Christmas Week

Dang I wish I would have kept up on last week and all of our fun events. I always have a hard time paying attention to long blogs so i will try and keep it short but make sure to include details!! I was lucky enough to only have to work Monday last week. I showed up for work on Tuesday and it was slow as can be. My family and Jake were going up to Snowbird so at 9:00 I ditched out and went snowboarding. If any of you remember it was quite a blizzard that day so it was an interesting riding day for me. To be honest I have never snowboarded so terrible in my life. I got so frustrated because there was so much fresh powder and on slopes you are not familiar with its hard to know when to pick up speed and when not to so I spent most of the day clipped out which sucked but i definitely got a good leg work out and was sore the next day. Jake had a blast and so did my family. It was great to be able to be up there with them and we got some AWESOME pictures. Here they are.

The Snow Family

Me and My sistersCute Parents

Christmas Eve was kinda a crazy day and night for us. We learned that Missy and her kids were going to try and make it home for Christmas. So we decided to try and go to both of our family Christmas parties so we could see everyone. Unfortunately they weren't able to get on the plane they were flying stand by and just happened to be a crazy day for everyone especially with the storm so they drove home and arrived on Saturday! They had a late Christmas but we are so excited they finally moved home for good and now we can see them as much as we would like. We still made it to both Christmas parties and in bed by 1:00.

Christmas Morning Jake and I got up at pretty early and opened our gifts from each other. It was fun to spend our first Christmas morning together and find out how much we have learned about each other from last years Christmas. For the most part it was a hit and we both did great jobs shopping for each other. We then went to my parents house for Christmas breakfast and to open gifts they gave to us! I am so stoked we are going to WICKED!!!!!!!!!!!! I have been wanting to go ever since we went to New York sophomore year and am absolutely shocked we are going in April! Christmas day is my favorite especially one like this year when its dark outside all day because of a Huge snow storm. We always lay around in our Christmas Jammies all day and play games eat junk and just relax! I am sad it is over but at the same time relieved. Its time to get back into the working schedule and start saving money! Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!! and Happy New Year!!!

Soldier Hollow

We had such a fun getaway this weekend. The Shaw Family reunion was this Saturday. We decided to take advantage of an excuse to get away and decided to stay in midway Friday and Saturday night. It was a blast. For the family reunion we went sledding at soldier hollow. I have always loved tubing. It brings out the little girl in me. I love the feeling of flying down the hill so fast that you have tears streaming down your face. The best thing about it was the lift that pulled you and your tube up so there was no work needed. It was the laziest form of tubing i have ever done. It was great to get to know that side of the family better. They are all very busy and only get together once a year at Christmas time. This was a great way to get to know everyone in an environment where everyone was having a good time and trying to figure out strategies of what would make us fly down the hill faster. We ended up linking about 30 of us and cruised down the hill. It was a blast and a perfect day to sled it wasn't snowing and i didn't get cold at all.

Getting Ready for the Pool!

Sunday night we had the Snow Christmas party. Every year Santa comes and we get to sing Christmas carols and welcome him into my grandparents house. My grandparents are so sweet they have started so many traditions for our family which make the Holidays exciting. Our family is huge there is 8 kids and each have at least 3 kids my parents have over 20 grand kids. There was over 30 people crammed around all opening presents. I have to say that Christmas is becoming my favorite Holiday. i never thought i would enjoy it more as an adult and getting excited to see peoples reactions when they see the gift i thought of to give to them. I have developed a whole new meaning of Christmas this year and am sad to see it almost be over! Anyways Merry Christmas everyone!

Christmas Shopping

Friday was the first day I have had off since Thanksgiving! It was such a nice day and I got all of my Christmas shopping done I am stoked now i can relax the next couple of weeks before Christmas and not have to worry about making sure I have the right gifts. The hard part now is keeping it all such a secret. I have such a loud mouth and suck and keeping secrets with things i am excited about! I think Jake already has an idea of what is coming his way but he is such a sweet heart and will act surprised no matter what! Paige was lucky enough to come to the mall with my mom and I the line was short so she sat on Santa's lap and asked for a new Nintendo DS game. The lady told me that i could not take pictures but i snuck one in, she was not happy and i saw the dirtiest look ever but hear ya go! My cute little sister with Santa Claus!

Merry Christmas!

Engagement

I love weekends when it snows. It gives me an excuse to stay inside and be lazy all day long. Its the best time to watch movies in your pajamas next to the fire. Or wrap Christmas presents! That's what I did most of the weekend until Sunday night came around it was exactly one year from the night Jake proposed to me! I cant believe its been a full year since the night we got engaged and to think that our 1 year mark is just around the corner blows me away. It feels like we have been together forever but when you think about it in days we are still considered newlyweds and i LOVE IT! gives us an excuse to kiss in public and show people how madly in love we are. ha ha k that sounds kind of cheesy. Anyway Jake proposed at Temple Square my favorite place during Christmas time. So of course we had to go to the same spot and take a picture at the place he proposed. I think its a great tradition to start we both decided that from here on out when Dec 14Th comes around we will be at Temple Square! I love looking back on how much has happened in one year and talking about how we felt that night. Jake and I are so close and keep getting closer everyday we were talking about how nervous he was to ask me I could tell he was nervous he forgot to get on his knee! But I think it wasn't nerves it was anxiety we were both so ready for that day to come we had waited long enough! Jake is my best friend and everyday i wake up next to him and feel like the luckiest girl to have found such an amazing husband! He is the perfect match for me and makes me want to be perfect for him. I love you honey! Thanks for everything!

Christmas Tree

I finally took pictures of my christmas tree. I kept thinking i was going to put a cute tree skirt and a star on the tree but after a week and not doing it i decided it probably was never going to happen! So here ya go its kinda a Charlie Brown christmas tree but it sure has put me in the spirit of Christmas. I also have started collecting the Willow Tree Nativity so here is a picture of it all decorated its small i still have many pieces to collect but its definately a start.

This weekend i was kind of lame I just cleaned all day on saturday. Jake was working so i decided it was time to make the place spick and span and I love having a clean house. I just got my sentsy and i have a christmas tree smell so i enjoyed listening to christmas music and spending time in a clean house. Today is my Dads birthday so last night we went to my grandpa and grandmas house for dinner! It was delicious and was so fun to spend time with them. I have the greatest grandparents in the world. These last couple of years i have grown so close to them they are the best. Well my grandpa decided to show off his Polish magic tricks. It was the funniest thing i have ever seen i was laughing so hard i was crying. I will try and post the video, last time i tried the file was to big to download so hopefully i can figure it out this time. But it was a blast and put a topper on my weekend!

Grandpa Russell

This week Grandpa's Headstone was finally installed! We have been waiting for so long to be able to finally see this in place. It came at the perfect time, Grandma's request was to at least have it before it was covered with snow and to be able to see it there under the big tree it is absolulty beautiful. Its a great reminder of Grandpa and what a wonderful man he was. There is not very many gravestones that tell a story but by looking at grandpas you can learn so much about him. Everyday we think about Grandpa and what a hero he was in our eyes. During the holidays we have found ourselves missing his presence, his stories and silly jokes that take a couple minutes to understand. We miss his love and his charming personality. We will forever remember Grandpa Russell and miss him everyday!

Utah Game

Rivalry always makes the best games. My family recently started tailgating to every game before. So we left Kaysville at 1:00 and headed up to Salt Lake for the big Utah BYU game. It was a perfect day, the sun was shinning and there was just a slight breeze. We enjoyed some nice hot dogs and our own game of football before the game. Then it all started, for those of you who watched the game the first three quarters were really involved. It was back and forth scoring and you could tell both teams were fighting til the end. The last quarter something happened to our Rivals and they were throwing interceptions like crazy. We caught 4 or 5 interceptions and 1 fumble in one quarter. It was insane. The Utes ended up dominating and scored 48 to 24 and we doubled their score. What a win! Right after the game they rewarded the Utes for winning the Mountain West Conference, and we got bumped to be ranked number 6 in the nation! My family is stoked and cant wait for the BCS bowl game. We are all crossing our fingers they will go to the fiesta bowl so we can go again. If not my dad is already planning the drive to the other games! I guess you could say we are die hard fans!!

Sunday we had our good friends Alders over and watched the starting show of 24! I forgot how much i love this show. This season looks to be the best one they have ever done. There are going a whole different direction on this show, and now im just waiting for January to hit and the season begins.

I am so excited for Thanksgiving to be here so i can set up our first Christmas Tree. This is going to be a different Christmas for me but i am so excited for the snow and christmas lights, the music, and hot chocolate!! Anyways Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!

After the game all the fans rushed the field

We love our team!!

Weekend!

This weekend we had our Big Warehouse Sale. It turned out to be a great success! I did most of the Marketing and Advertising with the sale and i was shocked how many people heard about it and how many people showed up. It definitely sucked to work over the weekend long hours and on your feet all day long but it was great to get all the product out of our warehouse to make room for the new stuff coming in the next couple of weeks. I thought I would be at work on Saturday but other employees took the slack and i had the day off. I some how ended up helping my mom and little sisters clean out the basement and go through old boxes. It was so funny to see all the old stuff we collected over the years. By the time we were finished the garbages were over flowing and we still have 4 days until Garbage day so lucky Kylie had to jump in and pack it all down so we could get the rest in. It was so funny to see her so grossed out and all girly. Here are some pictures.

"Queen of the Garbage" Is what Kylie Said


Gross!!!!

Saturday night we went out for Aaron's Birthday. We went to Prarie Scooner I have heard so much about it so i was so excited. The company was great and we had a good time, except the food was not that great at all. We were kinda disappointed.

Sunday Chris (Jake's Mom) asked us to help teach her Relief Society Lesson. It was on Joseph Smith and the letters he wrote to Emma while he was away. She put it together like a play so i was Emma and Jake was Joseph. It definately helped build my testimony for them. It is amazing to hear of the strenght they both had to be apart for all that time and still be able to accomplish all that they had. It is a true miracle. After we had dinner with the Shaws and then played games with my family. It was a great weekend!

I had put in some extra hours over the week so was able to have Monday off. We had our family pictures which we will get the proofs on Saturday so i will post some pics then. We are excited for the Utah game Saturday. Go Utes!!!

Cold has Come!

I can't believe how cold it has been lately. I guess my body was still in summer mode. I didn't really think that i would be excited for the cold. I have always been like my mom always looking for the warmth and the beach. But for some reason during this really poor stage of Jake and I's life I cant wait for Christmas. I have always been the one that doesn't think about Christmas until after Thanksgiving but this year i am so excited. Mostly for our first Christmas Tree!! I know that once Christmas is over i will be ready for summer but for now I am having a great time. I have added some new pics unfortunately they are from last year. But dont worry new ones are bound to come!!

We R Memory Keepers Warehouse Sale

Hey everyone my work We R Memory Keepers is having our Huge Scrapbook Warehouse Sale. There is going to be some killer pricing and some really fun scrapbook product please let all your friends, family, co-workers, neighbors who might be interested. It only happens once a year and is going to be really fun. Please click on the link below to get your coupons.

http://www.hugescrapbooksale.com/

UTAH VS. TCU

Wow last Thursday was an interesting game for the utes. It was really cold but with all the jumping up and down and screaming at the players and the refs I stayed pretty warm. I have definatly had a hard time staying awake all day today at work my body is not used to staying up late so when i dont get to sleep until after 11 its bad news which is sad because Jake and I used to stay up till 3 in the morning on week nights when we were dating. I wonder if that makes us boring now?

Any ways the game was alot of fun the Utes are now 10-0 and on the way to beating the Cougars in two weeks. I think it would be great if we had an undefeated season again like we did years ago. I have to say this was the perfect year for a great season because Jake is now offically converted to a Utah fan. We were going to be about a half hour late but instead Jake made us run like 5 blocks up hill to the staduim so we only missed the first 6 minutes of the first quarter. It reminded me of something my dad would do. I often see him doing little things that remind me of my dad. Anyway the Utes won 13-10 it was close but we love our team. GO UTES!!!!

Week of Halloween

I wanted to update my blog before now but Im a little behind and the last couple days were alot busier than i planned. On thrusday I had a girls night with all of my friends from high school. It was so great to see everyone and get together its amazing how crazy my life has been since high school and how easily it is to get out of touch. I dont know why we bought so many pumpkins

After the girls night we went and carved pumpkins at my parents house for Halloween the next night. My mom saw on Good Things Utah how to carve pumpkins with power tools. It was a blast and made the gutting process so much faster. I dont think we will ever do it the old fashion way again.

In case you cant tell, thats a mixing beater on the end!

I know we are hard core!

Halloween was interesting for me. I have always had some kind of party on Halloween and a reason to dress up. Except for this year it was a little different being married without any kids. Im sure everyone who is in this stage can relate there is not a whole lot to do. But we still had fun. Jake and I went Trick or Treating with Paige around the neighborhood until Chris and Jill came over with Caleb. He was a skunk for Halloween and i could not believe how "stinking" cute he was! Afterwards we watched my dads favorite of all times "Young Frankenstein" I personally think this movie is so boring and the black and white film makes me fall asleep everytime. But my dad loves the little dry jokes throughout the movie and always laughs his head off.




This is the back!

Saturday we went with some friends to Body World. Jake and I were so back and forth about going because it was so much money, but after going and seeing the whole exibit i would not have taken back the money for anything it was AMAZING! I have always been interested in how the body works and the little parts that make us who we are. The body is so complex there is no way of logically thinking how our body is the way it is. It is obvious that Heavenly Father is BRILIANT! One interesting fact i learned is that all of our arteries in an Adult body is equal to 60,000 miles long (long enough to be wrapped around the world twice) That is amazing!

Sunday night Jake and I went to Kam Hoskins dads viewing. His family is seriously amazing. Kam and I have been best friends for over a year now and the Hoskins family just blows me away they are so strong and have such great spirits it is obvious that Heavenly Father has been watching over them for years. It was so great to see Kam again and i wish him the best with the rest of his mission and cant wait to see him when he gets home for good!

Pumpkin Patch

Fall is my favorite time of year. Its the time when the leaves start changing colors, the air gets cooler and the Holidays begin! We went to the Pumpkin Patch on Saturday with my mom and little sisters. I haven't been since I was a little kid so it was good to be able to go back and think back on old memories. Its weird to think that the days are just around the corner when Jake and I will be there with our kids. We both still act like we are kids most of the time so its funny to look around and see everyone there with their little kids and Jake and I are there with ourselves and dragged our sisters to come with us so we didn't look like immature dorks. But it was alot of fun. Jake and I picked out our pumpkins and on Thursday night we are carving them with my family. My mom saw something on Good Things Utah where you can carve pumpkins with power tools so we are going to give it a try! I have been really sick all weekend so we had a pretty slow weekend but it was very relaxing and well needed. I am now feeling a million times better!

pumpkin patch crew

I have such a cute Husband!

Caleb

Caleb and Morgan

Sunday Chris and Jill brought Caleb over. This week was exactly two years since i told them they were going to be Caleb's parents. I cant believe how much he has grown up. He is just around the corner from 2 and he already has no baby in him. He has full on conversations, knows all of his animal noises. He does the cutest thing if you say Caleb what does a lizard say he sticks his tongue out. I cant believe what a little soccer player he has begun. You can obviously tell Chris wants to be able to show off his boy in the field. He plays catch perfectly and kicks the ball like you wouldn't believe. I look at Caleb and I see how much he has grown. They are such a cute perfect family. He is so happy with his parents and they are so perfect for them. They are all so happy It makes it that much easier for me. Some people think i am crazy to still have an open adoption with them but it honestly is the best choice i have ever made and being able to see them makes it so much easier for me! I can't wait for the day to come when Jake and I are ready to start our family, its crazy because Caleb makes me want to have a family! He was such a miracle that saved my life. Everyday I thank my heavenly father for bringing him to me!!

Holy Cow how is he so cute??

Of course we went to the Ute game and watched them dominate Colorado State. Here are some of the pictures it was the first Utah game our whole family was able to go together we had a blast! It was also Paiges 9th birthday so we had to celebrate!

The girls were a little caught off guard!