Skiing & Snowboard Fun

We decided to go skiing/snowboarding as a family today, while we all had some time off work. This was Hayden's second time and Halli's first time. Thank goodness Cannon came and taught them both (he used to be a ski school instructor)
There was so much snow.

They Both did such a great job. We couldn't believe how well they did. The best part was that they were having fun too, no complaining or whining.
Mom and Ted joined us in the lodge and brought us all Subway, cookies, drinks and treats.

Jeremy showing off his pimp gear.

Abbey carving up the ridge.

Halli whizzing past with abbey trying to catch up.

Thanks to Cannon he makes skiing fun. (Sorry no pictures of Britany on her snowboard.)

Hayden asked on the way home if we could go next week.

Some of Our Christmas Fun

This year Hayden and Halli got to have Christmas together which only happens every other year. I always look forward to it. They like the same things and they are so close in age that they usually get the same things from Santa. It's so fun

Hayden and Halli wrote notes to Santa and left cookies, chocolate, milk and carrots for the reindeer. Santa always writes back.

Christmas Eve at Nanna's and Ted's, the grandkids always get spoiled.

Excited girls in their new outfits.

Cache loved his new boy doll. Cache kissed him all night.

My Favorite Tradition

Going the the annual Tabernacle Christmas concert has been a favorite tradition of mine since the first time I went back when it was in the Tabernacle instead of the Conference Center. Every year for about 12 years my family tries to go. We have only missed one or two times. We have seen various singers and actors, from Angela Landsbury to Walter Conkrite.

This morning we left our house at 7:20, the roads were very bad. There is never any parking close by so we had to walk a few blocks in the frigid weather.

This year only Mom, Ted, Cannon, Jeremy and me were able to go. My parents and Cannon got to sit on the front row, Jeremy and I were back aways.
I can honestly say that I enjoy every moment of the performance. There is the Choir, the Orchestra on Temple Square, The Bells on Temple Square, and dancers performing throughout each song. I just get such an energized feeling when I hear them sing.

This year the guests were Brian Stokes Mitchell a Broadway performer and Edward Herrman a movie and television actor. Brian was amazing.

The stage is always decorated so beautifully.
President Monson presented the performers with plaques afterward and thanked them for coming and sharing their talents with us.

Oh the Christmas Lights

This year Jeremy said that he didn't think he would have time to put up Christmas lights. I said that's totally fine because he has had a very busy schedule and a lot of stress. I thought to myself, it's okay if we don't have lights this year, or I thought if I really wanted them, it probably would be pretty simple.

So Jeremy had to go to Moab for work and I thought I will put up the lights and surprise him. This morning I got the the lights out at 10:45. First I got all the lights out, plugged them in and tested them, most of them worked, I messed with a few that had problems, and I threw a set away. I planned on taking about two hours to complete this task.
Jeremy's one rule was if I was going to try to put up the lights, I couldn't get on the roof. I know how dangerous roofs can be in the winter, but I thought I can do this. I will set the ladder up and climb up over the roof and them just connect the lights to the rain gutter. I climbed the ladder and got to the top and realized the pitch on the roof was much steeper than I had thought. I climbed down the ladder and thought about how the heck I could do this. I didn't have a ladder that was tall enough to set up and hang them while standing on the ladder. I came to the conclusion that I would have to just put the lights in the bushes and trees.
So I began decorating the bushes and I wasn't very happy with the way they were looking. My neighbor walked by and I asked her how she liked my red-neck Christmas lights. She said why don't you use my adjustable ladder and I will hold it for you and you can hang them from the rain gutters. Okay that will be great. We got her ladder and I removed all the lights from the bushes.

She helped me do three-forths of the roof and then I ran out of lights. So I had to run to Home Depot. Forty dollars later I had 7 new sets of lights and 3 extension cords. I got home and we finished the rest of the roof and then I did a few bushes. By this time it was 5:45 and dark. My two hour project turned into 7 hours.
I couldn't believe what a pain in the butt it was.


The sad thing is, is that it isn't that many lights, but I am not doing any more. And next year when Jeremy says he doesn't have time..... I will know exactly what he means.

Thanksgiving 08

Thanksgiving was at my mom's this year. It was a very small group. We were lucky that my Grandma Welling was able to come and spend the day with us. She was been living in California for over a year now and we have really missed her. She lived next door to us growing up and helped raise us all. She is very special to me.

(Todd, Cannon, & Britany)
All of my siblings were there except Harmony, she was unable to come, but at least we were all able to talk to her on the phone that morning.

(Jeremy, me, Abbey & Cache)
Abbey, Mom and Ted made most of the food, it was all so good. We ended up eating all day.

(Jeremy, Jenn, Tommy & Ryan)
Jenn, Tommy & Ryan came later to eat pie and play games. We played the Wii and then played Taboo. We ended up staying until midnight. We had a wonderful day even though we were missing the two red heads.

Piano Recital

Hayden had her first piano recital tonight. She played Ode to Joy and the Indian Song. She was nervous but she did a fabulous job, we are so proud of her. Nanna, Ted and Britany came to watch.

Hayden has been taking piano lessons since January and has made a lot of progress.

Here is Hayden with her piano teacher ChrisAnne. She is the best teacher, she even comes to our house to teach the lessons, it is so nice.

"Henry, I've got bangs"

So, I got bangs. I always want to do fun things with my hair, but I some how always pretty much have the same style. This time I was a little daring and had some bangs cut.

I was nervous that I wouldn't like them, but I have actually really liked the change. Thanks to Jessica, my stylist and sister-in-law, for always knowing what is good for me.

Eyebrow Threading

Jeremy kept telling about this eyebrow threading that he had seen and I could never figure out what he was talking about.
I want to know if anyone has heard of getting this done anywhere in Utah.
It looks very accurate and easy, but I can't figure out how they are doing it with one thread in their mouth.

This girl does a pretty good job of explaining and showing how to do it. I have tried it on myself and others and it does work very well. It hurts just like when you pluck and it definetly has some skills involved that I haven't quite mastered.
Let me know what you all think and if you try it.

Hayden's 9

Happy Birthday to Hayden

Hayden turned 9, today November 9th. Yesterday we celebrated with family and friends at the Salomon Center in Ogden. We ate at the Pizza Factory, Hayden's favorite restaurant. Hayden had a pumpkin pie type dessert and pumpkin cupcakes for her cake. Then everyone either bowled at Fat Cats, went miniature golfing or played arcades. It was a little chaotic at times, but it was pretty fun.
It was fun to see everyone and Hayden got a lot of nice gifts.
From Mom and Jeremy, Hayden got a digital camera and case. She got acting lessons from Nanna Glori. Clothes, kid's bop 14, frog pillow, money, scripture bag, tattoo kit, just to name a few.
Hayden is so big now, its so hard for me to believe that she is really 9. I am so thankful that Hayden is so responsible and such a great kid!
We love you Hayden!
P.S. Thanks again for everyone that made it to her party. It was so nice to see everyone, it truly made the day a memorable one for Hayden.

Halloween

Here is Hayden as a mummy.

She is pretty scary. We hope she will stay warm enough.
It pays when your mom works at the hospital and can get ace wraps for free.

Trick or Treat!

Emmett

This is Emmett. He is a our new puppy. Jeremy has wanted a Boston Terrier his whole life and he was excited when he found out about one that he could through his sister in-law Jessica.
Jeremy brought him home Tuesday night. Hayden had know idea we were getting him and so she was totally surprised. She loves animals and has wanted a dog forever.

He is very funny and loves to run and pounce. He likes to bite sticks and loves to cuddle and bury himself in blankets.

We are all working on getting him house trained, so far he is doing pretty dang good.

PUMPKIN WALK

Last night for FHE, Hayden and I went to the annual pumpkin walk here in Logan. Different companies and families get to decorate a scene with pumpkins and other fall vegetables. The pumpkin walk is free and so last night it was very busy.

Here is a peacock made out of a squash.

Jack Skelington and the characters from "The Nightmare Before Christmas"

The scenes also have music that goes a long with their theme.

This is my favorite one. There is an older guy in Logan that rides his bike everywhere and is always honking his horn and waving to everyone. The words behind the pumpkin biker say,
" 1 backpack $16.00"
"1 helmet $29.99"
"1 bicycle $279.00"
"1 wave from Brent.....priceless"
This pictures isn't too good, but it is Batman, the Joker and Scareface.

This one was the cutest by far. It is Noah's Ark. If you look carefully you can see the elephants, skunks, penguins, pigs, bears and there were a lot of others that I couldn't fit in the picture. I want to make some of those elephant bums :-)

play/sand/belmont/brit's b-day

This last week and weekend was pretty eventful.

On Wednesday, Jeremy, Me and Hayden went with Ted to "Little Women" at the Ellen Eccles Theatre. My step-sister Jenn was Marmee ,the mother, in the play. Jenn was absolutley amazing, she should be on broadway. Great job Jenn!

Friday, Jeremy went to the sand dunes with his cousin Josh and camped out. He has only been once this summer and they figured it was going to be one of the last weekends of nice weather. They had a great time and even got sunburned.

This weekend Britany and Halli came in to visit during fall break. They were here for such a short time :-( Hayden and Halli always get a long so well.

Saturday we were able to go to Belmont and swim. My family used to own Belmont and now its is called CamperWorld Hot Springs Resort. So now we have an exclusive pass so we can swim and golf (since it is now a private place). The water is natural spring water and you can swim with your eyes open with no chlorine or sulfur smell. Hayden got to bring along her best friend Amelia. Britany and I got to practice are synchronized swimming moves. Mom and Ted watched.
Sunday I got to teach my first lesson in my new calling at church. I now teach Hayden's primary class. There are 11 kids there every week. Halli got to come too. It went so well and the kids were so good and smart. It is a relief from the Sunbeams. Hayden was actually excited when I told her I was going to be her teacher, and that made me feel good.

After church we went to mom's and had a dinner and celebrated Britany's 32nd birthday. Her Birthday isn't until Nov. 2 but this would be the only time we would be together. We had soup in a pumpkin and then had pumpkin shaped bread bowls and apple crisp. We played the Wii and played with funny baby Cache.

Poor Jeremy had to leave after dinner to go make his trip to Vernal for surgery on Monday. He got started up Sardine Canyon and realized he had my car keys in his pocket and I was still at my mom's. So he drove all the way back to Fielding (what a guy). So lucky for me, Jeremy ended up sleeping at home and left at 4 a.m. instead.

Hayden slept over at Nanna's with Britany and Halli. This morning Britany and Halli flew back to Kauai and the rest of us had to go to work and school. We will be happy to see them come back for Thanksgiving.

He's perfect

This post is a "thank you" to my wonderful husband. Many of you might not know Jeremy, or he might seem quiet and shy to you. Before I really knew Jeremy I thought he was completely different than he really is. I am going to brag about him for a minute.

Jeremy is the kindest most genuine person. He is so thoughtful and is always aware of my needs. He is loving and affectionate to me and is always showing and telling me how much he loves me. He always wants to spend time with just the two of us. I never have felt like something in his life is more important than our marriage.

I appreciate all he does for Hayden and me. I know its not easy to become a parent overnight, but he does a great job and I know how hard he tries with Hayden. He is always cleaning the house and doing the laundry. He will even take my car and totally wash and clean it out while I am asleep. He leaves me love notes almost everyday that I find in very clever places. He tries to make things easy for me and wants me to relax whenever I can. Jeremy makes being married a joy, I never knew it could be so great, it really gets better everyday.

He brought me these beautiful roses this week, for no reason at all, I don't even think I deserved them.

Fall

Saturday we were able to finally get together with Mandi and James. We have been trying for months and we finally made it happen. Mandi has been my best friend forever. Hayden was so excited for Maddi to come over, they love each other. They came over and we ate pizza and then we went to the Western Heritage Center. We did a corn maze without a map, not a good idea. We did a blackout maze, no lights and fake spider webs everywhere, not a good idea. The kids got to do a hay jump, they loved that. Hayden found a cute kitten that she wanted to take home too. The cat stayed at the farm, thank goodness.

After the maze we went to Casper's for ice cream and, Yes Mandi, it was my favorite part :-)
It was so great to get together with the Hales, next time we wont wait so long.

Sunday my family came over. Harmony my sister from Kauai was here with her family for a wedding. We had to do family pictures first, that was Jeremy's favorite part of the night. We had a taco bar and Abbey made her famous peach pie. We celebrated harmony's 27th birthday. Hayden loved playing and taking care of Devyn. We will miss the Darrohn's

Free Saturday

There is nothing like having a fun weekend and not having to pay for it.
Saturday we got to invited to the BYU vs Wyoming game in Provo with Josh and Michelle. They have season tickets and had two extras and were nice enough to invite us. Jeremy loves the games and I like getting out. BYU had another wipe out, no score from Wyoming. Thanks Josh & Michelle!
After the game we rushed to IKEA, my mom had given me a gift certificate for my birthday. I love IKEA and Jeremy also said, "I really like this store" so I guess we will be going back. I could have spent all day. We got some organizing boxes and they were all half price. I even had money leftover on the gift card. Thanks Mom!
Then we went to Carrie and Preston's, they had invited us & Tim & Jessica to go the U2 Laser show at the Clark Planitarium. We don't get to see them too often and we were excited to spend some time with them and see their cute kids. I love Bono and so the show was great. Thanks Carrie & Preston!
*sorry no pictures*

Tagged

I guess I will do a tag. I don't usually do them, because I am too boring, but I have nothing else to blog at this time.

1. Where were you 10 years ago?

Well in 1998, I lived in SugarHouse in an apartment, it was a scary area and my car was broken into a few times. I worked at LDS Hospital as a CNA in the outpatient cath lab. I really loved that job and all the people I worked with. I was also doing prerequisites at Salt Lake Community College for Nursing School.

2. What's on your list today?

• Exercise, that's on my list everyday, but it doesn't happen everyday.
• Mow the lawn
• Make dinner
• Fold laundry

3-What if you were a Billionaire?

• I would give my parents and siblings the money it would take to pay off their debts and retire and live happily ever after.
• Buy a few vacation homes.
• I would continue my nursing degree
• I would go to culinary school and cosmetology school, 2 things I have always wanted to do.
• Give much to charity
• Hire a masseuse

4. 5 places you have lived:

1. Fielding, Utah 84311
2. Sugarhouse Utah (2 different places)
3. Murray Utah
4. Providence Utah

5. 3 bad habits

1. I cannot sit down and relax, it sounds so dumb, but its a real problem, I don't watch TV unless I am folding laundry or jogging on the treadmill. I need help, I always feel like I should be doing something.
2. I pick my cuticles all the time and will sometimes just cut them off with a small blade. I have really tried to stop, I want to have nice girl hands.
3. I pick my face and pull out my hair. My family makes fun of my hair pulling. (okay, now I like sound a complete freak)

6. What kind of snacks do you like?

• I love chocolate, I do not like salty or chewy snacks at all.
• homemade cookies, brownies, rice crispy treats with m&m's
• cold stone ice cream

Okay I am tagging Britany and Harmony: They are the ones that talked me in to doing the blog thing and they have turned into sloggers, I know, I know, you have very crazy lives and this is the least of your worries.