I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas!

For Christmas Eve we watched my favorite movie, White Christmas. Then this morning this is what we woke up to. I got my Christmas wish. It is about 6 inches of snow with lots of snow drifts. I haven't had a White Christmas in a long time. Growing up, my mom used to wake us up really early the first morning it snowed for the year. She would bundle us up and let us play in the snow before the school bus came. We didn't have to do chores or anything that morning. Just play in the snow. What a cool mom I have. So with that in mind here is what I did with our first real snow of the season.

I just put on some boots and a coat over my pajamas and I was ready to play in the snow. I ended up staying out there for maybe 5 minutes. The temperature outside right now is 14 degrees with a nice Arctic wind blowing.

Here is my snow angel. Merry Christmas!

Christmas Party!

Here is a picture of us the night of our Ward Christmas Party. We had a great time. There was lots of food and even more desserts. We sang some Christmas Carols and then Santa came. I love the Holidays!

Love these Girls!

As promised here is my funny story about Ashley. She had it out for her aunt Rissa. We had several near misses during diaper changing, and it was only when I would change her diaper. She is sneaky too. If you look away for a second, she might pee on you. Well as the last day of my visit arrived, I was feeling pretty confident in my diapering skills. So I decided to close up the old diaper before strapping on the new one. The next thing I know my leg is soaked. She peed on me from a foot away. Lara said she never knew that baby girls could get such distance. This is Ashley's signature ooh face. She looks a little like ET when she does it, but still so cute.

This is Sierra smiling in her sleep. She was so good to keep smiling until we could get a picture. What an angel always so calm and alert.

My Two Beautiful Nieces!

Well, I just got back from helping my twin sister, Lara, with her twin baby girls. They are so precious. I love them to pieces. I made these hats for them, so I decided to post pictures of them modeling the hats. I have more pictures to post, but will do that later since I have more to tell. This is Sierra. Such a sweet and calm baby. She looks like her father, but takes after her mother in the belching department.

And here is Ashley the younger sister. She looks like Lara and acts like her too. Such faces she would make. I will post some of them in the next few days.

I just wanted to see if it is possible to hold 2 babies at once. It is, but not for long. Luckily they are still pretty light right now. Oh, the joys of being an aunt.

Happy Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving weekend I am grateful for many things.

1. I did not have to cook a thing. We brought Sweet Potatoes to dinner, but Jim cooked them.
2. I worked off a little of my dinner playing the Wii. Boxing can sure make you sore.
3. We made peppernuts and I did not get into the flour fight.
4. I got to spend time with family. My cute nephews are so much fun.
5. We got all of our Christmas decorations up in a couple of hours.
6. We worked on a Christmas Puzzle. One of my favorite things to do.
7. I got to eat my mother-in-law's famous crab dip. Yum O.
8. We even went to the Temple. A great way to show your gratitude for everything the Lord has given you.
9. No one was harmed while putting up the Christmas lights. We did have several strands that only light up halfway, but we improvised. I will be buying more today.
10. It is finally time to listen to Christmas music. The chipmunk song about the hula hoop is a classic.

Bambi is on the Menu

Hail to the Conquering Hero! I am proud to say that yesterday Jim brought home the Bacon. . . Oh I mean the DEER. He has been deer hunting 3 years now and finally got something this year. This is actually the first year that he even saw a deer while hunting. His luck is improving. He thought he was shooting a doe (doe a deer, a female deer), but after shooting it he realized it was a young buck that didn't have any antlers yet. So it was probably only a year old, but that means the meat is extra tender. We had us some venison steaks for dinner tonight. O00h wee, were they good. We are going redneck all the way.

Here lies the young buck. He died from a shot in the butt and then one in the chest for good measure. May he grace our dinner table for months to come.

Adoption Month

Here's maybe something you didn't know. November is National Adoption Month. Tomorrow night FSA (Families Supporting Adoption) is having a Fireside to celebrate. Maybe you can tell your friends about Adoption Month. We have already been blessed by adoption, not that we have adopted yet, but we have learned a lot and gained a greater testimony of the power of prayer and how much Heavenly Father loves us. So if you hear of anyone wanting to place their baby in a loving home, tell them about us. Thanks for all of your prayers in our behalf. Here is a neat adoption quote:

“Adoption is not a breaking of trust but a keeping of faith… not the abandonment of a baby but an abandonment of self for a baby’s sake.”
- Curtis Young (2001)

Get Tan or Stay Home

We started tanning today for our trip to Mexico. We are going in February to just outside of Cancun. Well it is about 40 minutes away. It will be a family trip with Jim's siblings + spouses and parents. No kids allowed. The house we are staying at is right on the beach. I am so excited. I have to picture the beach and ocean as I'm in the tanning bed. Is it just me or is anyone else a little claustrophobic in the beds? The creaks of the bed make me a little nervous and I feel rushed to get in the bed before it turns on, but I am determined to overcome my anxiety. Jim just thinks I'm funny, since he loves tanning.

Happy Halloween!

Wednesday was our Ward Trunk or Treat with Chili Cook-off. Sadly we were not able to defend our title for Best Overall Chili. So the Silver Ladle that resided on our wall in the kitchen has gone on to a new home. We will miss the questions and awe that the Ladle inspired. It was quite shocking last year when we won. These are the costumes we wore. Can you guess what we are? Oh my, what a handsome pirate. He looks fierce. Or jolly depending on your perception. Here we are together. The Pirate and his Gypsy lady.

Parents Visit

Family is the best. My mom and step dad, Greg visited us for just 2 short days last week. Even though the time was limited, we packed in the fun. Mom and I got in some great shopping. We found the most amazing sales at JC Penny. I love that store. We even found a Halloween costume for me. I am going to be a gypsy. We then got inspired and went to Savers, where we found clothes for a pirate costume. I have to thank my Aunt Debbie for the idea because Cliff was a pirate last year for Halloween. We added some ruffles to a white shirt and he looks just like a pirate. Jim is even growing some facial hair to add to the affect.

We also made some time to visit Liberty Jail. I love going there. Such a neat place. The spirit is always so strong there. Joseph Smith was such a great man and prophet. He suffered so much while in jail, yet his faith stayed strong and because of that he received amazing revelations from God. We were all touched by our visit. Then to end the visit we took them to a local BBQ place. The food was so good. We loved having our family with us. Come back any time.

Change is Good!

I have been thinking of changing my hair for awhile. I was getting sick of all the blond highlights. So I went back to slightly darker than my original color. Everyone seems to like it. For the first few days Jim thought I looked goth. It was just a shock to his system. I really like it especially because Edward Prefers Brunettes.

Baker Man

In our family Jim is definitely the baker. I like to cook, but baking is more delicate than I like. I can do it, but I usually let him. Anyway we heard about a shortage of pumpkin pie filling this year, so we decided to make our own from scratch. Jim made 3 pumpkins pies between conference sessions. They were so yummy. I am so glad that he likes to bake. He is also a wonderful bread maker. I obviously picked the right man for me!

Rag Wreath

I made this rag wreath at craft group. I even painted the scarecrow in the middle. Pretty soon I'm going to open up my own craft store. I mean look at that talent. I can tie a knot with the best of them.

Baby Blessing

This is us at our nephew Seth's baby blessing. Jim is holding our nephew Jason. Jennie & Mark make really cute boys. We got to babysit them this week. Lots of fun. I practiced eating and holding the baby at the same time. It requires a lot of unique skills to be a mom, even an aunt.

Tomatoes!

What do you do when you have tomatoes coming out your ears? You make spaghetti sauce. We planted 5 tomato plants this year and didn't quite realize how much they would yield. We have already frozen about 5 quarts of tomato puree and I still had at least 12 tomatoes left. So today I tried something new by making spaghetti sauce. It was so good. Fresh is the best. By the way we would have harvested more tomatoes, but our resident squirrel has been snatching them daily. He even steals them as we watch. Usually at dinner time and then hangs out on our fence to leisurely eat only half of the tomato. And then he is done. Jim has wanted to get his shotgun out and put an end to him, but we read online that if you kill a squirrel there is another to take his place. Oh well.

Ward Luau!

This is our third annual Luau that are ward has put on. I have now danced at the Luau twice. Any day now I am expecting to hear from the Polynesian Cultural Center with a job offer. I will have to turn them down, I am too busy. It was really fun to learn the dances, but it took awhile to finally get the moves right.

Here I am doing a Maori Dance.

Carrie and I both danced. I made cool feather earrings as part of our costume.

Our second dance was a Samoan number. I know, I look amazing.

And so graceful.

They said at the dance practices that I am half Samoan. I take that as a compliment.

Happy 7th Anniversary!

Today we have been married for SEVEN years. Time sure flies. We had a romantic getaway on Friday. We went to a lovely Argentine restaurant for dinner. The food was amazing especially the empanadas. The service was superb. I didn't finish all of my crab bisque and one of the waiters noticed and informed my waitress. She asked if I didn't like the soup; I was just saving room for the entree. We stayed at a themed hotel. Our room was the Buckingham room as in the palace. We loved it. It even came with free breakfast. What a deal.

My wonderful husband and I. Sometimes I wonder how he puts up with me. I guess it's love.

Here is our beautiful library/breakfast room with a secret passage . . .

which led to our bedroom. One couple wrote in the guest journal that it took them awhile to figure out how to get to the bedroom.

Our not to comfy bed.

And the lovely jacuzzi bath with light show.

Canning food is fun to do!

Last weekend we went to a local farm to pick peaches and only peaches. We came home with peaches, blackberries, corn, cantaloupe and watermelon. The blackberries we picked were so huge, sweet and ripe. So yummy. We ate peaches and blackberries with everything, but didn't make a dent in them. So we froze the blackberries and peaches that we couldn't eat. I made my mom's Raspberries Peach Jam with some of the fresh peaches. From our garden we froze some green beans and made some dill pickles. Hopefully when our tomatoes finally turn red, we can can some of them too. This was our first year canning and I was so nervous for everything to turn out. Hopefully we did it right. Jim was a great help. In fact he was more excited about canning then I was. I love my husband.

Greek Cuisine

In our quest to cook from scratch, we have been trying new recipes, even foreign foods. Last night we made Madeline's (my sweet stepmom) Baklava. It turned out so good. In fact it was yumo. I would have taken a picture, but it is already half gone. We also made a Greek salad recipe from my friend Melissa and a Gyro recipe I found on line. The food was great. We had the sister missionaries over for dinner as our guinea pigs. They seemed to like it too.

Oh Babies!

Recently at craft group, we have been making baby hats. Here is my first one. So adorable. I already have plans to make more. Man I love to crochet.

Book Recommendation

For any of you who miss the love triangle in Twilight, there is a series called The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare. Book One is the City of Bones. It was really good. I cannot wait to read the next one. Carrie hurry up I am dying here. You will love the boy named Jace.

Cooking Experiments

On Saturday, we had Jim's family over for dinner. Everything was cooked from scratch using 3 unique cooking methods. We made Boiled Eggs in the solar oven. Beans in the pressure cooker, and last but not least Blackberry Cobbler in the dutch oven. So our menu was Rice & Beans, Deviled Eggs, Vegie Tray, Corn Bread and Blackberry Cobbler with Vanilla Ice Cream. Everything turned out so yummy. It was our first time cooking these ways. Our stake has a challenge to cook everything from scratch once a week. Go us!

Craft Group

I made these cute cards and tags today. Check out the butterfly, it's wings are in the air. I love making cute things. Thanks to Carrie for the help.

Super Girl to the Rescue!

Today, I conquered the sewing machine. It only took me 3 hours, 1 needle change, 1 trip to my neighbors house to borrow thread and 2 times picking out the straps that I accidentally sewed to the underside of the superhero emblem. It is double sided with Supergirl on one side and Pretty Princess of the other. What a sense of accomplishment. I might be ready for a real pattern next time. The sky is the limit.

Cute Hair!

I found this cute hairstyle on a blog. I tried it today for church and got so many compliments. I am proud of myself for even trying this since I am not great at unique hairstyles. The blog is http://cutegirlshairstyles.blogspot.com/ and then look on the left side under buns. This bun is called the Cute Tween Hair Bun. It is halfway down the page. Check it out for cute little girl hairstyles. And older ones too.

Happy Independence Day!

To celebrate our independence, we had a B-B-Q at our friends house. I was asked to bring dessert and this is my first attempt at a layered cake. It's pretty patriotic. It is my mom's Blueberry Cake. I added the strawberries to make it red white and blue. There is even a strawberry layer. My friends loved the cake by the way. After a yummy dinner, we watched some awesome fireworks on the lake in their neighborhood then ended with our own fireworks. Many of which almost went under our car, which added to the excitement of the evening. Everyone here spends sooooo much money on fireworks. It is insane.

I am even dressed patriotic

along with my cute toes The flag and fireworks.
Sorry for those who don't like feet. I just had to show it.

Finally an Update!

All of the news that I have to share has not been the greatest lately, so I haven't been updating. I am sure that most of you know by now that the adoption fell through in May. The birth mom changed her mind after some unexpected things happened to her. We were pretty sad, but are moving on. So if you know of anyone who is looking for an amazing couple to adopt their baby send them our way. We are available.

We just got back from Idaho where we attended my grandpa's funeral. I will miss him, but I know that he is happy and feeling great now in heaven. I got to take home one of his cowboy shirts. My cousins and I used to dressed up in his shirts and wranglers and take pictures. Here is a lovely picture of me in his shirt. Once we got home I realized that I have a picture of grandpa in the same shirt. How cool is that. I love you grandpa.

Vacations are wonderful!

So we just got back from seeing both of our families in Utah. We had a family reunion with Jim's family one week. And the next week graduation with my family. Congrats to all those who made it. Anyway I will be slowly posting cute pictures mostly of the kids. These two are my favs so far.

This is the oh so adorable Elle. She loves shopping and holding the clothes up to herself. We had her try on accessories at this cool store. She looks so hip.

This is my nephew Ben. He is so smiley if that is a word. He was so fun to play with. He is 5 months old and already so big. You got a workout when you held him.

BYU Ballroom Rocks!

Last night we went to the BYU Ballroom Dance. It was so amazing. The costumes were awesome and the dancing was enjoyable. It sure made me want to take dance classes again. No chance of that happening since my partner is not willing. Too bad. I can always dream. My favorite number was a UFO sighting where the stage was black and all of the dancers wore neon colors. They were supposed to be aliens. It was so cool. Way to go BYU!

Phantom of the Opera!

So this is really old news, but we went to Phantom of the Opera in March. It was so cool. They had the most amazing special effects. The Phantom was great although I do like Gerard Butler better from the movie. We went with our friend Carrie & Sam. We got all dressed up and afterwards went to PF Changs for dinner. It was a wonderful evening.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

We celebrated St. Patrick's Day with a traditional Irish meal. We had corned beef and cabbage with potatoes. It was so good. It was my first time cooking it, but everything was yummy. This is definitely going to be a family tradition from now on. Go Irish.

Happy Birthday Kaila & Dan!

So I just wanted to say Happy Birthday to Kaila, my cute sister-in-law. She is the stylin' one in brown. Just a few things I love about Kaila. 1. She is so fun to be around. 2. Her blog is so enjoyable to read. 3. She loves Rascal Flatts. 4. She makes my brother so happy 5. She is just so darn cute. 6. Because she has the same birthday as my older brother. Just another reason why you fit in the family. Hope you have a great day!

This is my OLDER brother Dan. Isn't he handsome. I thought I'd take a moment to recap some of Dan's greatest moments. The Rad Club, WWF Wrestling on the trampoline, Hide-N-Go-Seek in the Dark, playing any kind of sport together (Dan has always been great at rounding up people for something he wants to do). This list could go on and on. I just wanted you to know that I love you and that you make life so much fun. Everyone should have a Dan in their life. Happy Birthday.

Kids for the Night

My friend Melissa went into labor last Friday. I was designated as the go to person for her kids. So her cute kids Anna & Megan spent the evening with us. We had so much fun. We went to Red Robin for dinner. The girls loved all of the lights and the food. They even got to bring home balloons. We got to read bedtime stories, sing songs, play and laugh. Sadly they did not make it through the night at our home, but we had fun with them while it lasted. Their dad picked them up about midnight. It was funny because the next day they were asking if they could spend the night again.

Craft Group Rules!

These are my friends Carrie and Melissa. Carrie on the left, Melissa in the middle. For the month of February we have been decorating onesies at our weekly craft group. We used iron-on transfers, embroidery, tie dying, and potato stamping. It was so much fun to learn all of these new skills. My favorite is the tie dying.