Ruk Shuk

Heather and Joe gave us this fun new game for Christmas. You have a handful of rocks, and try to duplicate the rock formation shown on the card. It is much harder then it looks. Last night when we played we finally put away the timer, we all needed about 3x's the time allowed. So if you are looking for a new game that everyone can play we definitely recommend Ruk Shuk!

"It is one of man's curious idiosyncrasies to create difficulties for the pleasure of resolving them." ~Joseph de Maistre

Christmas Pictures

Here are the pictures that I promised on yesterdays post. We had a productive day out and about. We took Myles' bike in to be adjusted for him, got a microphone for Guitar Hero, and ran other misc. errands. This evening we have been shifting between laundry, Guitar Hero, laundry, Mario Kart, laundry.... you get the picture :)

Here is Shakierra, Myles, and I decorating our attempt at sugar-cookies.

Here is a shot of one of our home-made pizza's. Not so yummy, but it was still fun to make.

After all of the stocking stuffing!

Me, more then ready to head to bed! We were waiting until we knew Myles was sound asleep before bringing in his new bike.

The much anticipated presentation of the bike!! (yes, he is blind-folded)

Shakierra and Guitar Hero!
Myles schooling all of us on the Guitar! This kid Rocks!!

Brad concentrating oh-so-hard while ricking out. It is much harder then it looks!!

So there you have it, our holiday in pictures! Hope you have all recovered for the festivities.

"If Rock 'n Rolling is a crime then throw my @%# in jail!" -- Guitar Hero

Wonderful Christmas

We had a great Christmas! Right about now I am more then ready to head to bed and call it a day, but my sweet hubby is playing his new fishing game on the Wii, so I will blog instead. :)

Christmas Eve was a quiet quality-time kind of day. First off Heather and I went to Zumba and melted off enough calories for at least 2 plates full of cookies :) Then it was home with the fam. We baked and decorated sugar cookies, baked homemade pizza's for dinner, and watch ELF. Once the kids went to bed Brad and I went to work filling stockings, putting out a few last gifts, and getting Myles' bike out from the neighbors garage.

Today we woke up way early (5:40am) and started in on the presents. Myles LOVES his new bike! He cant wait to get out on the road with it. Shakierra scored with Guitar Hero and Mario Kart for the Wii. Brad got a new shop-vac, some more Bears gear, among other fun things. I got tons of great music. Brad knows that I have been wanting to replenish my Jimmy Buffet collection (since losing half of it in asset separation). So he stocked me up with enough JB to keep me grooving until the cows come home!!

I did take some pictures, but I am too stinking tired to post them at the moment. So stay posted for those goodies!!

"Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love!" ~Hamilton Wright Mabie

Baking Burn Out

I really love to bake. But I am happy that the majority of the holiday baking is behind me. The boys ran a bunch of baked goodies to friends and neighbors this evening. There are still a few goodies on the list I have promised to make. Brad is jonesing for homemade sugar-cookies. I have never actually made sugar-cookies, so wish me luck!

Only one more day of work for both Brad and I and then it is Christmas Break!! Wahoo!! I am really looking forward to Christmas this year. I think Myles is going to always remember this year. I think this is the most excited I have ever been for what I am giving him, so it is bound to be a memorable year!

Ok, I know this was the most boring post ever, sorry. But I cant think of anything wildly funny to write about, and I have sewing calling my name, so I am outta here.

"If it weren't for the last minute, I wouldn't get anything done." ~Author Unknown

TGIF

Here is Myles' healing face. Poor kid! The picture really washes out the color in the cut and bruise. I told him not to worry, chics dig guys with war wounds :) When I was dropping him off at school one of his teachers was walking by and saw his face and said, "I see your Mom finally had enough of you!"

I am so glad it is Friday. With the snow storms I feel like I have either been at work or on the road to and from work 24/7. I will be more then happy to stay within a 5 mile radius of home this weekend. Tomorrow night we have the ward party and Sunday we are having a family Christmas dinner at the Alexander's. In between those parties I plan on going to Zumba, wrapping, baking, wrapping some more, and just plain relaxing.

BTW- Zumba is at the Lehi Legacy Center at 930am on Saturdays and at 8pm on Thursdays. for those of you who were wondering.

So I want to know how many of you couples out there in blog-world have a "song". Brad and My song is "Good Morning Beautiful" by Steve Holy. They don't play it on the radio often, but I heard it this morning (and smiled the entire time it was playing). So whats your song????

"The unthankful heart... discovers no mercies; but let the thankful heart sweep through the day and, as the magnet finds the iron, so it will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings!" ~Henry Ward Beecher

Donation time again

First off I want to wish my big bro, Rob, a very Happy B-day tomorrow!! I know I am certainly not aging, so I am sure the same goes for you. (good genes wink, wink)

Today was a much better day then yesterday (at least for me, Heather's household may beg to differ). Yesterday it took me over two hours to get to work in the lovely winter wonderland. But the roads were great again today and I was singing a happy tune!

This evening I donated blood again. I did sooooo much better than last time. Yippee!! I didn't get sweaty at all! I could sit up and read my book the entire time. My time was 5:22 (that's how long it took me to fill up my bag). That has got to be some kind of record, right?!?!?! So the next time I go that is the time to beat. Better start those fist pumps and get my veins ready for the challenge!!

Myles is at Young Men's tonight. When I asked what they were doing tonight he told me they were playing Ding-Dong-Ditch'em. I was flabbergasted that this would be a church activity! But of course there was more to the story. They would be leaving gifts on peoples porches and then ringing the bell and running so the recipient didn't know who left the treat.... Much better church activity!! Whew! (ok- I was about to post this and Myles just showed up with a bleeding face. While out and about the boys started throwing snowballs. Well the one that met Myles' face was an ice-ball. Poor kid!)

Over the past few months I have taken part in a Biggest Loser group. We have a blog where we each post our weekly progress, good or bad. You can post great links you have found, new classes, recommendations, etc... So with the new year rapidly approaching I was wondering if any of you would be interested in making our own kind of group. We would need to have enough so it is motivational and encouraging (instead of just me confessing to downing my weight in ice cream). So give me a shout if you would wanna join.

"I wish I had a pencil thin mustache
The boston blackie kind
A two toned ricky ricardo jacket
And an autographed picture of andy devine" -- Jimmy Buffett (one of my favorite JB songs)

Jump Around!!

That is exactly what the kids did this Saturday. "Jump on It" is a big warehouse filled with tons of trampolines. So the kids just go in and ump until their bodies cant take it anymore. Myles has become quite the Jump on It addict. So in order to deplete their energy and run some errands with out the kids all up in our business we dropped them off for 2 hours of bouncing fun. I was able to grab a few pictures when we came back to pick them up. As you can tell from pictures, they didn't have any fun at all, NOT!!

This is Myles' expression when told it was time to leave!

Shakierra was boarding the tramps. Theses snowboard types things are made of foam, great addition to the challenge of jumping for 2 hours straight!!Myles showing off his flipping skills!!

Even when I was young I wasn't brave enough to try these kind of tricks :)

OK, please excuse the music selection. I just couldn't resist a little "Jump Around" to go with these pictures!

"Small deeds done are better than great deeds planned." ~Peter Marshall

Merry Bowling

Nothing says "Merry Christmas!" like a visit to your local bowling alley. At least that is what we decided at AFA this year. In an effort to cut costs we ditched the normal formal dinner and dressed it down a bit. So last Thursday we closed the office a little early and headed for Fat Cats. We had a blast! Heck, this was a whole lot better then cocktails and a fancy-shmancy dinner if you ask me.

Shop Till You Drop

That was my motto tonight. I hit both Target and Wal-mart for prizes for our upcoming work bowling party. My feet are sore and my pocket book is empty. But at least I am all prepared for the party now. I just need to wrap the prizes now, but that can wait until tomorrow. The upside of all this shopping (that isn't even for me) was that Wally World had spamonie ice cream!!! That is nearly impossible to find, so of course I had to get some. So I am enjoying a bowl of it as I type this post :) (aren't ya jealous!!)

Well it finally feels like winter outside. It has been down right COLD! It is times like this that make me feel bad for Brad working outdoors all through the night. The poor boy layers up like the little brother in the movie A Christmas Story!

I am happy to announce that my Christmas shopping is officially done!! WAHOO!! I still have projects to get done before the big day, but no more shopping. I love to shop and even I am burnt out. I love that our kids are old enough now that we can invest in a handful of larger meaningful gifts rather then tons of toys and crap. But of course Brad would argue that I still buy plenty of the "crap". :) But what can I say, I love gift giving!!

"Maybe its a Mans world, but Girls make it go round." -- Eddie Rabbit

Book Worm B-Day

I had a great birthday! Brad spoiled me with 5 books, a sweat-shirt, and of course the heating blanket that I have already been enjoying. We just got back from Baskin Robbins where I over-indulged (but heck, that's what b-days are for)!
Last night we had a blast playing Rock Band at Derick and Becky's house. Becky made yummy fajitas for dinner and killer brownie Sundays for dessert. Thanks guys for spoiling me for my b-day!!

Myles is home again. He left on Thursday night to go to California to hit Disneyland with his Dad. As usual, he is a bit worn out from the traveling. But we are happy that he made it home safely.

Well I am off to dive into one of my new books. Have a great week everyone!!

"The secret of staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age." ~Lucille Ball

ZUMBA

Ok, so I just got home from the best new class, ZUMBA!! It is a mixture of aerobics and salsa dancing. It was a blast! You have to shake everything you got and let your inhibitions fly...but when you do, the sweat starts a pourin'. I can tell my obliques and hips are going to be mega sore tomorrow after all of the hip shaking, but it will totally have been worth it.

So come join me at a class and let your inner Latin Goddess come out to play!!!!

"There is a bit of insanity in dancing that does everybody a great deal of good." ~Edwin Denby

WARNING!! - Stop Exercising!!

Warning!! These pictures are graphic and not for the faint of heart!!

Poor Evie is the perfect specimen of what too much "Exercise" can do to you.

Look, here is Brad trying in vain to pull her from the elliptical after hours of striding away.

Notice how after so many long hours of exertion her eyes have gone "alien" (this is a common side affect of too much exercise)

The poor girl cant stop herself. She is so out of control she cant even keep her tongue in her mouth anymore!!! (oh the pity to see such self abuse)

Once again you see the alien eye phenomena. You will notice that the fat (aka- happy) dog's eyes are much less reflective.

Don't become just another statistic. Stand strong against this craze and eat a freakin' burger and fries, while your at it have a milk shake too!!

"I have to exercise in the morning before my brain figures out what I'm doing." ~Marsha Doble

Midway

I am soo proud of myself, I figured out the slide show thingy all by myself!!! So as you can see from the my FAB slide show we had a pretty down to earth / no-frills getaway. It was great!!

We went to the smallest bowling alley we have ever seen (in Heber)! The place was so old that the lanes weren't exactly level and the balls had gouges out of them. So much for our highly competitive intense game of bowling, sheesh!!

The kids (and that includes Brad) LOVED the Murphy bed that was in our condo. They took turns folding each other into the wall and laughing!! I am telling you, you have to be pretty desperate to find this all as funny as they seemed to! :)

We had a yummy Thanksgiving dinner at the Inn on the Creek. It was great to dine with Heather & Joe (and girlies), and Andrea & Ryck (and girlies). It was soooo nice to just go eat and not worry about shopping, cooking, or cleaning. We wont do this every year, but for sure will add it to the rotation. After dinner Myles took Grace and Jane up to the Santa sleigh for a few pictures. Grace loved it, while Jane wasn't as keen on the whole idea. I am sure the management wanted to come out and tell us to take a hike. But seeing as we just paid a kidney and liver for dinner, they were smart enough to let us have our fun with the sleigh!!

The condo we stayed in was very cozy. The kids loved the craters, ping pong, pool, hot tub..... Brad and I loved that they had their own room! :)

One night while on the way to the pool we saw a deer walking through the parking lot. So Brad snagged the camera and took off like he worked for National Geographic! We finally followed after him in the car. He had followed the deer to the golf course at the Homestead and there were over a dozen deer on the green just chillin'. It was too cool! It was just getting dark, so the pictures didn't turn out too hot, but it was awesome to see.

Friday night Andrew, Kelly, and Eric came up to play games and go swimming. It was great to hang out with them for a while. So thanks for making the drive guys!!

"A vacation is having nothing to do and all day to do it in." ~Robert Orben

Thanksgiving in Midway, UT