Christmas Tag!

Well I haven't blogged for awhile (sorry). I feel like there is so much more important things I could catch up on blogs about but this looked fun! Here it goes:

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping Paper!


2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial! I worked all last year lighting trees to finally pay for my own! I absolutely LOVE it!



3. When do you put up the tree? I always say "The day after Thanksgiving" but this year and last it got put up about a week before that.

4. Do you like eggnog? Yum...I love it! It has to be mixed half egg-nog half milk though.


5. Favorite gift received as a child? Probably Teddy Ruxpin. I loved that bear!


6. Hardest person to buy for? Probably my parent in-laws. If they want something they probably already went and got it!


7. Easiest person to buy for? Myself :)! No seriously...probably my sisters. We just have similar taste in things.


8. Do you have a nativity scene? Kinda...It is a Mary/Joseph/Baby Jesus figurine music box deally. I love it but want a REAL nativity some day comlete with oxen and cattle, wise men and shepherds (and their sheep), etc.


9. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail. It's a little more personal I think.


10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I really don't think I've ever received a bad gift. I can't think of anything.


11. Favorite Christmas Movie? There are so many! A Christmas Story, It's a Wonderful Life, Muppets Christmas Carol, um...Those are probably my most favorite.


12. When do you start shopping? I always say I'll do it early but I probably really starts after Thanksgiving.

13. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Not that I can think of. However, I recyled my share of wedding presents.


14. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Chocolate covered pretzels and peppermint bark. I also love nuts (my dad always buys ones still in the shell so you can use the nutcracker to open them) and of course hot chocolate!


15. Lights on the tree? Yes. Clear lights. I also love colored and had a really hard time deciding what to light my tree with last year. But I figure clear lights go with everything and they are just so bright and beautiful! The lights on the front of our house are colored (my fave for outside).


16. Favorite Christmas song? Again, there are again SO many. One of my very favorites, though, is White Christmas. I also love "Song for a Winter's Night" by Sarah McLaughlan (one of my modern favorites). And always just the hymns (Silent Night, Joy to the World, The First Noel, etc.)

17. Travel at Christmas or stay home? We've always gone somewhere. This year we are going to my family's house. We have yet to have our very own Christmas morning.


18. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Yes! Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donder, and Blitzen, (and Roudoulph).


19. Angel on the tree top or a star? Star. It isn't Christmas tree specific star, just one that was hanging on my wall that I put on the tree.


20. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas morning. But there are a couple we get to open on Christmas Eve (PJ's and brother/sister exchanged gifts).


21. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? That I get stressed about commercial things! That isn't what Christmas is about but yet ever year I fill my plate and schedule until I feel like it's not "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year". So then I have to regroup and remember what we are celebrating in the first place.


22. Favorite ornament theme or color? I just like classic red and green. I also like snowmen a lot and the "woodsy" looking ornaments. As you can see on my tree I have some cute little snowmen ornaments and wooden snowflakes that I really like.


I also have a small tree that I put all of Mike's ornaments on (every year he gets a Hallmark keepsake ornament from his mom). It is in his office and I LOVE it. I also put all my animals around it. (Can you tell that I just love Christmas trees and decorating them!)




23. Favorite thing for Christmas dinner? Corn and Ham and potatoes.


24. What do you want for Christmas this year? Um...baby stuff and measuring cups.


25. Who do I tag? Elise, Lisa, Ems, Sarah, and whoever else want to do it!

It's a.......

Well the results are in! Most of the votes on my blog were for a girl. We had the ultrasound today and...

IT'S A BOY!!!! We are so excited! Everything looked good on the ultrasound and he is healthy and growing just right. He is so cute and was even sucking his thumb when we looked at his face! I am so excited for a little Mikey!!!

Christmas Advent Calendar

We headed to Burley last weekend and the girls did a fun craft. Pat saw the idea in a book and we decided we really wanted to make them and so we did! It is an Advent Calendar for Christmas. We took muffin tins that have 24 openings and made little magnets to go over each slot and then embellished with buttons, ribbon, etc. They turned out very cute!! Thanks again Pat for the fun idea and the very fun craft day!

The finished product:

I Wanna Be Like MIKE!

I knew my friend Elise was going to tag me and I was so excited about this one because I don't talk about Mike much on my blog. So here it goes:

1. Where did you meet? At old farm. He walked in our appartment (we were playing games) with his roomate on the first day of fall semester '04. He came and sat by me and made me laugh!

2. How long did you date before you got married? About 10 months.


3. How long have you been married? 3 years, 3 months.


4. What does he do that surprises you? He will clean up. He know how much I love that. He also will just come get me for lunch and take me somewhere fun like Chili's, Firehouse, or Cafe Sabor (our favorite places to eat)!

5. What is your favorite feature of his? I LOVE his brown eyes and dark features. He has olive skin, dark hair, and dark eyes. He does the best puppy dog eyes that I can't NOT give in.

6. What is your favorite quality of his? He makes me laugh ALL THE TIME! He has a fun sense of humor and we can just be silly together. He is also such a hard worker. He hardly ever sleeps past 7:00 on Saturdays. He is up and going and doing projects. When we are watching a show or a movie it lasts for maybe 30 minutes and then he's gone on to the next agenda (I think he gets this from his father :). He also works hard at his job and really cares about how he is contributing to the company.

7. Does he have a nickname for you? Babe, Stacizina, Stacael, Spaz :) ...

8. What is his favorite color? Blue.

9. What is his favorite food? Just a good ole HAMBURGER! He really likes alomost anything as long as it doesn't have tomatoes or onions in it.

10. What is his favorite sport? I would say Soccer. He played in high school and loved it. He also likes to watch college basketball and college football.

11. When and where was your first kiss? It was about a month after we met on the front porch of my appartment. We both kinda had a cold so his fantastic line was, "Seein' as we're both sick, can I give you a kiss goodnight?" and I said "YES!" I thought it was cute that he asked me.

12. Favorite thing to do as a couple? Travel. He is a little gypsy and loves to always go on drives. He loves to see new places. He told me his goal in life is to drive on EVERY road in the world. He is such a silly.

13. Do you have any children? We are pregnant with our 1st! He is going to be such a good dad. He loves to play with all the neices and nephews. His brothers and sisters always told us we couldn't have kids because then they would loose the cool Uncle Mike that entertains their kids. But now he can just entertain our child and all the other kids.

14. Does he have a hidden talent? He is a very good piano player (that isn't really hidden), but he can play all of the hymns well and even asked me to make him a piano lesson so he can keep practicing and keep up on this talent. He also is a handy-man. He has fixed SO MANY things in our house. From the water heater to light fixtures to laminate floors to water spicket on patio...and the list goes on. AND he built me some fabulous bookshelves that I LOVE!

15. How old is he? 26.

16. Who said I love you first? He did. He would always say, "I think I love you." But then one night when we were just studying together he said, "I DO love you."

17. What is his favorite type of music? Probably Alternative, but every time I get in his car the radio is on country. He says he didn't put it there, but then how did the station get on country?

18. What do you admire most about him? His work ethic and how he doesn't think twice about doing the right thing. He has good judgment about things. He is also very good with the finances.

19. Do you think he will read this? YES!

I tag Lisa, Jenny, and anyone else that wants to do this one!

Catching Up On Tags (part 2)!

Type only ONE word to answer the question.
1. Where is your cell phone? Purse
2. Your significant other? CUTE!
3. Your hair? NEW!
4. Your mother? Darling
5. Your Father? Teaser
6. Your favorite thing? Smiles
7. Your dream last night? Weird
8. The room you are in? Office
9. Your favorite drink? Milk
10. Your dream/goal? Celestial
11. Your fear? Wrecks
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Mommy
13. Where were you last night? Home
14. What you're not? Quiet
15. Muffins? Eggs
16. One of your wish list items? Health
17. Where you grew up? Pleasant View
18. The last thing you did? Smile
19. What are you wearing? Comfy
20. Your tv? Debate
21. Your pet? Imaginary
22. Your computer? Fixed!
23. Your life? Happy
24. Your mood? Silly
25. Missing someone? Family
26. Your car? Chevy
27. Something you're NOT wearing? Lipstick
28. Favorite Store? Fabric
29. Your summer? Fun!
30. Your favorite color? Blue
31. When was the last time you laughed? Minutes
32. Last time you cried? Days
33. Who will re-post this? Anybody!

Catching up on Tags (part 1)!

So I got tagged FOREVER ago! I'm supposed to say 10 things about myself that you might not know... I don't think I'm all that interesting, but here it goes:

1. I don't really like milk in my cereal! Most of the time I just eat it dry...I like milk at first, but if my cereal gets at all soggy I think it's disgusting!

2. I have a grey streak in my hair! I've had it ever since I can remember. I always say it's from my Grandma Windward because she had one just like me. People would always tell me to dye it out, but I love it! In fact, when my sister would dye my hair I would tell her to try to NOT dye my grey streak.

3. My favorite animal is a HIPPO! You may think I'm crazy, but I just think they are so cute...Mike and I watched this show on Animal Planet about hippos and a baby hippo gets eaten by an alligator (it didn't show it but you knew what happened) and I had tears! It was very sad.

4. I'm a nail biter! My nails are always very short, but I never cut them...I just gnaw on them all the time! I've tried to break the habit many times...all my sisters have beautiful long nails and I am always jealous.

5. Many of you probably know this, but I love to play the piano. It is my escape and so relaxing for me. I also like to sing, so I often have my own little concert of playing and singing. My sisters and I would play the piano and sing for hours! One of our favorite games was "Operetta": There would be a piano player that would ad lib and then an opera singer that ad libs as well...great fun! I'm sure my parents loved that game.

6. I really love stuffed animals. I just think they are so snuggly. I don't have as many as I used to because when I got married I sent some to the DI. It was very hard for me, because I'm one of those people that really think my stuffed animals have feelings! When I was little I would have to arrange them ALL on my bed in the perfect way so that everyone's little heads were showing.

7. I HATE it when cupboards are left open! Also, I HAVE to have the closet door shut when we go to bed. I don't know why, it just bothers me.

8. When I was little I was in beauty pagents. I won Little Miss Harrisville when I was 5 and when I was 7. I was Miss Congeniality when I was 6. I couldn't say my 'R's. So when they asked me if I had a dog I said "Yes! I have a minatuwe schnauzew! His name is Fwitz!"

9. I discovered I love art when I took a drawing class on campus about a year ago. I haven't drawn a lot since (which I really need to get back into it). But I really like it and would like to explore other areas of art such as painting and photography. Maybe someday when I have time to take a class or something.

10. I am a terrible story teller. All my stories seem to start, "My sister's friend, or was it my neighbor, maybe I just read it somewhere, No I think I heard it from someone at work..." and then my story is ruined by then because I can't even keep it straight where I heard it from.

I tag Mom, Angie, Lisa, and Erin and anyone else who wants to do it!

Words I Can't Spell!

I have a problem with spelling certain words wrong EVERY time! Two of these words are "Surprise" and "Exercise". I have reasons for it...I personally think the English language is a little messed up and not so logical at times.

Take, for instance, "Surprise" which I frequently misspell "Surprize". Well...the prefix "sur" means secretly. So isn't this word meant to mean "Secret Prize"? Last time I checked, I don't spell prize P-R-I-S-E. So...I think I am somewhat correct in spelling it "Surprize".

Now what about "exercise"? I misspell this word "exersize". But let me explain why. The prefix "ex" can mean producing. So doesn't this word make sense to mean "producing size". Well...the last time I checked size is NOT spelled "C-I-S-E".

So...If you ever think I am a terrible speller when I use these words, now you know my thought process for spelling them incorrectly. I think it's more logical than the English language, don't you?

13 Weeks and CAMPING!

Just a quick update of happenings. I am now thirteen weeks along and everything is peachy! I am feeling good and didn't really even get sick in my first trimester. Just a few "Eww! I can't cook THAT for dinner" moments. I am experiencing semi-frequent headaches but nothing major. Here is a 12 week picture of Pregnant Me.



Then this last weekend we ventured to the Uintas and camped with my family. We had a blast! We got rained on and it was freezing, but we snuggled up in our winter clothes and thermals, drank hot cocoa by the fire, ate s'mores (because we didn't have enough :), played some games, and just talked. We really enjoyed it and can't wait to go camping again next year! Thanks fam for the fun time!

ME SITTING BY THE COZY FIRE


SHAUN AND DAVE PERFECTING THEIR HOBO DINNERS (seriously it is an art to be learned and these are the two masters)


MY DAD BY HIS FABULOUS CAMP KITCHEN


DAVE AND BRIGS (all snuggled up...he LOVED camping!)


OUR COZY CASA (Sarah, Dave, and Brigs slept in there with us because they froze the night before in their tent. It was fun to have the company and to see Brigham in the morning SO excited that all these people were there to play with him when he woke up.)


It was so fun to cap off summer with a camping trip (even though it felt very fall-like up there). I am so excited for fall and (you'll think I'm crazy) but winter too! I love snuggling up in a quilt, baking warm things, eating soup, and drinking hot chocolate. I can think of nothing cozier. We drove the canyon and enjoyed the beautiful leaves that are changing! I love the change of the seasons! HAPPY FALL!

Getting Ready for a Family of THREE!!!

Yes...You heard right. Mike and I are expecting our first baby on April 1st! We are so excited and can't wait to have a little cutie around the house. This kicked us into gear to get some home improvements done so that our house will be all ready for a baby. Here are some pictures of our newest project: A new Kitchen Floor.





We are loving our new floor and feel like our home is more homey to welcome a baby.

Summer Pics!

Summer is already gone and fall is in the air. Here are some highlights from our great summer this year.

Hanging out with Brigham and Alexis at my Mom's:



24th Parade and Lagoon!




Bear Lake with the Hansen's




Balloon Festival!




There are some of our summer adventures! We had so many and it was so fun.