Putting up the Tree!!

I am not going to lie, I am not a huge fan of decorating...I love having my house decorated for Christmas but I just hate putting it all out and trying to find a place for everything. Every year we try to put up the tree for family home evening. Rich pulled out the boxes and got the tree put together.
I had the kids do most the decorating. I was running on the treadmill right before and I was tired and not really in the mood. Alex was really excited that he got to out all the ornaments on the tree. I had to pretty much force Alexa to help.
I found these big sparkly snowflakes at the dollar store and bought a bunch of them to hang from the ceiling. I spent most the night tying the ribbon on them and then helping Rich hang them up. He wasn't too excited about my idea and putting all those tacks up in the celing but he was a pretty good sport and I think it turned out beautifully!
Rich put the finishing touches on the tree and then we got the kids to bed. Now we are ready for Christmas. December is always so busy and fun and it goes by too fast!!


Here is a look at the finished product...you can get the idea of the snowflakes hanging from the ceiling but it really did look nice and it added alot to the room

Thanksgiving Dinner and Doorbusting

This year we are with the Cope's for Thanksgiving. The Rogers just bought a new house a few months ago and so we all went there for dinner.
I was in charge of the jello, that is perfect for me!!! We ate really yummy food and sat and talked.
Carrie made all the pies and they were so delicious...I tried a few of them because I couldn't resist!!!

After dinner we left for Logan, it was pretty late by the time we hit the road. My parents and Monica and Amb went to Ryan's house for Thanksgiving with the Keller's because everyone was at the in-law's this year. We decided to stop in at Annette's to say Hi to everyone on our way. We played Wii and ate more pie!!!

We finally got to Logan really really late and Amy and Melissa met us at Mom and Dad's so we could decide what store to go to first. We decided to go to Wal Mart first and left about 3:30am. The good thing about going there is you don't have to wait outside in the cold. Mel met us there and we all split up and waited by the stuff we wanted to get. I was hoping to get Alexa a camera and there were some toys that I wanted for my nieces and nephews. We ended up getting everything we were hoping for plus MORE!! We were there until about 7:30am and went to McDonald's for breakfast after. Then we hit some more stores and shopped our butts off all day!! We had a great time together, it is a great tradition that we sisters have and I hope we do it forever!!!!

Earn Your Turkey RUN!!!

Rich was really excited about running this race. I would have been just as happy sleeping in and watching the parade but I played along. We woke up at 7am to get bundled up for our 4 mile Turkey Trot.
Rich getting in a good stretch before we took off.
Here is the temperature right before the race started. I had a jacket but I knew I would get warm running so I left it in the car. They split up the men and women and we each started on different roads, that was weird. Rich was really wanted to win at least in his age category because he wanted a free turkey or pie.
Here we are after the race. Once the sun came out it made it alot nicer. It was actually pretty great weather for running. Rich finished in 25 minutes and he looped around to run me in. I finished in 39 minutes and I was really happy about that. Just about 10 minute miles...not bad!
Well Rich ended up 3rd in his age division and so he didn't get a turkey or a pie just a ribbon. The awards took FOREVER and the announcer was totally driving me crazy. Rich was determined that we were going to win something so we waited and waited and waited. FINALLY they got to the raffle prizes and Rich won a turkey and I won a pie so we were both happy but we didn't get home until noon!!!

Family Pictures

We got our family pictures taken today. It was a sunny day but really cold. We had Lacey take them again, she always does a really great job! Here are a few of my favorites!!!











What can I say...I have a stinkin cute family!!!

Utah Symphony Field Trip

The Utah Symphony is one of only 13 Symphonies in the United States. That is what I learned today. I went with Alex on their field trip to Salem High School to hear the Utah Symphony perform.
I was really impressed with how quiet all the 4th graders were throughout the performance. Ii was so fun to watch and hear the beautiful music. I was a little bummed though, I thought they would play Christmas music but they didn't.
Just before they started playing I took a quick picture.
Here is Alex and his friend Jaden.
The bus rides are always the best part of the field trips...luckily this was a short trip!!!

Grand Openings and Midnight Movies

It seems every time we go to St. George or pass through it we always stop at In-N-Out Burger. I love it!! I was very excited to see them building one in Orem.
Rich and I were watching the news and saw that it was the Grand Opening and people were camping out, I asked Rich if we should go (to camp out) and he said no way that is CRAZY!! I kind of agree but if he would have said yes you know I would have jumped in the car and gone!!! I told him we should go for lunch but he thought it would be too busy and take too long. I was disappointed, I LOVE being among the "firsts" for things! Well I guess I rubbed off a little on him because he called me at work and asked if I still wanted to go...of course I did!! He and Joseph me me there and it wasn't that bad of a wait...about 40 minutes from the time I got there to when we got our food, and it was TOTALLY WORTH THE WAIT!!!



Last year Alexa and I went to the midnight showing of "Twilight" and I blogged about it. As I said above, I love to be among the "firsts" for anything so of course there was no question about me seeing "New Moon" at midnight. I was going to get tickets and just to be polite asked Rich if he was interested in going, thinking for sure he would say no. Well he told me that he would like to go. I was surprised and then I told him that if he went Alex and Max would have to come too (since we can't really get a babysitter at midnight). He said that was fine and so I got us all tickets.
Alexa ended up going with Paige to help with the pre-movie party. Me, Rich and the boys went to the theater at about 10:30pm to get in line. It was pretty cold outside so me and Alex stood in line outside while Rich and Max hung out in the car. They let us inside the theater at 11:30 so it wasn't too bad.
They ended up starting the movie really late and that was pretty annoying but the movie was GREAT!! It was so much better than the first and I was very glad that we went and saw it first! Max stayed awake almost the whole movie and he loved it. I thought he might be scared of the werewolves and vampires but he wasn't. We all really liked it, even Rich and we didn't get home until after 3:00am!! GOOD TIMES!

Manti Temple

This morning at 5:00am, we met at the church to go to the Manti Temple and do Baptisms for the Dead. It was SO EARLY but we had a great turn-out. The drive to the temple was great. It was so dark but there were really no others cars on the road so we made excellent time.
We had 30 youth and like 15 leaders and our whole Bishopric there. The temple President talked to us for a few minutes and then the kids got changed and proceeded to do the work for those who have already passed on. It was a great experience for everyone and things went really smoothly.
I was happy to see snow falling as we were going out to our cars. We had a group photo shoot and it was COLD!!!
I am so glad that I got to have this experience with Alexa. I feel so blessed to be part of the Young Women's organization and I am grateful for the youth of our ward.
The weather was fine on the drive home and we all met at the church for muffins. It was a great way to start out our day.

HCG Diet is OVER!!

Today I can EAT again!!!

I ended up losing only 15 pounds but I feel good about that. It was SO HARD to not have diet coke and sugar (especially over Halloween) but I did it and I am really proud of myself. It isn't a huge change but it feels good and I plan on getting into a regular running routine and being more careful about what I eat!!

I ended up eating alot of salads and chicken breasts. I did have a roll at our book club dinner and I might have eaten a few other things that I wasn't supposed to but NO sugar or Diet Coke. I had Arby's Roast beef sandwiches without the bun and I had chicken salads from Wendy's with fat free dressing. I ate A TON of apples and drinking all that water was pretty hard!!!

It was a great experience and I learned that I really do have will power and can set goals and accomplish them. 15 pounds in 23 days isn't too shabby. I am hoping to be where I want to be soon, on my own it will take time but I am dedicated to making the change!!!

Book Club Getaway!!

We did Book Club a bit different this month. Stacy invited us all up to her cabin for Book Club and to stay the night. The cabin is just over an hour away so it was not too far to come for those that couldn't spend the night. We ate and ate and ate...I tried my hardest to stick to the diet and I did really well for the most part but I caved and had one of Mel's delicious homemade rolls.
(Michelle, Kathryn, Stacy, Julie, Tandy and Cora).
We had a great turnout and had a really great discussion about our book "My Life in France" about Julia Child. We had a great time talking and relaxing and just enjoying the mini getaway. I was not very on the ball with the pictures and didn't get much cooperation from some!!
Me and Kirsten shared this room. Only 6 of us stayed the night and we stayed up really late talking.
Stacy made waffles for breakfast and they smelled so delicious but I just ate my apple and drank my water like a good girl!
Me and Kirsten left a little earlier than the others. It was a great time and something that I hope we will be able to do again soon!!!
The day was beautiful and I couldn't resist taking a picture of the view from the back deck. The cabin was amazing and the location was awesome! I got home and told Rich that i want one!!!