Actually getting a Christmas tree up and running has been quite a challenge. Gavin found an old tree in the shed out back a couple months ago and we originally just thought we'd use that one since trees are soooo expensive ($300 for a fake tree, really!?). Our hang up came from 2 places, 1) we really didn't know what kind of shape it was in and 2) we'd have to spend probably 40 dollars on lights for it. So when my sister told me about the Joann's black Friday weekend sale where they had nice, pre-lit trees for $40 dollars I figured it was worth a look. But, in accordance with Murphy's law, when we got to the store they were out of those particular trees and only had the expensive ones left. The trip wasn't a total bust though, I got some cute fleece for blankets for like 80% off.
On the way home I decided to pop into The Home Depot, since I had to drive right past it, and price lights hoping that the shed tree was in good shape. As luck would have it, they had all of their pre-lit trees on sale too and I found one for $65. I was massively excited. The nest day, Sunday, my mom came over to help me decorate because she's the decorating guru. We spent probably 3 hours getting everything up and it looked amazing!! The disaster struck half way through dinner when the lights on the top of the tree inexplicably went out. Now the truly odd thing, and irritating beyond reason, was that it wasn't the whole top section of the tree (our tree came in thirds). It was just the top half of the top section. Before you ask, none of the lights were burnt out, I checked them all individually!! So begrudgingly, the next day I had to remove all of the ornaments and take the tree back to exchange it for a new one!
The new one is now up, though not decorated yet. I've been leaving it lit when I'm home to make sure that I don't have to repeat the whole process. So far its stayed lit so I'll probably decorate it tomorrow. It's made for a rather memoral first Christmas I'd say.
Daisypath Anniversary tickers
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Thanksgiving!
This year Thanksgiving was a new and great experience filled with a lot of firsts. Gavin had to work for most of the day thursday, luckily he works down the street (literally) from my sister's house, which was where my family was having dinner so he made it to dinner with plenty of time to spare. Or rather, with plenty of time to finish his homework and get it submitted before dinner started.
Actually getting dinner ready Thanksgiving day was odd, and I couldn't put my finger on why that was. It took about twenty minutes for me to realize why it felt so different, then I finally figured it out. The crazy frantic stress at trying to get everything finished wasn't there! With me married now and brother and sister in law's kids old enough now to not require every shred of their attention, dinner responsibilities were able to be divided out more evenly so all the pressure that usually falls on my mom and sisters wasn't there. It was nice. I was responsible for the pretzel salad this year, which I have greatly enjoyed eating many times but never actually made before. The first attempt went alright, my oven freaked out and didn't heat to the right temp. so the crust was a bit under cooked but pan number two turned out fabulously.
I love Thanksgiving with my family, its a day that no matter how frantic (not so much this year) and frazzled we get with each other (there's 19 of us, it happens) the day always ends with laughter and good feelings. This year the main after dinner entertainment was my dad doing card tricks for Adam, my aunts boyfriend, and attempting valiantly to stump my brilliant 11 year old niece (he succeeded only once. My dad is forever the showman and we all were laughing at Adam's reactions. I got to assist in the game of Black Magic. Its simple magic trick which left everyone a little stumped and us feeling a little smug about it.
After dinner and clean up Gav and I ran home quickly to pack a bag and head up to Bear Lake where his family was spending the holiday. We got there about 1 in the morning, but felt ok about it when his sister Maddie got back from visiting friends shortly after us, so we weren't the last ones in. We could only stay one day because I unfortunately needed to be to work saturday morning. But the day we spent was nice. It was a little bit of culture shock for me to be completely honest. I have never really been in an enviroment where everything revolved around either the kids or a football game. My family isn't really interested in sports so we rarely even turn the TV on when we're all together and all the kids entertain themselves elsewhere leaving the adults to do the same. So it was a little bit of a brain adjustment. Gavin was lucky I joined them in the hot tube because it was FREEZING outside and I wasn't sure the walk to the pool house was worth it. I went eventually but did something kind of stupid, I let myself get dehydrated (which for me happens very quickly in water) and didn't drink anything but soda the rest of the day. Combine that with little sleep, eating more than I am used to and a two hour drive, I was feeling mildly ill by the time we got home that night and couldn't bring myself to do much besides lay on the couch and pound out a water bottle. After I polished off the water I was feeling better though.
Things I'm grateful for this year:
*Being married to a wonder man whom I love profusely
*Literally doubling the size of my family and all the new experiences that brings
*Illness that can be cured with a full bottle of water
*Being employed and able to pay the bills
*The generosity of family and friends
Firsts:
*First time ever going to Bear Lake
*First time making Pretzel Salad (or any part of Thanksgiving dinner)
Actually getting dinner ready Thanksgiving day was odd, and I couldn't put my finger on why that was. It took about twenty minutes for me to realize why it felt so different, then I finally figured it out. The crazy frantic stress at trying to get everything finished wasn't there! With me married now and brother and sister in law's kids old enough now to not require every shred of their attention, dinner responsibilities were able to be divided out more evenly so all the pressure that usually falls on my mom and sisters wasn't there. It was nice. I was responsible for the pretzel salad this year, which I have greatly enjoyed eating many times but never actually made before. The first attempt went alright, my oven freaked out and didn't heat to the right temp. so the crust was a bit under cooked but pan number two turned out fabulously.
I love Thanksgiving with my family, its a day that no matter how frantic (not so much this year) and frazzled we get with each other (there's 19 of us, it happens) the day always ends with laughter and good feelings. This year the main after dinner entertainment was my dad doing card tricks for Adam, my aunts boyfriend, and attempting valiantly to stump my brilliant 11 year old niece (he succeeded only once. My dad is forever the showman and we all were laughing at Adam's reactions. I got to assist in the game of Black Magic. Its simple magic trick which left everyone a little stumped and us feeling a little smug about it.
After dinner and clean up Gav and I ran home quickly to pack a bag and head up to Bear Lake where his family was spending the holiday. We got there about 1 in the morning, but felt ok about it when his sister Maddie got back from visiting friends shortly after us, so we weren't the last ones in. We could only stay one day because I unfortunately needed to be to work saturday morning. But the day we spent was nice. It was a little bit of culture shock for me to be completely honest. I have never really been in an enviroment where everything revolved around either the kids or a football game. My family isn't really interested in sports so we rarely even turn the TV on when we're all together and all the kids entertain themselves elsewhere leaving the adults to do the same. So it was a little bit of a brain adjustment. Gavin was lucky I joined them in the hot tube because it was FREEZING outside and I wasn't sure the walk to the pool house was worth it. I went eventually but did something kind of stupid, I let myself get dehydrated (which for me happens very quickly in water) and didn't drink anything but soda the rest of the day. Combine that with little sleep, eating more than I am used to and a two hour drive, I was feeling mildly ill by the time we got home that night and couldn't bring myself to do much besides lay on the couch and pound out a water bottle. After I polished off the water I was feeling better though.
Things I'm grateful for this year:
*Being married to a wonder man whom I love profusely
*Literally doubling the size of my family and all the new experiences that brings
*Illness that can be cured with a full bottle of water
*Being employed and able to pay the bills
*The generosity of family and friends
Firsts:
*First time ever going to Bear Lake
*First time making Pretzel Salad (or any part of Thanksgiving dinner)
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Halloween!!
We hope everyone had a great Halloween! We were lucky enough to have a whole weekend of it. We had a family Party on Saturday and then Trick or Treating on Monday! Gavin unfortunately had to work Monday night but, unbeknownst to me, it was a mandatory dress up and he wore my highschool Pep Club uniform (it was very brave of him considering he was wearing a Highland uniform smack dab in the middle of East territory). I didn't find out until I stopped by on my way home from Kim's house. It was Awesome!!
At the Aviary the last two weekends we've done Halloween Hoot and there have been some really cute and clever costumes. Two of my favorites were a little boy who was Clark Kent and a mom who had dressed as Harry Potter and then put her baby in a snowy owl costume.
At the Aviary the last two weekends we've done Halloween Hoot and there have been some really cute and clever costumes. Two of my favorites were a little boy who was Clark Kent and a mom who had dressed as Harry Potter and then put her baby in a snowy owl costume.
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