So I wanted to relax and celebrate fall by doing as many fall-y things possible (hence all the trips up the canyon to see the leaves). Like go to a pumpkin patch or an apple orchard.

Growing up my family went to Apple Hill, a huge group of apple orchards that ran an annual fall festival, every year. We would also go to Bishop's Pumpkin Patch or Zittle Farm's Pumpkin Patch. Both of these activities I have missed SO much since coming out to BYU. It just doesn't truly feel like fall without Apple Hill and a trip to a pumpkin patch. So in an effort to make this fall feel "real", I planned a trip to a pumpkin patch. We were all geared up and ready to go, when... BAM. Fall sickness took out Clark. But because Clark is such a sweetheart, we managed to have some fall fun even though he wasn't feeling well at all. (P.s.- this is the sniffle... indulge my lack of creativity)

First off, I really enjoy cooking once it starts to get cold. And even though Clark was feeling sick and didn't want to eat, he let me make a big Creamy Cajun Pasta. I can definitely say it's one of my successful pinterest recipes! Check it out! (sorry it's not a link to the original blog post... I can't find it!) 

P.s. - this is the "munch" part of my not so clever blog title. 

^what it looks like. SO tasty.^

Then Sunday night Clark and I bundled up and walked over to the O'Briens' apartment for some fall festivities. Oh and yes, we walked because our lame apartment complex TOWED our car... even though we live there...Boo. But anyways, we had so much fun carving jack-o-lanterns and making tasty caramel apples! And it was fun to see Clark enjoy himself after a few days of miserable sickness. Thank heavens our friends got us out of our "ba-humbug-halloween" mood! 

^Morgan with one of the tasty caramel apples!^

 ^from left to right: my pumpkin, Clark's, the O'Brien's, the Crawley's^

Whirlwind Weekend

Clark and I don't have classes on Fridays. Which is amazing, but somehow our weekend still flew by faster than anything.

Thursday evening has become somewhat of a "friday night" for us. Clark had an intramural football game (his team one, and Clark made 3 touch downs!). After his intramural football game we went to DI to get our Halloween Costumes... I'm not going to lie, I'm very excited about our Halloween costumes this year! After DI we went to the good old dollar theater to see Monster's University. I think one of the things I'll miss most about Provo is cheap entertainment! Unfortunately there are no dollar movie theaters I know of in NYC...

Friday went by super fast for me because I worked a double shift at work, and Clark had a huge work meeting all day. But we still had fun Friday evening! I went over to Ashley's adorable apartment and we made pumpkin bread! It was so delicious, I forgot to take a picture of it. But here's the easy-peasy recipe:

     1 15oz can of Libby's Pumpkin Puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
     1 box of Spice Cake Mix
     Chocolate chips
         Mix them all together, and then bake it for about 40-50 minutes at 350 degrees.

We also watched "When in Rome" which is super cheesy... but I loved it anyways. Especially because it showed NYC and Rome!

Saturday was by far the busiest. Saturday started at 8am with the BYU Women's Services and Resources Voices for Courage 5k! It was really fun! It was just a quick run around campus, but it was for a great cause. The run was to raise awareness against all forms of abuse. And yes - it was freezing out!

After our awesome 5k, I helped Jani host an "Amazing Race" on BYU campus for her sister-in-law's group date. It was super fun to hand out clues, hints, and take pictures of those kids. And Jani did such a phenomenal job planning the event! Once the race was over, we cleaned up and made our way up to Salt Lake City. On our way up we listened to the BYU vs. Houston game (of course). While in Salt Lake, we met up with our friends Nate and Liz to attend a live temple session! I hadn't attended a live session in a while, so it was nice to feel that special spirit again. I feel so blessed to have so many temples nearby - Clark and I need to take advantage of that! After our temple session we had a delicious dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, and made our way back to Provo. So fun! I'm so happy to have such wonderful friends! On Sunday we had even more wonderful friend time when Brittany came over for Sunday dinner!! It was great to catch up with her again too :)

Moral of the story - we had a super fun weekend that ended much to quickly. We already can't wait for the next one!

P.S.- Pictures of our Temple Date night!

^Our handsome men^

^Crazy ladies^

^The Crawleys^

^The Petersons^

^The Gardners^

^The Date Night group!^

A "Hull" lot of Fun

So punny... I couldn't resist, especially because there just aren't a lot of good puns you can do with "Peterson."

Anyways, my parents came to town for BYU Homecoming. I was so happy they came out for the weekend, cause it had felt like so long since we last saw them. The fun started Friday afternoon, when we went out to lunch at one of our Provo favorites - Guru's (we went out to eat a lot this weekend, cause who doesn't love good food?). After lunch we surprised Emily. She has been living the true college freshman life - aka she gets no sleep/has the weirdest sleeping patterns. So we woke her up and surprised her! It was so sweet to see her and David be reunited cause they have such a fun relationship.

While they were off having fun I had to work (LAME. I have work from 2-5 every day. But I don't have class friday. So work on Fridays = the worst). After work, we went off to Station 22. Station 22 had been highly recommended to us, and I have to say, it was pretty incredible. Initially I ordered a shrimp and grits dish - I didn't like it, and I'm a pretty adventurous eater. The texture was kind of weird... but oh my gosh, they let me reorder, and I got a Golden State Burger. AMAZING! And their sweet potato wedges were incredible. Clark got their tomato basil soup/grilled cheese. It was the best. I am so so happy we went. Plus it has a really cool vibe/decorating style.

Then we went to the BYU Homecoming Spectacular. It was truly inspiring and was my favorite Homecoming so far (I go to the spectacular every year). I was initially a little disappointed the BYU Ballroom Dance team wasn't slotted to perform, because they are always my favorite. But Nathan Pacheco and the other performers more than made up for it. The theme was "A Season for Courage." Throughout the performance they shared stories about BYU students who overcame very tough circumstances. One BYU student's family lost their home and she had to work through college to help support them as well as herself. She ended up winning the Met Opera Competition. Another current student lost his sister in a car accident and broke his neck. He danced and sang with Young Ambassadors in the performance. The whole show was so inspiring. I wish I could see it again!

After the Spectacular we went to a new dessert place called La Choc'late Mousse. They have all sorts of pie fillings and crusts and you can basically build your own pie in a jar! So tasty! I will say, it's a teensy bit overpriced. But definitely work trying!

Saturday began with a midterm. Ok, just a side note, I love multiple choice tests. The test I took Saturday made me grateful for professors who use multiple choice/matching/true false. This test was not like that. 30 questions free response. Each question had 5 different parts to cover. It was very specific. And very hard. And the worst part is I don't get to know my score for another 2 weeks!!!

Anyways, after my test we got Sammy's pie shakes for lunch (yum), went shopping at Cherry Lane Boutique (I got a super cute pumpkin!), and went to the BYU football game! Before the BYU game started we got to use the Peterson's season pass card to attend a pre-game meeting in the Cougar Club. We got to hear from Georgia Tech's athletic director, as well as some BYU football alumni. It was pretty cool!

Now the game itself was awesome. It had everything it needed to be super exciting. We had great seats, the Cougs were playing really well, we had some quarterback sacks, and we won!!!! I loved it. It was especially fun to watch my Dad and David get really amped up about the game. For those of you who don't know, my Dad played football for BYU and it's David's dream to do the same. And David's well on his way to becoming a great runningback/linebacker. Plus add Clark (crazy competitive, played high school football) and we had some great entertainment anytime something good or bad happened.

^David was in Heaven. He basically worships BYU football players^

We drove up to Park City after the game. It is just beautiful up there. I think the thing I'll miss most about Utah is it's fall leaves. And I'm sure I'm in for a beautiful surprise with the East coast's fall colors. But there is something special about Utah's snowcapped mountains especially when they are covered in fall colors. Anyways, we went on a color drive through Park City and Sundance. Then we went to the Cannon Center with Emily, and played games at my apartment. It was such a fun weekend. And I miss my family so much already. Anyways, here are some gorgeous pictures of Utah's fall colors. 

^Sundance^

^My siblings are crazy. But I love them^

General Conference Weekend

Autumn is my favorite season. I love the crisp air, the changing colors, and all the fall holidays. October is always a great month. And it's made even better by LDS General Conference. I love General Conference. Conference is an opportunity for me to hear exactly what Heavenly Father wants me to know. Conference gives us guidelines to follow for at least the next six months. It prepares me for future trials, gives me hope, and helps me feel the spirit. This conference session was especially comforting. With all the social pressures for acceptance of homosexual lifestyles, the ordain women movement, and many other hot political topics, it was comforting to hear what Heavenly Father wants us to know about each issue. I love the constancy of the doctrine. But I also appreciate the administrative changes that have and will be made. I look forward to re-reading all of Conference, but I am especially excited to reread President Uchdorf's and Elder Nelson's talks.

Another reason I love Conference is family time. My family always spends the whole weekend together. We watch conference together, have a big breakfast after each morning session, and always do something fun between sessions of Conference. This year, Clark and I went up to Midway for Conference. We watched the Saturday sessions with Clark's dad, and then went up to Sandy with the Peterson family. All the girls went out to dinner while the guys watched Priesthood session. It was so fun! And for the Sunday sessions, just Clark and I stayed in Midway. It was so fun to have a little get-away. We made a big breakfast and after the conference sessions we drove to Cascade Springs. First off, Midway is gorgeous in the fall. Driving up into the mountains was even prettier! Cascade Springs had lots of fall colors, and it's just a gorgeous location. We also drove through the Alpine Loop! I can't wait to drive it again this weekend. Words cannot describe how much I love the golden leaves up there. We live in such a beautiful state. This weekend made Clark and I so very grateful. We are grateful to have living prophets. We are grateful we can hear modern revelation. We are grateful we live in such a beautiful area. And we are grateful for the beauty of fall! Sadly my camera died before I could document the Alpine Loop, but here are some of my favorite images from our adventure at Cascade Springs.

P.S. - none of these pictures have been edited... it's all just unadulterated natural beauty.

^Cascade Springs^

^ Clearly this is a phone pic. Remember when I thought my phone took quality photos? ^

 ^I could not get over these fall leaves^

^Another blurry phone pic. The Alpine Loop was incredible!^