merry christmas

we had a great christmas! last week my family spent a night in lehi near thanksgiving point. we broke the temple square tradition and drove through the lights at thanksgiving point instead. (so not worth it ~ just my opinion) my sister, abbie, brought us awesome christmas pajama's from equador. of course we had to prance around the hotel lobby in our new jammies.... wouldn't be christmas without it.

christmas morning was typical but great. santa was very generous and left us lots of toys.

on the 26th, brandon and i headed out to vernal to see his family. it has been almost a year since we've been out there so it was a well needed trip. it was good to have his whole family together.

while in vernal my sister millie gave birth to her second daughter. baby aayla had a rough start but is doing well. my mom, abbie, and i were finally able to hold her yesterday. i'm excited and blessed to have another niece.

i can't believe yet another year has come and gone. 2010 has a lot in store and we couldn't be more excited to welcome it in.

~merry christmas and happy new year~

the hole

i have no idea where the month of november went. seriously, it was halloween and the next thing i know it's the week before christmas. i love this time of year and of course it always seems to fly by.

the past month has been full of huge decisions for brandon and myself. namely, finding a place to live. well, here is the result of our decision.

yes, this hole in the ground is the beginning of our new home. i can't tell you how excited we were to see this hole being dug.

this is halloween, this is halloween...

oh, how i LOvE halloween!
halloween started on friday with lots of costumes and craziness at school. the 4th grade teachers dressed up like rock stars this year. i must say it was a hit... even though most kids thought we were hannah montana and lilly from hannah montana. that night my family celebrated my dad's birthday with costumes, homemade chili, pie, and a monopoly money auction. even ginny dressed up for the occation. (this picture's all about the attractive woman in the background)

halloween night brandon and i went trick-or-treating with my nieces. i'm sure we were a sight to see... 5 adults and 2 children. it's been years since i've been trick-or-treating. now this is what halloween is all about! it was so much fun and brought back a flood of memories! ellery was definately the star of the night with her green fire truck. jacob did an amazing job creating her costume. it was even equipt with flashing lights and a "built-in" siren. well, the siren was actually just my neice meggie... at each door she would sing "eee-oo-eee-oo".

bitter sweet

moving on...

we handed over the keys to our condo today. yesterday we had the final walk through. i found myself full of emotions and even tearing up as we walked through the empty rooms of our home. it's funny how attached to a house you can get. we've put so much heart, sweat, and soul into making it our home. so many memories and the simple comfort of walking through the door and being home.

i can't help but reminisce about the past 3-plus years. i moved in as a single, 1st year school teacher. buying a condo was nowhere in my plans... it literally fell into my lap. i am so grateful it did. the projects started from day one. the first days were spent painting and ripping out old flooring and replacing with new. the work never finished.

brandon and i soon met. we dated and spent every moment at the condo. he helped with new ventures and it soon became his home too. even while moving out, brandon and i talked about the "projects" we never got around to completing.

saying goodbye to our first home was harder than i thought it would be. it had become a part of me.

{i'm a titch-bit sentimental.. can you tell???}

when everything was cleared out, brandon and i layed on our bedroom floor and remembered. i'm excited to find a new place to call home. (we're currently calling my parent's basement home... we are so very grateful for it!)

sold

that is right, my friends... sold.

13 Things...

I read this in the Reader's Digest and enjoyed it thoroughly. I chuckled as I read and connected to so many of these. For those who are teachers, maybe you can relate too.

Thirteen Things Your Child's Teacher Won't Tell You

"If we teach small children, don't tell us that our jobs are "so cute" and that you wish you could glue and color all day long."

"I'm not a marriage counselor. At parent-teacher conferences, let's stick to Dakota's progress, not how your husband won't help you around the house."

"Your child may be the center of your universe, but I have to share mine with 25 others."

"Guys who dribble a ball for a couple of hours a game can make up to $20 million a year. We educate future leaders and make about $51,000 a year"

"Kids dish on your secrets all the time - money, religion, politics, even Dad's vasectomy."

"Just because your child says he did his homework doesn’t mean it’s true. You must check. Every night."

"Supportive, involved parents are crucial. But some are “helicopter parents”--they hover too much."

"Please, no more mugs, frames, or stuffed animals. A gift card to Starbucks or Staples would be more than enough. A thank-you note: even better."

"We take on the role of mother, father, psychologist, friend, and adviser everyday. Plus, we're watching for learning disabilities, issues at home, peer pressure, drug abuse, and bullying."

"There are days when I just want to quit, but then that one smile from that one kid, changes it all."

A New Home for Aragorn

One year for April Fool's, Brandon thought it would be funny to buy a life-size cut out of Aragorn (you know, the hot scruffy man from Lord of the Rings) and put him in my shower. I nearly peed myself. Since then we've used him for a plethera of jokes and such. We even set him up as our security guard when we went to California. Unfortunately, we forgot to tell my parents, who were showing the house to some possible buyers. You can imagine how that went.

The problem was, he took up a lot of room and wasn't the most fashionable piece of decor. I tried sending him to DI several times but could never part with my cardboard boyfriend. (I have attachment issues) But this weekend we found him the perfect home. A place he could overlook and protect us forever.


Yes, this is us with Aragorn on the top of Timpanogos. This was for you Millie... and don't worry, we made it to the top before the sun came up.


Brandon, Jacob, Aragon, and myself survived a hike to the top of Timp over the Labor Day weekend. We started hiking Monday morning at 2:15. Jacob hiked with us for the first 30 minutes but B and I were only holding him back, so he went off on his own. Holy monkey that kid has the fastest hiking pace. One of his steps equals 15 of mine. No lie.

Jacob made it to the top in 3 hours. It took Brandon and I a little over 4. Seriously, how does he move so fast?!?

We were able to watch the sunrise from the summit. I'm sure it was gorgeous but i was freaking out about being on the top. I hate it up there. It terrifies me to think about where I am. I feel so vulnerable with no protection. I'm a tiny, miniscule ant on this giant mountain and the smallest gust of wind could blow me away.

On top of that, everyone and their dog was up there and that made me even more nervous. I couldn't watch anyone because they would walk SO close to the edge. My biggest fear is falling off a cliff, my second biggest fear is seeing someone else fall. I get nauseous thinking about it. (shutter-shutter) I spent most of the time laying back with my eyes closed, taking deep breaths.

The way down is always harder! Poor Brandon's knee started bothering him as soon as we headed down from the summit. Turns out he had ITBS (iliotibial band syndrom). Jacob diagnosed it and was right.... what do ya know!!! ;) B-don made it down the mnt with his wounded knee and a half. (the other one developed the same problem) :( During the car right home his muscles tightened up and quadrupled the problem. Bad news bears... especially when you live on the 3rd floor. I tried to push, then I tried to pull. But Brandon is no lightweight, and I'm not exactly the strongest woman in the world. I thought I was going to have to call for help to get him up the stairs. I felt so bad but couldn't help but laugh a little. He looked so funny trying to hobble up the stairs with straight, stiff knees. (don't worry he laughed too... through tears) He managed to drag his broken body up the stairs... I helped by unlocking the door and holding it open (what a good wife). He made it... only to face the shower. That was funny.

I promise I'm not a terrible wife. I nursed him back to health with all the sympathy and love I have.

a first

how is it possible that i have lived 28 years on this earth and never attended a demolition derby?

does it get any more american than this? i think not.

god bless america!

thanks for the invite jenni!

mona

back to the rope swing!!!!

brandon and i spent a day in mona last week with 2 of my sisters, brother in-law, and my neice. it was a day of laughs and relaxation.

we love the new raft. thanks again millie & jacob. we missed you and hope you can come before school starts up again!

24th of July!

To celebrate Brandon's birthday we busted out the dutch oven, tent, and sleeping bags. We headed up AF canyon on Wednesday night and found a perfect campsite tucked in the pines above Silver Lake Flats. Besides the obnoxious drunks who made themselves comfy next door, it ended up being the BEST CAMPING TRIP EVER!

We spend our first day relaxing, exploring, and playing in some streams. On Friday, B-don's birthday, we hiked to Silver Lake. We spent a few hours hiking around the area and playing in the water. That night we had dutch oven pizza and peach cobbler. mmm scrumptious!

Sadly we had to head home on Saturday. We easily could have stayed another week. I loved not having a schedule and having no idea what time it was.


Brandon was finally able to use his truck tent. It worked better than we expected.

there is nothing better than a campfire.

On Sunday Brandon opened some presents at my parents house. He was SO excited to get a BBQ!!! I guess this means I need to learn how to grill ribs.

Since my birthday is next month Millie & Jacob combined our presents... smart. As you can see I was super excited... they gave us a blow-up raft/boat. So excited!!! THANKS MJ!

Brandon requested a transformer cake this year. I decided it was the perfect opportunity to try fondant. I found a marshmallow recipe online and spent most of Saturday and Sunday experimenting, stressing, and cursing. But in the end I figured it out and think the cake turned out pretty good. Now that I kind of know what i'm doing I'm excited to try another.

The transformer party was finished up with some pretty awesome transformer tattoos.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRANDON!!! I love you and hope you had a fun birthday!

suMMer naPs

summer is the BEST time of the year!!!!!! the other day i waited until 12:30 to go to the gym... because i can. i got home and read for an hour, then took a 2 hour nap... because i can. i couldn't sleep that night (dang nap) so i got up and read until 2am... but no biggie, it's summer!! this morning i got up and made brandon's lunch. by 10:30 i was out cold. i love summer naps!!!

there are days i can't help but feel lazy and selfish and i know i won't have these summer days all to myself forever. but then i remind myself... i went through 9 months of dealing with 9 and 10 year-olds all day... everyday. i've earned this!

San Francisco

Brandon and I spent the past week in San Francisco to celebrate ONE YEAR of marriage. It was a trip of ups and downs... literally. We arrived on Friday night and checked into our hotel. It was a nice room but no air conditioning. no air = open windows. open windows + sirens/horns/drunkards = no sleep. Nothing earplugs couldn't fix.

We spent our first day at Point Reyes National Seashore. It was a gorgeous place but was insanely windy and cold. We biked to the shore and walked along the beach. Did I mention the wind was blowing? Holy Monkey! We were pelted with sand... ouch. so was our camera. Camera + sand = bad new bears! It's going to need a visit to the doctor. Luckily we brought a backup.

The rest of the week was fun. We went to several museums, and saw Wicked. We biked the golden gate bridge and some trails on Angel Island, visited Muir Woods, and ate some amazing food. Oh, and of course countless hours driving up and down the steep hills looking for a place to park.

BaY cRuiSE

oaKLanD TEmPle
exPLOratoriUM -- mucho fun




aNGeL isLanD


ggb

MuiR wOOd forest

Cheap bike lock + big city = bye bye bike


Brandon's (my parent's) bike was stolen. Dang cheap bike lock!!! The bike was a PIECE with squeaky breaks and rusty gears. For some weird reason my bike was left behind. I LOVE my bike so I was beyond grateful it wasn't stolen.

Oh well... it was our last night and b-don really needed a new bike. if anyone visits San Francisco in the near future, look for a homeless man on a squeaky bike... can't miss it.

Greetings from Coin!

My mom's sister passed away last week after battling cancer. My parents, sister, niece and myself packed up the car and took the long 15 hour drive to itty-bitty, tiny-winy Coin, Iowa. I love this place. Old farm land, abandoned homes, old barns and cracked sidewalks. I love it!
Abbie and i explored and took pictures. There are all sorts of treasures in this town.