To My Mom

... woman ... mother ... wife ... grandmother ... sister ... daughter ... nurse ... confidant ... friend ... servant ... daughter of God ... activities director ... writer ... creator ... musician ...

So many roles can only be filled by someone extraordinary and you fill them all so well. Thank you for your love. Thank you for your patience. Thank you for your advice. Thank you for your criticism. Thank you for your sacrifice. Thank you for all that you do - for me, for our family, for mankind.

Happy Birthday!

I love you!

Long Live the Mario Brothers

For Christmas, Santa brought us one of these:


And this game to go with it:


It took us a total of 5 hours, but we conquered it...


As stated by my husband (who is an awesome gamer), "Bowser has once again been defeated." Princess Peach has been saved and all is well with the world!

Yup... I'm enjoying my Christmas Break!!

Ice Skating

One of my FAVORITE things about growing up in "Happy Valley" was the Ice Rink at Merlin Olsen Park! It has been closed for the last several years, but this year it made a come back. (It was open for a short period last year, but we didn't get the chance to make it over). Yesterday, we bundled up and went over for a skate with our nephews and niece! I was so giddy with joy and I felt like a 10 year old when I donned my skates and stepped onto the ice!

I made it around the rink a few times with minimal spills and enjoyed every minute of it, and I was thrilled when the urge to skate hit Nate and he grabbed some skates as well! As a young teen, I remember watching and envying those women who got to skate around the park holding hands with their special someone! Yesterday, I got to do just that and for some reason I felt like I had accomplished something that has been sitting on my unwritten list of life's little goals!


It was also very enjoyable to snuggle with him in the warming hut and to think about the many hours that I used to spend around the stove with my friends - laughing and giggling, drinking watered down hot chocolate and checking out all the cute guys...



It was the perfect way to begin the New Year and I'm so glad that we went! And kudos to Ty, Dev & Hallie! They rocked their skates and were more brave than us adults who went with them!!

New Years Eve

2010, eh? For some reason I feel like this is sort of a big deal! A new decade, a 30th birthday (in June) and new goals all seem to make me excited for the possibilities of the new year!

We rang in our New Year with my sister and her family who were here from Colorado! We had some tasty Juniper Take-Out and then spent the evening playing cards and listening to music!

Christmas 2009

Our Christmas Day was filled with family, food, and a lot of fun! We spent the traditional 1/2 day with my parents and 1/2 day with Nate's family, and as always, we had a great time with them (although I didn't have a camera at my parents house and feel bad that they're not in any of these photos)!

Christmas Card Photo Shoot

"Picnik Show"

Create a free slideshow with Picnik!

A couple of weeks back we had a little photo shoot so that we could get some pictures for our Christmas Cards (ahem ... that were never sent) and to give our parents because the pictures they had of us were WAY outdated! I thought I'd throw up a little slideshow of our fun little shoot!

Invictus

All the good movies come out around the Holidays! You should all go and see this one... because it's really good...


Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

William Ernest Henley

Let's Talk Entertainment

As I get older I have found that my taste in movies has evolved from cheesy chick flicks to movies that actually have some type of meaning! Don't get me wrong - I still love a good chick flick or cheesy teenage drama, but lately, I have found myself being drawn to movies that are based more around real life and that elicit real emotional responses from me. Our subscription to Netflix has helped to fuel the fire that has been lit and we are finding ourselves branching out to movies that 5 years ago I never would have considered, because it wasn't a cheesy love story!

This morning, instead of working on Christmas Projects after I took Nate to work, I opted to relax and turn on "Freedom Writers." I originally put this movie on our queue months ago so when I popped it in this morning, I had forgotten what the movie was about, and I was very pleasantly surprised. (If you're looking for a technical critique of the movie, you won't get it here - except that if you have kids, don't let them see it because it is violent and has a couple cuss words).


I am, by default, more of a movie listener than a movie watcher. I can watch the same movie over and over and see something new every time, because I am usually multi-tasking or my mind is not fully concentrating. This movie was different. When I started the movie I had my laptop in place for some photo editing and 5 minutes in my laptop was sitting on our footstool and I was hooked. I do not exaggerate when I say that this movie "had me at hello." Through the course of 2 hours I cried, I laughed, I got angry, and I cheered with triumph and my faith in mankind was restored (however temporarily because I'm off to work with people who sue people for a living), and I am recommending this movie to everyone who reads this blog and I'll be recommending it to people who don't!

(Oh, and for the record, I really do love my job, and I work for the good guys, so they really don't tamper with my faith in mankind!)

Christmas Cards 2009

I had grand designs this year to make and send out all of my Christmas Cards! School ended and my grand designs (for a lot of my clever Christmas plans) got dropped because I didn't want to deal with the stress! I am still mailing out some cards, but not the usual 70ish... this is the card we will be sending via email (which, in my opinion is much more cute than the cards I made) so I thought I'd throw it up here and wish you all a Merry Christmas as well!

We hope that you have a wonderful week and that you get to spend Christmas in the way that your hearts desire! We are so grateful for all of our many blessings and for the birth of our Savior and for all that His birth and His life represent and mean to us. We love you all and wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

It's Officially Christmas

Fall Semester 09 is officially finished! I just took my last final and am now looking forward to a whole month of freedom from homework! Now, I get to give my brain a rest and enjoy this:


(I'm so grateful for such a wonderful husband who supports me and cooks me dinner so that I can focus on studying)


(I'm also grateful for wonderful friends who provide lots of laughs and support and love and joy)


(And Christmas - because it is my favorite time of year! A time to ponder and reflect and show gratitude and be humbled and spend time with family!)

Now I'm off to make Christmas Cards & work on gifts!! Happy Christmas to you all!

Finals Week

... caffeine ... note cards ... late nights ... 7:30 finals ... hiking up old main in 4 degrees ... hot cocoa ... study groups ... selling back textooks ... missing Nate ... finishing finals so that I can see Nate ... boots, gloves, scarves & hats ... blogging breaks

Just a little glimpse of my week this week ... one more to go ... I can do it!

Turkeys, Kids & Late Nights

I know I say this all the time, but "I can't believe" that it is already December! This year has gone by fast! The turkey has already been eaten, the Nativities are up, and the Christmas music is playing! The Holiday's are in swing and I love it!

We had a fantastic Thanksgiving Day and week! Jen & Jess came home for the big dinner day and we had a good time playin' games with the kids, staying up too late playin' cards with the adults, Black Friday Shopping (my first experience - people are seriously crazy), movies (including "New Moon" and a lot, a lot, a lot of good food! We ate a tasty dinner with Nate's family on Thanksgiving Day and enjoyed their company and their cooking skills, then we headed out to my parents house for pie & a little football!

I've got a ton of pictures to post, so I'm just going to get with it!









We are so grateful for all that we have been blessed with. We are happy, we are healthy and we have the best families in the world! We are grateful for the humbling experiences that we have and for the strength that we glean from each other and those around us. We are also grateful for you all and we hope you are all able to have a very enjoyable Holiday Season!

Happy Turkey Day

Just a little somethin' to make you gobble!

Favorites

Because how can you NOT love Taylor Swift?

And this dude, cuz he's a hottie and I love him!

This Weekend:

I get to see these guys,


And these guys,


And this:


And I can't wait! It's going to be a great weekend!