We Wish You a Merry Christmas!

WHAT! Only a few days till Christmas?!?

We better stop playing around and get some things done!!

We'll put up some festive decorations like: the ULTRA cute sign that I bought this year (Ryan wasn't too thrilled) and the home made wreath that Brenda made (I have been the lucky recipient of her homemade floral arrangements ALL year long!)
And put up the Christmas tree!! Meet Evelyn the Evergreen. For those who are new to us: each year we name our tree alternating between male & female names (we tried peeking under the boughs, but we couldn't see much) WE LOVE Evelyn!! Wilbur was great last year, but a bit too bushy, Evelyn is juuuuust right!
This will be the last year that we can decorate the tree down to the bottom!

Start making Christmas treats!! I went to my first cookie exchange this year. Sadly the cookies didn't turn out the way I wanted them to. Don't worry Cookie Swap Ladies after the new year I will make my Chocolate Chip Pretzel cookies again and you'll see what an awesome cookie it is when it's done right. As you can see Brigs has really become interested in food!

We had to see Santa!! Brigham did very well and didn't cry at all. He even boldly tugged on the "old guys" beard. There must be a reason he felt so comfortable....ya better look twice at Santa he looks oddly familiar!

This year I decided to be frugal and send out Postcards instead of cards, letters & envelopes. So far they have been a hit! I need to make sure to get more next year- we've run out already!!

Merry Christmas to all of you! We have truely had a very blessed year. Our sweet little Brigham brings us more joy than we could even imagine. We thank our Heavenly Father for him daily. We are thankful for our home, Ryan's job, church callings that keep us on our toes and of course our Family & Friends!!

Thank you for being a part of our lives. We hope that you have a peaceful Winter,

a Merry Christmas & a very Happy New Year!!

My Oatmeal Souffle Recipe

I shared my Oatmeal Souffle recipe on She Said today! Make sure to click over there and check it out!

The Mormon at the Catholic Christmas Bazaar in the Baptist Church

Burns doesn't have alot. We are a pretty rural place....well really rural, we are two hours from any big shopping (i.e. Target, Wal Mart, Costco, etc). But there is one time of year that it's really quite fun to be in Burns and that is Christmas Bazaar time. There are three major bazaars that happen here: The Golf Course, The Catholic Church & The Fair Grounds (there are a few other smaller ones, but we'll focus on the top three). The Golf Course bazaar happens before Thanksgiving and has a lot of really cute, nice stuff - however it's really pricy (sorry, that clutch purse is really cute, but it's not worth $24). The Catholic Church Christmas bazaar has been around FOREVER and is really the fore-runner of the bazaars. Everyone goes and you get a really nice range of crafts from really cute and cheap, to really cute and expensive, to totally ugly & tacky. I've had alot of friends do this bazaar and I love going every year. The Fair Grounds bazaar is the same weekend as the Catholic Church and honestly I only went once, they cater heavily to cowboy country themed crafts and as one friend kindly put it some tables looked like personal yard sales.

Well this year I was going to be crafty, this year I was going to make some moolah, this year I was going to do the bazaar!! So after sorting through lots of craft ideas I settled on my tie-onesies:

And my friend, Leah, showed me these cute kid super hero capes! I was surprised at how easy they were to do and quite fun too! (that wasn't intended to rhyme)


(As you can see I had a really cute model for the capes!)

My partner-in-crime, Candace, joined me in the fun and made some really cute headbands and bows (I own a few of her creations myself!) Now back up a few weeks before the bazaar. Sadly a juvenile who didn't have much to do decided to set the Catholic churches Parish Hall on fire. It burnt down to the ground. Luckily no one was hurt and the Catholic churches chapel wasn't damaged, but where would the Christmas Bazaar be? The Faith Baptist Church, just across from ours, offered their building and the Catholic Christmas Bazaar was saved!!!

So after furiously sewing days ahead of the bazaar (because I'm that good at procrastination) and setting up a really cute table; Candace and I were ready for business (not in the slutty way)

I have to admit I had alot of fun with Candace and seeing everyone, but quite dissapointed in my sales. I didn't make as much as I thought I was and didn't think I was asking too much for a good, quality item. I did get alot of compliments, but just not enough people that were buying things for kids or baby boys (I kinda had some specific merchandise). I have to admit defeat to the "it" thing this year: Cow Skin purses.....yep that's what I said, Cow Skin Purses....with Rinestones no less!!

The humiliation. To be out sold by something so......ugly?tacky?rediculous? (if you are looking at these items and thinking they are cute, please keep that opinion to yourself)

I guess it's just the demographic. Maybe if my onesies were cow skin with rhinestones they might have gone faster.....mmmmmmm....

Anywho, it was fun to do. I'm glad that I did it, but I don't think that I will be doing it again.

I still have capes and onesies that I would like to sell so if you are interested just let me know!

Snow

It's landed...there is no going back. We are now covered in snow *sigh*. As most of you know I'm really not too big on snow. Sure, it looks pretty when it's: 1. It's Outside 2. I'm Inside 3. I don't have to go out in it

I have to admit though, I don't mind it too much this year because I LOVE watching Brigham look at it

He just stares with those big blue eyes with an expression of wonderment & "that looks different. What is going on out there?" We have yet to throw him in a snow suit and stick him in the middle of it, but I have a hunch he's gonna love it!

For breakfast this morning I wanted something cozy, warm and filling so I made an oatmeal souffle. What is an oatmeal souffle you might ask? Well just just say that it's warm, light, filling and has a crunchy brown sugar topping. Recipe to be shared soon!

I'm getting ready for my in-laws to come up for Thanksgiving. Menus are being planned and some much needed cleaning is happening upstairs. I'm grateful for all of you this year and our friendship through thick and thin, long distance and short distance. Happy Thanksgiving!!

Upd8ed

Alright, sorry for the incredibly long voids of time where all my blog consisted of were me trying to win a Sillhouette and inviting you over to my new blogging endevor with Nan.

There are Eight (8) new posts for you to read. There are many more that I could have done, but alas I wanted to get current and fast so I bit the bullet and gave you the highlights of what has been happening in our little hamlet of life for the past two months. So enjoy the attached picture of Brigham and his new hobby and start scrolln' & readn'!

Brigham in his city

I think when we are asked what our baby's name is people just assume "eh their Mormon. It makes sense" Well while yes we are Mormon we didn't really name Brigham after Brigham Young - I guess you could say that we were influenced by Brigham Young...
A few years ago (yes we've planned on this name for awhile) we were traveling back from Utah - or Portland - one of the two and to help the time pass we talked about names for our future children. We jokingly went through some prophet names like: Lorenzo, Ezra, Gordon... all nice names, but again - we were joking and then I said, "Brigham" and we back tracked a bit. I wanted a name that was: Classic, unique and not over used. Ryan wanted a name that was "Manly". The name "Brigham" oddly fit the bill and felt ...dare I say...right? Granted we know that his full name will span the entire width of his kindergarten desk, but we love it and Brigham he will always be!

Last weekend we happend to be in Brigham City. We came down for the burial of Ryan's Grandfather who passed away a few weeks ago. While we were there we had lunch with my parents:
And made sure to take a picture of Brigham under "his city's " sign:

After dinner we headed up to Pocatello to be with with aunts & cousins for the Halloween weekend. While we were sitting in Shelley's front room I realized that Brigham was surrounded by all of his aunts! So we had to take a picture! We love our family!! What a great weekend. So WONDERFUL to be allllll together!

Halloween in 6 simple steps

#1. Pick a pumpkin#2. Teach your child the craft of carving
# 3. Try to get your child to touch "pumpkin guts"
#4. Celebrate the creation of "Pumpkin Brigham"
#5. Put your child in the monkey costume that was purchased by his grandfather when we was only five months old (in utero!) and assemble costumes for you and your spouse to be zoo keepers
#6. Go trick-or-treating and gets loads of candy...who can say no to this face?

6 Months Old

Only six short months ago our lives changed forever...Who would have thought it would go by so fast!?! People tell you that it does, you don't believe them and then - it happens! It seems that in a blink of an eye Brigham when from 6 minutes old to 6 months!!!
Aaaah, the next thing you know he'll be shaving.......

Our Sixth Anniversary

Six years...it really doesn't seem like it's been six years!? Sometimes it feels like six months and other times it feels like we've been together my entire life. I still don't understand how I slept alone for so many years, goodness knows I can't now! I've become dependant on my daily dose of Ryan. So lucky I found him, so lucky I got him, so lucky to have him!

The sixth year anniversary was a bit more laid back than the five year anniversary (remember San Diego?). I strung up some lights in the front room. A mock "reception" set up. Gratefully these lights didn't short circut the entire room every hour. I wanted to wear my wedding dress....didn't quite fit back into the old gal - thank goodness I can still fit in the veil! And made a lovely three course meal just the three of us. I learned two important things that night:

1. I will always be in love with Ryan

2. I like baked cheesecake better than no bake

Her Birthday, His Birthday & Our Birthday

We both celebrated our birthday's while in Utah. We had a multi family party where I enjoyed my mother's white cake with vanilla frosting. It's as basic as you can possibly get - made from a box even, but it's the best tasting cake in the world because it's made by my Mommy. There's truely nothing better. Unless you ask Ryan and my other siblings and then it's my Mom's tunnel of fudge cake (what Ryan had), but this is my post so - VANILLA RULES! On my actual birthday (Sept. 3rd) I enjoyed a lovely breakfast with my Mother in Law, she taught Ryan everything he knows on making an awesome omlette. Then that night Ryan's parents took care of Brigham (my first time away) while we went to Carraba's to enjoy an amazing Italian dinner - I am still dreaming about the breaded shrimp & scallops! And then went to see Eclipse..yeah that's right, the last person on earth to see Eclipse. The night was wonderful and I enjoyed every minute of it mainly because Ryan's Mom would text every hour to let me know that Brigham was fine :) The next morning I got to celebrate with two of my friends, Kelley & Merisa at IHOP. I would have never thought to put cheesecake in pancakes, but I'm sure happy that IHOP did!

We were home, in Burns, for Ryan's birthday and we had some great steaks. It's a really an education when you eat a really good steak - you realize who cheap everything else is! And ended the meal with (drum roll please) The Dessert of the Gods. The number one requested dessert by Ryan. He's had it for every birthday since he was sixteen (with a two year break). It was a nice quiet evening, just what Ryan wanted.

My Tall Skinny Baby Brother's Wedding

You may think that he's grown up, but he really hasn't in my mind. In my mind David (or who I have lovingly called Babe since he was 8 months old) will ALWAYS be an 8 year old boy who wants to eat endless strings of peanut butter and honey sandwiches while watching Barney or Thomas the Tank Engine (the original)

Grateful that he found a wonderful girl who is willing to make him those peanut butter and honey sandwiches. It was a beautiful day and a beautiful wedding. Surprisingly I was very emotional at the sealing - I think it was me realizing that my baby brother really wasn't a baby anymore *sniff*sniff*.

The wedding reception was beautiful! The cake was AmAzInG! Jamie is a fellow lover of FoodNetwork and an avid fan of their cake challenges (I am too!) She had her cake designer make a cake that was a knock off of a cake that was made in the FoodNetwork Wedding Cake challenge. Sooo cool and sOOOO good. You can't beat marzipan, you just can't!

Highlights at the wedding included: Spending the night in Logan with Nan, betting with Ryan that all Babe did the night before his wedding was eat junk food and watch TV with his groomsmen & winning that bet, going to the Logan temple, Tiffany & Katrina not wanting to let go of Aunt Jamie's dress, lunch with Rach, the best $16 little black dress that a girl could ask for, Brigham traveling like a Rock Star, Brigham's little suit, Ryan in a suit, Brigham's tiny boutonniere, Caiden throwing the ring pillow at David once he walked down the aisle, 4 different desserts, seeing family, seeing friends (thank you Greg & Anne for crashing it was wonderful to see you), marzipan, Tiffany dancing with Ryan in the Gazebo, Caiden throwing his shoe into the pond, ice water with lemon & being able to sleep through the night when it was alllll over!

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We were there

Richy T's Wedding...

...it actually happened

we were there! (with catered Cold Stone Creamery all over our faces!)

Food...real food (sort of)

Brigham got his first taste of food and he LOVED it! He couldn't get enough and wanted to hold the spoon himself. We couldn't shovel it in fast enough. We didn't stop feeding him till the spoon hit the bottom of the bowl & then he slept in sweet-full-tummy satisfaction (at least that night)