Christmas in California: Part 3

So, I have taken it upon myself to update you with the rest of the goings on from Christmas to New Year. Christmas morning was a lot of fun. Both Will and Kristin and Troy and I got Wiis which was definitely the highlight for us. Thanks mom and dad!!However I think Jason scored big time by getting all the Cars' cars imaginable and a Cars' racetrack. I think he spent the rest of the morning playing with the cars while we played the Wii. Having never played it before, I think Troy and I got the hang of it pretty quickly.

Look at their focusChristmas afternoon/evening all of my mom's side of the family came over for Christmas dinner. I believe that this is the first year that Troy has experienced Christmas with my side of the family. It's definitely different but I love it. All nine aunts and uncles were present including spouses and a few cousins and a few of there kids. If we had to do a family tree, I really don't think our family would fit on one tree alone.

Every nook and cranny of my parent's house filled with people The day after Christmas we spent the morning relaxing while playing the Wii then headed to my aunt's house for dinner. Thursday, Will and Kristin headed back to Utah. Our flight wasn't until 4:30 that afternoon having already been delayed one hour, so my parents and us headed out to lunch. I tried to convince my dad to take us to dim sum but he said that in order for us to go it would require a 3 hours delay so we settled for Vietnamese. By the time we checked our bags into the flight, we were still expected to leave at 4:30. We got to the gate around 1:45ish and sat around for a bit. Then there was a voice over the PA announcing that our flight was delayed in Denver due to de-icing but the plane was in the air. She made it sound like if they could deboard and refuel quickly we could actually leave a little before the 4:30 departure. Well to make a long story short, she made that same announcement about 3 other times saying that the plane was delayed due to de-icing but it was now in the air. Our final departure time was 6:30. We so could have gotten dim sum!! Anywho, after all was said and done we flew into Denver around 10:15 pm when we really should have gotten in 6:30. Troy went to dig out the car while I grabbed the bags. Now let me tell you, carrying 3 big bags that weigh as much as I do is not easy but I finally made to the curb to meet Troy. By the time we got home and into bed it was 1:30 am!!! I told Troy that this is our luck every Christmas. Last year was the blizzard. The year before was a 4 hours delay at the SLC airport and the one before that was the crazy rainy weather driving back to Utah and almost getting in a car accident. I wonder what will come this year?!?!?!?!

Just thought I'd add a pic of my really cute niece, Sierra. She already has pigtails.

This past weekend were able to plow through our puzzle and finish it. Surprisingly, Lexie did not make any of the pieces disappear. New Year's eve, we went to dinner at Hacienda Colorado then headed home to watch the first of the Bourne trilogy. We were in bed by 10:30 no thanks to me but hey, somewhere in the US it was the new year. :) New Year's day, we just chilled indoors playing the Wii and watching bowl games, and watching The Bourne Supremacy.

I think that about covers it. Just wanted to wish you all a fantastic New Year. I hear it's supposed to be a great one. :)

Christmas in California: Part 2

Christmas Eve was a very nice day. A storm was brewing in Colorado that would eventually dump 7-9 inches on Castle Rock Christmas Day, meanwhile we took full advantage of the sunshine and 75 degree weather by going mini-golfing and going to the beach. Will ended up beating everyone in mini-golf, but we all had fun, and Jason probably had the best shot of the day by hitting it through the windmill and into the hole.
We then went to the beach in Ventura. Will, Jason and I ventured down to the water to go wading. I guess the cold water was a shocker to Jason, who, like any rational two year old would do, sat down. So he was soaked, but I think he liked playing in the sand.
We got home to the delicious smells of Joanna's roast. It was a lovely Christmas Eve dinner, and Kristin's biscuits were great!

Christmas in California: Part 1

So when I was younger, we borrowed the Encylopedia Brown video from the library. In it he concludes that a Civil War sword is a fake because it was inscribed with the First Battle of the Bull Run, which is a problem since the Second Battle had not yet been fought. The point you ask? Well, don't write this off as a fake just because I'm calling it Part 1 already.

It seems like so much has happened since we last wrote, that I will split it up for ease of posting.

We left on Thursday to visit Tracie's family in California. I had just gotten back from our Holiday party in Chicago (I'll save that post until next year!) on Wednesday, so I was expecting large crowds at the airport. Suprisingly we got to the gate with little problems, but I wish we could say the same about the plane. As has become a holiday tradition, we were delayed, so we arrived in CA just before midnight.
Friday we hung out with Tracie's parents and saw the second National Treasure movie (just like the first one). Saturday Will and Kristin drove in from Utah, so we got to see Sierra for the first time ever. She is quite the cutie, and we agree with Kristin that Ed and Joanna have the cutest grandkids! Saturday night Tracie and I went with Ed and Joanna to the Magic Castle.
We dressed up and had a nice dinner, and then we saw 3 magic shows. One was a very small venue, just the magician and 20 others. Tracie got to sit at the table and be his assistant. When I asked her if she could sum up the show, she said "I don't know where the coconut came from!" We also saw a big show, and a mathmagician. It was a lot of fun, and Will and Kristin were even nice enough to Tivo the game for us and watch it with us on Sunday morning. Let's just say it was nice to fast forward the commercials and between plays, although the ending was very stressful. A win is a win, that's all I can say. Sunday was nice, and Tracie and I even sang in the choir. That made up for missing the Christmas program here in Castle Rock. To be continued....

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Christmas is finally around the corner. We have finished most of our Christmas shopping. All that is left is me to go shopping for Troy. That should be fun and easy since he's gone for the next 4 days in Chicago. JP Morgan decided to fly out all the Compensation and Benefits department out to Chicago for their Christmas party and Troy had to leave a day early to attend a seminar for the Associates of the Society of Actuaries. (I think Troy would actually be proud of me that I knew what the letters stand for) So that leaves me at my lonesome for the next few days. Good thing I have Lexie here. This past week has been busy for Troy. He finished studying and took exam #5 on Wednesday. Lexie even helped study and may have even gotten a little bored with the material. Friday night, I hosted a Relief Society Enrichment dinner. That was a little nerve-wrecking but it turned out pretty well if I do say so myself. I even had everything ready to go on time. Saturday morning we decided to open our Christmas puzzle that we bought our first Christmas. I think we have made pretty good progress especially with Lexie trying to help. Hopefully I'll be able to get most if not all of it done before Troy gets home and we leave for CA for Christmas. Yay for sunshine and warmer temperatures. It has snowed quite a bit this last week and I'll be excited to not have to bundle up to leave the house come the end of the week. We want to wish you all a wonderful Christmas and a fantastic New Year if we are not able to post next week. We'll be having to much fun in the California sun!

It finally feels like Christmas

Maybe it was the early Thanksgiving, the exchange of presents with my family, or the warm weather in late November, but it wasn't really feeling like Christmas. That changed this weekend. Although not really Christmas related, we went to Olive Garden on Friday night, and they did have holiday wrappers on their after dinner mints. Then we watched 'The Transporter' that night. The movie is all right, but the main actress looks exactly like Tracie!!!

Saturday we got some snow that started as a dusting, then quickly escalated to a few inches by Sunday morning. We also had our Ward Christmas Party Saturday night. Dinner was good, but the program was better, mainly because Tracie and I played killer shepherds for the nativity scene (no really, killer, we had headbands that made us look like ninjas.)

Sunday we had the Community Inter-Faith Messiah Sing In. We chickened out at the end from singing in the choir, but it was fun singing with the congregation, along with Aaron, Robyn, and her friend Emily.

Lastly, as promised, here are pictures of our Christmas tree. Hard to find the right lighting.

We also got three plates of cookies tonight. It's that time of year!!!!

December...already

Now that December is finally here, let's bring on all the Christmas decorations. Okay maybe not all, we just got our Christmas tree last night and it's still pretty bare but we got the lights up on the house and some decorations out. It seems like our whole neighborhood has gotten into the Christmas spirit and every single house in our culd-de-sac has lights up. Last Thursday, we went to the Blossoms of Lights at the Botanical Gardens. Tracie got some free tickets through Starbucks. It was very pretty but they didn't have any music playing so that was kind of a bummer. This weekend was supposed to be a very chilly one but we got lucky and didn't see any snow so Troy had the luxury of putting up the Christmas lights. We're hoping that every year we can keep adding more to it. Poor Lexie wished she could come out and play but it was too cold for her. But she is enjoying the Christmas tree and gnawing at the branches.

2 in a Row

Troy and I flew over to Utah on Wednesday morning. That morning we woke up to snow; the first snow of November but it wasn't too bad getting to the airport. We ended up just hanging out with Troy's family that day since he and I were both sick. Thursday morning we did Christmas with his family since we'll be in California this year. It was a lot of fun and I would have to say that his parents' gift to Troy was pretty creative. They made us a ladder out of sticks then gave us a gift card to Home Depot. We will definitely put the ladder to good use within the next week or two with Troy putting up our Christmas lights! Thursday afternoon we headed down to Uncle Tom ('s cabin) and Aunt Pattie's house for dinner. It was all delicious and as usual, I definitely ate way too much. Friday, we were on the hunt for a sectional and hoped to find one in Utah. The hunt was fruitless but at least we got to hang out with Troy's little bros and Grandma and Grandpa Burt. Saturday was a action-packed day. We headed down early in the morning to Will and Kristin's for Sierra's baby blessing. Afterwards we met up with the rest of Troy's family at the Creamery for some lunch before the game. The game was a lot of fun and it was great being back. We had pretty decent seats even though it was in the shade the whole time, brrr!!! The good news is that we were high enough to see all of the action, especially the flyover to start the game, the bad news was that we couldn't see the replay screen and we were too far away to storm the field. Afterwards we went to the Spaghettti Factory for dinner and then stopped by the Wu House Cedar Hills. It was a fun to see so many friends and family, but entirely too short of a weekend. We are definitely excited to see all of Tracie's family in December.

Troy's side note on the game: I'm sure all of the Utah fans will complain that officiating cost them the game. While I won't defend the veracity of the calls, I will say this, the first one came on second down, and the second one on the next play. While they certainly helped, they only thing they really did was assist in the Cougars scoring sooner, which benefitted the Utes. Admit it, the game was lost on a 49 yard bomb on 4th and 18 from the 12 yard line. Don't blame the refs for your losing pain.

Castle Rock Times - Thanksgiving Edition

Front Page
The big news of the week is the fact that we are one week closer to seeing our families over Thanksgiving!!

Entertainment

Saturday night was the 72nd annual Starlighting festival in Downtown Castle Rock,

hosted by Gary Shapiro of 9news!! We headed downtown at about 4 in the afternoon. We actually had to return some books to the library, so that was the first stop. Lucky for us they had a free trolley to take us back downtown. We then picked us out a spot that gave us a good view of the stage,

and ultimately a great view of the star on top of Castle Rock when it was all lit (lighted?) up. We then watched the fireworks display and walked around downtown window shopping at the boutique stores. The weather was great and we will definitely be going back next year. It is a fun tradition that makes us grateful that we live in such a cool town.

Business
In business news, I moved cubicles at work. My new cube has a window that looks out to Market Street and has a little more space. A co-worker moved right next to me as well, so we thought that it would be approriate for us to throw a cubicle warming party on Friday.

She provided the apple cider and I brought the Krispy Kreme doughnuts. It was a fun little gathering.

Sports
We watched BYU dominate Wyoming on Saturday, and we are eagerly anticipating the BYU-Utah matchup on Saturday. I think it will be a good game, but I'm pretty sure I know who will win. Any guesses as to who that will be?

Ho Hum week

So, there's really nothing to report of the happenings last week. Troy went to South Carolina for work for a couple of days but forgot to take a camera with him. We did find out that he got a nice bonus because of the "merging"/acquisition of his company with JP Morgan. That was really nice. I went to another stamping party on Saturday and we made Christmas cards. I'm super excited to send them out. Troy also got free tickets to the Nature and Science Museum so we went Saturday afternoon. We were hoping to go to the IMAX showing of the Titanic but the tickets were all sold out so we ended up watching something on blackholes at the planetarium. I didnt' really watch a lot of it because it made me a little queasy but it was nice and short.

Lastly, I thought I'd post something about Lexie. She is such a funny quite. Apparently she has a thing for boxes no matter what kind of predicament she gets herself into. Hopefully you like some of these pictures!

And, yes, that's Kleenex box stuck on her head!

Birthday Week

So this week was dubbed my birthday week by Tracie, and she spoiled me a lot. On Tuesday Tracie made cupcakes. They were fabulous and I had just enough breath to blow out the candles!!
I dressed up for work. Thanks to Brittany for the doo-rag, it really completed the outfit. Lexie was also excited for Halloween and kept a keen eye out for the Trick-or-Treaters. We were actually really excited to stay home and pass out candy for the first time in our house (I'm sure that will fade over time). We got to hand it out for a little while and then we went over to our friends Jen and Gavin's house for a murder mystery party. I was J. Stephen Peek, attorney-at-law, the friend and confidante of the victim (I even have the business cards to prove it). Tracie was Elise St. Gershe, the young, attractive maid at the DuPre mansion. It was a lot of fun, and we enjoyed hanging out with the three other couples.

We quickly moved past the Halloween holiday and on to Thanksgiving. On Sunday we invited some friends over for dinner and Tracie decided to be bold and make her very first turkey dinner. It was delicious!! Luckily Tracie had some latex gloves which makes handling the raw turkey much nicer. It was a fun day and it was nice to stress test the kitchen, the double ovens, and the big dining room table. They all passed with flying colors, now we just family to join us next year for the real Thanksgiving!!!!

Happy Almost Halloween!!!

What did we do this past weekend?!?! Friday, for Troy's birthday, I got us tickets to the symphony to listen to Beethoven's 5th Symphony. I even got all gussied up and wore a lot more make up than I ever would. I even did my hair. I picked Troy up from work and we had dinner downtown at a place call The Palamino. It was delicious. We even got to see some downtown action right outside our window. We saw a cop on a motorbike totally take down a guy on a bicycle. After dinner, we headed to Boettcher Hall (I think that's what it's called). Luckily it wasn't too chilly so the walk wasn't bad. The symphony was great and we had awesome seats. Unfortunately, when we wanted to take a picture I found out that the batteries were dead. So no pics from that night until we got home. Saturday we ran a few errands and started our Christmas shopping. Can you believe it?! I can happily say that we have all the nieces and nephews done except for the twins but we'll get there. And I have to say that they're pretty awesome presents. We also bought a cupcake carrier. It's pretty cool. I'm making cupcakes for Troy to take to work but we didn't know how to transport them but they have one at Crate & Barrell and it carries 2 dozen so it all worked out. Sunday, we had some friends over for dinner and we made sugar cookies for dessert. They were yummy. Then Monday night, we carved our pumpkins. Our neighbors graciously invited us over for Troy's b-day then afterwards we came back here to carve. I think mine is the coolest. It's the goblin. The stencil said that it was a 2 pumpkin out of 4 on difficulty but I would definitely bump it up to 3. It took me FOREVER to finish it and the pumpkin wasn't even for me but for the little girl. Her mom said that she would appreciate 10 years down the road when she's carving her own pumpkin. Great!

Troy carved 2 pumpkins in the time I carved one. If you can't tell the middle one says Red Sox and has devil horns and a pitchfork.

If you can't tell, Lexie's in a slight predicament. She has her head and one arm through the handle. It took her a while to get out. Silly cat.