Our Holidays!

The past week has come and gone. I can't believe that it has been 1 week since we got in the car and drove all night to arrive for the holidays. Christmas was very exciting on both sides of the family. We went and visited family and have just been relaxing and enjoying the holiday season. We were at my parents for Christmas morning and day and had such a fun time. Angie & Adam, Amber & Spence, and all the kids were there too. All the kids were so excited to see what Santa had brought them. They all got what they wanted. Mattie got an IPOD, Sophie got zhu-zhu pets, Eli got a batman toy and cars, Brock got real football pads, Hayley got a real live puppy, Jordan got a computer, and Chandler got an airplane. They were all very excited. I was able to pick out a green apple kitchenaid mixer and Justin got him some brand new chinks. We were both very excited about them.

We were able to have Christmas again on Saturday with April, Matt and their kids. My parents got all the kids ornaments that had legs that wiggled and made it sound like a bell. I got Matt and snuggie for the name-drawing gift, and I just think that it looks so funny. My parents got Justin and I a movie, a Wii game and then a Wii Fit Plus. I can't wait to use it!!

All in all, we had a very good week. We are heading home in the morning and we are both sad and happy to leave. We are both ready to be home, but it is going to be hard to leave. We aren't sure when the next time we will be home is. Our lives are going to get busy now that the holidays are over. Hunting and fishing season are open in the spring and we would love to have visitors!! We've got the room!

Happy Ho Ho!!!

I can't believe that it is already Christmas. I feel like I haven't enjoyed the holiday season and it's almost over! I am excited to say that in less than 24 hours, we will be in wonderful Southern Idaho. Justin and I are both very excited to see everybody and enjoy the holidays with the ones we love. We can't believe that it has been almost 1 year since we moved up here. We've lived up here for the majority of our marriage. It's just crazy! Our Christmas presents are almost all bought. We just have to stop in Pocatello and pick up a few more things! I can't believe that I am going to brave Wal-Mart 2 days before Christmas!! YIKES! I guess I have to do what I gotta do. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Changes!!

I'm just excited to say that I'm going to get my hair-cut today. I'm not really sure how I'm going to get it cut, but obviously something really cute! Can't wait to see it and show it off over Christmas!!

Let It Snow!!

So it has been snowing up here since Saturday morning. It started snowing and we just had a little bit of snow and by the time 4 o'clock rolled around, we had a good few inches. I'm just really upset because it's not snowman making snow! Anyway, we headed to our friends in Kamiah to go bowling on Saturday night and we just stayed there to go to church. Well, at 7:30 their phone rang and church had been cancelled. Justin was yelling "SNOW DAY!" because he was so excited. We just hung out there and then drove home. We had to shovel our sidewalks and then we were checking on the horses and they looked so cold! It made me so sad. I wanted to invite them into my house to have some hot chocolate and warm up a little bit. It is still snowing and hasn't stopped all day. I'm a little worried about driving home, but luckily I have the truck and it has brand new tires on it!

As for the bad news, we got home last night and my fish had died!! It almost made it a year in my possession! It was sad and I made Justin flush him. I didn't want to look at him! I think I might have a funeral for him and get him a headstone! Poor Master!!

Articles of Faith of Mormon Culture!

1. We believe in SUVs and minivans, as the form of transportation, and in knee length shorts, which are always nice, and in multilevel marking.

2. We believe that church ball players should be punished for their own fouls, and not for unsportsmanlike aggression.

3. We believe that through bread crumbs, cheese, creamy soups, and rice all casseroles can be saved through obedience to ward cookbooks and creativity in the mixing bowl.

4. We believe the first layers and ingredients of the Dip are: first, beans; second, cheese; third, chopped tomatoes; fourth, the gift of sour cream; fifth, olives; sixth, salsa; seventh, guacamole, that is, if you have it.

5. We believe that Mormons should have a distinguished or a cute name; that it is appropriate to name a child after a church leader or historical figure including ancestors; that alternative spellings and French prefixes only add to a name, and that when referring to the names of General Authorities, middle initials should be a part thereof.

6. We believe in the small wall decor that exists in many Mormon homes, namely, framed family proclamations, vinyl lettering, inspirational word signs, family photos, pictures of temples and Jesus, and so forth.

7. We believe in the gift of the re-gift, church books, crafts, family photos, baked goods, emergency supply kits, and so forth.

8. We believe in sparkling grape juice so long as it is nonalcoholic; we also believe in bringing root beer and sprite to ward parties.

9. We believe in all that we have scrapbooked, all that we will now scrapbook, and we believe that we will yet scrapbook many great and important things pertaining to our family, friends, pet and vacations.

10. We believe in literal mixing of ketchup and mayo and in the generous application of ranch dressing; that CBAs (church-based acronyms) will be used to describe YM/YW, PEC, the Y, NCMO, and CTR; that Mitt Romney will get Mormons to vote for him any time he runs; and, that Mormons will enjoy reading Twilight and The Work and the Glory.

11. We claim the privilege of trying to identify common acquaintances with any visitor at church, and allow all other people at church the same privilege, and let them name drop the names of Famous and General Authorities how, where, or what they may.

12. We believe in being subject to scoutmasters, pampered chef hostesses, and the writers of the U.S. News and World Report Rankings of professional schools, and in obeying, honoring, and sustaining Glenn Beck.

13. We believe in being above average, good at crafts, optimistic, and being fifteen minutes late everywhere we go. Indeed, we may say that we follow BYU football. We believe rumors about famous people joining the church, we hope to meet the three Nephites, we have endured many pyramid schemes, and hope to be able to endure all pyramid schemes. If there is anything cheap, free, sold in bulk, or given away when somebody is moving, we seek after these things.

O CHRISTMAS TREE, O CHRISTMAS TREE!!!!

I finally got my christmas tree up. We actually went and cut it down Saturday morning. I'm a little confused as of what to do, because I've never had a real tree. All I know is that I have to keep it watered. Anyway, I think it turned out super cute. I went to Wal-Mart and got a few more ornaments and ribbon for it. I wasn't able to put all of the ornanments on it because they were to heavy. That's ok. Tell me that you think.....

It is hard to see it all, but in case you can't tell, it's lime green! That's right!!!! Super Cute!!

Then I had to take a picture of this plate for my grandma. I still love it enough to put it up with my decorations!!

Random Pics

One day I was in the kitchen wrapping jerky to put it in the freezer. Justin thought it was really funny to put this silver bowl on my head and see how long it would stay on there. I wasn't going to put the pictures on my blog, but he said that a while back I put crazy pictures of him up, so here you go.......

And here is a picture of me and my new horse, Vicky! I have yet to ride her, but I'm sure that next spring and summer, i'll get my fair share.....

Week Full of Surprises!!

This past week has been full of surprises. It all started last Tuesday when my dad called me and let me know about his new church calling to be the bishop of the Downey 2nd ward. I was really sad that I wasn't going to be able to be there on Sunday when he got set apart. I knew that deep down it would be ok if I wasn't there, as long as I was there to support him throughout his calling. Wednesday after work, Justin and I were picking up leaves in our yard when we decided to go for a short ride and got talking about the Thanksgiving weekend. I told him (probably for the 3rd time) that I didn't have to work on Friday but I was getting paid for it. He decided to send me down to my family and surprise them for Thanksgiving and then I would be there for my dad on Sunday. Well, Thursday morning at 2:30 AM I started on the road to Downey. In the meantime, I was so excited, mainly because I was going to surprise all of my family. They all thought that I was staying home and going to some of our friends house. At about 12:15 I pulled into Downey. I didn't want to park my car in front of my parents house because I wanted to knock on the door and surprise them. I ended up parking down the road a little bit and walking to their house. I knocked on the door and I could hear all the kids inside the house screaming and having a good time. It took a long time for anybody to come to the door, but when somebody did, it was my mom! "HAPPY TURKEY DAY!" I yelled when she opened the door. If anybody has watched Extreme Makeover:Home Edition, my mom looked just like the people do when they see the house for the first time. She was speechless!! My sisters all just sat there in amazement! All of the kids were so happy and so was I. My dad was asleep on his bed and so I ran back there to surprise him. He just had this crazy look in his eye like he was still dreaming. It was so fun.

The rest of the weekend was good. We went to "The Forgotten Carols" in Idaho Falls on Friday night and it was amazing. I don't even remember how many times I've seen it, but it gets better every year. Saturday we just cleaned the house because all of my dads family was coming over for dinner on Sunday. Sunday after my dad had been set-apart as Bishop, we all went and ate then then I drove home. It was a short weekend full of adventure. The house was crazy and full of giggles all at the same time.