After a long time off… Over a year, I think I’m back for awhile! There were many reasons for my leave of absence. {i started comparing myself too much to all you creative, happy people. Then I was simply too tired, not feeling well. Then I felt too far behind. How would I ever catch up? So much has changed I don’t think I will even attempt to write about a whole year. I will say we had a good one. The lord blessed us with our son Jude and our lives have changed forever!
home for Christmas
I was home for Christmas! Our journey home started when we picked up my older brother Kaleb from the airport late Tuesday night. He flew in from Connecticut and hit our winter storm perfectly. A drive that normally takes 30 minutes took us at least a couple of hours. The roads were horrible. Had we known it would be so bad, we should have driven straight to Idaho; however we hadn’t planned to leave until the next morning. Our drive to Idaho was much nicer than the drive to the airport and back {no snow}. Kaleb caught us up to speed with the happenings in Connecticut, PT school, and the singles ward. It was so good to catch up. We spent the days before Christmas shopping and hanging out with family. Christmas morning, we surprised my parents with a Tandem Bike… so cute! They mention quite often how they road one on their honeymoon in Arizona, so we thought it would be fun to get them one. {Parents are so hard buy for} We then headed over to my sister’s to watch her cute kids open their presents. Little kids just make Christmas morning more exciting. After they were through, we kept our tradition of the sibling gift exchange. This year we gave to Val {snuggie & jewelry}, and Alicia gave to us {“stander” wall hanging, & religion book}! It’s always fun to see what we get each other. Dallin I think won most creative gift… He made marshmallow guns out of pvc pipe, and gave them along with goggles to Alicia and her family… it was great! Too cute Dallin! He kept the family entertained for hours.
Zachary got married the day after christmas to his beautiful wife Camille. What a cute couple. The ceremony was wonderful. They got married in the Bountiful Temple and on the way in, we ran into Elder Dallin H. Oaks. My mom was so cute, she gave him a pat on the shoulder and told him she named her son after him… He said a smile to give Dallin a hug for him. Kinda cool! The day was perfect, a bit chilly but you could not have asked for a more beautiful morning.
work christmas party
My work Christmas party was great! A little sad, as it was my last party on the team {I took the new position}, but we had a lot of fun! After lunch at the SkyBox, we headed over to my house to finish the party with a little competition. We played Lego Rock Band, Mario Cart, enjoyed our silly prizes… and really enjoyed our Christmas gift, which was a Snuggie! I love everyone I work with! {too fun!}
california
Another trip to CA: Universal studios, H&M & relaxation on the beach.
Nate had training in California, so we made a short vacation out of it. Our last trip to California we went to Disneyland so this time we went to Universal studios. We had a lot of fun! The park was pretty empty, so it felt like we had it to ourselves. While in line for the backlot tram tour, someone from the associated press interviewed Nate about Comcast purchasing NBC. It was funny… I had no idea what they were even talking about, but Nate had things to say! {I guess from watching CNBC at work all day}. After the interview they asked if they could take some pictures of us waiting for the tour, we said yes, but it was way awkward! They stood there taking random pictures until we got on the tram, which was a good 15 minutes. Talk about uncomfortable. The rest of the day we spent running around, riding the rides and enjoying the 3D experiences. The next two days while Nate was in training, I walked down to the beach and enjoyed the cool breeze and warm sun. {I love a good magazine. I can sit for hours thumbing through the pages, especially if it’s about gardening, or furniture.} I loved the time alone to relax and contemplate life. We stayed in a nice suite on Manhattan Beach, steps away from the beach, shopping and restaurants. The couple that owns the place and lives upstairs are originally from the Philippines {where Nate served his mission} so we had an instant connection. On our last night, they invited us over for Nate’s favorite Filipino dish, adobo, as well as others I did not recognize. It was very nice, and we enjoyed our stay. We really like Manhattan Beach, and can’t wait to go back!
november happenings
1. We spent Thanksgiving with Nate’s Grandparents. It was a small group but very nice. Molly always makes the best food, and after dinner we had plenty of time to sleep and go through the black Friday ads. I don’t think we will go out tomorrow, but if we do, no big ticket items are on our list. Not as exciting as years past.
2. Beth got into a car accident: I was on my way home from Idaho a few days before Thanksgiving when I received a frantic call from my sister. She had been on the freeway driving home from school at LDS BC during rush hour traffic when a few cars in front of her slammed on their breaks. She tried to stop but ended up hitting the car in front of her. I was happy to hear her voice because that meant she was ok; however she was so frantic I couldn’t understand what had happened. Not knowing exactly what she needed, I told her I would call Nate to come get her, because I was nowhere close. She explained she had tried but he was not answering… I reassured her I would get a hold of him and he would call her. Luckily Nate was around and was able to go pick her up from the towing company. Her car was totaled and she ended up having to ride the shuttle home for Thanksgiving but we are happy she is safe and no one was hurt. {A little shook up, but fine…}
3. I applied for a new Job : Sometimes life brings you new paths and you have to decide which path you want to take. Do you continue on the path you are on or make the switch? I could possibly leave my team, which I love, for a new position. An opening posted on another team, and I applied… At this point I’m a little confused about the whole thing. I’m not really sure why I even wanted to apply, but I hope that answer comes to me. Or I hope I don’t get the job, so my decision is made for me… why I make things so complicated I don’t know. Right now I just feel really torn about my options, kind of mad at myself for putting myself through it. I hope it’s worth it. The new job would bring great things… the old job is comfortable. I guess we’ll see…
-torn.
evening in excellence
If you have served in Young Women’s you know that this time of year brings with it Evening in Excellence {a night where the young women showcase their personal progress for the year}. This year we decided the theme would be A Night among the Stars. We had the girls dress up in their best dress, and invited some talented ladies in the ward to do their hair. We wanted them to feel like Movie Stars getting ready for the Red carpet. When they arrived the cultural hall was decorated with black, white, and red, including a red carpet and silver stars on the walls. We jimmy rigged a backdrop and as the girls and their parents came in I snapped some pictures. We had tables set up for the girls to display a picture of themselves and their projects. During the program we gave them each some time to say a few words about what they placed on their table. Before the night of the program, each of the girl’s parents wrote a paragraph or two about their daughter and how she had grown the last year. We read these tributes during the program and presented the girls with a Star award {a wooden star placed on a pedestal, painted silver with the girl’s initial in glitter on the front, tied with ribbons in the value colors}. To end the program the young women sung Walk Tall. For desert we had self serve chocolate fountains with a plethora of things to cover. {Strawberries, marshmallows, pretzels, rice crispy treats, pineapples, bananas} The night was a lot of work, but the girls enjoyed it!
advent calenders
Growing up, some of my favorite memories are of counting down the days till Christmas. It was always so exciting getting a turn to open up the small sewn pocket, pull out the tiny hand made ornament, and pin it to the felt green tree. I always hoped I would pull out the angel. As a grown up, Nate’s mom introduced me to the chocolate versions of this exciting tradition… amazing! Chocolate everyday for the month of December. What a fabulous idea! {remember to pick one up when you see them, they go quickly}
I {heart} this advent calendar. Perhaps I will make one for myself. Find this and other great ideas here. People are so creative! Happy counting!
sneak peek
I need to catch up on the happenings of our life, but in the meantime I thought I’d better give {S} and {M} a sneak peek at their photos…
this is the “A” family… their boys are cute as can be, even though they didn’t want to smile for me.
I love this picture of {mom} and her boys!
baby lily…
she’s so perfect!
nate & becca 
