Too School for Cool

 Yes we are still alive! James and I have both been very busy with school (and work for me). To read about our crazy journey called school visit the Our Life tab or click here. This will explain why I am still in school and the basics of medical school for James. Community College for me: I dance on Verve Dance Company and take many dance classes. Medical school for James: In addition to crazy lectures, study groups, insane exams, and spending time with me, he finds time to be in the Emergency Medicine Club, The Surgery Club, and the Athletics Club just to name a few! Crazy boy. Besides school we've had date nights to Paradise Bakery & Cafe, Chili's, hanging with our buddies The Fairbanks, The Battys, The Edwards, & The Killpacks, shopping for new backpacks and dance clothes, watching movies like The Prestige and The Illusionist, and serving at church in the library! 

 Oh and can I just share my favorite pictures of two cute boys? You're welcome.

 playing at church

 sweetest thing ever

look at that face! 

Thanks Than & Ixchel for letting us babysit Rex at church!

Lastly, Fall is here! Well, for us Arizonans, Fall is around the corner...90 degree days, pumpkins, Halloween, Thanksgiving...oh and then cool weather in December haha. I'm excited about my new Fall 2012 Bucket List!

Happy Fall Ya'll!

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Happy Grandparents Day!

Today is National Grandparents Day! According to Wikipedia (haha), National Grandparents Day in the U.S. is the first Sunday after Labor Day, in September. It falls on September 9, 2012, then September 8, 2013. 

I called Nana & Grandpa Fakkel on the phone today and just loved chatting for a bit to catch up on life! I love them oh so very very much! 

Cita & Grandpa Lewis are serving a mission right now in Peru. They work in the South America Northwest Area Offices. I'm so proud of them! Love you Elder & Hermana Lewis!

We love James' grandparents too~Grandma & Grandpa Keel and Grandma & Grandpa 

Chapman! 

Happy Grandparents Day!

I plan on making these for sure! Taste of Home recipe made healthy of course.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce OR vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup shredded zucchini
• 1/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

• In a bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Combine the egg, applesauce OR oil, milk, lemon juice and vanilla; mix well. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in zucchini, chocolate chips and walnuts. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until muffins test done. Yield: about 1 dozen.

For Sunday dinner I made Pizza Quesadillas. We loved this because it was delicious, filling, easy to make, few ingredients, and cheap. I used grilled chicken instead of pepperoni, but you can probably make it with both. I also put some black olives in James' and he liked that.

Pepperoni Pizza Quesadillas  (via Pinterest: www.snixykitchen.com)
Serves 4

• 8 flour tortillas (I used Mission)
• 8 ounces of shredded mozzarella or pizza cheese
• 1/3 lb pepperoni or 1 lb cubed grilled chicken
• 1 16-ounce jar of pizza sauce or tomato sauce
• Optional: 1 6-ounce can of sliced black olives, 1 cup of sliced cremini mushrooms

1. Heat a medium skillet over medium heat and fry the pepperoni until crisp. Transfer on a paper towel to drain.
2. Brush each tortilla with a thin layer of pizza sauce (so thin that if you turned it over, none would drip).
3. Sprinkle cheese on top of the sauce on the bottom tortilla. Top with pepperoni and other toppings, if desired. Sprinkle with another layer of cheese and place the other tortilla on top (sauce side in).
4. Pre-heat a medium cast-iron skilled over medium heat.
5. Lay quesadilla in the pan and cook for 3-5 minutes on each side, until cheese is melted and tortillas are crispy.
6. Slice into quarters and serve with a little bowl of pizza dipping sauce.

I also made this cute headband holder thanks to Pinterest! I used an old Quaker oats can, some scrapbook paper, and some stickers. Here's how mine turned out:

"Grandparents are made more powerful guides & 

rescuers by the bonds of love that are the

very nature of a family."

~President Henry B. Eyring

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Another Dance Residency

I love my job because I get paid holiday time off for Labor Day. What did I do with my amazing paid day off? Dance, Dance DANCE! I had no weekend other than dance my brains out all day Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. Verve Dance Company had the privilege to work with guest artist Joshua Blake Carter from Giordano Dance Company in Chicago. He was awesome & we learned a 7 1/2 minute long jazz dance in just three days for our Fall Concert. Needless to say I am exhausted. Thanks Josh! 

 Brian, Amanda, Mary, Sara, Me, Joshua Carter, Denisse,Urian, Janey, Kayley, Dominique, Celia, Alli, Alainia, Alexus, Alexa, Amy, & Jonny

 Dancing 

 One of the hottest poses we have in our dance haha

Jazz hands!

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Family Love

My family came for a visit! They drove from Texas to hang out for a few days. Here's an update of the Fakkel Family Fun time:

Tuesday night we made fajitas and watched this amazing movie.

Wednesday night we had a BBQ with our best friends Than & Ixchel & baby Rex. Swimming in the pool was so fun at night when it's not 56464 degrees. Fresh watermelon & pineapple for a delicious summer dessert.

Thursday night we went to the drive-in movies for a FREE movie night! We saw these two movies for free & snacked on white cheddar popcorn, candy, & nachos. 

               

Friday we took a mini tour of the Cerrata's Candy Company (chocolate factory) in downtown Glendale. Of course we left the factory with some goodies. 

We also walked around downtown browsing the cute shops and exploring Mad Hatter's Antiques & Collectibles.

We took my family to Thee Pitts Again bbq restaurant from the show Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives. They loved it just as much as we did! 

After dinner we ate Bluebell chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream with brownies & watched this movie.

Thank you so much yall for a wonderful week! We love you so much! 

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Na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na.... BATMAN!

We finally saw The Dark Knight Rises last night! We of course loved it. The only thing we disliked about it...too much violence. I was scared during some parts! I feel bad for the little kid in front of us watching it with his parents. He'll probably have nightmares. I'm surprised I didn't... 

We love the Batman movies & we're excited for the next one. We're also excited for Man of Steel, the new Superman movie to come out too. 

We also enjoyed a romantic dinner at Macaroni Grill...I haven't felt like going there for a long while which is weird because I LOVE Italian food, but I was definitely craving some of their chicken fettuccine alfredo last night. It was a great night with The Hubbs.

Love how you can doodle on the tablecloths there. 

My cursive & James' Korean writing.

Love.

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My First Verve Dance Residency

Here was my week this past week: Dance Residency & work & a date w/ James on Saturday.

Definition of dance residency for Verve dance company: A guest artist dance residency is when guest artists come from out of town to teach classes and set choreography on the VERVE dancers. This all happens in one week: dancers learn the work, you clean the work, you work on artistry, staging and performance. This is an incredibly intensive week and all dancers must be at the residency during the entirety of the week. 

We had the opportunity to learn from guest artist Emily Schoen from Keigwin & Co. from NYC. The schedule for this past week: Monday through Friday, free master class for anyone 10-11, then Verve rehearsal from 11-3:30. 

I got so many bruises & scrapes & floor burns. I was sore for days. We learned a 6 1/2 minute long dance. 

My dance partner Dominique aka Dom for short!

Brian, Stella, Marbe, Sara, Mary, Alexus, Emily Schoen, Janey, Me, Alainia, Johnny, Urian, Kayley, Celia, Alejandra, Amanda, Alexa, Amy, Denise, & Dominique.

After dance rehearsal each day, I would rush to work, sweaty & exhausted, to work for 2 hours at the bank, then go home. It was a nightmare driving 16.1 miles in traffic with only 30 minutes to get to work on time. Every day for 5 days. Saturday I worked 8:30 to 2:30 and then James & I had a special celebration date.

Read about that in my next post :)

Yay for Verve Dance Co!

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Viva Las Vegas!

Last weekend we went to Vegas for a mini vaca before the craziness of school starts back up. 

James picked me up from work at 1:00 on Thursday & we drove straight to Las Vegas arriving around 5:00. 

Happy to be on the road!

Only in Arizona.
We stopped just outside of downtown Las Vegas for a bite to eat at a place called Bachi Burger featured on the TV show Diners Drive-Ins & Dives. The restaurant was very modern with an Asian chic-ness to it. Bachi Burger has a unique take on the classic hamburger utilizing Asian inspired flavors and ingredients. James & I LOVED our burgers. The chefs use a Japanese method of grilling the burgers & they were oh so juicy & delish.

James with his Kalbi Burger.
Angus Beef, Kalbi marinade, green onions,  house made Kim Chee, Ko Chu Jang Mayo.
It's Korean. Need I say more?

I had the Spicy Miso Burger.
Angus Beef,  Shishito Pepper, Mayo, Lettuce,  Roasted Garlic, Cheese, Fried Egg,  Apple Vinaigrette.
I loved the sauce on this & of course the egg & cheese. I also loved the freshly baked Taiwanese Style
Sweet Bread Bun.

We also shared some Salt & Pepper Garlic French Fries.

We would definitely recommend this place & we hope to go back someday! 

We arrived at our hotel after dinner and made our way up to the 21st floor. Where did we stay you may ask? What building has 113 floors? The Stratosphere!

 

We went all the way to the top of the tower (113 floors) to check out the view of the city as the sun was setting. The outside observation deck was closed because there was a bunch of lightning in the sky. Because we hotel guests we knew we could come back the next night for free & hopefully there wouldn't be any lightning. 

We drove to the Bellagio to catch a glimpse of the fountains & took some pictures on the way. (We watched the fountain show again on Saturday)

Mini Eiffel Tower!

The next day we slept in (glorious!) & shared a breakfast platter at Roxy's Diner in the hotel. 

Next on the agenda? Relaxing by the pool.

Or rather, burning up at the pool.

It was so hot outside. 

After about an hour, we got ready to hit up the Bellagio buffet. The only way to go for this expensive meal is to wait in line at about 2:45, get in before 3:30, pay for lunch (still $20 each), then wait 30 mins while they change all the lunch food over to dinner food exactly at 4:00. Enjoy the dinner spread for half the cost! Also, it is only worth it to go if you really love King crab, Kobe Beef, & shrimp.

King Crab legs, Kobe Beef, & Lamb

I am always trying new seafood to see if I like it. I like King Crab but don't love it. I also tried a California roll to prepare me to try sushi one day, and I despised the California roll. Raw fish looking good in my future? No thanks.

Chocolate covered strawberries & ice cream.

After we feasted on many different kinds of foods,  we went back to our hotel to get ready for the highlight of our trip....

♫ The Phaaaaaaaantom of the Opera is heeeeerrrrreee ♫ 

My favorite ever. James is also a fan :)

The show gave us goosebumps. We LOVED it! 

The Venetian theater was designed especially for this show & the show has been running in Vegas for about 7 years. 

The theater, located in The Venetian hotel/casino, cost more than $40 million to make. The chandelier was beautiful.

We were lucky enough to enjoy seats in the SIXTH row before the show ends in September. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.

We loved the music, loved the chandelier, the fog, the candles, the labyrinth scene, EVERYTHING. 

I've seen Phantom before in Dallas with my mom, but this was James' first time seeing a Broadway show. I think he & I will see Phantom many times in our life together. 

Isn't this "I love Phantom" design I found online cute?

After the show we got some ice cream...

Still so amazed by Phantom & super excited for ice cream

Yes the double scoop cone is bigger than my face.

Cookies n Cream & Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough for both of us.
Afterwards we went back up to the observation deck of the Stratosphere Tower to ooh & ahh over the city lights.

It was a very romantic night.

Then next day we walked the Strip...the whole day! We parked our car at the Bellagio, then walked down to Caesar's Palace & The Mirage, then crossed the street to see The Venetian, Flamingo, Paris, & MGM Grand. Then crossed the street again to New York New York, Aria, & the Bellagio to watch the fountains again. We made a few stops along the way as well.

The sign.

Caesar's Palace.

Replica of David.

Another statue.

We both loved the architecture & decor of Caesar's Palace

Jessica Simpson + lots of candy

The Venetian & the gondola rides.

Beautiful inside!

Starving so we ate at the food court at Shake n Burger
because it was the cheapest & James loves his burgers.

Haha gotta love him

Ridiculously overpriced at B&J's

Flamingos at the Flamingo Resort.

I love Flamingos because they turn pink from the food they eat. 

Taking a walking break & relaxing in the Paris hotel.

Doesn't it look like the streets of Paris? Haha

HUGE ice cream cone at The Sugar Factory.
Love the girl in the background trying to lick the cone haha.

Ice cream & chocolate bars at the bottom. Wish this was real.

The M&M's World!

Love the green lady m&m.

Love him & love M&Ms!

The M&M race car.

Vegas Baby!

Cloudy with a chance of M&M's

Mini Statue of Liberty

Statue of Liberty Jelly Bellies.

Inside New York/New York.

Favorite statue...dancing!

Waiting for the fountain show to begin!

Beautiful & romantic fountain show. The song was the romantic Italian opera song!

Wish we were at the real place...

After a long & exhausting day on the strip, it started to rain so we picked up some pizza from Pizza Hut & cuddled in our new hotel (we moved to the Hilton Garden Inn & Suites for the last night to save money). The next morning we went to breakfast at the highly recommended Hash House A Go Go.

Sunday morning breakfast at Hash House A Go Go

Handsome Hubby had a farm scramble

I had the Tractor Driver Combo 

Hers:
eggs, bacon, & french toast dipped in banana cinnamon cream  w/ pecan maple syrup.

His:
artichokes in the scramble, a fancy biscuit, & crispy potatoes.
We 100% recommend this place. HUGE portions, scrumptious food, and affordable.
After breakfast we found a ward to attend for sacrament meeting.  
We are so grateful that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the same everywhere in the world. I'm so glad we went to church on vacation. Thank you Green Valley ward in Henderson, NV! It brought the Spirit into our trip as we drove home after the meeting. We enjoyed our mini vacation to Las Vegas & especially loved the time we spent together as the summer comes to an end! 

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