big life update pt. 2

Part two of my ain't-nobody-got-time-for-blogging-during-finals-update. I consider it a huge blessing that December brings Christmas along with finals. I don't know how I'd be able to handle the stress of the end of the semester if I didn't have holiday parties or holly-jolly christmas music to get me through the days. Sure, Angela and I started listening to Christmas music in late September, but that's besides the point. 

here are photos of everything else that was going on in my life besides finals week. 

^^We had a ward Christmas party featuring a live Nativity scene.

^^L.C. and I went to the Lower Lights Christmas concert in SLC! We had a fair share of obstacles getting there (1. An Econ assignment I had to turn in right before we left, 2. HORRIBLE traffic caused by an accident, 3. Pizzeria limone was 20min behind in their pizza orders, 4. Parking at the U was a nightmare). We literally sat dawn right as the first song was ending, but oh my word, what an AMAZING concert!

^^Kyra and I matched one day without even realizing it.

^^last FHE of the semester. 

^^I made a huge bowl of Mexican Street corn for an MPA gathering because at our last gathering it ran out early on in the festivities.

^^MPA friends (+Kyra)

^^The end of the semester means that some people will be moving out of our ward. There are some girls getting married, some going on missions, and some moving home. :( 

It was Bishop Cardullo's birthday on the 12th. To celebrate, we got the whole ward in on a big surprise. We scheduled ward prayer an hour earlier and carpooled over to Bishop's house. The whole ward met up on his lawn and sang "Tanti Auguri a te" (Happy Birthday in Italian) and then celebrated with cupcakes and this amazing pizza-bread-type thing Sis Cardullo makes. 

Bishop is known for his über colorful and design friendly socks, and so I made a sock birthday cake. Unfortunately, the birthday cake was ruined on the ride over. It was still delicious though! 

^^Vescovo Cardullo

^^Everyone wore their best Cardullo-esque socks to celebrate. 

^^No idea what's going on here...

^^This is the scene I walked out to after studying in the law library one day till 1am!

& then, there was Angela's wedding. Angela was married in Twin Falls, ID and my trip up there marked the very first time I'd ever set my feet on Idaho soil. Turns out, Idaho looks a lot like northern Utah! I was so happy to have been at the wedding. Angela made for a beautiful bride. There was such a lovely feeling in the air as she and Erik formed their new family. 

Even though I was sad to lose Angela as a roommate, I was so happy to be with her as she made such an important step for eternity!