2 Years in Thai

Tonight at approximately 9:00 my little brother Mckay got home from his mission in Thailand. He looked so different, but the same. It's really weird! We went to my parents house afterwards and just talked and laughed... and ate of course! It will take some getting used to him being there, just hanging out. At least for the two weeks he is here before he leaves for BYU. It is fun nonetheless.

*note I just posted this and I guess it is not "today" anymore... so I guess yesterday he got home :)

24 Questions of Christmas

I got this in an email (thanks Jill) and thought I would give my answers here instead of forwarding the email.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bag? Wrapping paper-I love trying to decorate them so even I don't want to open them!

2. Real tree or artificial? Fake all the way... Easier, cheaper (in the long run) and I don't even like the evergreen smell anyway (isn't that the ONLY reason you get a real tree?!)

3. When do you put up your tree? I try to do it the day after Thanksgiving, this year it was a week after.

4. When do you take down your tree? When I was growing up we took it down on New Year's Day... now that I am married I wait for Tommy to take it down...so Valentine's Day or so.

5. Do you like eggnog? LOVE IT! But I "water" it down with skim milk... it is a little too thick by itself! Try hot cocoa with a little-YUMMY!

6. Favorite gift received as a child? A doll house my dad built that mimicked our own house; same carpet, paint and wallpaper. It even had drawers to store all my dolls and accessories. I am sad we gave it away when I was "too old" for barbies.


7. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes. I got a unique one at JoAnn's last year. It is a simple one with Joseph, Mary, baby Jesus, and the star. I would like to collect more though.

8. Hardest person to buy for? My dad

9. Easiest person to buy for? Tommy and my mom. Tommy is not picky and totally predictable and my mom likes anything and everything!

10. Worst Christmas gift you've ever received? a sander... just kidding! I loved it...bring on the appliances and power tools!

11. Mail or Email Christmas cards? Mail, it is more work but more personal too. And who doesn't like getting mail!?!

12. Favorite Christmas movie? All of the ones I have seen! I love Christmas movies! White Christmas if I had to pick...

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas ? I usually start with a gift or two in Sept or Aug and finish mid December.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Christmas ornaments at my brother's yearly ornament exchange!

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Anything and everything. Tommy tried telling me today I didn't want homemade carmels...he's crazy. My favorite thing is egg nog though, probably because it is seasonal.

16. White or colored lights? White

17. Favorite Christmas song? Love them all, but right now: Breath of Heaven (Mary's song) by Amy Grant - goes really well with the nativity movie the church puts out.

18. Traveling for Christmas or stay home? All I've ever done is "stay home". And have any of you watched Home Alone?! Trouble!

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? You know dasher, and dancer, and prancer and vixon. You know comet and cupid and dawner and blizten. But do you recall I think I have named them all... :)

20. Angel or Star on top of tree? I would usually say star but we have a really nice and simple gold angel on ours, so, ANGEL!

21. Open presents Christmas Eve or Morning? Christmas morning. Then my dad still makes us a great homemade breakfast. And one present the night before.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? Rude people because they are in a hurry.

23. Favorite Holiday Traditions? Christmas "story time" and your favorite box of cereal all to yourself! (Reeses Puffs all the way!)

24. What I love most about Christmas? Being with my family and remembering my Savior.

I've never tagged anyone before... so anyone who reads this is tagged! (Jill your off the
hook!) Merry Christmas Everyone!

a'MAIZE'ing Day

So I haven't posted anything in a while... sorry to all who have been waiting! This was the week before Halloween. Tommy, Graham and I went to a corn maze way up north. The last time I went was two days before Graham was born (trying to induce myself! - didn't work).
Me and Graham in the Hay Maze. He had so much fun running around!
There was a wooden train the kids could play on. Graham had so much fun!

Graham loved "riding" (actually being pushed on) the tricycle! They kept going around and around the course.

Roll The Dice, Napoleon

Tommy and his co-workers were going to dress up as characters from Napoleon Dynomite. Tommy asked me to perm his hair, he was quite persistant about it. I told him I would not do that... what a waste! We compromised and I said I would roll his hair in curlers. What a nightmare! But it did make him look more like Naopoleon.


On Halloween we went to our friends house. We ate chili and breadsticks, then went Trick or Treating in the neighborhood by our condo. I figured Graham needed a costume to go but I didn't want to buy more glow sticks to recreate the "Stick Figures", so last minute I made a costume. Graham went as a die. At first he REALLY hated the costume, he wouldn't put it on. We would ask him if he wanted candy, of course he would say yes, we would reply that he had to put his costume on to get some. Later that night he decided he liked his costume because he got candy every time he had it on! What parents do to their kids!

Stupid Fantasy

So Tommy talked me into joining his Fantasy Football league this year-the first year he has done it. At first I said that I would do it only to fill one of his team spaces... he needed 10 teams and I was the second team (if that tells you anything). When we did the draft, it actually got a little more exciting. I still didn't know many of the players but it was fun to try to get the guy you wanted before someone else did. I was having a lot of fun with it... at first. Tommy liked it too because usually I only want to watch the Broncos play (not every NFL or college game), but now I was invested in many teams, so needless to say we watched A LOT of football. Now, however, I am over it! See, how it works is your team/players get points based upon what they really do in the real games. The last like three weeks my team has torn it up, and I still lose because I am playing the best team of the week... so frustrating! So, goodbye Fantasy Football! I give!

Trunk or Treat Birthday

Graham turned two on Wednesday... man does time fly! We had a little family get together on Saturday to celebrate. We got Graham a "Cars" cake... he was begging for it the second he saw it! To top the evening off we went to our ward Trunk or Treat. What could be a better birthday? Pizza, Cake, Free Candy! We dressed up as human stick figures. It wasn't quite dark enough in the parking lot to get the full effect of our costumes but we had a lot of fun anyway!

A Finished Product

My birthday was earlier this month and I got a new sewing machine (my grandma would be proud!), as well as some fabric to make a quilt. I have never made a quilt and so I was excited to get started. Within a week I had completed everything except actually quilting it together. I am notorious for completing a project 90% and never finishing it. So I pulled out my sewing machine last week, and finished it...100% done. It was actually very satisfying! And the quilt doesn't look so bad either! I have already bought fabric and started on some more quilts!

Mad Men

About a week ago, Garrett, Sarah, and Isaac came over. Isaac and Graham were running around like mad men! Graham kept running around in circles then falling down because he was so dizzy; until he found the snack bucket for nursery. He would put it on his head, then spin. It is much more fun that way I guess!

Wet and Wild Weekend

Graham and his grandpa in great grandpa's pool. Graham was squirting his dad with the help of grandpa. Graham had so much fun, he didn't want to get out of the pool
We drove to Salt Lake for Grandpa Easton's 80th birthday on September 6th.
Later that weekend we flew to St. George for Trent and Lomney's sealing, picked up the car we bought from Tera and Danny and drove back up to Salt Lake. It was a pretty crazy day but well worth all the travel!
It was a great weekend seeing pretty much all of our family!

Morning Naps It Is

Graham is down to one nap a day and I was trying to make his main nap in the afternoon. I was upstairs working and Graham was down stairs. Some time had passed and I realized he was being really quiet. I looked over the loft and this is how I found him. It was 10 am. I guess he decided when his main nap would be.