New Years Eve {2010}

Whoa--it's kind of hard to believe today is the last day in the year 2010.  The last part of this year has went by really fast.  I don't know what it is about starting a new year, but its great to have a new start.

We started the day off with some french toast for breakfast.  While the kids played and Jim read the newspaper, I cleaned up the kitchen and mopped the floor.

Jake has been into wearing hats lately; mainly he digs wearing Jim's patrol cap.  I think its pretty cute, too.  Jake wouldn't sit still for a picture so this is as good as it got this morning.

Ryan had to get in on the hat wearing fun so he put on Jim's nasty orange hat.  I say it's nasty because he's wore it to shovel snow the last few times and has come in with his hat completely soaked with sweat, ick. 

It needs a good scrubbin :)

After I was done in the kitchen, I got the boys in the tub.  Then I got in the shower.  My high school friends got together in Nephi for lunch so I had to hussle to get ready and get on the road. 

Speaking of roads, I thought I had left with plenty of time to get to Nephi by Noon.  The roads were horrible though so I ended up being about 15 minutes late.  If I would've known the roads were so bad, I probably would've just stayed home.  BUT, I'm glad I was able to go :)

 

You can't really tell by this picture, but my windshield wipers were frozen so they weren't really doing their job.  My windshield was COVERED with dirty snow, salt, splashed gunk from the road, etc.  I could barely see, but I didn't want to use my wipers for fear they would make it worse and make it so I really couldn't see.  It was a mere 14 degrees today so I'm sure that's why my wipers weren't cooperating.

I made it Mi Rancherito though and that's all that matters, and I wasn't even the last to show up, ha ha.  We had an awesome lunch and great conversation.  It's so fun to see my friends and get to visit with them.

Kathryn brought her sweet baby Kamryn to lunch.  She is just 6 weeks old and so cute.

 

My friends that were able to make it to lunch today.  From L to R: Kathryn holding baby Kamryn, Meagan, Leslee (Brinlee was there with Les, but you can't see her in the picture), Marci, Me, and Alisha.

Another pic of baby Kamryn--love her chubby cheeks!

After lunch, we went to see Meagan's new house that she and her husband are building.  It is really nice and will be awesome when it's all finished.  Like a dummy, I didn't take a picture of the outside of the house (it has a great porch and a great view), but I did take a couple pics of the inside.

They bricked in an awesome fireplace in their basement.  It's beautiful.

Brian had been painting all day hence his white face. 

I headed back to Spanish after checking out Meagan's new house.  The roads were a lot better on the way home so I was happy about that.  I ran to Macey's to pick up a chicken for dinner and then went home.

We had a pretty low key New Years Eve.  Jim roasted the chicken I picked up at the store and made some yummy mashed potatoes and gravy to go along with it.  The chicken was actually really tasty.  Jim always makes really good food, but I don't always try the meat only because I'm not a huge meat fan :)  I tried the chicken tonight and it was really delish.  It made a really good gravy, too.

I made some Chocolate Chip Carmel bars for a sweet treat. They were oh so delightful--I feel fatter already just from eating one, but they are seriously so good!

Jake was Buzz Lightyear (he says Lightyear so cute, by the way) while we made dinner.

He would run around the table like a wild man, or should I say space ranger.

He is so full of it!  Ryan wasn't too far behind him.  He said he was a race car though since we only have one set of Buzz wings. 

 

Not the best pic of Ryan, but it was the only one I got of him tonight.  He had his wings out and was running around with Jake.

Then Buzz decided to go shopping.  Jake had the cart going around the table at 100 mph :)

Jim made some carmel candies while I was in Nephi.  He dipped them when I got home.  He wasn't too thrilled that I was taking pictures of him making candy, but I have to document everything.

He was really meticulous with how the candies looked.  All of the candies turned out really great with smooth sides. 

Jimmy hard at work dipping candy :) 

Jim dipped the rest of the carmel candies, and with the leftover chocolate he dipped a few pretzels.

After the kitchen had been cleaned up when we were done with dinner, the boys played with their kitchen and made Jim and I a few treats. Then we got the kids in their jammies and put them to bed around 8:30pm--their normal bed time.

Jim and I watched a movie and I tried to get caught up on my blog posts.  I still need to blog about our Hawaii trip.  There are so many pics--it's quite a daunting task, but I will get it done :)

I hope everyone had a Happy and Safe New Years Eve! 

Here's to a healthy, happy, and fantastic 2011!!

Birthday Dinners at La Jolla Groves

My mom, sisters, and I all met up at La Jolla Groves in the Riverwoods to celebrate Molly and Amy's birthdays.  We had planned last week to get together today, but with the snow storm we had this morning we weren't sure if we would still meet up.  The snow started to let up around 1pm this afternoon so we decided to go for it and meet up for dinner.

I left my house around 2:30pm so I could run a few errands before we met up.  I got done with my errands a bit early so I got to the Riverwoods around 4:45pm.  I decided to go to Williams-Sonoma and look around while I waited.  When I came out of the store it was a full on blizzard!  The snow was coming down hard and fast.  I couldn't believe it.  It snowed pretty much the entire time we were at dinner, too.

Anywho, dinner was fabulous!  I got the cheese tortellini with garden vegetables and I ate the whole thing.  But the portions aren't HUGE if that makes it any better that I ate all my dinner :)  We all decided to get dessert, too.

I got the lemon cake with a carmel dome.  It was delicious.  My mom, Molly, and Paula got the lemon roll.  It was pretty much like a cinnamon roll but with lemon.  It was divine, too, and I don't even love lemon.  All of the food was scrumptious and pretty reasonably priced, too.  I would definitely recommend it and go back!

All of us after dinner--from L to R: my mom, Paula, Amy, Molly, Emilee, and me.

Just a little side note--Jim texted me while I was at dinner.  He had made lamb chops for dinner (he always makes something gross like lamb or elk that I won't eat while I'm gone, ha ha).  Ryan ate 3 lamb chops and Jake nearly ate 2!!  My boys are not typical kids. They love more grown up type foods, but that is completely fine with me :)

After dinner, we decided to brave the road conditions and go to Target to see if they had any good deals on Christmas stuff.  They didn't have tons of stuff (I mainly wanted gift tags and they didn't have much of those) but we all got some things at good prices.

We left Target a little after 9pm.  I made my way to the freeway.  Little did I know, I wouldn't get far.  There was an accident on the "S" curve in Provo and traffic had been stopped for over 3 hours!  Luckily I stayed in the slow lane and was able to get off the freeway at the University Parkway exit after about half of an hour.  I went on the back roads through Orem and Provo and got back on the freeway by the Provo Towne Center.  It took me over an hour to get home when it usually would take me 20 minutes or so.  It could've been alot worse though and I could've had to sit on the freeway like alot of other people did.  The roads were terrible and it didn't help that people were driving way too fast for the conditions.

I had a lot of fun tonight.  Dinner was great and the conversation was great, too.  If you get the chance, go try La Jolla Groves in the Riverwoods.  It's delicious!

A Trip to Oak City to Tidy Up Grandpa's Shop

We packed up and headed to Oak City today.  Jim and his brothers are helping their dad clean out his shop and organize it as a Christmas gift to him so we went down to help.  Ok, Jim went down to help; the boys and I just went along for the ride :)

We got the boys dual, portable DVD players for Christmas so we set them up in the truck for the ride down. 

The DVD players worked great and kept the boys occupied.  My only problem with them is I think they kept the boys from sleeping.  Ryan and Jake usually take a nap in the car when we go places.  Both boys fell asleep about 20 minutes away from Oak City so by the time we got to Jim's parents house they were out.  I was going to sit in the truck with them until they woke up, but Ryan woke up just as Jim was getting ready to go in the house so Jake woke up.  They were ornery and tired when we went inside. 

We finally convinced Ryan to go downstairs and watch a movie with the kids (and maybe take a nap, too).  Jake was cute and snuggled up with Brody on the love sac.

Jake got a little restless so they moved to the love seat.  Jake was sooo close to falling asleep but he wouldn't give in, darn it.

I got close to being caught up on my blogging while my boys watched the movie :)

Evans came downstairs and Jake went right to him.  Like I've said before, Jake prefers guys.

While we watched a movie, McKell played with Eliesia's hair.  She straightened it with the flat iron and it looked so cute!  I forgot to get a picture of the finished product.

After the movie, Ryan kept asking where Jim was.  He wanted to go and see what the guys were doing.  I got the boys coats and shoes on and we went out to the shop to check on the guys. 

They were working hard cleaning things and hanging peg board.  It was FREEZING outside though.  I think it was 26 degrees or something close to that.  All I know was it was COLD! 

Ryan was enamoured by all that was going on.  He was happy to be outside even if it was freezing. 

The guys working.  I asked Jerry (he was in charge of organizing the get together) if the workers could take a break so I could get a picture of all of the boys, but he said no; I could only get action shots :)  I told them I would take a picture after they were done working.

Here are my action shots :)

Jerry hanging some brackets for a shelf. 

Jim hanging some peg board. 

Bill cutting some boards. 

Rich nailing up the boards Bill cut. 

Ryan had fun exploring outside.  It was so cold the snow was frozen and he could walk on top of it. 

Then he found a stick and was trying to dig in the snow. 

Jake had fun outside, too.  He doesn't like to be cold though so he wasn't having as much fun as Ryan :) 

Jake kept warm running up and down the path from the house to the shop. 

Ryan worked his way over into Grandma's garden area.  He just had to check everything out. 

Soon enough, they got cold so we went inside.  I tried to get them to eat but they weren't interested.  They were both still tired but didn't want to take a nap. 

McKell finally got Jake to settle down and he took a good little snoozer on the couch downstairs. 

We put on another movie for the kids and it put Ryan right to sleep, too.

The guys didn't finish working until 7:30pm.  There is still work to do, but it is dark outside and getting colder by the minute so they called it a day.  Rich left right after they were done for the day and Bill left right after Rich so I never got my picture of the boys :(

We left Oak City a little after 9pm and got home around 11pm.  The boys stayed awake the whole ride home and watched Toy Story 3 so when we got home they were so ready for bed.

We had a fun trip to Oak City.  They talked about going back on Saturday to finish up so we may be going down again soon.

Christmas 2010

Ryan got up a little after 8 this morning.  I'm glad he let us sleep in a bit :)  Jake wasn't up yet though.  I didn't know if we should wait or not, but sometimes Jake sleeps til 9 or later when we stay in Levan.  My mom was trying to keep Ryan in her room and it was getting difficult so we decided to just let Ryan come see what Santa left for him.

He came running out of my mom's room. I'm sure he was wondering why I had the camera and was taking pictures of him and why Jim was video taping him :)

As soon as he saw his kitchen, he said, "A kitchen!  A KITCHEN!!"  It was so cute.

Then he ran over to see it.  Notice the chap stick in his hand.  That was how my mom was keeping him occupied in her room :)  He loves putting chap stick on, too.

I think he was in awe :)

Then he ran back to my mom and told her he got a kitchen and wanted her to go and see it.

He started checking out all of the cupboards.

And had to see what all of the buttons and gadgets did.

Then he had to draw on his Magna Doodle.

Jake got up about 15 minutes after Ryan had seen what Santa brought.  I went upstairs and got him up so he could see all of his new toys.  He didn't know what to do when I put him down by all of his toys. 

I think he was still trying to wake up :)

He walked back to Grandpa and wanted him to hold him.  So Grandpa took him to see all of his new toys from Santa.

He liked his diesel truck and kept saying "Queen".

Ryan got some Buzz Lightyear wings and he loves them.  I love that he refers to himself as Buzz when he has them on :)

Jim helped Jake check out what was in his stocking.

Ryan and Jake both liked playing with the garbage truck that Santa left for Jake.

Ryan even had a little meltdown when Jake started driving it away.

Kendrick finally woke up, too.  I guess he had a bad night and woke up three times.  We were glad he finally woke up though; Ryan and Jake thought his stuff that Santa had left for him were theirs :)

Ryan and Buzz playing with all of their new toys.

Ryan and Jake were both spoiled by Santa.  They got the kitchen, a big slide, and portable DVD players.

Ryan got Buzz Lightyear wings, a Magna Doodle, water colors and paint brushes, big boy underwear, new movies, new books, a couple new shirts, new bath toys, and new cars and trucks.

Jake got pretty much all the same stuff except he got a little garbage truck that helps teach him how to count and Crayola jumbles that are for building

Jake and Ryan talking to baby Kendrick.

Kendrick on his 1st Christmas.

We decided to make breakfast and then open presents.  We had homemade buttermilk pancakes, hash browns, sausage, bacon, eggs, and juice.  It was delicious!  I was so full though I thought I could puke.

My dad got a new Utes beanie. 

Ryan got some dinosaurs from Madeline.  He loved them!

Guin told me a little secret when we were in Oak City yesterday.  I was told to take pictures of Jim when he opened his present from them.

He was a little confused as to why I was taking pictures of him opening this particular present.

But as soon as he saw what was in the box, he knew why I was taking pictures :)

The first thing he said was, "That jerk." It was hilarious. Jim's parents gave him a ham for Christmas. The funny thing is, Jim insisted on getting his dad the same ham for Christmas. So, they exchanged hams. 

Jim thought I was in on it, but I had no idea until Guin told me on Christmas Eve.  Pretty funny.

We all got some really good gifts this year.  Jim got: new Sorel snow boots, some books, an iHome clock radio for his office, some pants and a sweater, and a dutch oven.

I got: Photoshop elements, new shoes for the gym, a heart rate monitor, perfume, a new lamp, and some accessories for my camera.  We also got money, a cool flashlight that the batteries are supposed to last 100 hours, a new pizza cutter, and a multi pot (for cooking pasta, steaming veggies, etc.).

We didn't wrap very many presents for the boys, but they did have a few to open.  Ryan got some Hot Wheels and cars from the movie Cars, a Color Wonder coloring book, a Dinosaur Train book, dinosaurs, a shirt, books, a Singamajig, some money, and a puzzle.  Jake got Hot Wheels and cars from the movie Cars, a Color Wonder coloring book, some Legos, a shirt, some books, money, a Singamajig, and a puzzle.  Both boys got spoiled this Christmas.

After we got everything cleaned up, we got the boys ready for the day.  We let them play with their toys for a bit, then I put Jake down for a nap.  He only slept for an hour for some reason though.  He needed to sleep longer because he woke up cranky.  We sat down and watched the Bee movie to see if Jake would go back to sleep watching it.  He didn't; but it put Ryan and Jim to sleep :)

Later that evening we went into Nephi to see Grandma J.  She was just getting ready to go to my Aunt Lisa's for dinner so we didn't stay long.  We drove around Nephi to see all of the lights that the city had put up around town.  Then we headed back to Levan.  We finished up the night playing and watching Lawrence Welk.

We had a really good Christmas!