There really is a Santa!

The dogs caught him taking a nap on our couch this morning!

Jolly old elf!

Mindy having fun with Santa!

The kids caught Momma kissing Santa Claus!

Before

After

Hope your day was as fun as ours was!

Amazing Christmas Lights

This house is actually near our house and the mother is a friend of mine. Their family does this each year to help the people in this area celebrate Christmas. Every night they have a different show with different songs and it really is amazing. Enjoy!!

A Christmas Card. . .

. . . to all of my blogging friends. Check it out Here

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

We can't wait!

We are going to the Rexburg Temple Open House on Dec 29. Our WHOLE family will be together so it will be a really special experience! We are all so excited!

Can you guess?

The following are all familiar Christmas songs and carol titles which are written in a little different way.
For example, say the following very fast: CEAS HUNS GRETE HINGS

Ok so have you figured out that this is actually "Seasons Greetings?"

See how many of these songs you can figure out.
(This is a fun game to play at a Christmas party)

1. HAIRY COMIC HEIRLING
2. WELSH EP ARDS WASH TEAR LOX BUY KNIGHT
3. ALLAH WAND FORK ISTHMUS ISTHMUS TOOF RUNTEEF
4. LETTUCE NO! LETTUCE NO! LETTUCE NO!
5. GO DRESSED YUMA REGION TALL MEN
6. JOE LEE ODES AUNT NECKLACE
7. IN JAILS WE A VERDON EYE!
8. FRAWS TEA THUS GNOME ANN
9. SAND OK LAWS ESK HUMMING TOOT HAUN
10. ARK THE AIR OLE ANGELS ING
11. WEEWY SHOE AM ERIC RISS MUS
12. ICE AH MAH MEK HISSY SAND DUCK LAWS
13. SELL FOR BAY HOLES
14. THUFF ERST KNOW EL
15. SY LEN TON ITE, HOL EEN ITE
16. JOEY TOOTH EW ERLD
17. A PAWN THOUSET OP
18. DEWEY EAR WAH TIE EAR
19. DUCK TEE HOLES WITH BOWS OF FOLLY
20. OAK A MALL YEEF AYTH FALL
21. WEETH REEKINGS AFORE REINTAR
22. ROOD OFT ARE ED KNOWS RAIN TEAR

Tis the season. . .

This is the season of giving. I found a neat website that encourages everyone to do something nice especially on Mondays. Right now they are asking for people to send Christmas packages to our troops. They need to be mailed by Nov 30, so we don't have much time. If you are interested go to this website and you can see what it is all about and how to do this.

Lets start this wonderful holiday season right by remembering those who are ensuring us the freedom to be able to continue to celebrate these sacred holidays.

It's the most wonderful time of the year. . .

It's almost here. . .

The groceries are bought, the turkey is thawing, the baking begins today, the guests are invited and now it is just a waiting game. . .the countdown begins! In only a few hours. . .well a little over 24 to be exact . . .we will all set around our tables with our loved ones and enjoy a feast of turkey, mashed potatoes & gravy, sweet potatoes, stuffing, rolls, salads, veggies, cranberries, pie, pie and more pie! Have I forgotten anything?

Oh I can smell it already - can't you? I can't wait! It is so fun to cook, cook and do more cooking just so that we can all sit down and gorge ourselfs for 10-15 minutes, just in time to get up and spend the next half hour cleaning it all up, while all of the guys go in to watch football or take a nap. Thank heavens I have alot of girls in my family to help with all of the work!! I really can't remember a Thanksgiving when I have been able to just sit and enjoy TV all day. . . but hey. . . cooking and cleaning. . .thats more fun than screaming at the TV because your team isn't winning, right? I'm really not bitter - But I do think that I'm going to make my family sit for at least a little longer than usual and enjoy the moment together while enjoying filling their bellies. Thats only right. . . after I put in so many hours to make it perfect, don't you thing?

But really-it is a lot of work for just a few minutes of eating pleasure. I think it might be easier (at least for me) and maybe even cheaper to just go to Chuck-a-Rama. But hey, I guess it is all worth the effort because of course then we have ALL of the leftovers that we have to. . I mean get to eat for days and days. Just how many different ways can you fix leftover turkey? Turkey casserole, turkey soup, turkey sandwiches, turkey tacos!!!! Can you tell . . .I just can't wait!! I mostly can't wait for Friday when we can get up at 3am to go shopping and fight the holiday crowds to get the best deals in town, that are always sold out of by the time I get there! Yeah. . it's the beginning of the most stressful. . . I mean. . .the most wonderful time of year! Oh. . . I love the holidays!!

Really and truly, all kidding aside. . . have a great Thanksgiving, don't eat TOO much and do enjoy being with those special people in your life. Spend a few minutes in the midst of the fun to give thanks to Heavenly Father for all of your blessings.

And just be grateful that you aren't a turkey!!! Not a good day for them!!

I love beautiful sunsets. . .

So this afternoon we were just sitting down to eat dinner and I looked out the window and saw this AMAZING sunset. Those of you that know me know that I love taking pics of clouds, sunsets etc. So I ran and got my camera and headed outside. Since the wind was really blowing hard my camera was kinda shaking so they are kinda blurry but I still think you get the idea of how beautiful it was. The colors were spectacular reds, oranges, yellows, blues and purples. Of coarse the pictures never turn out as good as actually being there but these are pretty close.





.

Did someone say "chocolate cake?"

Try this one all you chocolate lovers out there. This is really yummy! You'll have to go to the gym for several days after eating it but it is well worth it. Enjoy!

Chocolate Truffle Cake

(I highly suggest waiting a day after baking before eating this delicious cake because on day two the texture of the cake is like a truffle)

Ingredients:
1 chocolate cake mix
1 box (8oz) of chocolate pudding mix
5 eggs
1 stick of butter, melted
16oz of sour cream
1 bag of chocolate chips

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350.
Combine cake and pudding mixes and then create a well in the middle of a large bowl.
Dump the sour cream, melted butter and eggs in the well.
Using a large spoon (trust me, your mixer will fry because this is so thick, plus your arms will need the workout!) mix all of the ingredient together, don't be alarmed on how thick the batter is, that is normal.
Then pour the entire bag of chocolate chips in and mix it again.
Spray your bundt pan with some pam and put the batter in it.
Bake 50-55 minutes. Once it is done baking let it cool for 10 minutes and then flip it.
This cake does not need any frosting but some fresh whipped cream (there is now chocolate cool whip) or ice cream is yummy!
You can eat it right away, but again, I highly suggest waiting a day, I promise it is well worth the wait! Enjoy!

How do they do this?

Way to go Hollie!

My daughter the runner! This is my daughter Hollie and she ran a half marathon (13 miles) in Sept which I thought was so amazing. But this past weekend she ran her first FULL marathon. . .26 miles!! It took her about 4 hours which is a great time, especially for your first race. I can't even imagine running that far or for that long. (I'm ussually breathing hard and need to sit down and have some water by the time I walk into the grocery store from the parking lot. Well. . . maybe I'm not that bad. . .but you get my point.)

I am so proud of her. Not only for staying in such good shape but for setting a hard goal and working hard to actually achieve it. What a great accomplishment. Way to go Hollie!! You are an inspiration to me!

It's almost done!

It's been a long time for us here in the Rexburg area, but our temple is near completion. The open house starts at the end of December (What a great Christmas gift to be able to go with friends and family through this beautiful new temple). The dedication is scheduled for the first part of Feb. We are all so excited. We are so blessed to have a temple so close.

Anyway, the other night I was in a class at BYUI in the Hinckley Building, which is just across the street from the temple, and when I came out at 9:00pm the temple was all lit up and it was absolutely breathtaking. They have had the steeple lit up ever since the Angel Moroni was placed on top, but this was the first time they had lit up the whole temple. Luckily I had my camera with me so I took a few pics.


They are going to wait for the dedication to light up the front middle section.


We are so blessed to have so many temples across the world. Hopefully we will continue to attend as often as we can to do the work that the Lord has given us the responsibility to do.

Weekly Ritual!

I love my two little dogs but because they live in the house I ussually give them baths quite often. They don't really like to get baths and in fact they even understand when I say, "Time for a bath" - because they ussually run and hide. Once we get started they are well behaved except for when they shake and soak me or jump out of the sink and run through the house dripping and go hide again. This quote is more true at our house than I like to admit to - but I'd rather be wet and tasting soap than live with dirty dogs.
"Anybody who doesn't know what soap tastes like has never washed a dog!" -Franklin P. Jones
Heres some pictures of our weekly fun.

This is Sadie. I know she looks like a rat but she really is a dog!


Just call her "spike" !


"Get me outta here!"


Nice and clean for another week!




Meet Willy. You can tell he's not too happy!


"Hurry up or I'm gonna jump!"


Willy almost fell asleep while the warm water ran down his back.


This is his favorite part


Yeah, he knows he's handsome.


Until next week - same time ~ same place - and the ritual starts all over again!

Best buddies!!

It was a long day!!!

What happened to the seasons?

I love fall. It is my favorite time of year. I really love the colors-reds, oranges, yellows, it always looks so spectacular. I was hoping to be back east visiting my daughter right now and seeing the beautiful fall colors back there. But I wasn't able to go so the next best thing are the canyons near here. So last Saturday Joe and I had planned to go for a long ride to look at the beautiful changing colors of the season. I was planning on taking a bunch of pictures too. But when I woke up I couldn't believe the joke that mother nature played on us. What the heck?? Who would of thought that we would wake up to this!


How depressing!! I'm definately not ready for this. My coat needs dry cleaning and I can't even find one of my gloves!! And where are my snow boots??


Needless to say - we stayed home in our pj's, wrapped up in blankets to keep warm and watched T.V all day. That was fun but I'm not ready to have January weather in October. I did make some great soup and pumpkin cookies that reminded me of fall. And I sat and looked at my fall decorations to help fend off the winter blues from taking over.


But all is not lost - fall has returned, sorta, it is still kinda cold, but at least the snow is gone. I'm hoping to go for our ride this weekend so I can get some pictures before the leaves fall off. And please ~ mother nature ~ keep "old man winter" away for at least a few more weeks!!

Cause I'm the MOM!!!!

Now this is good! Seems like this mom has it all together! Wonder what her kids are going to be when they grow up! See if you can hear yourself in this. I did!

(Thanks for sending me this Steph)

The Intruder!

I have a little dog that only barks when someone, that she doesn't know, comes to our house. Other than that she is pretty quiet. But a couple of days ago she barked, and barked and barked ALL day. She was driving me crazy. After a couple days of this I finally found out why she was acting so upset. I'm sure that she was trying to tell me that we had an unwanted and uninvited intruder.

I was putting some clothes away in my husband's drawer when I saw the evidence that we had been violated! After I jumped up and down, screamed and ran around the house yelling, "Ew. . .yuck. . .gross. . .@#*%," I went back into the bedroom to look again to see if I really had seen what I thought I saw. Yes it was there, proof of an intruder, staring me in the face, as if to say to me, "Ha ha. . .Catch me if you can!!" Stratigically sitting on my husband's WHITE t-shirt and WHITE socks were several. . .yeah you got it. . . MOUSE droppings! How disgusting! How could this happen. . .well I guess it does happen when you live in a place surrounded by grain and potato fields. Where's the neighborhood cat when you need one? My dog may be a barker but she's not a hunter! Anyway all of a sudden the detective, CSI investigator and "cleanliness" patrol in me kicked in gear. "I'll show you" I thought. Nothing invades my home with out a fight!

(Okay he wasn't this cute)
Anyway. . . after I got my composer I jumped in my car and ran to get an arsenal of weaponry. I was gonna take that baby out!! So after setting up several traps with yummy cheese and peanut butter and putting out lots and lots of DeCon, I sat and waited. And waited and waited.
24 hours went by. . . and nothin. . .that little devil was playing games with me. And then it happened. . . last night when all was calm . . . I was reading a good book and I heard it. . . SNAP! What a joyous sound. But I couldn't look so I sent Joe in to check. VICTORY! (Ok all of you animal lovers don't write me hate mail) Don't get me wrong. . . I love some mice. . .Mickey and Minnie, Jerry, Fieval, Stuart Little and even the 3 blind mice. But when they break in and go into places that they shouldn't be. . .they've crossed the line.
Anyway. . .the mystery is solved, the dog has calmed down, the clothes have been washed and we are back to normal. But the weapons are still in place, protecting our home, just in case he has a relative who comes looking for him.

Don't ever give up on your dreams!

This is an amazing video of a guy named Paul Potts. He is a singer who became the winner of the first series of ITV's Britain's Got Talent, singing operatic arias and impressing the judges in all of his performances. At the time of his victory on Britain's Got Talent, he had been working in The Carphone Warehouse, but following his win he has been signed by the show's judge Simon Cowell to record an album. Potts has previously worked in unpaid opera productions from 1999 to 2003, however, a series of illnesses combined with a bicycle accident in 2003 brought an end to his amateur opera career.

Watch this amazing clip of his first performance. You can go to youtube.com and type in Paul Potts Final to see his winning performance. Sit back and enjoy!

Hitting the books!

Well my 5 1/2 month break is over and I'm back in school. I went back to college 3 yrs ago. I am in my junior year and I am majoring in Sociology with a minor in Marriage and Family Studies. This semester I am taking 12 credits. My classes are: Social Psychology; Religions Effects on Society; Anthropology and Covenant Marriage. It is great - I love it! But it is very time consuming. So I may not be posting as often, but keep checking back because I love having this blog and I will try to post something as often as I can.

HOW TO STAY YOUNG

1. Throw out nonessential numbers.
This includes age, weight and height.
Let the doctors worry about them.
That is why you pay "them!"

2. Keep only cheerful friends.
The grouches pull you down.

3. Keep learning.
Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever.
Never let the brain idle.
"An idle mind is the devil's workshop."
And the devil's name is Alzheimer's.

4. Enjoy the simple things..

5. Laugh often ... long and loud.
Laugh until you gasp for breath.
(Go see the movie "hairspray with your friends.)

6. The tears happen.
Endure, grieve, and move on.
The only person who is with us our entire life, is ourselves.
Be ALIVE while you are alive.

7. Surround yourself with what you love ..
whether it's ... family, pets, keepsakes,
music, plants, hobbies, whatever.
Your home is your refuge.

8. Cherish your health.
If it is good, preserve it.
If it is unstable, improve it.
If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

9. Don't take guilt trips.
Take a trip to the mall ... even to the next county .
to a foreign country, but NOT to where the guilt is.

10. Tell the people you love that you love them~
at every opportunity.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take,
but by the moments that take our breath away.

We all need to live life to its fullest each day.

Mooove on over Bessie!

I hate traffic. I hate delays in traffic even more. Traffic problems are one thing that I don't have to worry about living in a small community. Well . . . not usually anyway. The other day my friend and I decided to go golfing. We decided to get an early start in the morning to avoid the crowds and the heat of the afternoon. We headed out, were making good time, even took a cut across, short cut road to get to the golf coarse quicker, when all of a sudden we came over a hill and we couldn't believe what we saw ahead of us. A big traffic jam!! It wasn't at a total standstill but close to it. The traffic was barely moving. As we came up on it we just couldn't believe our bad luck. How much was this going to delay us? How long would it take to get through?

As we inched along my friend, being the dare-devil that she is, decided to try to go out around and pass the traffic and try to get ahead of it. I couldn't believe the attitudes of some of these individuals as we were trying to pass. Some were just sitting, not even trying to move, just eating their breakfast, enjoying the beauty of the morning. Some were quite rude and just cut right in front of us and others were downright stubborn and wouldn't let us pass them for anything. In fact they were acting like real PIGS. . . well . . .more like . . .COWS!



A whole herd to be exact! They weren't in any big hurry and they really didn't care that we were. They were just enjoying their morning commute from one field to the next.



Well we eventually made it through with only a few cow pies on the tires and some dust on the windshield to show for our travel delay. It didn't slow us down much . . . in fact we were still the first ones on the golf coarse. Animal traffic . . .one of the joys of country living.

Great Women. . .

Who do you look up to or admire? Over the years I've known many wonderful women who have touched my life and help make me a better person. Of coarse the first women in my life were my mom and my aunts. They were instrumental in shaping me at a young age and showed me what good women are like. They helped me develop virtuous qualities and values as well as skills that I hope I'm passing on to my daughters.

Then at a young age "girl-friends" entered the picture. And over the years I've had many friends who have made such a difference in my life. We cry together, laugh together, share, support, encourage, counsel, listen, watch scarey movies, golf, shop, do lunch. . . the list goes on. What would we do with out friends?

I thank all of my friends for accepting me for who I am and loving me inspite of myself. And I thank the Lord for letting my path cross with such great women who have inspired me and lifted me and helped me be a better me.

It's "BEAUTIFUL WOMEN" MONTH

Did you know that it's Beautiful Women Month? Well, someone told me it is, and even if it isn't there is never a bad time to celebrate "beautiful women" and that means you!!! And me too! We are all beautiful in our own way and so it's good to celebrate the beauty in each other.

Below is a wonderful poem Audrey Hepburn wrote when asked to share her "beauty tips." It was read at her funeral years later.

"For attractive lips, speak words of kindness. For lovely eyes,
seek out the good in people. For a slim figure, share your food with the
hungry. For beautiful hair, let a child run his/her fingers through it
once a day. For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone. People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone. Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of each of your arms. As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands; one for helping yourself, and the other for helping others."


If you share this with another woman, something good will happen.
You will boost another woman's self esteem, and she will know that you
care about her.

Have a "beautiful" day!

Cameroon Saints Travel to Aba Nigeria Temple

This is an amazing story. And it makes me feel quite bad at the excuses I use that keep me from attending the temple regularly. . .

. . . But, then again. . . that 30 miles to the Idaho Falls Temple can be trying on a hot summer day. What about all of the stop lights and freeway traffic...and trying to find a parking place. . . It can be real trying.

Just kidding! I can only hope to be as faithful as these saints.

Read this amazing story Here

Installing a new phone. . .how hard could it be?

If I haven't answered the phone or returned your calls recently it's because our main phone/answering machine finally bit the dust. After many unsuccessful attempts to revive it we finally accepted the fact that it was gone. After a few tears were shed we said our goodbyes and buried it deep with in the garbage. We moved on by heading to Radio Shack to find a new phone. After what seemed like hours of listening to the salesman tell us about every phone in the store and all of their unbelievable features. . .blah. . .blah. . .we walked out of the store with the perfect cordless phone/answering machine with several nice features, a reasonable price, but MOST importantly - the words "Easy installation and Set-Up" written on the box. Now thats my kind of phone.

We got home all excited to set up our new phone and the first thing the manual tells us is that we have to charge the battery pack for 15-20 hrs. Easy enough-we plugged it in and went to bed. Twenty-four hours later is when the headache began. First off-the box said that a "Quick Start Guide" was included. Their definition of "Quick" and mine are very different. The book had 20 pages of "The Basics" and 30 pages of "Beyond the Basics". I said to myself, "This phone aint gonna be workin today. I've got to read this novel of instructions first!"


In my reading I did find one helpful bit of information. It said not to connect the phone to a coin-operated system. Boy was I ever so greatful-the last thing I need is a pay phone in my house.

Well somewhere amid all of the mumbo-jumbo I finally found out how to just plug in the phone so it works. But I'll probably have to wait for one of my kids to come home for a visit to help me set up and understand all of the "remarkable features" included with this new phone. Until then I can at least get your calls. Somewhere in the "Quick Start Guide" I'm sure it tells how to record my own beautiful voice on the answering machine-but until I find that you'll be greeted from some robot guy that lives in the phone. Go ahead and leave your message - I'm sure I'll get it once I figure out how to "Listen" to them. Oh and BTW can anyone tell me how to set the clock on my DVD player?

My babies. . .

Ok so all of my kids are grown and gone and I don't have any grandkids yet so I've got the next best thing to take pictures of and spoil. DOGS! Not just any old dogs but "my babies". Yes it's true. . .my kids say that my husband and I treat the dogs better than we treat them (meaning the kids). And this may be true at times. We have been guilty of talking to the dogs first when we come home before talking to our kids. But I just say, "If you would run to greet me at the door when I come home and jump into my arms and smother me with kisses like the dogs do, I might treat you better."



Dogs show this type of devotion readily. I think that we can learn alot from dogs. They show affection for no reason other than to be friendly. They are so content to lie at your feet while you watch television or work in your office.


They enjoy the simple things in life like having their tummies rubbed, having hugs and playing with toys.


They provide entertainment by doing things that humans can’t. Heres a few other reasons why I love my dogs:

Top 10 Reasons I Love my Dogs

1. They never stay mad


2. They never talk back
3. They are never to busy to listen
4. They keep your legs warm at night
5. They always want to go outside, even if it's raining
6. They never fail to make me laugh
7. If I am unmotivated to go for a walk, they always find
a way to get me to go (and I always feel better after...)
8. They love me even when I forget to feed them (they don't let me forgot for too long)
9. I don't have to pick up any food I drop on the floor
10. They are ALWAYS happy to see me


Research has even shown that owning a pet can have measurable health benefits. A dog can be a wonderful companion and bring endless joy and happiness into your life.

Someday soon I hope to have grandkids that I can take pictures of, spoil, and love unconditionally. I look forward to that day.
Call me crazy, but for me, my dogs are my perfect buddies - and for now
. . . that’s all that matters!