The last two weeks.

The time has come. The end is in sight--Fall semester is almost over. Which means nothing else but finals. This Thanksgiving break whispered to me "ahh, you're home for the Holidays." But then I realized the "just kidding" was coming, knowing the hardest two weeks are still ahead of me. When I say hard, I mean having the least patience of my life. I actually have two finals. And one two-page paper. Actually, let me just completely take back the word "hard" and replace it with "impatient." I'm just waiting for it to be over.


Thank goodness I have my job to keep me very much occupied. We've got three more episodes to film until the 19th, not to mention all of the new schedules, deadlines, and protocols I have to learn. 7 a.m. Monday morning call time...all day baby. Oh I'm giddy thinking about going to work tomorrow! And that, my friends, is how it should be. 


I'm back to Provo tonight for one last go. I have to leave our lovely tree we decorated today. I'll pass the lights on temple square that are calling (screaming) my name. And four weeks from today it will actually feel like winter, thanks to the NBA. (What a Christmas present!) But this wonderful break brought much-needed family time, many not-needed calories, and a whole lotta love. 

Making my famous Chicken Enchilada soup...
I mean a recipe from Pinterest. But it was dang good.

My beautiful mother at our leaf-raking party on Saturday.

We set up an awesome Christmas village right here in our kitchen. 
It's the first year we have it, and we feel so festive!
We also bought some "kissing crystals," aka mistletoe. Now where to hang it??

My weekend in Park City.

When my mom called to tell me we had a timeshare this week in Park City, I could hear the hallelujah chorus. 

It was beautiful, to say the least. I'll admit my breath was taken away multiple times this weekend. I got up there on Thursday and stayed until this morning (I had to come back to Provo to watch my Cougs kill the Bengals). Although there was no concerts, summer lifts open, or really anything going on up there, it was so relaxing just to be in the mountains. We got out the tennis rackets, went to the Olympic Park, took a 4-wheeler ride through red and yellow trees, walked along Main...basically just drinking it all in. 

Okay not that kind of drinking. But I thought this
was indicative of the weekend.

Spence found himself a new friend on Main Street.

Okay so I didn't take this picture: http://www.skisnowboard.com/parkcity/nightlife.html
But this...is Main Street.

I don't know what Park City does to me, but it does something good. Maybe it's the excitement I get going up there knowing it's almost ski season, or just the plain fact that it is Park City, and everything is either made of rock, wood, or brick. Amazing. And it's only a 45 minute drive to pure bliss. If you haven't been there, you have about a month to get up there before the snow takes over the valley. Although that is just as gorgeous, you can't miss the cozy sweater weather right now. GO!

Park City: reason #214 why I love Utah. 

Seven things.

Rules are as follows: Seven things about yourself. Then nominate 7 others to do the same thing. (a.k.a. it will help you think of interesting things to say when you have to introduce yourself in a new class.)

1. If you haven't guessed, I am obsessed with Fall. I love everything about wearing sweaters, having my nose cold, having an excuse to walk into Starbucks...anything. And don't forget the orange/yellow/red tint to everything. It's so...warming. I even bought a mustard yellow shirt on sale today to celebrate.
2. I keep every letter ever written to me, and I have recently put them in a huge binder. I keep it right next to my bed and quite often skim through them to remind me of the fantastic people God put in my life.
3. Speaking of writing, I write in my journal every night, and I have since the 8th grade. I've mentioned everyone who has ever made a difference in my life. If you're reading this, you're probably in there. More than once.
4. I routinely put on my "thinking goggles" when I am trying to think of something while talking to a person. I honestly don't realize I do it. It consists of making a circle with my thumb and index finger and putting it over my eyes. Apparently I also go into a forward lunge every time I get excited about something. My cousins/roommates make fun of me for this--they call it endearing. 
5. I have an obsession with jazz music. Diana Krall, Ella Fitzgerald, Bing Crosby, Harry Connick Jr. to name a few. I think I got it from my mom. Whenever we drive together we always have it on, and I feel like two old women living in their teenage years.
6. I am so happy with my major. (Broadcast journalism. Welcome, Anna!) I feel like the program we have here at BYU was created specifically for me and I seriously love going to every class. One of my favorite things is walking into the newsroom at the Brimhall and feeling like I belong there.
7. I LOVE CHICK FLICKS. I've fallen in love multiple times with Ryan Reynolds, Josh Duhamel, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Ryan Gosling. Yes, I cried in the Notebook.

K. You guys have to do it:

-Laura

-Hannah

-Rylee
-Mary
-Felicia
-Allison
-Erin

Yes everyone, it snowed!

...in the mountains. But I can't not say anything about this beautiful weather outside. Excuse the plethora of seasonal blog posts for the next few months.

Why do I love this weather so much? I remember growing up and waking up to the sound of my dad's tractor shoveling snow right outside my bedroom window. He would make a huge pile of it right outside the kitchen and that's what we would play in all winter long. We tried making forts by carving mazes, but we never were patient enough to make it deeper than a foot. Sarah's glasses would get fogged up and that shaggy hair would get in her face while trying to distinguish herself as the general contractor. Nicole would try to push everyone off the top of "her" castle, and Jake would just sit there and watch, content as a blue marshmallow with dark pink cheeks cratered with dimples.


Half of us now are grown up and moved out of the house. One thing that brings us back together is this anticipation for the winter season to come. The leaves are changing, I can smell the hot chocolate, I'm planning what to surprise everyone with for Christmas, and I get a chance to spend a lot of time with my family. Since we're getting older, it's actually calm at the Hawkes' house now-a-days, so the Holidays will be relaxing and rejuvenating. Our cabin will even be (somewhat) complete to have Thanksgiving in! It will be the first of many Thanksgiving dinners in that pioneer-looking home on our farm in Idaho with a magnificent view of the Tetons.  The size of the cabin also reflects my parent's excitement for grandchildren. Maybe we'll have a big snowbank there for them to play on. Nicole?

 Halloween '97. A Spanish queen (?), a bear, and a...I have no idea.

Dad showing me what I got from Santa. Oh how I wish I could find another nightgown like that in my size...

Let's be honest, I think this weather is just getting me more excited for Christmas break to be here already. 10 weeks from tomorrow and I'll be out of my last final on my way home with a huge smile on my face.

Conference weekend...the aftermath.

General Conference gets better every year. You can call me a "Utah Mormon" for saying that...now officially a "Utah member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." But it really does, and it's probably because I'm getting older and understanding a lot more about my religion. 


Even though I slept through half of the last session, it was a powerful weekend. I went to the Sunday morning session in Salt Lake, which were back-to-back amazing talks. It was great to hear President Monson speak about his relationship with God, and great to hear Elder Callister speak about the Book of Mormon. The rest of the day was so calm just spending it with close friends and family...a BBQ (basically), watching Disney movies and making peach cobbler. In sweats.


So now, why does BYU make us go to school the day after Conference? We're all on a high, then we come back bright and early Monday morning to get through another week of school. I was dreading coming back to Provo last night. We should take advantage of a Fall break and make it the week after conference. Instead we get homework piled on for those midterms coming up. (In 2 weeks we're halfway done with the semester...what?) I just think it's cruel to make students come back so quickly after a weekend like that. That's what I get for going to a private university.


Maybe I'll just instigate my own Fall break. 

5 reasons why I love Fall.

I think there is much to be said about the phrase, "It's the time of year when the world falls in love."


Not just romance. I fall in love with everything autumn. Here's why I'm so excited for the next 3 months:

1. Everyone comes together. Families, friends, coworkers...all to celebrate this time of year. The holidays bring out love in others they wouldn't show otherwise.
2. Dressing up to go out for a girls' night. a.k.a. Fall fashion.
3. The leaves changing. I think that's about all I need to say about that one.
4. Waking up and seeing the first snowfall outside my bedroom window...knowing that my dad is going to call me in less than an hour to see if I want to go skiing on Saturday.
5. I'll just sum up everything in this last-but-not-least-checklist: hot chocolate. pumpkins. parties. baked cinnamon apples. crisp air. football. cuddling. s'mores. ice skating. hoodies. love.