Christmas, Christmas, and more Christmas...

M2B =) days 303 - 306.  Saturday, December 4th - Tuesday, December 7th.

Saturday, December 4th happiness:  Look out, because there is a lot of happiness in this day.  Here goes:

I finally finished getting the lights on my tree.  Joe and Brian got to decorate!

Last year, on the first Saturday in December, my mom, along with us and the Trezise family found ourselves eating dinner at Serrano's.  Joe decided that it should be our newest Christmas tradition - to eat at Serrano's on the first Saturday in December.  Joe is all about tradition.  This year we invited everyone along.  Most of us made it.  We missed Trina and Ruby, and Jared and Tricia's family.  There is always next year, right?
Afterwards, we went with the Gonzo's to look at Christmas lights at the Temple.  Beautiful, as always.
It was fun to go with Joshua.  He loved the lights.
This year we went in the visitor center and watched the movie "Luke 2" - all about the birth of the Savior.  Then, we went and saw the display of all of the different Nativities from around the world.  

They have this every year, and I always want to go see, but the line to get into the room is always incredibly long, and I never want to wait.  This year, there was hardly anyone there, so I finally got to see it.  It did not disappoint.  There were tons of different Nativity scenes from all over the world.  It was awesome.  I liked to see all of the differences.  Here were a few (or 9) of my favorites:








Which one do you like?

I could have stayed in there all night, but sadly, I was outnumbered.  

Next, we went to look at more lights.  We went to "The Street".  You know - the cul-de-sac where every house is decorated for Christmas.  We parked and walked it.  It was pretty crowded, but still awesome.
When we were leaving we saw this:
How cool is that?  Now I want to go to London.  Ok, so I've ALWAYS wanted to go to London, but it just reminded me of how badly I want to go.

A busy, but very happy day!

Sunday, December 5th:  Gingerbread houses at mom's house.  I was excited to see these kiddos:
It's been a while since I've seen them.  

I also loved to watch my dad decorate his house.
I must have been too busy decorating my house this year, because I didn't get many pictures, and I totally missed out on getting the photo of all the finished houses together.  I think it was because everyone had finished, and I was still working.

I didn't have my team helpers this year.  Brian and Joe both ditched me and let me do all the work.  Brian hung out on the couch, and Joe was hanging out with his cousins.  I was on my own this year.  And, I decided to do a log cabin.  It took FOREVER!

I thought it turned out cute though.  I should have posted a photo of the back.  The fireplace extended all the way down the back of the house.  It looked cool.

Monday, December 6th:  Today was kind of a bad day.  I didn't sleep well last night and was pretty much dragging all day long.  I dreamed all day long of going back to bed.  It was nice tonight to sit on the couch for a bit and do nothing, but enjoy my Christmas tree.  This was the highlight of my day!

Tuesday, December 7th happiness:  Today my third grade class went on a field trip.  We went to see the play Junie B. Jones in Jingle Bells, Batman Smells.  If you haven't read any of the Junie B. Jones books, then this will mean nothing to you.  

I love the Junie B. Jones series of books.  Super cute.  It was fun to go see the play.  The kids loved it and so did I.

Happy Day!

Energy, donuts and Dr. Seuss....

M2B =) days 295 - 302.  Friday, November 26th, - Friday, December 3rd.

Friday, November 26th happiness:  I finally started working on mom's tree.  I saw Jared Ammon today for about 2 minutes.  Hey, I haven't seen him in a long while, and it was nice to catch a glimpse of him today.  

Also, Xander spent the night.  We played lots of Harry Potter Scene it.  Love it!

Saturday, November 27th happiness:  Went shopping and to a movie with Brian today.  We saw this:
I actually really liked it a lot.  Rachel McAdams is just adorable.

Later I went to my mom's and worked on the tree some more.  Dallin got new glasses.  Remind you of anyone?  He has good taste.

I told you this guy was in town, and here's the proof:

It was nice to see him for longer than 2 minutes today.

Sunday, November 28th happiness:  Joe and I got up extra early today and got ready for church.  We had to be there early because all of the youth went down to Randolph today.  Joe is a youth and I am a youth leader, so we got to share this experience together.  Randolph is a place for mentally and physically handicap people.  It is a little community, and they have caregivers that take care of them.  Every Sunday, youth go down and put on a primary meeting for the residents.  Each youth gets assigned someone.  They pick them up from their room, and bring them back to the meeting place.  We then sing a bunch of primary songs with them.  Quite a few of them are like little children.  Some of them can't talk.  But they love it when we come and spend time with them.  We only get the opportunity every 4 years to go.  I'm glad Joe got to have the experience.

I got to hang out with Denise.  She can't talk, but understands when you talk to her.  She loves the primary songs and her eyes light up when we sing.  She liked to help lead the music.  Joe's guy didn't talk either, but he sure did like to drink water.  Joe filled his water bottle for him at least 6 times.  He sat by him and talked to him.  When it was all over, his guy didn't let him leave without giving him a hug first.

What a neat experience it was.  I'm so glad we got a chance to go.

Monday, November 29th:  My new favorite thing:

I swear I could not get through some days without it.  

Tuesday, November 30th happiness:  Guess what Dunkin' Donuts has for the holidays:
I had the gingerbread cake doughnut.  It was heavenly!

Wednesday, December 1st:  Tonight all of the young women went and saw this play:
Three of the girls in our ward performed in it, so we all went to support them.  It was a lot of fun.  I love Dr. Seuss.  I saw Aunt Rebecca there.  I think I may have freaked her out.  I went up and started talking to her, and she didn't recognize me.  I guess it's been a while since I have seen her.  Her son was in the play too.

Thursday, December 2nd:  I finally had time today to finish the lights on mom's tree.  I got to see Evan's master building skills.
I had some help from Joshua.  Mostly he just wanted me to wrap him up like a present and leave him under the tree for someone to open.  
Friday, December 3rd:  This is my favorite hallway at school:
It is where the art room is.  I love that the art teacher displays all of the different art from the students in the school.  I love to see the bright colors and the kids creativity.  It makes me happy to walk down this hallway every school day.
That's it for now.

Happy Day!

Back yard photos, BMX and Brian

M2B =) days 287 - 294.  Thursday, November 18th - Thursday, November 25th.

Thursday, November 18th happiness:  Back to school today.  It was nice to see my kids.  They missed me =).  Also, when I got home, I kept checking the back yard to make sure it wasn't all just a dream.  It's still there.

Friday, November 19th:  Our school had a fundraiser a while back.  Part of the incentive was that the kids would get to have a BMX bike show at our school.  Three riders came and they put on an awesome show for the kids.  It was pretty amazing.
Yeah, he landed that.  Whatever.

Saturday, November 20th:  Today was pretty much happy from start to finish.  The day started with pumpkin muffins for breakfast.  Yum.

Then, we went and saw Harry Potter.  Amazing.  Loved it.
Elmers for lunch.  Need I say more?

I spent the majority of my afternoon lounging on the bed, reading.  My husband was outside putting up these:
Oh Happy Day!

Sunday, November 21st happiness:  I finished my book today.

Joe and I have been enjoying our back yard.  The weather was gorgeous this afternoon.  We took our books outside and read and hung out until dark.
The clouds looked awesome tonight - very purpley.  I loved it.
Also tonight, someone was having a real wood fire in their fireplace.  It smelled like Christmas outside.  It brought back childhood memories of being at my Aunt Vickie's house in the winter, when she would have a real wood fire burning.  It smells so good.

Monday, November 22nd happiness:  I got to talk to Sheri on the phone tonight for a long time.  She is one of my most favorite people, and we don't get to spend hardly any time together.  It was fun to be able to talk a while.  My sister is awesome.

Tuesday, November 23rd happiness:  Joe and I hung out in the back yard again.  Thanks Brian!  Joe is eating cereal here:
We let Tiger out for a bit, so he could enjoy the new yard too.  He liked to roll around on the patio.
The sunset was ah-mazing tonight.  
The sky was gorgeous.  And, no, these photos are not touched up or enhanced in any way.  That was the real color.  Arizona sunsets are the best.
Tonight was chilly, so Brian made me a fire.  I snuggled up on the floor next to it and warmed my toes - delightful.
Wednesday, November 24th:  Jared Ammon must be home for Thanksgiving because I actually caught a glimpse of him today.  It was nice to see his face.  I haven't seen it in a while.

Tonight Joe and I watched Merry Madagascar.  I thought it was quite funny.  We thoroughly enjoyed it.

Joe and I hung out on the bed tonight.  He told me stories.  I would give him 3 elements that he had to include, and then he would make up a story for me.  For example, I would say "Pillows, pixie dust, pickles" and then he would make up a story that included all three of those things.  It was fun.  Joe is very creative.

Thursday, November 25th:  Happy Thanksgiving.  We ate, we hung out with family, we ate some more.  It was awesome.  I took like a million pictures today, but all you are getting is one:
Brian and Max watching football.

Happy Day!

Disneyland =)

M2B =) days 281 - 286.  Friday, November 12th - Wednesday, November 17th.

Friday, November 12th happiness:  Tonight when Brian got home from work, he brought me these:

stripey mittens!  I love them of course.

Saturday, November 13th happiness:  We packed up the car and headed West.  Joe has been counting down to this day for a long time.  We have had this trip planned since March, I think.  California, here we come.

I saw this license plate and immediately thought of Paul.
=)

This is what happens when we are driving and Nada Surf comes on the radio.
This is what happens when we get to Embassy Suites Anaheim South:
If you know Joseph at all, you know that this is his favorite place to stay.  

When my boys are happy, I am happy.

Sunday, November 14th happiness:  Beach Day!  Are there 2 happier words in the English language?  I think not.

We had a lazy afternoon at Newport Beach.  It went by way to fast for my taste, but I'll take what I can get.

It was a little sunny at first.  Joe had to find shade where he could.

The sunset was gorgeous, of course.
This is what it looked like through my sunglasses.  It was so pretty, I had to take a photo.  
I got myself a beach read - The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale.  I wasn't expecting much, just a fun beach read, but I really like the way she writes.  She has a dry sense of humor and I found myself laughing out loud, a lot.  Can't wait to finish this one.

Monday, November 15th:  Disney Day.  In case you didn't know, or haven't seen Joseph's blog, he LOVES Disneyland.  We had a great day.  Here is Joe at the Haunted Mansion.
I love the Haunted Mansion this time of year.  Here is a photo I found of the Jack gingerbread house.  Awesome.

That night we watched the Christmas parade and waited around for the fireworks show.  They made it snow.  It's fake, but still pretty.


Before we left the park, we had to stop by It's a Small World.  It is gorgeous all lit up at night.

I love Disneyland at Christmas time.

Tuesday, November 16th happiness:  

This morning it looked like this outside our window:

Fog, yay!  It lasted most of the morning.  Loved it.  I didn't feel like lugging my camera around all day today, and I figured that we have a ton of photos of us at Disney and California adventure anyway, so no photos today.

We spent most of the day at California adventure.  No lines at Tower of Terror - woo hoo!  we went like 3 times in a row.  I could go on that ride all day.   Screamin' is Joe and Brian's favorite, but for some reason, I just can't take roller coasters the way I used to.  I love the ride while I am on it, but afterwards, I just feel dizzy.  I'm getting old.  We had a super fantastical day.

Wednesday, November 17th:  Home.  It was nice to get back and see Bob and Tiger.  Also, Brian had an awesome surprise waiting for me.  A new back yard!  Woo hoo.  My back yard has been weeds and dirt for so so so long.  It was depressing.  He had the guys come in and do it while we were gone.  Grass, trees, plants, patio.  It's awesome.  It was dark when we got back, so it was hard to see, but I kept staring out the window.  I am so so happy!

Happy Day!