"last christmas started this way, with me getting crapped on."

name that movie!

christmas didn't really start with me getting crapped on, but for some reason that hilarioius line keeps popping in my head.

christmas was actually really great again this year. i won't bore you with play-by-play details of how we spent the weekend, but i would like to say:

• new tradition: sleepover with the sisters on christmas eve eve.
• christmas should always be on a sunday. it really put the day in focus to start out by praising and worshipping God, thanking Him for the gift of His son, and contemplating the miracle of His birth and life.
• it took us until 1 pm on christmas day to finish eating/opening presents. i loved dragging it out.
• my mother is the best at giving thoughtful gifts.
• coco nearly shredded my little sister's bike tire because her ball got stuck behind it.
• i love when i get to spend full days with mike.
• i also love giving gifts and seeing the surprised/excited expressions on others' faces.
• just dance on the wii=hilarious. my dad playing just dance on the wii=no words.
• i suppose not having snow made for nice travelling weather, but what is up with this smog?

a few of my favorite photos from this december:

 



traditions

i have been very lazy with my camera lately, so i have no photos, but we have continued a few traditions this year...

kurt bestor. i think he's incredibly talented, and he has nice hair. i look forward to this concert every year. i also leave every year saying "next year, i'm going to learn to play the trumpet." maybe this will be the year that i follow through on that declaration.

pickleville playhouse. we've seen several of their shows throughout the year. their shows are so entertaining. definitely gets you in the spirit of christmas, and i'm excited to continue this tradition with our kids someday.

the ogden christmas village. i guess it's worth the drive. the company was definitely worth the drive. we took my grandpa with us this year and he was in awe of just about everything we saw: the colored lights on each branch of the trees, the immaculate little houses filled with christmas scenes, even the sidewalk made of pavers. he kept saying, "betty jane would have loved this."

sub for santa. mike and i always enjoy picking out a few gifts for some local elementary school students. this year the school forgot to write down specific sizes, so we had a fun time trying to guess what size of socks and underwear a 7-year-old needs. we are pretty clueless on stuff like that. and on another sub for santa related note: today i wrote an article for work about a sub for santa project we're doing. i received an email back from someone in an office in georgia who read the article and needed clarification of what that meant because in her mind, "a sub is a sandwich." i guess she thought we were giving santa a sandwich?

and of course there's the usual family parties, talent sharing, movie watching, present wrapping, baking & eating and hustling & bustling about. for the first time ever, i was done with my christmas shopping at the beginning of december so the month has been quite enjoyable and stress free.

we need a little christmas!

have you ever really listened to that song? i had never paid much attention to the lyrics but it's one of my favorites this season. anyway, here's a little glimpse at christmas around our house:

1. classic green+red tree. i found the huge ornaments at tai pan and love them. so do my piano students; hopefully the ornaments survive getting pulled off the tree every week
2. i know this nativity freaks some people out because there are no faces, but i love the simplicity of it
3. my grandpa used to paint a new santa claus every year that represented the santa from different countries. i have about 11 different ones, and this one is my favorite
4. be merry!

1. cami mentioned the theme at her house seems to be glitter. that's the same with mine. i love having a little bling :)
2. we don't have a mantle but this shelf seems to work well. i made the stockings and wreath made last year.
3. candy canes purchased in jackson hole
4. this is my favorite picture; my neighbor painted it for me and gave it to us for our wedding. i will always treasure it.

there you have it. stop by cami's blog to see her adorable vintage christmas decorations and her other blogging friends who have shared links. i've already got a list of things i want to make for next year!

love day

it felt like we celebrated this fun little holiday all weekend. we played a homemade version of the newlywed game with friends on friday night. it was quite funny trying to match answers with the husband and finally getting him to answer the question, what's your favorite meal that your wife cooks? his answer: chimichangas. (my guess: calzones) good to know what his favorite is, because he will never answer that question when i ask him. we also played "i've never" and learned all sorts of fun things about each other.

for our date on saturday, we planned on eating at texas roadhouse, but when we called at 5 pm the wait was 2 hours! who wants to wait 2 hours for dinner? not i. so we ate at bajio instead, which in my opinion is just as good as texas roadhouse. then we went to a play done by pickleville playhouse called the hanging of el bandito. it was hilarious, and i love supporting their shows because most of them are written by a local guy here in cache valley.

we spent the real v-day enjoying a yummy dinner - pioneer woman's drip beef (thanks for the idea chels!) and i got to take a long nap while mike attended EQ meetings. now that drew is also living in logan, my family likes to drive up and visit more often :) so we spent the afternoon playing catch phrase and laughing off all the calories from dinner. cheesy as it may be...we love this holiday!

december daily 8-14

december 8: i love putting wrapped presents under the tree. it's like putting away folded laundry. the hard part is over :)
december 9: after a great meeting in ogden, i spent some time christmas shopping with my mom. i swear every year that i'm going to be done with my shopping before december, but i never am. oh well, i guess the hustle and bustle is part of the christmas spirit, right? my mom and i had a fun afternoon and shopped our little hearts out.

on my drive home through sardine canyon, i had a sudden and very distinct thought that i should slow down and watch for deer. i've driven the canyon hundreds of times and have only seen dead deer or deer off in the distance, so it was weird to me that i would suddenly think about seeing deer in the road. thankfully, i slowed down, and sure enough, as i turned the corner a herd of 10+ deer were standing in both lanes of traffic. had i not been going slower, i wouldn't have been able to stop in time and i wouldn't have just hit 1 deer, i would have hit 4 or 5. i am so thankful for the little 'tender mercies' that remind me someone is watching out for me!

december 10: today...

tastes like

*oranges

*hot chocolate

*fresh honey

feels like

*hot flashes & crying

sounds like

*coco is sliding across the linoleum floor

*the tv & radio are going at the same time

looks like

*it's 40 degrees outside, but it's actually 10

*i must go grocery shopping

*a top secret christmas gift
december 11: another 'tender mercy' as i was driving home from yet another day spent in ogden (no shopping this time though. sad.)...my mom bought me the new hilary weeks christmas cd, christmas once again. i have always loved hilary weeks' music, and this cd is no exception. it really is beautiful. my favorite song adds a couple verses to "silent night." as i heard this song, i felt an overwhelming sense of peace and reassurance that someday, i will be humming this same lullaby to my own baby.

on this silent, holy night
as i hold this precious child
there are no words for this moment.
heaven and earth
meet in my arms, tonight
he is mine, and yet, he is God's.
sleep now, sleep my son
sleep in peace.

december 12: merry early christmas...a front loading washer & dryer! our house no longer rattles when we turn on the washer. it's so quiet that i wonder if it's actually working.

december 13: we braved the awful weather so that i could play the piano in my parents' ward for our neighbors' mission homecoming. (sidenote: i got so nervous that i picked my nails/cuticles the whole time and now they are a bloody, raw mess which is problematic because i have to play again this sunday. there's nothing left to pick or pull!) sometimes i really miss my old ward. such great people and leadership. we also got to visit mark + annika and meet their new baby, hallie. oh my, she is perfect, and we are so happy for them!

.december 14: got to play with my niece and nephew tonight. holly was my little shadow and helped me with the pins on the above-mentioned top secret project.

december daily 1-7

i have always wanted to do a december daily album like ali edwards. of course i don't usually plan far enough in advance to complete an album ahead of time...but i figured i could at least take a picture and write a little bit about each day in december. i know it's cliche, but december is my favorite time of year. and this year is the best december EVER because it has been completely stress free. (yay for no finals)

december 1: i went for the traditional red and green christmas tree this year. unfortunately, tai pan ran out of the big red ornaments that i bought, so the tree looks a little lopsided because there aren't enough ornaments. but i'm really excited we have a pre-lit tree that stands straight...our hand-me-down (thanks becky!) tree was great for a couple years, but we love our new one. *

december 2: finished our christmas stockings. still deciding if i should hand-stitch our names on the top?

*

december 3: coco has tried her hardest to leave the shiny ornaments alone. this is her favorite spot to sit and stare at them. *

december 4: finished our christmas table runner. is it bad that i used the machine instead of hand-stitching the binding? *

december 5: for the first time ever, the annual allen party wasn't held at my grandma's house. since she is in the nursing home, we celebrated there. i love the tradition of reading the christmas story and receiving a visit from santa. we are lucky that my grandma is still with us and her health has improved a lot in the last several months. *
december 6: worked on another little project but ran out of red paint.

*
december 7: i may or may not have been listening to this music for a couple months now...but here are some of the songs i'm loving this year.

Christmas 2008

Mike and I had Christmas Eve off, so we celebrated our little Christmas together during the day. We started off with a new tradition, Mexican pan (bread) for breakfast. It was delicious. Not part of the diet and worth every calorie.

I gave Mike new slacks (boring, I know), a new book, and a new Playstation game. He gave me a game for the Playstation called SingIt. It's like a Disney karaoke game. I've been listening to The Jonas Brothers/Hannah Montana/High School Musical soundtracks so that I actually know the songs.


We spent Christmas Eve with my family. My dad made delicious salmon tacos. We exchanged gifts, read the Christmas story, and tried to keep ourselves entertained until 11:30 when we got to talk to Drew. I can't believe this is the 2nd year he's been gone. Next year he'll be home.

Santa found us even though we were at my parents. Thanks mom :) We spent the rest of Christmas Day at the Kropfs. Christmas came and went so fast this year! We had a really good one and enjoyed the time spent with our families and each other.

merry christmas :)

Christmas Party #2

Kropf Christmas Party

complete with watching old family videos,

delicious caramels,

and a grandma who couldn't have been happier to be with her grandkids.

We missed you, Bethie and Jacki!

P.S.- Coco loves the snow but she's always cold now. She thinks she needs to be wrapped up in my quilt. She'll start out by sitting on the leftover blanket that's on the floor. Gradually she pulls more and more blanket down to her until she's all bundled up and I'm sitting on the couch without any blanket to keep me warm. Silly dog!

Christmas Party #1

Parson Christmas Party

complete with piano performances,

a reindeer musical number,

christmas sing-a-long,

truffles and chocolates,

and pretty much the best family ever.

Christmas bells are ringing

Got this email from Jacki and Bethie and saw it on Erika's blog. Of course I couldn't resist. I love Christmas.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? wrapping paper. pretty, coordinating wrapping paper.
2. Real tree or Artificial? the biggest test of our marriage was the year we put up a real tree. let's just say the stupid thing that was supposed to hold the tree DID NOT work at all. so we stick with artificial. but this year i don't think we'll be putting up a tree because coco would ruin it. she freaks out at a sock laying on the floor- imagine what she'd do to a tree with pretty, shiny ornaments.
3. When do you put up the tree? usually the day after thanksgiving, but as stated in number 2, it's probably not happening this year.
4. When do you take the tree down? end of december
5. Do you like eggnog? a little bit, as long as it's thinned with milk. pumpkin spice eggnog is pretty yummy.
6. Favorite gift received as a child? cinderella movie and toy kitchen.
7. Hardest person to buy for? my dad.
8. Easiest person to buy for? paige and diane.
9. Do you have a nativity scene? yes, it's my favorite christmas decoration.
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? mail. i need to get on that.
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? i just hate getting things with my initials on them, whether it's a purse, note cards, key chains, etc....
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? ELF. i love it. i also love the polar express, the grinch, home alone, prancer, the preacher's wife, and the holiday.
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? i've bought a couple things. i usually start the end of november/beginning of december.
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? maybe to the DI but not to someone else.
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? ham strata christmas morning, caramels, and sugar cookies.
16. Lights on the tree? yes, they're white.
17. Favorite Christmas song? breath of heaven, who would imagine a king, caroling caroling, we need a little christmas, christmastime, it's beginning to look a lot like christmas, sleigh ride, o come o come emmanuel, any arrangement by jon schmidt, i could go on....
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? travel to the cabin or my parents. we don't have to travel far to see the kropfs, though.
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? yup
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? star
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? we always open pajamas the night before but everything else christmas morning.
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? stressing about finals when i should be getting excited for christmas, the terrible traffic, long lines, people everywhere, trying to balance time between both families
23. Favorite ornament theme or color? i love the peppermint theme, or anything with bright colors that don't normally get used at christmas
24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? ham and potatoes
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? a baby :) umm, but since santa can't really bring me that, i want a couple new piano books, reading books, and some cute yet warm boots but i can't seem to find a pair that serves both purposes.

Christmas is a comin'

Instead of doing homework, I've been working on Christmas crafts. My table has looked like this for too long-I can't focus on just one thing, so I've had several things going on, as you can see in the mess that's covering my table. The advent calendar is still a work in progress, but it's going to be so cute when it's done. This is just a sneak peak :)
And my favorite project is these tiles-Sorry to those of you who will be getting these as Christmas gifts. . . try to act surprised. They are magnets made from little tiles. I stamped them and baked them in the oven and just need to add the magnet part to the back. To my crafty friends (Jacki and Millie especially)- do you think I should add a couple buttons and some ribbon or keep them simple?

happy halloween

this is a terrible picture, but i promised my dad i'd post it to prove that we really did dress up for halloween this year! granted, we took the easy way out by going as construction workers. . . but hey, at least we dressed up, right? i think the funniest costume i've ever seen was nick and jess dressed up as michael jackson before and after. some of you have asked how my little brother drew is doing-he's in scotland serving an LDS mission (he's the girl in the middle) this picture pretty much sums it up:
he's still the same old drew- full of sarcasm and humor, but he has learned a lot on his mission. he seems old and mature now, which is saying a lot for drew! his letters are so entertaining to read and he uses awesome scottish words. here's a little bit of a letter we got a month ago for those of you who are interested...the first part is drew as a missionary, the last line is drew being drew.

"I got a good testimony of just trusting in the Lord and doing what needs to be
done and He will take care of the rest. I know that was the case this week. An investigator that was supposed to be leaving for the army ended up getting his date postponed for a couple months so we started teaching him and scheduled him for baptism on Sunday. Saturday night at 11:50 we got woke up by a call from the bishopric saying that the church had no running water so the baptism had to be left for a week. Oh heck no it didnt lol. So we phoned around in the morning and set up the baptism at the Dalkieth building, about 30 minutes away. So it is all set up for there, then we find out we can run water from a hose from the mission home (which is right next to the church) into the water tank, have it get heated, then put in the font. So we cancel Dalkieth and plan for it here. SO it started filling up at 10:00 and 11:00 it was to the first step and that was it. Great... So church gets out at 11:30 and the water is well low. So we tell Stephen we are just going to wait around until the font is deep enough, he was fine with it. So come 2:00 we finally have enough water to do it, so for all that time we just hung out in the church kitchen and taught him more and had PBJ's and oven pizza's. So we get in the whites, get the service going, go to get into the font and the water is scalding hot. The water from the mission home was coming in hot, into the water heater which made it more hot, then right into the font. But Elder Day and Stephen got in anyways and have burn marks on their legs from it haha. But he got baptized and it was a good service. Mrs Buchannan and Mrs Orr are scheduled for baptism next Sunday but a few concerns with them being 85 have come up so we need to resolve some concerns, please pray for us. We need to baptize them before they die lol."

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas

I haven't slept for the past two days. Latha and Mike snore. Loud. Latha had nightmares the other night, remember Bruno from Cinderella? How the dog is running and dreaming and spazzing out?

Yeah, Latha did that too. She was whining, twitching, running after something, it was quite the dream! I hope she got whatever she was after. Maybe she was dreaming about Amanda and her puppy friends. I think she's lonely.

So while I was awake and listening to Latha's dreaming, I watched Finding Neverland. I looove this movie- it's perfect for Christmas time, too because it's so magical. And who doesn't love a little Johnny Depp?

Mike and I had our Christmas early. We are spending Christmas Eve with my fam and Christmas Day with his, so we exchanged our little Christmas gifts today.

Merry Christmas!! Yeah- it's going to be a white one!