December 2012

So, we'll start with the crafts. I had a TON of fun making all kinds of Christmas crafts this year and almost didn't want to take them down. Other than decorating the tree and cutting out fabric for my tree-skirt (which I still haven't finished), I did my blocks first. They were the most fun because I had so many different paper patterns to work with. 

Next was my table cloth and runner for my TV stand. The TV stand one is gingerbread people and the tablecloth is the green with gifts all over it. After the sewing projects were done, I finished my wreath. The cute little santa at the top was a gift from Ben's mom. I love him! It makes my wreath way more fun. The last thing to do was the stocking holders. A year ago I bought some stocking holders with the intent to take the letters off and put pictures on them. I finally finished the project this year, but don't really love them. I think I'll paint them all black or all gold next year. It just looks weird having the frames a different color than the weight. I think that's all the crafts! As you can see, I was really busy this year. :)

After I finished all my crafts, I was able to enjoy them for about two weeks before we left town. We were able to go to California for Christmas and my mom kept us plenty busy. It was the first time we'd seen Halie and Kendall since they moved to Texas and it was so great to see them! One of the nights (I can't remember which one) we made candy houses. My house was hideous, but Ben's and Kendall's turned out great! Ben's is on the left, Kendall's on the right.

We were also able to go to Fresno and visit lots of our family. It was Ben and Kendall's first time in Fresno with us so we tried to make it a meaningful 24 hours. We were able to meet up with some of our cousins and go to candy cane lane. That's where we found this creepy grinch outside of his who-ville themed house. It was a lot of fun until it started to rain. Then we headed home to visit with our family.

The next morning we were able visit with our friends Molly and Rex. They moved to Fresno earlier in the year and we miss them a ton! Provo hasn't been the same without them.

After the trip to Fresno, we did some last minute Christmas shopping and had Christmas day. Of course, I don't have any pictures of that. But we were able to have a wonderful party that night thanks to Ann Marie. She planned/prepared a delicious meal for all the families and we played some "Minute to Win It" games. It was such a fun night. Here are a few pictures from the games...

Every other year when we are all home for the holidays, my aunt gets the letters out and we get in birth/marriage order. Emma's "S" is a little cut off and so is Kendall's head, but you can't blame the old people taking the pictures. haha! You get a little shaky after age 50, I guess.

We spent a lot of time in Downtown Sacramento this year. We were able to go to the Crocker Art Museum as well as the Railroad Museum. Both were lots of fun to take Ben and Kendall to. All my class field trip memories came flooding back to me while we were there. 

Shopping on the Left, Railroad Museum on the Right.

Emma's 12th birthday was the day before we left and we were all able to go do baptisms at the Sacramento Temple. It was her first time (obviously) and it was a really cool experience to have (almost) the whole family there. On Christmas we were able to Skype with Riley on his mission which was really fun. He's doing great and has less than a year left in the field! Crazy how time flies!

We left the next day for Kanab and spent new years there. It was a great trip, but the only picture I have of the whole weekend is this one of Cal. Luckily he's adorable so you'll forgive me for not having taken more. 

Our time in Kanab was well spent. We were able to have a great new years with Ben's family and see our good friends Chris and Cassie. When we returned home to Orem it was gross. TONS of Snow... EVERYWHERE! It took Ben and our landlord an hour to shovel a place for us to park. Since we park on the street, it's pretty lame when it snows. But I'll stop complaining here. Christmas and New Years were great!

2013 is going to be a good one!

hmmm... am I all caught up? Will probably still blog about my baking endeavors and anything else I can think of, but we're good for now. Hope you enjoyed the catch-up/update!

November 2012

Ok, Ok, I'm sorry. I know it's February and I haven't blogged about any of our year-end events. Let's start with November and see how far I get. 

We were able to spend Thanksgiving in Kanab again this year and we had a wonderful time. I never remember to take pictures on Thanksgiving Day because I'm too busy stuffing my face for some reason, I can't figure it out. Luckily, we did a miserable fun after-Thanksgiving hike on Saturday. We went to Zion's and hiked Angel's Landing.

If anyone doesn't know what Angel's Landing is, it is a ridiculously hard hike (for someone who doesn't exercise...EVER) with absolutely beautiful scenery. I wont go into the details of it all because in reality, unless you've done it and hate exercise as much as I do, you won't sympathize with me. However, it was really fun to be outdoors in November! The first mile or so was FREEZING COLD. Between the wind and our 'exercise outfits' it was not a pleasant beginning. However, once the sun came up, everything was better. The sun is an amazing thing! :)

This is us and Rob/Jami at the top of what they call "Scouts Lookout." This is where I stopped! The rest of the hike is crazy scary and basically drops off on both sides of you. It's not very far, but it's definitely the hardest part. Also, I was NOT going to be "#7" (six people have fallen to their death on this hike...so far). Luckily I wasn't the only sane one and a few people stayed back with me. I wish I had a group picture, but it would have pretty much been impossible to do b/c everyone was going at their own pace (with me bringing up the rear, of course).

^After most everyone got back and the switchbacks on the way down. ^

Jami and I before the hike down.

On the way down!

Ben made it all the way out. I was scared to death for him, but he was fine. I'm pretty sure this is the edge of the landing, but I don't really know since I wasn't there. :)

Before thanksgiving was birthday time for me. Ben made me feel extra special and we got to go shopping a little bit as well. My wonderful cousin Ann Marie sent me this super cute banner (which I don't have a great place to put, but it's still super cute!) and an apron to do all my cooking in. I wear it all the time!

I also tried my hand at bread this month and it turned out great! It's much easier to make bread in a KitchenAid than in something else! I used THIS RECIPE and it's my favorite so far. Not super dense, but not too fluffy and gross. 

Lastly, I did my usual crafts (blocks, wreath and table cloth) but I've already posted about the last two. Here's my blocks for Thanksgiving.

Well, that's it for November! Next up: Christmas Crafts and our vacation to California.