Just a bunch of randomness

Christmas Eve pictures

Chris' brother Mike and his awesome wife Sandy.

I tried to get this picture to where I wanted it but it just isn't working. Oh well! this is a picture of a sting ray. you can read more later. It looks like an alien

This is our kitten TigerLilly. She is my little buddy as you can see. This is how she normally is when I am sitting on a chair or laying in bed. Silly girl.

Just a random photo in case you forgot what i look like. Hee hee. Emma all decked out in her wings and cape with mask and a hat that I cut out of a jacket that was too small. I kept the zipper on though. It works really well. Not a bad idea.

If you can see in this picture I cut out the arms of the jacket and sewed them on her wings to help keep them on her arms. she loves them.

the day after christmas Sandy, my sister-in-law, Marisa, her daughter and Jaelyn her youngest, Emma, Everett and myself all went to the Phoenix zoo. we decided to go pet the stingrays. It was so fun. I didn't wash up to do it because I was going to take pictures the whole time. Emma loved it.

As I have been looking at this picture I think he looks just like my brother Michael when he was a baby.

Mallory, my niece. She is so fun and very charismatic. Emma loves her a lot. she is always asking if we can go to mallory's house.

My other niece, Marisa.

zach.

Jaelyn

Got Eggnog

Out seeing the Christmas lights and taking pictures with santa

We saw this cute hat at the store and i just had to get a picture of this cute little boy

I love Arizona

So I was talking to Chris on the phone yesterday. He was on his way to get supplies and notices a sign "30 oranges for $1.00." I told him to turn around and get some. that is a rockin' good deal. He got 60 oranges. As you can see, I am juicing them and we made orange juice. Mmmm good!

I put the rinds in our pot for humidity for a nice citrusy aroma. Love it!

This Christmas we are in Gilbert, AZ spending time with Chris' brother Mike, and his family. Tonight is Christmas eve and we went to the Mesa Temple to see the lights. It was a little cold but fun. I made the kids some hats that you will see in the pictures below.

Of Course I couldn't go to the temple without taking a picture of the Christus statue. Love it!

The NativityUs in front of the temple.

Everett in his Halloween jacket. That was the only jacket we had with a hoodie. He wouldn't keep his hat on. Silly boy.

We Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas tomorrow. we love you all!!!

I took the snowflake challenge! Thanks Matt and Monica

So this was my first attempt to making snowflakes. The last time I made a real snowflake was in Elementary school and I am sure they looked about like this too.


I decided to get a little creative and broke out the exacto knife. I know that is cheating, but this is what I got. Christmas trees, reindeer and Santa and snowmen.

These are my mini snowflakes made from the left over paper of making the real snowflakes. I got on line and googled how to make snowflakes. I cheated, but there is an actual tutorial on how to make them. Pretty handy if you want to make good ones.

Here are my masterpieces. I am still learning, but I am pretty proud of them. They are better than my first attempts. this is at our ward Christmas party. Santa is buried in his beard and his belly is popping out of his jacket. Silly Santa. He'd better lay off the milk and cookies for a while if he is going to have room for all of the weight he is going to gain on his big trip around the world eating gumbo and more milk and cookies. Major heartburn or heart attach or even a stroke waiting to happen.

The kids were happy to see santa none the less

Hurray for Christmas!!!!

Merry Christmas everyone! We hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and a fun new year.

This year has been filled with a lot of changes. Where do I start. I will start with Chris. First of all may I say that he is simply amazing. He has done so much for our family and is such a shining example to me. This last March he was offered a job in Arizona and what do you know, we took it. We are happy to be in the sunny state of Arizona. Though, during the winter months it is a lot different than I imagined. I still wear a coat. Chris is happy to be in Arizona too. We are closer to His dad and brother. It has definitely been fun to be able to be around and get to know his family. Emma and Everett love the cousins and Grandma and Grandpa especially. One thing I have to brag about Chris is that every night he puts the kids to sleep and sings them to sleep. When Daddy is in the room and Emma is done getting ready for bed I tell her that daddy is singing, and that she better hurry, She runs to the bedroom. He is such a good dad. they always look forward to him coming home from work or from out of town to play with daddy. He is everyones favorite.

As for myself, not really much has happened. I have lost quite a bit of weight. I went on the HCG diet and lost 20 pounds with that. I loved it. Now I am running training for a 10k and once I am done with that on to training for a half marathon. I have a love for running. It makes me feel really good and I am actually accomplishing something. I have lost another 10 lbs with that. I still plan on losing more. Other than that not really anything big has happened.

Emma, I am planning on getting her into a school for the spring. I know she will just blossom more. She is starting to read and with a little help she can write her name. She has progressed a lot since we have been here. She mimicks almost everything I say, especially when I talk to Everett. It is so cute. Not too long ago she said, "Mom, I want to grow up to be just like you." What a smart little girl. She is also a good little helper around the house. when I am cleaning she always wants to help me. If I ask her to do something she does it without hesitation. So obedient.

Everett started walking this year, is talking a lot and loves balls and cars. He is such a happy little boy. He has almost all of his teeth. 3 more are starting to come in. Poor little guy. Even with that going on he is still very happy. He loves playing with Emma. They share a room and love to laugh together when they are going to bed. They will keep each other awake to play together. I am glad they love each other. At times Emma has a hard time with him and doesn't like to share her toys, but he loves to be near her.