Vancouver 2010

As Paige's posts have made evident, we have spent the last week and a half in Canada. She has not, however, been entirely forthcoming about our reasons for visiting. Paige and I have been preparing for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics.

First, we thought we would try out for the ping pong team.

But we remembered that ping pong is a summer Olympic sport. So, next we tried hockey and figure skating.

But, the team:

went to a Calgary Flames game, to see how our skills measured up.

We found out pretty quickly that hockey wasn't the right sport for us to break into the Olympic scene. And those of you who follow hockey know that we weren't selected as part of the Canadian or American hockey teams. Though, as far as figure skating goes, I think Paige's dad has some real potential.

So, we decided our last attempt would be curling. Because, seriously, if you can't be a curler, then what can you do?

Well, it turns out curling is really hard. I don't think we would have made the team if we had tried out, because we got kicked out of the rink because our style of playing was a bit unconventional (apparently cracking the ice is a bad thing in curling).

Fortunately, through all this, we did find our place in the 2010 Olympics: fans.

(Canada and U.S. fans)

Old Friends

A few days ago, I got together with some old friends. Back in high school, we were all pretty much inseparable. A lot has happened since then: marriages, children (except me), university, jobs, moving, etc. However, when we can get the whole gang together again we jump at the chance. This Christmas, we had ALMOST everybody together (we missed you Lana!). It was enjoyable and I feel lucky to have such great life-long friends.

And, just for fun, here are some pictures of us back in the day.

Merry Christmas From....

We are here celebrating Christmas in Calgary. My family is big on traditions, especially at Christmastime. Since this is Steven's first official Peterson family Christmas, we did all of the traditional "Christmas" activities.

My heritage on my mom's side is German. One German tradition is hiding a pickle ornament in the tree and having a contest to see who can find it first. It is amazing how hard that is to find! Here are Steve and Steven looking.... Steve won the 2009 prize.

We went ice-skating around our community lake on Christmas Eve. I love ice-skating. Steven even learned how to skate backwards. I'll turn him into a Canadian yet.

Every year a different stake in Calgary puts on a live nativity and we always go on Christmas Eve. That is one of my favorite traditions and helps us to remember the real meaning and celebration of Christmas.

Enjoyed some of our Christmas loot...... We were definitely spoiled. I think that one of my favorite gifts is the car GPS system that my parents got for us. Now that we are moving to California, my mom is really afraid for her directionally-challenged daughter. She should be, and so I am grateful for the help.

In between all of the traditions, we have had time for some game-playing. Ping-pong and Rockband have been the favorites. Those drums are crazy hard.

And of course the best tradition... being with family. This is a picture of our Christmas dinner at my grandparents house. My grandma works so hard for days to cook a delicious turkey dinner. She is an AMAZING cook, and this dinner is something that I looked forward to for months. Thanks grandma :)

We are having a blast and I'm grateful that we have another week here. I love my home!

Licensed

So, I can now "officially" drive in Utah. You may ask, "Paige, haven't you already been living in Utah for over five years?" Yes, that is true.

While I was still a student, I figured that my Canadian license was just fine (since it is still good until 2011.) I felt a little guilty when I got married, and I even took the dreaded trip down to the DMV right after our wedding. That is where they told me that since I had a "foreign" driver's license, that I couldn't just transfer my license like everybody else. Instead, I had to take a written test, road test, the works. Well, that made me mad and so for the past two years, I have ignored it. However, legally I probably needed to get a license. It also made things hard because my Canadian license still said, "Peterson." A part of my stubborness I guess.

Well, now that I am officially working, I figured it was time to bite the bullet and get my Utah license. This is how the process went...

(1) Trip #1 to the DMV: wait in line for 45 minutes. Take the "written" test, which was ridiculously easy. 100%. Whew--Passed that. I was shocked though. The "test administrator" was giving out answers to other people, one lady was talking on her cell phone, and the guy next to me was eating a sandwich. And we wonder why Utah is a terrible place to drive?

(2) The road test: So, you know all those silly things that you learn when you are 16 in driver's ed, but never actually use? That is normally fine. Until you have to take another driver's test. I honestly felt 16 again. I was all nervous. Luckily, I passed. I lost points because I forgot to set the e-brake on my hill parking (one of those things I have not done since driver's ed), and I didn't "head check" on my u-turn. -5 total. But I passed.

(3) Trip #2 to the DMV: wait in line another 25 minutes, picture taken, print off temporary license, and I'm done.

Overall, it was NOT a pleasant experience. But, I'm glad to know that at 23 I can still pass a road test. I have new empathy for all the 16-year-olds out there, and a new understanding of why Utah is a scary place to drive.

FINAL(ly)

For the first time since my schooling began, this semester felt like it went slower than the previous semester. But, now I'm a new man. I have a new lease on life. I've experienced a renewal of sorts. I knew the day would come. On Wednesday I completed my last final. Below is a picture of one of my groups from the semester, and while I found no joy in saying goodbye, our parting meant the semester has ended, and that is great news. Things are looking up for next semester. Bring on the winter!

On a related side note, since I have a lot of spare time, I have become the "house husband." Cleaning, cooking, laundry, etc. It's all mine. And no one can fold sheets like I can, I might add.

SnOw!*

Well, the cold and snow have officially hit Provo. Being from Canada, you would think that I am used to the cold, and that I love the snow. Nope. I am always freezing and honestly would prefer sunshine to snow almost any day.

However, I love my home and I am so excited to go home for Christmas. At Christmas, I even love the snow and the cold.

I once heard a quote that said something along the lines of "Because of the cold, most Canadians completely disregard fashion for warmth." I was always offended at that quote because I think that most Canadians are quite fashionable.

Last night when it was freezing and snowing, I managed to convince Steven that we should go on a walk and have a snow-ball fight. This is Steven in the snow....

Looking pretty darn good.

And... this is me in the snow....

Unfortunately, after I looked at these pictures, I realized that the above-said quote was 100% accurate.

Happy Snow Day :)

Random

So, we have taken a few fun pictures over the past couple of months that were not enough to warrant their own blog post. However, most of them make me laugh or at least smile, so I thought that I would share....

• Our Halloween Costumes: Halloween is honestly my least favorite holiday. I would even call myself a Halloween scrooge. However, since we had a young men/young woman activity that required dressing up, Steven and I were forced to oblige. We even actually enjoyed it :) After rummaging through DI for an evening, we came up with this:

Presenting Mr. and Mrs. Foote in about 50 years from now. Since everybody is always telling us how young we look, we decided to dress up as a grandma and grandpa. I laugh every time that I look at how high up Steven's pants are.

What do you think?

• "Irish Golfer."

Steven came home from work a couple of weeks ago, looking like this. He proudly proclaimed, "look Paige, I'm like an Irish golfer." Since we only have one car, Steven pretty much rides his bike everywhere, which requires him to tuck in his pant legs so they don't get caught in the bike. He also happens to love wearing argyle socks. So if you ever see anybody riding around on a bike in Provo with argyle socks, it's probably Steven.

• My "Goodnight kiss:" And, to end on a sweet note, when Steven was out-of-town doing all of his interviews, I was sad and lonely. But, when I went to bed the first night, I found this:

It is a sticky note with "Mwah- goodnight kiss." I thought that was so sweet. I'm a lucky girl though because he is always doing things this thoughtful.