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)