Merry Marathon Eve!

I love the Fall in New York City. It's beautiful, and one of my favorite NYC events takes place every November--the NYC marathon. In fact, I just gave my informative speech for my public speaking class on the NYC ING Marathon. Nate and I were walking through the park tonight and we saw everything prepped for the the marathon. It made me so excited for tomorrow! One day I will run it, for now I just enjoy being one of the 2 million spectators that line the streets of New York City.

Tonight, we had a mini photo session just for fun with a good friend. Then, we had dinner at one of our favorite restaurants in the city, Sarabeth's. We have the velvety tomato soup, decadent hot chocolate with whipped cream, and cookies to go. The cloud cookies are my favorite! It was a perfect night out. We returned home to resume our studies; speeches about dragons, oil changes, and foreign languages, while Nate stuffed his brain full of more CPA knowledge for his upcoming test. I'm so proud of him and can't wait until we're all done spending our Saturdays studying.

On day 6 of gratitude month I am grateful for many things: My beautiful mother who surprised me with a new willow tree statue today just because. My upcoming internship with the Church Public and International Affairs Office. I'm pretty stoked to work in such a pretty part of town; Lincoln Center melts my heart. Also, I'm grateful for date night :) Mostly, I'm grateful for the beautiful Autumn season, especially here. It was nice to get out tonight after a full day of studies.

Good Luck marathoners!!

Friday Night Lights: An Awakening

You may ask what my title is insinuating? Let me tell you about a conversation Nathan and I just had. It is Friday night. Nate walked through the door about twenty minutes ago. He walked in and the door slammed because I had our windows open. Much to my horror, I screamed and looked up with my hands glued to my face, much like Kevin McCallister on Home Alone, to find that it was only Nathan. He stirred me away from my intense studies to tell me about an awakening he had. I still wasn't giving him my full attention as I was working on homework that is due in a few hours. By this time, he sat down at the table that is roughly placed in the middle of the apartment right now because the corner it belongs to is still slathered with crap/boxes from the move. I may not decorate until this semester ends. He pulled out his study material and then continued to tell me his life plans. This was our conversation:

Nate: I was made for the NBA.
Me: You were made for an MBA?
Nate: No, the NBA. No MBA here!
Me: Oh great!
Nate: I was born to entertain!

Indeed he was! I thought that for maybe two seconds he was letting me know that he wanted to go to business school. Nah! Not as of yet. Here's what else he informed me of during this conversation.

Me: Don't you need a degree in like broadcasting or journalism?
Nate:I can sell myself. You're talking to a kid who would wake up at 5 Am to watch Sports Center before school.
Me: Wow. Alright, go for it!

The missionaries love this kid, and so do I. We've had them over twice this month and each time has proven to be highly entertaining. We had fun celebrating two elders' birthdays with Costco cake for the first party and Two Little Red Hens cupcakes for the second. It was fun! Alright, enough. Back to business. Peace!

Peter Olinto talks about Puff Daddy

This is who Nate listens to when he studies for the CPA exam. He's hilarious! (If you have an accountant sense of humor!) Nate always has me listen to this guy when he says something funny. You may be wondering why I'm posting Peter Olinto on here? Because . . . Nate passed his 3rd test. Couldn't be more proud!! 3 down, 1 to go!! Way to go Nathan! Love you!

Peter Olinto as CPA Man!

Where to Begin?

There is so much that we haven't blogged about. I didn't really blog about our summer, or any holidays, or any changes or events that have recently occurred. So here is a recap.

June- We went to TX for a week to see Nate's brother return home from his mission, but he ended up getting an extension and didn't come home until July. We made a trip to the beach and called it a summer vacation. I went to St. Louis to see my Hoefelmann family after that. My trip overlapped with my Dad and brother's trip so I got to see them and it was great. Nothing better than Ted Drewes with Dad and a nice summer BBQ with the family. My cousin Karri had recently had a new baby girl, so it was my first time meeting Launa. I was also able to be there when my cousin Elizabeth announced that she was pregnant! It was a tender moment and she is due any day now. Hoping I can make it out there again this summer to meet her little guy, Riley!
July/August- Nate and I spent the 4th of July in Washington DC. We were on TV with Aretha Franklin on PBS for the Capitol Concert. I don't remember if it was July or August, but we made a trip to Palmyra and Niagara Falls with The Gibson's. Great memories!! We went to the Palmyra pageant and it got rained out with two scenes left. What we saw of it was awesome! We'd love to go again this summer. In August we celebrated our 2 year anniversary and my cousins Kristen and Karley came to visit for a girl’s trip just a week after we moved into our new apartment. It was so much fun to have them here and experience NYC.

Palmyra Pageant

Frozen Custard in St. Louis

Me with Launa and Lily

Elizabeth just told her mom she is pregnant!

Me with 3 of my 4 brothers and Dad

Kristen and Karley in Time Square

Kristen and Nate love to be goofy!

Sept- We went to Utah for my niece’s baby blessing. It was a quick trip, but it was so wonderful to see my family! We also saw Nate's brother Brent for the first time sine he had been back from his mission to Milan, Italy. (He'll be getting married at the end of April so we'll get to go back to Utah for that!) We also spent a night in Rexburg. It was so much fun for Nate and I to spend time together. We loved the drive to Idaho and seeing friends from our Idaho days. Rexburg was beautiful as ever.

Sept/Oct- Honestly, everything is a blur. Nate started studying for the CPA exam. He would come home from work and study till bedtime...nothing has changed or will change until next Fall probably. Sometime around there our friends the Abels came to visit and stayed with us for a couple of days. There were lots of visitors that stopped in and stayed a night or two during the summer, but we were so glad to see the Abels! In October Miss Sadie turned one and we went to her first birthday party! My mom came out in October for her own birthday! We loved having her here and she was really happy to see our new apartment (elevator/dishwasher and all!) It is always fun to have her come and sad to see her go, but hopefully she'll get to come out for her 50th too!! Some time in Oct or Nov we went with some friends (including Sadie bear) apple picking and decided that should be an annual outing.

My niece Naveya! sweet girl

Friends from Idaho: Brett, Eric, Julie, and Julie's comp. from mission

The Pecks and Broden, The Ellis' (just had new baby!), & us!

Cherise, Barbara, and Amy Abel

Friends at Grimaldi's under Brooklyn Bridge

Apple picking!Sadie

Nov- We were very blessed to have a couple of Thanksgiving feasts! We were able to spend an early Thanksgiving with the Gibson's. Kris' family was in town and we had a blast getting to know them and then seeing the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade with them from Kris' office in Herald Square. It was an awesome view!! Thanks again Kristi-Lynn! Then, we spent Thanksgiving Day with the Monroe's and the Weirs. It was a beautiful Thanksgiving and we were really happy to spend it with great friends!

Macy's Day Parade

Thanksgiving at the Monroe's

Dec- Oh December! In December, Nate's brother Aaron and his wife Sam came to visit us! It was their very first time to NYC, but it wouldn't be their last trip. Sam stayed with us to see a doctor in NYC. Sam made herself well acquainted with the city while Nate and I continued working our regular shifts. We became fans of toasted marshmallow shakes from "STAND 4" thanks to Shannon! We all made it out of NYC and home to Texas within a day of each other right before the big snow storm. It was the Lauritzen's first Christmas with all of their boys home in 5 years due to all of their mission's over lapping. Nate's parents made it an extra special Christmas for all of us, and we all went a little overboard on the gifts. It was a nice break from our busy lives in the city. We hadn't even had time to think about Christmas until we got to Texas. Nate spent the entire trip studying for the second part of the CPA exam. On Christmas Eve, Nate received the good news that he had passed the first exam. Upon returning from Texas Nate took the second exam and we are still waiting for the results. So we have two down, and two to go! Go Nathan! In December I started training for a half marathon with Melissa Monroe and we are still going strong. Dustin is awesome and runs with us too...now if we could just get Nate out there with us. Nate doesn't handle the cold too well...and the rest of us have all invested in winter running gear so we are official. haha Our races are coming up in April and May.

Aaron, Nate, Papa Noel, & Brent in Christmas PJs

Jan- I came home a little sooner than Nate to finish working my last full week for the Gibson's. It was a bittersweet week. I truly love Sadie and am so grateful for the opportunity I had to share in her first year. I've missed seeing her daily and chatting with Kristi-Lynn about the ins and outs of our lives. It was a busy week for everyone! I started school online through BYU-Idaho that very week. I have midterms this week. Sam and Nate both came back to NYC the same day and shortly thereafter Aaron came. In all, Sam was with us for about 2 months and in that time we all got to know each other really well! haha That's what happens when you put two married couples in a studio in NYC...craziness. We're glad they were able to come and gain the experience they needed, though it didn't go as planned. We love them and are grateful for all of the time we spent together over the Holidays and in NYC. In January we celebrated Melissa's birthday! hurray. She had her party at our place and it was a hit. (She has been more diligent in her blogging so catch up on her page for details :) ) When Nate returned from Texas, busy season officially began with JPMorgan's earnings release...He has been getting home pretty late, but I've kept busy with school, running, and good friends who take care of me.

Sam & Aaron

Feb- We also hosted a super bowl party with the Monroe's this year. It was pretty sweet because Dustin hooked up his projector and created an 84 inch screen for everyone. (Again, check out the Monroe's blog for pics.) Parties in NYC are crowded and wonderful! This month we celebrated my 22nd birthday! woot woot (That was for Brent and Kate :) ) I was able to go to brunch with Kristi-Lynn and Sadie bear at Alice's Tea Cup! It was so much fun to catch up and to see how big Sadie has gotten. Thank you again Kristi-Lynn!! I got a priceless picture of Sadie sucking her thumb and sleeping on her mommy's back. Love it! My birthday was lots of fun between brunch, a movie, and pizza and games later on. Thanks to all who celebrated with me!!! Valentine's Day was sweet. We finally framed our picture of the St. George temple and made a goal to attend the temple more often. We are currently getting used to staying up much too late to watch the Olympics, working on our taxes...hmm, looking forward to Spring which won't come for a while, and loving our little apartment which is finally fully furnished! Nate says, "Hi guys!" Love, Rach....hopefully I don't wait another 6 months to update. We were just a little busy!

Sadie Bear sleeping after birthday brunch!

4th of the 4th Tag! Thanks Aubri

Okay so here is a fun tag. Go to your pictures, open the fourth file, and the fourth photo in that file and post it. So here is what I found! This is Nate's youngest brother Brent who is serving his mission right now in Italy! We all miss him very much. This was a picture of him, I guess before a prom, opening his scholarship letter to BYU Provo. He's such a smart kid! I got to meet Brent a few times before he went on his mission. He and I are the same age...kinda funny, and Sam (our sister-in law) and Nate are the same age. When Nate and I went to school in Idaho we'd take roadtrips down to Utah to my house, and on the way down we would always stop in Provo to see Brent and all of my friends that went to school with him. It was fun to have some of the same friends as Brent. When I had my bridal shower and told all the girls that went to BYU Provo that I was marrying Brent Lauritzen's older brother they automatically approved! We are all very proud of Brent and so excited for him to come home in May! Then it will be back to the " Y" for him! I think we're all a little curious to see what he will go into at school. Will he follow the family tradition of Accounting majors and become a CPA? Nate's Dad has a joke/competition going to see who will take the CPA exam first...Aaron or Nate? To motivate them he says that Brent will kick both of their butts at it! We'll see...Nate just started his first class in preparation for the CPA exam. It's on monday and tuesday nights from 6:30-9:30pm. And busy season is coming soon, get excited!