Dancing Nephew

Camden went to one of the high school football games and decided to show off his dance moves while the band played. This video is adorable and is just another reason why I LOVE Camden!

Christmas Eve Fun

There is only so much you can do once all the presents have been opened!

A Condo Row Christmas Reunion

Once Upon a Time I live on Condo Row in Provo! I had no idea what I was getting myself into. It was pure greatness! I met some of the most amazing people from that living situation and ward. I'm lucky enough to still see, talk to, gchat, call, etc. some of those people. Every Christmas Amanda is kind enough to throw a little reunion party for us. We never know who will show up because almost everyone now lives outside of Utah. We had a small, but fun group last night though. I was in need of a good laugh and I sure got one. I also learned way more about placenta than I had planned (thank you Jordan!)....

Ellis really loved Colette's face!

Erob and his new wife Amanda also made it for a few minutes, but we hadn't busted out the camera just yet. Maybe next year :)

Currently....

I found this list of things that people are currently doing. I thought I would do it also!

CURRENTLY

Listening.... Joshua Radin When you Find Me (It's on repeat these days)

Loving....the holiday treats parents keep bringing me!

Thinking....about Alaska.

Wanting...school to be out for Christmas Break

Needing.... a NAP!!!!

Stalking...I have fallen in love with the blog elm street life. Adorable love story and fun DIY projects!

There you have it! It's Wednesday at 3:00 and you now know what I'm doing. Oh and I'm also watching Charlie Brown Christmas with the kids :)

Capes for Christmas

When I'm home Camden and I usually play a lot! We still try to use our imagination and use whatever we have around us to goof off. We tend to tie blankets around our necks and run around flying. The last time I was home it was just too hard to tie the blanket. I realized it was time for Camden to get a real cape!

Camden showing me how to fly! He was so little then!

I found a great pattern on pinterest! The best part is that it was a NO sew cape. As I started thinking about it though I realized that all of the kids should have capes...not just Camden. Once I realized how easy of a project it really was that just made for 3 other easy Christmas presents.

I hope they love them!

Ugly Sweater Time

We had our ward Christmas party last night! They asked us to wear ugly sweaters and we just couldn't say no. The problem though was that we only had TWO. No worries because I can be crafty. I grabbed some ornaments off the tree, borrowed some safety pins, and stole a bow from a present. This is what we got:

Aubrey & Kristin rocking their sweaters.

Everyone loved the Christmas tree look!

Thank you activities committee for not making me wear a dress on a Friday night to the Christmas party. The ham was amazing. Chad's potatoes were even better! The stupid human tricks were just fabulous. Great night with friends and some ugly sweaters!

Uh Oh!

(Makayla drew this picture for Emilee)

I swear I don't teach them this stuff!

Gingerbread Man

My class is doing a really random reader's theatre right now. It happens to have a Gingerbread Man in it. We decided to make hats that go along with our characters....

RHETT: The cutest gingerbread man in the world!

How can you not just love him?

He was the only student willing to eat a live worm with me!

He is also the proud owner of my little turtle Sammy!

Yes, I love Rhett so much I gave him my turtle because he wanted it so bad.

(The hat has black licorice, candy canes, and white chocolate. Notice the red belt!)

Not that I have a favorite or anything...

Hot Date!

I was lucky enough to have a date on Saturday night! Asher and I had a night in. Claudia and Dave had a Christmas party to go to, so lucky Aunt Ashlee got to come and babysit! He was a cutie the whole time! He even snuggled and held my hand! What else could a girl ask for!

Asher is growing up so fast!

He didn't even need help with his bottle!

I had gotten him some books and his

face was so funny while opening them.

He loved watching TV and just playing with the ribbon.

He finally got the present open!

Thanks Asher for being the best date I've had in a LONG time!!!

Reindeer, Friends & Christmas Lights

I'm starting to get the hang of this Christmas thing this year! I've decided to just enjoy the holiday season. I even let Debbi listen to Christmas music in my car last night! Some friends and I got together last night at Thanksgiving Point to see the lights and experience all that it had to offer. Who knew it had SO much to offer. I loved it! A WONDERFUL Friday night!

After spending a day googling Caribou I realized they are now on my list of Top 5 Favorite animals. Moose being the favorite! I was extremely happy to see that two of Santa's reindeer made it to Thanksgiving Point to see me this year. I really wanted to play with them, but that was frowned upon...?

You can drive through the lights in your own car, but we went with the

heated trolley ride so that we could A) cut in line and B) all be together!

Lauren, Preston, Debbi and Todd

Amanda, Erica, John, and Eric

Aubrey and I

(Aubrey was the only one who had seen the lights. I chose to sit by the expert!)

PHIL! The Trolley driver!

Check out that sweater! He was awesome!

The lights! There are over a million lights along the short drive!

Camden would have loved this one!

Thank you Thanksgiving Point!

Afterwards I had this AMAZING idea to go to JCW's! They have the best shakes!

It really was a much needed awesome night out with friends! I even saw an unexpected friend (Sarah Childs), which is also a nice surprise too. I'm loving celebrating the season. Really excited to keep up the fun times in the weeks to come!

Temple Square Memories

I'm lucky enough to live near Salt Lake City. I am able to partake in so many fun things that happen in this small, but wonderful city. Most recently was visiting Temple Square with our ward for FHE. I love Temple Square at Christmas. It is truly beautiful. As I walked around I thought about the other fun times that I have been able to experience such a great place.

(Sorry for so many pictures!

Julio will soon be moving back to California...the Julio hugs will be missed greatly!

You can't go to Temple Square and NOT take a picture on here :)

Roommate Christmas Card Photo Session (yes we planned the matching with me in a random color...)

These next couple of pictures are from years back when I've also visited Temple Square. As you will see, memories were made and great times were had!

Roommates & Amanda- We were able to go to the Christmas Devotional that year put on by the First Presidency of the church. Double bonus: we got to enjoy the Christmas lights as well!

I like to call this one Idaho Girls! These are some of my most favorite friends from BYU-Idaho! We all met up in SLC one night for dinner and walking around the temple grounds!

My parents came for Thanksgiving one year while I was living in Provo. Even though they both attended BYU they had never gone to see the lights at Temple Square. I was very excited to get to be their tour guide for the evening.

This is an oldie, but a goodie! This is from 2005. I first moved to Provo with Claudia and quickly became friends/roommates with Megan and Whitney. We went to conference in October. (We all look so young! Shout out to Whitney who just had twins and Claudia who has a little boy too! Man, we are getting old!)

Without fail every time I go to Temple Square I am more and more impressed with the beauty of the temple, the sweet spirit of those who work on the grounds, and the love that I am able to feel there.

Baby It's Warm Inside

I LOVE a good party! I was super excited when tutoring got cancelled and I was going to be able to make it to Kimmie's Baby it's Warm Inside Party! The name alone got me excited. It didn't let me down either. The party was a great way to kick off the Christmas party season!

Not one, not two, but THREE hot chocolate makers!

My favorite was the white hot chocolate with a little vanilla creamer mixed in!

Aubrey & Rachel showing off the impressive Christmas colored chips!

I know the gingerbread house looks a little lopsided, but still a true masterpiece!

A big thank you to Ben & Tyson who kept me entertained while making this!

Finally we had our white elephant gift exchange. Amanda wrapped up her at home pregnancy test she keeps on hand (just in case). Ange was the lucky winner and Molly was kind enough to share in this lovely photo moment!

I love being with awesome friends and enjoying this fun festive time of year! I'm feeling pretty jolly right about now!

Why I Live in Utah!

In 2005 I decided to move to Utah. I had just graduated from BYU-Idaho and I was looking for a teaching job. I found I had a lot of options in Utah and would be close to some of my best friends. I made the move. I quickly regretted my decision (okay not really).

I'm often asked why I don't move back to California. The main reason is because I have a wonderful job, friends who are like family, and there is no job waiting for me in California. So instead of moving back to California, I fly back what seems like once a month. It is worth it because I get to see all of my family and enjoy wonderful California. My visits to California are always fun!

My little monkey!

My wonderful sister in law on her wedding day!

My sister with Camden and Kassidy in Disneyland!

My mom and Jayden

My Dad and I taking Kyle golfing before he gets married!

My crazy brother in law!

I also get asked a lot about my favorite things in Utah. There are few things :) My favorite thing is of course all of my many friends that I have here. They are wonderful. I feel so blessed to have people who I truly consider family surrounding me on a daily basis. Next, would be the LDS Temples. They are not only beautiful, but they also provide me with so much needed peace and comfort. My wonderful job. I'm so blessed to be at a school where I feel at home and love the people I work with and the families whose kids I teach. Lastly, would be the mountains. I do love having the mountains to look at every day. They are truly beautiful.

My amazing class from last year learning about reptiles!

The LDS Bountiful Temple

The mountains in the fall

My Person, Claudia, on her sealing day!

Lini, Josh (not pictured), and Ezias

Roommate picture from this summer

Lisa, Allison, and I in Ireland

Colette and Hood (Amanda should be in here also, but she couldn't come to the party and I can't find a picture of her!)

There are so many more friends that I have and love! Just can't seem to find pictures of everyone at the moment! You all know who you are and how much I love you guys though!

So for now I will try to be happy with these few great things about Utah and continue to to travel to lovely California as often as possible!

Peace Out Thanksgiving!

It's Christmas time! I'm not a huge Christmas fan, but I'm starting to really enjoy decorating for the holiday. I really decided to get into it this year and have been prepping for awhile. My bedroom finally looks like a room again and the rest of the house is decorated beautifully if I do say so myself!

Erica put the strings on and I hung the ornaments

Our front porch is so cute! I found these awesome plastic snowflakes at the Dollar Tree and just had to use them. I hung blue lights around the top and then wrapped blue ribbon around the bottom.

Action shot! I was being really careful, but there were a few almost slips!

Amanda wrapped all the presents that were going to be put on the front porch! She is a rockstar!

Our entry way...

The living room

The mantel! I love how it turned out. This picture really doesn't do it justice.

Side Table (Aubrey, my roommate, made the cute things on this table)

The front porch. It's hard to really see everything and see how cute it all is, but trust me it's cute!

I'm really excited to come home and sit by the fire and just enjoy all of the Christmas Greatness that is waiting for me. I'm even happier that the roommates decided to jump in on all of the action!