IHOPe That I Won't Need a Wheelchair

All-you-can-eat pancakes.  Need I say more?

I love breakfast.  And I love eating as much breakfast as I can without having to pay more.  International House Of Pancakes catered to these two loves of mine by serving all-you-can-eat pancakes this past month.  No, I did not go during the whole month, just one time.  It was beautiful.  And sickening.  And topped off with a ton of butter pecan syrup. 

(Did you know that butter pecan syrup from IHOP is freaking delicious??)

 Pancakes #5 and #6

(and a butterball that would not melt or spread - it fell off his flapjacks while refusing to be spread).

 I only managed to eat 4 pancakes.  Matthew, unfortunately, ate 6 and was obviously really happy about it. 

While waiting for our epic meals to arrive, Matthew found a 'Spinach' crayon under our table.  No, not a green crayon.  A 'Spinach' crayon.  Score!  We drew on the little paper rings that they put around your napkin and utensils.  Always a good time at IHOP - although you never feel like hopping after you leave that place, hence the title of this post. (paraphrased from Brian Regan)

Freezing Rain: Both Fun & Pain

"Are you sure you don't want me to give you a ride to class?  You are NOT allowed to slip and get hurt, okay?!"  These were Caitlin's words to me as I hugged her goodbye.  "Hun!  I am not going to slip," I assured her in return.

...I wish it hadn't been a lie.

I slipped on the very top stair of our apartment complex and fell down the rest to the bottom.  With scrapes on my hand and back, I sheepishly walk back up the stairs and into our apartment to clean up.  Fail.

The sheet of ice covering the entire BYU campus did have its bright side though!  When you weren't embarrassing yourself by falling in front of stopped traffic while attempting to cross the street, you could conserve energy by sliding to class instead of walking, like this:

It really was the most incredible thing I have ever experienced though.  I have never before been fully aware of the ice under my feet, yet still have absolutely no control of whether I remain upright or not!  Also, I am not at all exaggerating when I say that the entire BYU campus was ice; I saw a couple students who brought ice skates and were literally skating across the sidewalks!

While sliding uncontrollably was exhilarating at times, both Caitlin and I agree that we hope the freezing rain goes away soon!  Preferably before I break something falling down the stairs again!

Mission Accomplished

Caitlin's Mom gave us a puzzle for Christmas, and we finally finished it!  (Never again will we attempt a puzzle in which it is snowing and EVERY piece is speckled with white dots...)

If you scroll down really fast, it will look like a really bad movie of the puzzle being completed!

Empty the box.

First two pieces!

Work on the border.

Border complete!  (And Caitlin's tolerance for being in the pictures dwindles...)

Sorting the pieces by color scheme. 

Working on the ice rink.

Ice rink, angels, and cars are mostly done!

People filled in!

"Oh, Christmas Tree!"

Building behind the Chirstmas tree...

Just the side buildings left.

Last piece!

Ta da!

Now we are in that awkward stage where neither of us wants to undo the puzzle and put it away because it took so long to finish!  Maybe we'll just leave it on the table until we move...

A California Christmas

Caitlin and I spent the holidays in southern California with the Dekker family.  Temperatures weren't much warmer than the 50's, but that is 50 degrees warmer than Provo at the time, so we were thrilled to be there!  We celebrated a full Dekker Christmas, as Wil and I (the two new son-in-laws) filled in for Arie and Daniel (the only two Dekker siblings who were unable to attend).

Unfortunately, Caitlin and I are both poor at remembering to bring/use a camera, so your imagination will have to be sufficient in satisfying each of your respective needs for visual stimuli and accompaniment.  (Someday, we will join the rest of our generation and purchase iPhones to alleviate this dilemma.)  Suffice it to say, we had an amazing time and enjoyed all of the family fun!

While there, we decided to make the trek from Anaheim to San Diego to visit the San Diego LDS Temple.  (As it is the only activity of which we have pictures, it seems only fitting that I disproportionately overload the post with photos of the experience.)  It made for a great day trip!

We drove there in the late morning--a beautiful drive with the ocean just off the freeway.  Then, after spending a few hours inside the Temple, we walked around the Christmas-themed Temple grounds and enjoyed California at its finest.

Caitlin and I in front of the San Diego LDS Temple

In other exciting 'Francis Family' news, we finally purchased copies of our marriage certificate while back in Orange County, so now (after a day in various government agency buildings) Caitlin is almost completely an official 'Francis!'  Fun times! 

Also, Caitlin insists I mention that for Christmas we bought ourselves the complete Harry Potter DVD series.  It was probably the most excited she has been the entire year!  We got it for less than $30 too, so both of us were thrilled--although for slightly different reasons.

It was a great Christmas!