Saturday, November 28

Thanksgiving Week

What a fun week this has been!
Monday, Caitlin, Joy & I planned to go see New Moon!

Mike's birthday was on Tuesday, so we decided to invite all the boys too & turn it into a little party for
Mike :)

After the movie, we went to Nate & Caitlin's for cake & ice cream! Caitlin thought about making Mike a "team Bella" shirt, but ran out of time. So she put Bella on the cake instead!

Saxon figured since he is 3, that he should get to blow out the "3" candle.
Mike blew out the "0".

(Click here to see more pictures from the party on Cait's blog)

Tuesday was Mike's real birthday!
We went to Buca di Beppo for dinner to celebrate!

We ordered a couple different entrees to share with everyone.
It was so much food!
The waiter thought we were nuts when we ate it all & ordered more!


  
They brought out a huge triple layer, coconut cake for Mike & a candelabra to blow out.
It was pretty inside :)


We love you Mike & hope your birthday was AMAZING!
(More pictures from dinner here)

We started out Thanksgiving day over at Nate & Caitlin's, then went to my parents & ate again. I was absolutely stuffed!
It was also Caitlin's birthday on Thursday, so that night, we went to the Jazz vs. Bulls game in Salt Lake with Jeff's family to celebrate.

Our seats were awesome! 3rd row from the top :)



Jeff's family.
(Jeff, Me, Gregor, Joy, Saxon, Nate, Bridger, Caitlin, Mandy & Mike)
 
My brothers & sisters were also at the game.
At halftime they came over & sat with us.

(Melinda, Marsh, Matthew, Jeff & Me)
The Jazz won :) Woohoo! 

We hope you had a GREAT birthday Caitlin! We love you!

 
I love him :)

The game started at 8:30, so by the time we got back it was 12:30.
I stayed at my parents house because I was planning on going Black Friday shopping with them!
The first store we wanted to go to opened at 3:00 am.
I was so tired & wanted to go to sleep for a couple hours, but Melinda didn't want me to. So I told her she better find something for me to do or I would fall asleep.
We played snowboarding on the Wii for 2 hours :)
We went to Old Navy at 3 and it was NUTS! 
This was the first time Marsh or Melinda had ever done Black Friday :)
Marsh thought it was the funniest thing in the world.
We were all so tired that pretty much everything was funny though.
We laughed a lot! :)
We got what we wanted in Old Navy pretty quick, but waited in line to pay for more than an hour.
My mom & Teri wanted to get to Kohl's because they opened at 4, so Marsh, Melinda & I waited in line at Old Navy so they could go.

The line wrapped all the way through the store.
We got tired of standing, so sat down in the men's underwear.
We finished up at Old Navy around 4:30 & headed over to Wal Mart, where it was even more crazy. But at least we got to wait inside.
There was one thing I wanted the most (that I can't say because it's for Jeff for Christmas).
We looked all over for it, asked employees, & were told like 10 different places before we actually found it.
They had electric sanders on sale for $15 & I really wanted one because I have had Marshall's for months :) We looked all over for that also & couldn't find it anywhere.
I asked more than 20 employees, I think, and none of them could tell me where it was either. HELLO! Why do they have so many employees working, if they are going to be ZERO help to anyone. Seriously, how long do they plan for this day? They know what it is going to be like. Make a list of where everything is & give it to all your employees!!
It was frustrating!
We didn't have to wait in line as long here & were out by 5:45.
Then we headed to IHOP to meet my mom, Teri & Heather for breakfast.
We finished there & I was home & asleep by 8:00 :)
Crazy day, but so fun!
I found this the other day on another blog & really loved it & wanted to share.

The Best Day of My Life


Today, when I awoke, I suddenly realized that this is the best day of my life, ever! There were times when I wondered if I would make it to today; but I did! And because I did I'm going to celebrate!


Today, I'm going to celebrate what an unbelievable life I have had so far: the accomplishments, the many blessings, and, yes, even the hardships because they have served to make me stronger. I will go through this day with my head held high, and a happy heart. I will marvel at God's seemingly simple gifts: the morning dew, the sun, the clouds, the trees, the flowers, the birds. Today, none of these miraculous creations will escape my notice.


Today, I will share my excitement for life with other people. I'll make someone smile. I'll go out of my way to perform an unexpected act of kindness for someone I don't even know.


Today, I'll give a sincere compliment to someone who seems down. I'll tell a child how special he is, and I'll tell someone I love just how deeply I care for them and how much they mean to me.


Today is the day I quit worrying about what I don't have and start being grateful for all the wonderful things God has already given me. I'll remember that to worry is just a waste of time because my faith in God and his Divine Plan ensures everything will be just fine.


Tonight, before I go to bed, I'll go outside and raise my eyes to the heavens. I will stand in awe at the beauty of the stars and the moon, and I will praise God for these magnificent treasures.


As the day ends and I lay my head down on my pillow, I will thank Him for the best day of my life.


And I will sleep the sleep of a contented child, excited with expectation because I know tomorrow is going to be.....the best day of my life!


We are so grateful for this time of year to reflect on all the things we have been blessed with!
We love you all & hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Monday, November 23

Christmas Shopping in Park City

On Saturday, I went to Park City with my mom, her friend Heather, Melinda & Julie.

We did some Christmas shopping & a little us shopping :)

This was Melinda's "angry face"....

....that my mom wouldn't buy this super cute shirt!

It was so freezing outside, so we hung out in the Gap window display for a bit.

In Gap Kids, I tried on a shirt my mom was thinking of buying for Matthew.

I should be buying little boys clothes!
They are so much cheaper!

After shopping, we went to Olive Garden for dinner, where Melinda thought my chicken was attractive.
Yes, she actually said that! :)

Such a fun day!



Friday, November 20

Christmas Ball Wreath

I have been wanting, but haven't been able to find a wreath for my door that costs less than like a million dollars & has any potential.
So.....
I made one!
Using dollar store Christmas tree balls & a wire hanger!

Other than not being sure I like the bow right there, I think it's pretty cute :)

Thursday, November 19

Monster Donut

Last night, Jeff was heading to the store & asked if I needed anything. I said a donut :)
This is what he came home with....

(It looks bigger in real life)

Wednesday, November 18

Fashion Show

For one of Melinda's Young Women value projects she put on a modesty fashion show tonight.
She had people wearing pajamas, everyday outfits, and formal dresses.
She asked me to be in it & wear my wedding dress & just a casual everyday outfit.
She spent a lot of time putting it together. It turned out so cute & was a lot of fun!

Maggie was in it also, wearing her "baptism dress", pajamas & a more casual dress.



My wedding dress was the big finale :)

One of Macy's outfits was my old prom dress. She traded me her hat for my veil.
Then she made Maggie carry the back of her dress while she walked out. :)


This girl makes me laugh!
And this was everyone in the show.

 
You did an awesome job Melinda!

Saturday, November 14

I'm addicted....

....to crafting.
If you haven't noticed...my "crafty blogs" list grows every day :) I seriously spend hours looking at these blogs. These people are so creative!
One of my biggest addictions lately = Mod Podge. Amazing stuff.
I had these 3 plain black frames that I wanted to put in my kitchen, but unfortunately black does not go with my kitchen colors.

Mod Podge to the rescue :) Plus some cute scrapbook paper.
 
Much better!

Next Mod Podge project: Christmas boxes.

I bought a set of 3 of these little (not so cute) boxes.
I forgot to take a picture of all 3 before I started, but this is what they all looked like.
Then I turned them into a cute Christmas decoration :)


I made another Christmas decoration that didn't involve Mod Podge.
I bought these jingle bells & little red balls at Tai Pan a few weeks ago.

I had this empty vase that I put them in, added a little fake snow & tied a bow around it and TA DA!
Super easy! & I think it's cute :)


Thursday, November 12

Fall Decoration

I saw this idea on the blog Shanty2Chic & thought it was super cute. So I wanted to do it too!
I bought this set of 8 little pumpkins at Wal Mart for $2.34 when they were getting rid of all their Halloween stuff. Score!

I spray painted them white & added a little glaze.

Then hot glued some twine around them.
That was how she left them on the blog where I saw them & she set them on a shelf.
I have almost 3 million little baskets hanging around my house, so I spray painted one to put the pumpkins in. But I added some pinecones & leaves also to make it more "fall"ish!
And this is how it looks....

Wednesday, November 11

Grocery Smarts Super Savings 2


What I got:
2 boxes Rice Chex cereal
2 boxes Corn Chex cereal
2 boxes Honey Nut Chex cereal
4 boxes Green Giant frozen vegetables
6 boxes (3-ct) Pop Secret popcorn
4 boxes Pillsbury Brownie Mix
2 boxes Pillsbury Cookie Mix
2 jars Pillsbury frosting
4 jars Smuckers Strawberry Preserves
2 jars Ragu Spaghetti Sauce
2 jars Ragu Alfredo Sauce
1 bottle Crisco Vegetable Oil
1 bottle Crisco Olive Oil
1 bottle Crisco No-stick Spray
1 (4 pack) Crisco shortening sticks
6 bottles Airwick Air Freshener
Total Spent: $27.72
Total Saved: $106.93
I bought 42 items, making each item approximately $.66

Tuesday, November 10

Vegas Weekend

This weekend we went to Las Vegas for the PBR (Professional Bullriding) Finals.
We stayed at the Flamingo & our room was on the very top floor. We had an awesome view!




It was hard to get very good pictures out the window.








It was really fun to watch the Bellagio fountains at night.



This is what our room looked like.




It was around 80 degrees there, so we spent some time laying by the pool. It felt so good!



While we were walking around looking for the pool, we found some real flamingos!




 We also walked through this place where they were about to have a wedding.
It was real pretty!
 

Later we walked down to the Coca Cola Factory & M&M World.
It is Christmas time at M&M World, which made me so happy inside, I wanted to jump up & down.



They have every color of M&M you could ever think of.



 I got some pink & purple ones.
Mike got lots of different colors!




We ate lunch at this cafe inside our hotel & I had a huge cheeseburger that I couldn't even fit my mouth around.




Then we went to the PBR!









After the PBR, we went to Buffalo Wild Wings to eat. I'm in love with that place.
Such a fun weekend. I wish we could have stayed longer.