Peace On Earth

I don't think its any surprise that I completely and madly in love with the winter season. If you don't know that....look at this. Particularly the holidays. I wish it was winter all year long. There is nothing about the holidays that I don't enjoy. Yes, I even enjoy driving in the snow.

Don't Believe me? Think about you. You get to mozy along in your warm car, complete with heated seats, a blasting heater, and Christmas tunes ringing from the speakers. I seriously love it. Its the best at night time when you can see all the lights.



The anticipation of opening the door when you finally arrive at your destination is so laughable. Sometimes I think that the cold actually went away. And when you are stuck in traffic because people are too nervous to go over 5 miles an hour, that just means for Celine Dion. I dare you to enjoy it.

I am looking forward to many things this holiday season. All of which only happen during this beloved time. For instance:

Christmas Candy



What other time of the year do you have the excuse to completely let loose and indulge in some deliciousness. Sure, there is Halloween, and Valentines Day. Lets be real though, those don't even compare to the deliciousness that is

FUDGE

DIVINITY

TOFFEE

CANDIED ALMONDS

CANDY CANES

And more..... Please enjoy the candy. Its for your own good. I recognize that it will demolish some of your "good eating habits", but really??...it's Christmas time.

Next Up....Sledding

There are many people that can explain to you why me and sledding don't get along. I would say the majority of my sledding adventures have ended in complete and utter failure. Nonetheless, I continue to sled year after year, laughing the entire way until I inevitably hit the tree, fence post, rock, snowmobile, or fellow sledder. I may not be as fast as Brooke, but then again, who is?



Gifting



Not so much the receiving....more the giving. (Although I wouldn't be opposed to some shoes under my tree this year. Thanks Santa) I seriously get so excited to give people gifts on Christmas. Almost to the point where I stress myself out trying to find just the right one. I have procrastinated terribly this year, but I still have high hopes that I will successfully gift the correct gifts. Sometimes I wish I were Donald Trump (minus the hair) just so I didn't have to have a Christmas budget. That would be fabulous.

So, those are just a few things. Obviously my favorite thing about Christmas is the chance I have to think about all that I do have. I am so incredibly blessed. I urge you all to take a minute tonight, sit down on your couch, turn on the Christmas tree, maybe grab a giant mug of hot cocoa, and just reflect on the things you are grateful for. Sometimes I get so caught up in what I don't have, and want I want and need, that I forget how much I already have in my life to be thankful for. Life is good.

SURPRISE!!!

Coming July 2010:



Baby Griffin

Shalom and Good Evening to You.

I don't normally do posts this close together, but I figure its time. I have had many people asking me for pictures of our beautiful, humble abode we moved into exactly two months ago today. Life has been fabulous in our little condo on Currant Drive. We had thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We have taken our time decorating, as you will definitely be able to tell in the pictures, but we don't mind. So, for all of you (and by all of you, I mean Katie) wanting a glimpse at our palace, here is your GRAND TOUR!

**note....I have begun decorating for Christmas. BEGUN being the keyword there. Its kind of in shambles.

Entry

As you walk in the front door you find yourself looking at this:



Our cute little arched walkway. I have big plans for our only hallway. Its gonna be cute....eventually. For now, a few white plastic bags that were holding those small trees.

Next, it opens up into the Living Room:



Which is connected to the Kitchen:



And the Dining Room:



Off the Dining Room is the Master Bedroom:



Which also has a Master Bath and a HUGE closet (Not shown for cleanliness' sake):



Across the Living Room from the Master Bedroom is the Spare Bedroom or Brooke's Bedroom (not quite decorated yet):



And the Office (a.k.a STORAGE ROOM!)



These are separated by the Guest Bathroom:



That's all folks! I promise the pictures don't do it justice. I have horrible photography skills. If you don't believe me, come visit!

Oh, and did you see this:



That's right. LOVE our Christmas tree. Dallin and I put it up together last night. Once again, WAY cuter in person.

Last, but not least, I want to express how excited I am for this evening. It's a pretty epic one. Tonight I will be feasting on this:



Yup, once a year (and yes, literally ONCE) I allow myself the pleasure of feasting upon some Ramen Noodles. Probably the best empty calories I have ever tasted in my life. I figure since I'm already sinning against healthy eating, I might as well throw in a grilled tomato and cheese sandwich. Simply Marvelous. Not to mention the festive dishes.

Now, if you'll excuse me....my 2009 Ramen is waiting.

Turkey Day

I'm not really sure how to even begin, so I guess I'll just jump right in. For Thanksgiving, we went down to Lake Havasu, Arizona to spend the holiday with the Austin side of the family. We don't get together very often with them, especially with all of us there, so it was a lot of fun to see everyone. Not all of my cousins came, but it was wonderful to see my aunts and uncles.

Dallin and I drove down, leaving on Wednesday afternoon. 10 hours in a car isn't exactly prime conditions for me. I thought I might get a lot of this done though:



I didn't though. I am not one to read or work on computer while driving. It just makes me nauseous. So, I probably got like 500 words total written for my novel. I'm supposed to be finishing tomorrow, with 50,000 words. I think I might be half way...maybe.



Thanksgiving Dinner was divine. So much so that I didn't take a single picture thanksgiving day. My bad. We did however get up on Thanksgiving morning and go for like a 6 mile run over by the London Bridge. Brooke and I didn't quite make it the whole way, but who runs 6 miles on Thanksgiving anyways?! If you don't know, they London Bridge, which used to be in London (duh) was torn down (Hence the song "London Bridges Falling Down") and transported to Lake Havasu. Don't ask me why, I have no idea. I probably should have taken a picture of it.

On Friday, the family did a little renovation of Grandma's garage. She had tons of stuff that we packed up for charity, or the garbage. They ran out of bags, so Brooke, Dallin, and I were put on garbage bag duty. When we were at the grocery store we found these:



Random Snapshots



I think Dallin might have had like 8 pieces of pie. No joke.



These are some shots we took on Friday before we packed up and headed home. The first is of my dad and his siblings, the second has the wives/husbands in it. My grandma is the cute little one in the red. I adore her.





It was such wonderful Thanksgiving. I am so thankful for ALL of my family and all of my friends who are just wonderful people.

Some Good News:

I'm setting up my Christmas Tree tonight! Whoot! Whoot!

I Thee Wed

Saturday was the most wonderful day! Breana got married to her sweetheart Joe in the Salt Lake Temple. Their sealing was beautiful! Breana looked absolutely stunning and Joe was looking pretty dapper himself. They had their reception at a golf course in West Valley. It turned out so pretty. Unfortunately, Genius that I am, I forgot my camera. So, here are a few pics I stole from Britt, Tiff, and Ashley. Thanks girls! :)




We love you Bre! And Joe too. We are so excited to have you as a part of our family now. Although I seriously doubt you know what you just got yourself into!!!! :) Congrats to you both. We will miss you, but will probably visit you in Texas soon!!!!

Tonight Is The Night

Oh Ya.....

(Poster courtesy of Whit Whit)

Babies Galore

I think that there must have been something in the air approximately 9 months ago, because I have lovely ladies in my life that are poppin' right and left.

Cousin Niki had baby Marley in October

Amy had her baby Tatum just a few weeks ago.

Kristi had baby Leah last week.

Courtney had baby Harlow on Sunday.

Lisa is getting ready to a bring baby girl into this world any minute now.

Katie is going to have baby Kapri in a month!!

Brittany (Wall) is going to be having baby Kingston in February.

Cousin Cherice will be bringing a sweet little one into this world early summer.

Brittany (Griffin) (NO...not me. My sister-in-law) is going to be celebrating a little bundle of joy in May.

And who knows, maybe there are some other friends out there that are keeping their buns in the oven secret for a while longer!!!

So happy! Congrats to all my beautiful friends who are going to make or already are wonderful mothers!!


P.S. Being sick is the pits. If you are one of those new mommy's who is offended that I haven't come to see you, I promise its best. I have been out of commission for approximately a week and a half. No fun.