Here comes December....

Oh man this month has gone quick. Can you believe December will be here tomorrow? Man, the fall is going so quickly winter will be here before we know it......officially that is. Well let me do my best to do a quick update of the past 2 weeks.

I've been busy enough w/ Relief Society things. On the 15th I met w/ the Elder's Quorum President, one of his counselors and my VT Coordinator to go over the December HT/VT assignments. Surprisingly we didn't have too many move in our outs so it went pretty quickly. We then had President Thorup ok our changes and we were out in record time per say:) We've also been working on getting the Branch Christmas Party stuff together. We bought the food we're going to have branch members make and even had a RS Meeting on how to make rolls, so there's no excuse not to know how to make them for the dinner ;) Sister Thorup taught us how to make these really yummy rolls using potato pearls/flakes. You can use the dough to make cinnamon rolls, orange rolls, Parmesan garlic or regular rolls. I've made them twice already, and let me tell you....they're YUMMY! I'll have to send the recipe out soon.

On Friday the 18th we had a fun date night. After work we went over to Cafe Rio for dinner and ironically Steve and I both had the punch cards so together we got a FREE MEAL!!!! So we only paid for one, then went to Redbox and got a free movie rental, Thor. We then went up to Dave/Joann's and watched the movie w/ them. Dave also made popcorn in his fun theater popcorn maker. It was a very fun evening!

On Sunday the 20th I had several meetings, as usual on 3rd Sundays. We had branch council in the morning, then a quick meeting w/ my presidency, church, the munch and mingle, then tithing settlement. We then went over to LuDean's for dinner. It was our annual "honoree dinner" and this year we honored Phil. So, after dinner we each took a turn and said what we like/love about Phil. A common trend was that we all enjoy his sense of humor and spirituality. This is a neat "tradition" as it's a way to show appreciate and love to family members, one year at a time ;) We then sang Steve happy birthday. I made a chocolate cake and some cupcakes.

One of Steve's birthday cakes. This one is homemade chocolate cake w/ English toffee on top, in the middle, and all around. :)

Cute cupcakes....I love sprinkles!

On Tuesday the 22nd we went over to Dave/Joann's and had dinner w/ them and Duane and Wendy Bates. Duane is a PA and a really good friend of Dave's. Steve has actually worked w/ Duane at the clinic when he was doing his MA and he's also shadowed him several times for classes and whatnot. Dave made his famous yummy Dave's BBQ ribs. We also had yummy funeral potatoes, rolls, and salad. We brought my mom's grape juice to go w/ it. It was an excellent dinner. Afterwards we hurried over to Walmart and price matched their turkey breasts, bought them, then brought them back up to Dave/Joann's to store them in their outdoor freezer. We wanted to make sure we had turkeys for the Christmas Party, and before prices go up after Thanksgiving.

Wednesday after work, I made the potato rolls and pumpkin ginger bread for Thanksgiving the next day. Steve had class unfortunately, but thankfully he didn't have it on Thanksgiving day (he usually has his EMT class on both Wed and Thur nights).

Thursday we got up and went down to Highland to help my mom peel potatoes and set up. Fortunately the chairs/tables were set up this time, and my mom had most of the potatoes done by the time we got there. We then helped out where we could. We stayed just long enough to eat and chit chat, then headed out. We then went up to Steve's parent's place for their Thanksgiving dinner. 2 yrs ago we tried the same thing but ended up missing his family's dinner; they were all done by the time we got there or had left. We had great fun w/ both families. My rolls and pumpkin bread seemed like they were a hit!

Pumpkin ginger bread....yummm ;)
After dinner w/ Steve's family we headed home, as my parents were coming to stay w/ us. After they got there we chatted a little, then decided to watch "Unstoppable." Since it was a true story we even got my mom to sit down and watch it ;) I went over to Walmart for 45 minutes for Black Friday at 10pm and made it out w/ a little 3 in 1 vacuum and some socks. It was pretty crazy in there so I was in and out as quick as I could.

The next morning I made hash-browns, cheesy eggs, and toast (from my honey wheat bread) for breakfast for my parents and Steve. We then went out shopping. We dropped off Steve and my dad at Sportsman's warehouse while we went to Winco for groceries. Surprisingly Winco was rather empty, which I loved. Mom picked up some nuts and I got some groceries, including more spices for more pumpkin ginger bread and carol syrup to make carmel popcorn. We picked up the boys then went home. Dad got a knife for Steve's bday. We then went home and made carmel popcorn and watched "Secretariat." Mom liked that movie also since it's a true story. Mom and dad then headed out after a quick sandwich.

We ended up taking a quick nap, then got ready to go to the temple. Steve had the privilege of taking Ryan Millward through the temple, he was his escort that is. Ryan was baptized last November the 20th, the same day I was put in as RS President. Steve left a little before me to help him w/ his endowments, then I showed up for the session. It was a full session, but really neat. We were glad to be there w/ Ryan. He's an incredible person. Such a spiritual giant. He actually in the Elder's Quorum already, and will be getting married January 12th in the SLC Temple to the girl who introduced him to the Gospel per say. They started dating sometime after he was baptized. We're excited for him!

Saturday we went w/ Dave, Joann and Rob to a matinee to celebrate Steve's birthday. We went and watched "In Time" then went to Red Robin for his free birthday burger. The movie was great, the food was great, and the company was excellent!

Sunday I had meetings, then after church I made a coconut cake. It's a white cake, then punch holes in it and pour coconut milk, then put whip topping w/ coconut shavings on top. It's so yummy! Sister Ferre taught us that one on the mission. We then drove down to Provo to have dinner w/ Carrie and Ryan. Carrie made some yummy Asian chicken called Speedy-stir fry noodles. We then played Ticket to Ride and had the coconut cake. It was a fun evening!

Monday the 28th after work I made some cheesy potato soup and breadsticks. We also worked on making these things for our Christmas Party. It will be a smaller version of the Living Christ w/ a picture of Christ on the back, then we'll laminate them. This way you can put them in your scriptures and remember the true meaning of Christmas.

Tuesday after work I walked over to Temple Square to meet Steve. We wanted to walk around and see the lights for his 26th birthday. We invited Dave/Joann to come also so while we were waiting we went into the assembly hall and listened to some high school choirs sing carols; it was nice. We then met up w/ Dave/Joann and walked around and saw the pretty lights.

Here are some pics from Temple Square....sorry not the best, taken from my camera phone.

Salt Lake City Temple w/ lights

Nativity at Temple Square

"Light" in Slovene....yeah!!!!

After Temple Square we went back to Dave/Joanns and had Little Caesars pizza w/ bread-sticks. They gave him his birthday presents, leather gloves and Gators, which unfortunately were too small for his calves. He loved the gloves though let me tell you. It was a fun evening!
When we got home I gave him

Steve w/ his birthday gifts I gave him....new shirt, tie, Xbox live subscription, and a book I made called "The top 10 things I love about Stevie." I also made him a card ;)

Well things are going well here. Steve has a couple more weeks of class, then finals. He's also planning to have his knee surgery in between his break before school starts again in January. I'll have 2 classes to take next yr also, then I'll be done w/ my MBA...yeah!!!

We love you all lots! Have a great week.....It's December now ! ;)

November Times

These last two weeks have been somewhat busy but not bad. It's nice having some time off school in order to get other things done.

The last 2 weeks I've had 2 different Relief Society trainings. The first was on the 3rd, a Regional RS training, and the second one was on the 10th, a stake RS training. They were both really good. They really focused on sticking to the basics. We need to throw out all the old manuals and traditions and stick to the new manuals. They also focused on the 3 goals of Relief Society 1-increase faith, 2-strengthen home and families, 3-provide relief. By sticking to the goals of Relief Society we are better helping the sisters in all aspect of their lives. We need to increase spirituality amongst the sisters so they are better able to cope with what comes their way. Satan is real and is very good at what he does. They mentioned how many families are broken apart from addictions; how true that is. We all need to continue to work on our spirituality in order to receive personal revelation for ourselves.

Friday the 4th after work Steve picked me up and we went out to watch Rose's girls so she could go to the temple. It was blowing really hard as we drove to Rose's place but we made it there ok. After we got there Rose left and headed to the temple. Somehow after she left the house and got to the temple her temple recommend disappeared, but luckily they still let her in. Summer went to a birthday party most of the night so we just had Ava, Ali and Sophia. We put Sophia to bed shortly after then played some games w/ Ava and Ali. Rose went out to dinner with a friend afterwards, so didn't come home until 11pm. It was snowing really hard as we were leaving but thankfully Steve has good eyesight and is used to driving in the crazy snow and we made it home safely, though it took a little longer. We would have stayed the night but Steve had to get back for a CPR class the next morning at the U.

Saturday Steve went to his CPR training to get re-certified while I stayed home, slept in a while, then cleaned the house. That night we invited Zach and Rob over and grilled hot dogs for dinner, then went to the dollar store and got some candy. We then played "Ticket to Ride" together; it was a lot of fun.

Sunday I had a lot of meetings, then I made bread bowls and we went over to LuDeans for dinner. Joann made two soups, potato and a broccoli; they were good and worked perfect in the bread bowls. We then played "Phase Ten Twist." It was also a lot of fun also.

Steve has been trying to get everything done for school as it's getting closer and closer to finals. We finally got him registered for his Spring 2012 classes as well. The U put a hold on his account until we went in another transcript (lame I know). Luckily I happened to see it on his record and we requested another one. Thankfully we were then able to get him into all his classes and he's got a pretty sweet schedule if you ask me. ;)

We're finishing a campaign at work and so far so good. I also received an "Excellence in Action" award at work for Q3 on my team. This is the 2nd one I've received. I was really surprised when then they delivered balloons w/ candy and the award. I also got a little extra in my paycheck, which was excellent as well. It made my day!

We've had a lot of visits to RS sisters lately, which has been good. Another sister had a baby 2 weeks ago. We're going to have a new baby in the branch every month from now until May now. Fun, Fun!!!

Friday the 11th was Veterans Day. It was 11/11/11. After I got home from work we decided to go home from work we decided to go out to eat. We invited Zach to come with us. It was fun. We then came back, Zach and Steve played XBox while I worked on RS stuff, then we went to the hot tub. Oh we like the hot tub ;)

A salute to all the Veterans out there, at Red Robin......yummm ;)


Saturday morning Steve got up early to go pheasant hunting w/ the boys. They went up to Benson, UT (by Logan) on a private ranch and each had opportunities to shoot the birds. Steve came home with 2 birds. I was able to sleep in again (yeah), and then cleaned up. After he got home Eve and Darrell Flake came up to hang out. We decided to celebrate since we've both been working for 4 yrs at Fidelity (we were hired 11/12/07). That was the first day we met each other and have been great friends ever since. We've gone through a lot together and have both gotten married in the mean time. I'm excited for what the future holds for us. Eve is such a great friend. So down to earth and I can depend on her for anything. She's like another sister to me. Thank for everything Evie; love ya lots! :)

We made pizza together. I put some wheat flour in the dough again and it turned out really well I think. I also made some breadsticks w/ some of the dough, all of which on the pizza stone's which make them sooo yummy! Afterwards Eve and I went and picked up a Redbox and got some candy at the dollar store. We then hurried home and watched the movie w/ Steve and Darrell. It was a lot of fun. They had to leave after the movie though, so Eve could finish up her young women's lesson. Next time we'll have to head down to Provo to their house for games or whatnot.

The mighty hunters.....Dave, Rob, Brandon, Phil, and Steve after pheasant hunting (Jeff not pictured since he left to go take pics at the U football game). Ryan wasn't' able to make it due to work, so Rob gladly filled in for him. :)

We cooked up the meat last night after church. Steve put them on the grill w/ BBQ sauce. They were better than I thought. I made potatoes and gravy, stuffing and cheese breadsticks to go w/ it. We're prepping for Thanksgiving next week :)

The grilled pheasants.

We also had our home teachers over yesterday afternoon (our first actual home teachers since moving in 2 years ago). We also went home teaching tonight. I can't believe how quickly this month is going. We'll almost to Thanksgiving already, then Steve's birthday on the 29th, then our Christmas Party on the 9th, then Christmas, then New Years, then our 3rd anniversary!!!! Ok, I'd better stop...........let's not forget to enjoy the moments and take one day at a time. Have a great week! We love you all so much ;)