Autumn love! Sundance, General RS Conference + Football!

It's autumn!

And the season is beautiful here in Provo!

Provo Canyon - more on this in a sek!

We 'celebrated' the new season by going to Sundance resort (where the fall foliage and moutain views are hard (impossible?) to beat), making a big soup, going to a football game (Matt finally got to be on Cannon Crew!), and I went to the Relief Society General Conference in Salt Lake with girls from the ward! This weekend was perfect. :)

But let's rewind to Monday:

We powered down after work with a relaxing FHE (Netflix) + tortelini soup!

I experiemented with this soup recipe, using kale as a main ingredient. At first the leafy kale looked like way too much, but it cooked down to the perfect amount. It added bulk and texture to the soup, and we loved it!

Three cheers for kale! ;)

Someone even liked it so much they ate all the leftovers before class the next morning. :) Haha.

It was a cozy way to start off the work week! School/jobs were pretty routine the past few days, with Matt's class assignments amping up and keeping him busy. I started planning for some exciting things coming up at the Rec Center, and I'm so excited to share details with you when they're finalized!! I also got certified to teach senior water aerobics - which is actually a total blast - and am excited to start teaching it next week! :)

As we focused on work + school the weather got more and more autmney and beautiful:

We even got snow on the mountain tops!

Snow on the top of the mountain, autumn-colored trees on the bottom :)

First snow of the season on Y Mountain

While the snow-topped mountains look beautiful, I know a lot of us are hoping the cold weather holds off for a few more weeks. Fall is too pretty to pass up!

Our apartment is decorated for it too. Front door decor:

... and some pretty 'pumpkins!' Check out those colors! :)

And look where they're from :)

Portland! :D They came all the way from Oregon to sit on our kitchen table. :)

On Friday night the autumn feeling continued at the BYU football game v. Middle Tennessee University. It got CHILLY!!

Bethany and I watched from the stands while Matt finally got to be in the Cannon Crew! (<— click for a description). So fun!

Great seats! Thanks Cannon Crew!

This game was so much fun! We cheered Matt and the guys on as they supported the team and Army ROTC. 

We also got to spend time with them on the field, and we were both excited to be down on  the sidelines - it remidned me of my four years of high school cheerleading! :)

Here are a couple pics of the guys in action:

pushups after a touchdown

Hanging around the George Q. Cannon waiting for the next score

I tried to get a pic of them on the jumbotron but my camera couldn't focus on the bright light. Oh well!

It was a great game for so many reasons, including that we won 37-10. :) Go Cougs! 

Afterword B and I walked back to the apartment to hang out while I waited to pick up Matt and his brother after stadium cleanup (at like 2am). It was fun to have relaxing time with a good friend!

Especially since the next day was super busy... in the best way! :)

Saturday morning we actually got to sleep in (finally!) before I taught yoga and Matt went to the house of the profeessor he TAs for, to help set up for an event. 

The professor hosts a barbecue for his students every semester, and after yoga I went over too. There was a good sized crowd and a lot of food!

this calls for three BBQs

barbeque piled high!

It was fun and the food was DElicious. :) But unfortunately we couldn't stay a super long time, because...

As soon as we left the lunch we headed to the next thing - a Fall Festival at Sundance Resort!

The drive to Sundance took about 30 minutes and we were greeted by this amazing view:

Can you believe that?? Almost too gorgeous to be true. :)

Sundance does a great job of basically everything they do, so when I heard about the Fall Festival I knew it would be cool. It did not dissappoint!

festival tents,  mountains, and a ski lift

tons of free samples

jewelry galore

birds?

puppies!

ponies

and horses

and lots of artwork (that's actually a photo. Amazing, huh?)

The resort is stunning pretty much all year, but ESPECIALLY during fall. We got to take in the views as we walked around the grounds!

While exploring we found the resort's spa and were allowed to walk around inside. It didn't take me long to fall in love with this place. I never wanted to leave!!

perfection!

It was perfect! :)

festival tents down in the valley

I could have hung out for hours. Or... days :) Maybe one day when we're millionaires we'll spend a weekend here. :)

But we had to leave. I needed to make it back to Provo in time to meet up with my group of girls from the ward, to go to the General Relief Society Conference!! :D

We got tickets from our ward last week and I put together a group of 6 girls (my car doesn't hold much more than that) to go up together. I'm so glad we went!

free tickets!

We raced up to Salt Lake (we ended up a little behind schedule) and made it to the Conference Center (<— click for a link + pics!) just in time.

We somehow got 6 seats all together even though the huge conference center was packed, and spent the next hour and a half listening to our inspired church leaders tell us ladies what to do to be the happiest and best we can be!

Unfortunately this blurry picture was the best we could do, but we were on a 'high' and didn't really care, haha. You can watch the RS conference HERE, and I recommend it! (there is some video footage in the begining but the conference starts at 1 minute). I feel happy and uplifted after watching them.

The Relief Society is the largest and oldest womens' orginization in the world, and I am SO grateful to be a part of it! The constant inspiration, guidance, and friendship I have found there are completely irreplaceable. Learn more about it HERE! 

After conference we headed out onto Temple Square with the 20,000 other ladies who attended.

We were all ready for some food by then, so we headed to Farr's for FroYo! We chatted and enjoyed our yogurt before piling back into the car and heading home.   

It was a great end to a perfect day! It's so much fun to look back on these activities. :)

Today (Sunday!) we plan to take it easy with church, ward choir practice, and, in the evening, spending time with Matt's cousin and brother at our place. There's nothing like a relaxing Sunday to round out a great week, and to get us ready for the next one. :)

Life is great, and we hope you're doing well, too. :) Seeya next week to check in about GENERAL CONFERENCE, a favorite hike we're planning, and who-knows-what-else.

Have a great week, friends! :)