A Thanksgiving in Alpine

We had a great Thanksgiving this year (when do we not though?:) We spent 4 days in Alpine with Jake's family. We had a lot of fun just relaxing, cooking, and of course eating. It is a Lott tradition to go shooting Thanksgiving morning so we all headed over by Provo Lake and had some fun. If it wasn't for my In-Laws I probably wouldn't ever shoot a gun. Dinner was great and so were the leftovers. Addie, Jake and I went Black Friday shopping EARLY in the morning and got some pretty good deals. We played a lot of Foosball, Mario Cart, and ping pong. We were also able to help decorate for Christmas!! The whole family was there (except Aaron, he is still on a mission) and we had a lot of fun!! It is always so nice to be with family and just hang out.PS. Jessica is amazing and gave all of us girls a hair cut...I cut about 6 inches. Sheesh. I love it!

What are you thankful for?

Happy Thanksgiving!! I couldn't be more thankful this year for my Savior, husband, family, my job, and my health. I try to recognize my blessings everyday because I know they are there.

He's coming home!!!

After getting different dates one after another, I think we have the set date for Anthony's arrival!! He is coming home December 2nd (talk about an awesome early Christmas gift)!! Hooty hoot!! I cant believe that Dec 2nd is only two weeks away! Nat and I have our tickets booked so we can be there right when he walks off of the bus. It is going to be E-M-O-T-I-O-N-A-L. I have already been tearing up at everything from Hallmark commercials to stinkin' Marine advertisements on TV. I cant wait to see him and his pearly white teeth.

For the past 6 months he has been staying at COP Payne which hasn't been fun, but now on his transition home he is at Camp Dwyer which is a much more established base...he will actually get turkey for Thanksgiving! We are so proud of Anthony. I cant even imagine the courage it takes to be where he is. We love him so much and cannot wait for Dec 2!! It couldn't come soon enough!

Anthony's commanding officer wrote a letter to the families recently and I loved the end of his letter. It has been good to know that he has been in good hands and been treated with respect while he has been gone.
"We are all just as excited as you are with the news (about coming home) and we look forward to that welcome home with EVERY Marine and Sailor. My staff and I will double our efforts to maintain the high levels of focus and commitment as if it were our first day out here. I’m happy to say this is the last Family Readiness Letter of the deployment, and the next time you hear from me will be in person, getting off the bus, and returning your Marines to you. Thank you all for your continual, undeniable support, and unwavering faith. It has been a pleasure and an honor to serve with these fine men."
Semper Fi,
Capt King

Top 20!

We have always known that Jake's Landscape program is one of the best in the country but this just confirms it :) USU was ranked 15 (tied with others) on the list.DesignIntelligence, a bi-monthly report from the Design Futures Council, has included Utah State University’s Landscape Architecture and Environment Planning’s program in a ranking of the top schools in the United States. The USU program was listed among the country’s top 20 schools in rankings released in the November/December 2009 edition of DesignIntelligence.

To assemble the list, leading practitioners ranked the schools that best prepared students for practice in architecture, interior design and landscape architecture and environmental planning.

“The DesignIntelligence rankings are helpful for both current and potential students as they seek information to understand the quality of a degree and landscape architecture programs,” said Sean Michael, USU Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning department head. “For those considering a master’s of landscape architecture or a bachelor’s, USU is among the nation’s best. For the dollar, USU ranks even higher than the survey reveals."

"For students who have already been accepted into LAEP, the ranking affirms what they already knew — USU’s program is one of the very best", Michael said.

“The LAEP program at USU has been producing some of America’s best and brightest landscape architects for more than 70 years,” Michael said. “We’re proud to carry on that heritage and to see the excellence again recognized by peers across the United States.”

Love Buble...pretty funny!

You have to watch THIS...It made me laugh:)

Friends, Shopping, and Bball

We had a great weekend! Friday night we hung out with friends and had a small baby shower for the Watts. They have moved to Seattle but were in town for the weekend so all the MASers got together for a party. We stayed over til 12:30 playing games and laughing our faces off. Jake and I babysat Rylee for part of the night too so she came with us.
Saturday afternoon Jake, Jackie and I went to lunch and then to a Holiday gift show. There were a bunch of booths with gift ideas and other things. Jake bought me this very cute Christmas decoration which I love. Cant wait to put it up :)Saturday night we went to our first bball game of the season. We killed the other team 65-35. We are excited for this season...it should be good!

LCPL Sozio

We got another camera disk! Anthony is still doing pretty well. If all goes well he should be back in the US by the beginning of December. The weather in Afghanistan has cooled down a lot and Anthony said it gets pretty chilly at night. He sent some pictures and videos on the disk. He showed us his living conditions and other things on his base. Lets just say we take A LOT of things for granted. Anthony really has appreciated all the love and support from everyone. And thank you for keeping him in your prayers. He is so close to being done so please keep praying for him!!