Let the Holidays Begin!!! Our Thanksgiving Weekend!

Ah! I love the Holidays! It really is the most wonderful time of the year! I love the excitement, the thrill, the spirit of giving, the great music, the "get togethers" with family and friends, the parties...pretty much I love it ALL!!! Our Thanksgiving weekend began our holdiay season in a great way. Deryk and I went to my parents house for Thanksgiving. Both of our parents are great cooks, so no matter were we went, we would have had an amazing meal!! The feast was great! We then played night games with my siblings and thier spouses and all the neices and nephews. We had a lot of fun and didn't want it to end. Unfortunately it did. The next morning, My sisters and I joined in the chaos of Black Friday. We had a ton of fun out among the crowds and just hanging out together without any children--who were obviously still sleeping!

And tonight Deryk and I joined my older sister Debbi and her family at the parade of lights in downtown Pocatello. We had so much fun--it was a bit cold, but we had the hook-up, and we were able to stay warm or get warm when we got to cold in Justin's Dad's shop--Pocatello Electric(thanks to the Meyer family!) We've had such a great weekend. And tomorrow we get to see Deryk's family. It has been a great way to get the Holiday season started!

Here are a few pictures from our weekend.

Grace and Grandpa, looking for any good deals in the MOUNDS of adds in the Thursday Paper

The parade of Lights with Debbi and Justin's family

Happy Holidays to all of you! May this season be full of joy and happiness! Our goal this year is to spend a little less and show a little more love! I'll let you know how it goes :)

Adventures in Babysitting!

It has been an awesome opportunity for me to be able to stay home this semester with Gracie, and I owe that opportunity to my sisters! I watch thier children for a few short hours durring the weekdays and they pay me for the time (although, I would be happy to do it for free, I am grateful for the financial bennefit.

Anyway, the experience has not only been a blessing financially, it has also been a great experience to have my neices and nephews in our home. Grace will never know what it's like to be an only child because she will always have had someone in the home to share her life and possesions with. I think that is pretty dang cool!

The children are so sweet with thier newest cousin and they are so loving, they are always telling Gracie that they love her and are giving her kisses. It's amazing how accepting and instantly loving they all are with eachother (the joy of cousins!). Anyway, Deryk and I have really enjoyed the experience and we have a lot of pictures to show just how much we enjoy it all. By-the-way, a little shout out to my neice Sarah!! Thanks for helping me fold the laundry! Another bennifit of having my neices and nephews here! Gosh I sure do love 'em!

Our Football Hero!

This Weekend we went to Deryk's hometown, Malta, to watch his little Brother, Bridger, play his final football game. The kid is a great athlete, and we had so much fun watching him. He got a little beat-up but that's normal for our football hero! We think you're great Bridger, it's been fun watching you play these last two years!

Happy Birthday to One Fine Lookin' Man

Yesterday was Deryk's birthday, and the poor man was sick!! But we celebrated his day the best we could. I made him home-made pizza, the boy is a sucker for a good pizza, I'm still trying to make it, but I think in the many, many years we have ahead of us I just might master the perfect pizza.And of course we did the cake and candles and i made a wish as he did too--I wished that he woudn't spread whatever he had when he blew out the candles :)

So, I just wanted to wish my lover a happy birthday. I really do think I'm the luckiest woman in the world to have found someone as amazing as he is. I waited a long time to find Mr. Right, and boy was it worth it!!! He gives me a reason to lighten-up and laugh every day and he is more than willing to help me whenever i may need it. He is literally my life-saving-intertube on wild and tumultuous waters. this life is hard enough, I can't imagine trying to make it through with out him.

So, happy Birthday Deryk! I can't wait to grow old together, I know the best is yet to come

1 Little Ghost Goes BOO!

Since this was Grace's first Halloween, we deccided we would do the costume thing. We kept it simple. So here's our sweet little apporition.

One Wickedly Awesome Prank

Through the years I have found great joy in being a part of the perfect prank, I think it all began in highschool with Becca, one of my very closests friends, whose birthday just happens to be on April Fools Day. I thought the best way to celebrate her birthday was by playing pranks on her. (Sorry Bec!) On the mission I would leave little surprises for the sister coming in after me, or the elders moving into the apartment after us. And when I was "single" living with roomates the opportunities were endless, the best was when I lived with a mastermind who needed someone who was brave enough to carry out the pranks she came up with in behalf of our home teachers. I'll never forget the night I came home only to find my door baracaded with bags and bags of old rotten leaves! If only they had taken the time to make sure all of our cars were there, we immediately carted the old mushy bags to thier apartment to baracade them in and turn thier nasty prank back on them with a note saying something like "Smoothe Move Ex-lax."
But out of all the pranks I've been a part of this one beats them all--it was perfect!
So, I was wandering through the isles of the 50-percent-off-halloween-junk at Walmart yesterday, just looking to waste time until Deryk would be coming home soon. When I saw a tube of blood for 25 cents! My mind immediatly began to create the prank. I had it all planned out to this...
later that night I was making smoothies for Deryk and I. just as I was finishing them up, I got that tube of blood out, poured some of it all over an old dish towel, then dropped a piece of ice in the blender, covered my hand in the blood and turned the blender on, just as the ice crunched with a loud, horrible sound I screamed and went running into Deryk with my hand covered in blood. Deryk jumped up and came running, his face was WHITE, and so concerned looking. Well, as soon as I saw that I had caused him more alarm than I probably should have i gave up the prank and showed him I was Okay.
In my mind it was the best prank ever, it achieved exactly what I was going for. In Deryk's mind it was the worst prank ever. If anyone knows Deryk, they know just how protective he is, so he was very very worried and did not see the humor in it immediately. He did laugh about it after he had some time to calm his mind and racing heart. He swears I'm in for it, but all I have to say to that is, "Bring it on Baby, try and do your worst!!"

Lunch With Daddy

So on Mondays and Wednesdays, I pack a sack lunch for Deryk; and Gracie and I go to the school and eat lunch with him. Today was such a beautiful fall day, so we drove up above campus a few blocks to a church and had a little picknick.

I have to admit, our lunches are probably my most favorite part of the day. I really do look forward to packing up a lunch and spending the short time with my little family out of the house. in truth, the lunches are more for my bennifit, rather than Deryk's.

All Dressed Up

The joys of having a baby girl, is dressing her. Sundays are the best, that's when I get to dress Gracie up in her darling little dresses, which she has more than she'll ever be able to wear, thanks to family and friends. I couldn't resist taking a few pics this morning and sharing them with you.

Another Tag Game!?

So I got tagged by Debbi--thanks a lot sis--and this time I'm supposed to answer the following questions as if I were my sister Miriam. So here goes, and Miriam, when you read this, try not to take everything so literal!

Who is your favorite past U.S. president?
Raegan

What is your dream job?
Executive director of Real Simple magazine

Do you floss and how often? Be honest.
Uh ya--Daily

What is the grossest thing you have ever eaten?
It's a toss-up between the cow tung and cow heart dad made us eat when we were little--was it his attempt to introduce us to what the people of Uruguay and Argentina ate or was it because it was real cheap to buy?

What is your least embarrassing moment?
Well, I don't really have any embarrassing moments, and I'll refuse to confess to any you might try to remind me of!

Have you ever knowingly ingested feces? (Any type.)
Of course not--can you imagine the germs involved!!! (yet for some one so germ-aphobia, she still jumped and played around in the cow pies with her older bro.)

What is the grossest thing you have ever smelled?
Grandview Idaho!! And a close second-- Daniel's, Debbi's, Josh's, Jo's, Rachel's, and Stephen's Diapers.

What gives you gas? Once again, be honest.
Sugar--yet it hasn't cured my addiction to it

Who is someone that you used to admire, but now do not.
NKOTB--A.K.A. New Kids on The Block I had a poster as big as my bedroom door of them, but more speciffically, Jordan Knight--his looks were worth admiration. By-the-way, they're making a come back, I DVR'd thier appearance on the Today show

What cartoon character do you hate the most?
The Big Bad Wolf, That's why my house is made of bricks!

What is your second worst pet peeve?
When others think they're right, when obviously I am

Finish the following sentence: “Once, when I was out of underwear…”
I did the Laundry

Okay, I tag Rachel and she has to answer the questions like she was Debbi. Have lots of fun Rach!

When She Smiles She Smiles!!!

S0 I need to update you all on little Gracie! The last I wrote about her on the blog, other than for her blessing, I said that she cries all the time. Her temprament has totally changed!! She's happy and so content. Our favorite time with Gracie is in the morning right after she wakes up. She is so happy and bright-eyed. She is such a joy to be with! So we no longer have the woes of a crying colicky baby--thank goodness!!!

This Might Be Pretty Good

So I've been seeing these previews for a new series on ABC and I think it might be pretty good. I'm interested in watching it and thought I would share my interest with you all and invite you to watch it tonight and tell me what you think.

SO it is tonight at 7:00. I thought it might be kind of a fun series.

Thanks a lot Steve!!!

Deryk got tagged by Stevo and he's not that excited about it either, but he'll play too with just a little push from me.

So here are his 6 quirks according to him and with a little help from me.

1. Being poor--can that be a quirk, he's good at it, he's forced to be good at it.

2. Super cheap (or super frugal)!! If Deryk can think of a way to do something we need or want for almost nothing it's the best day of his life!

3. Deryk says that school is a quirk for him--what that means...?

4. Deryk has dry humor; actually I wouldn't say it was dry (that was his description), but rather a shocking humor, sometimes the jokes he says or the funny comments he makes surprises me and we laugh like mad!

5. Family is everything--family comes first, no matter what.

6. Deryk is ultra creative when it comes to solving a problem, whether it is how to fix a wooden floor with a scratch in the middle of it, not having the right tool or resources, or how to heat water in large quantities when the water heater is broken.

Well, that's that!! He chooses to tag Preston and only Preston because everyone he knows has already been tagged. We've had tons of fun learning about our relatives and friends!!

Grace's Blessing

We blessed Grace yesterday and I just absolutely love the precious dress and bonnet my parents bought for Gracie so I just have to show her off. Grace Clare was named after two of her great Grandma's. Grace after my Grandma Powell and Clare after Deryk's Grandma Beyler--who is actually Clara, tho we love her name, it just ran to well into Barrett, so we shortened it. Anyway, this is a picture of Gracie with her Great Grandma Beyler. We love her so much and hope Grace will become like her Grandma Beyler, and her Grandma Powell!

Fall in Pocatello

Through the years I've heard a few negative comments about Pocatello, and I admit to adding my own, such as not wanting to get stuck here--sorry Deb for the offensive comment. But one thing I really love about Pocatello is being so close to the mountains--the great and beautiful outdoors. Deryk and I love to take advantage of how close we are to all the mountains have to offer: camping, hiking, rides on Sunday afternoons, and so on. This past Sunday we drove out to one of our favorite spots, cherry springs, and listened to general conference, picnicked, and enjoyed the beauty of the changing leaves. The fall colors were beautiful and I don't know about anyone else, but I just love the smell of the leaves as they change and fall to the ground. So despite what others may say about Pocatello, we do love Pocatello, especially in the fall

Date Night!

Friday night is traditionaly date night for Deryk and I, a tradition we gave up when sweet Gracie joined our family, it was just not appealing to leave her. But soon, I became desperate for a meal where one of us didn't have to hold Grace while the other one ate, then took thier turn while the other ate thier meal. So we happily accepted a gift card for chile's from Rachel and Chris (thanks Rach--we owe you big time) and had a great time. I even took a shower, did my hair AND make-up. It was an official date! We had a great time and we're so grateful to Rachel for the gift of the dinner and Miriam and Clay for watching Grace. It felt so good to get dressed up and have some quiet time together I just had to take a picture as we were leaving to commemorate our first date in 7 weeks. (I'm sure many of you reading are just in need of a date night as we were if not more!!!).

The Dean Martin Variety Show and a Promise.

So one thing some people may not know about me is that I have an "old Soul" when it comes to entertainment. Ella Fitzgerald, Bing Crosby, and Frank Sinatra have got to be some of the greatest ever! Gene Kelley still astounds me with his talented and flashy tap dancing--I love the bright socks he always wears with the dark pants. So when I saw a promo on T.V. today, that happened to be on durring Deryk's lunch hour, for the Dean Martin Variety Show on DVD, I was SO tempted to order. I won't. After all, I Promised Deryk as he was leaving that I wouldn't.It could be a great Christmas or Birthday present though, if anyone might be interested ;)

And One for Deryk!

This post is for Deryk, who likes Bill Cosby a lot, and I admit, I'm a fan as well. You've got to appreciate the way he tells a story and delivers a clean joke. The Cosby show comes on the CW Channel late at night and Deryk and I have found ourselves drawn into watching, though we enjoy the show, we don't always enjoy the lack-of-sleep hangover. Anyway, this is a clip of Bill Cosby on the Dean Martin Variety Show (I combined both of our interest) He's very young and it's such a cute clip, thanks to Youtube, which can be a treasure box or a trash can.

Tagged

Ah man! I got tagged by Gail--something I was hoping would never happen to me! But since I admire Gail and just love her little guy, josiah, I'll be kind enough to respond to her tag. So...
The Rules:
1) Rattle off 6 quirks (you know things about yourself that others might find odd in some way)
2) Then tag 6 more blogs leaving links to their blogs
3) Leave comments on their blogs to let them know that you intend for them to follow suit!

Jeeze, i have so many quirks, all of which poor Deryk has to deal with daily! So where do I begin?

1) I hate mouth noises, smacking, eating with your mouth open, hearing the food swish around in your mouth when your eating it--you name it, if it has to do with a mouth noise--HATE IT

2) I am obsessive about where the silverwear goes in the drawer. Each utensil has a place and if Deryk acidentily swithces them around I can't help myself, I have to rearange.

3.) As an extension of number two, really I have a certain place for everything. When anything is out of place of where it should be it bothers me until I fix it.
That doesn't mean I fix it right away, sometimes I'll go for days with it botering me!
4.) I'm very traditional--I love to cary out family traditions, without them, a holiday just doesn't feel right.

5) I'm totally a last minute woman, so you would think it wouldn't really bother me if anyone else does anything last minute, but it really does--Just ask Deryk--nothing wories me more than when he is trying to get something done at the last minute.

6) Finally. I hate talking on the phone. So no matter how much I love and adore an old aquaintance trying to call me on the phone--chances are I won't call them back, but I will email them.

Okay, I'm supposed to tag six others, but I'm only going to tag 3 people and offer my appologies!
So I tag Rachel for getting me into this whole blogging mess in the first place.
Arwen beause she's a new blogger and this will introduce her to the blogging community very nicely.
And Sheena, because she never posts enough and because I spent 24 hours a day for three months with the woman and I'm curious to know what she'll put down as her quirks.
Have fun girls!!! :)

Out With The Old--In With The New--One Big Pain In The...

Deryk and I decided it was finally time to buy new furniture. The furniture we had was fine so it's not like we really needed it, but we decided it was something we were willing to invest in to increase the amount of credit we have. So we found a great sectional couch and a sofa chair at a liquidation sale. So naturally we had to move the old furniture out and move the new furniture in. Well to make this boring story short, the result of all the moving was a ride in an ambulance, lots of pain medication, muscle relaxers, antiflamitory meds, and one big pain in the lower back! Ya so, I hurt my back and it hurt so bad I couldn't move my legs or breath deep or anything. I was so affraid I had fractured my back (I have already fractured my back about 3 or 4 years ago and that didn't hurt near as bad as this pain). So, this last week I have become the ultimate deffinitio of a couch potato!!! On the bright side--I now know just how comfy our new couch is. Thanks to my sisters and mom for all the help and care!

A few of our favorite pics of Grace