A touch of Tink

Yes that is right...the tree is up and the decorations out. Part of the reason is because of this:

Her excitement is enchanting. Here is to a magical holiday season.

Halloween

October is gone but here is a recap...

We had a cute family theme this year and yes, Gabriella and I match..why not?

It was really fun!

Pumpkin Carving

Today being that most cavity-inducing of holidays, Halloween, I thought I'd make a Jack-o-lantern indicative of the interest of two of my very favorite ladies in the whole universe. As a note, I haven't carved a pumpkin since college, and it was one of those Eyes Nose Mouth varieties...this is WAY more complicated than that one was.

When I finished it and showed it to Ella, she said "I so proud of you Daddy." That's about the best compliment I can get.

October and SNOW!

Bunches of snow!

And a Halloween Package!

Falling leaves

A beautiful day!

Cookies!

Today Ella Bella and I made some cookies! I'm not sure how they taste (the cookies taste good, and the frosting is so sweet I feel sick just licking the knife), but they sure look good. And it was lots of fun!

After we made the cookies, Ella requested that I take some more photos of her making silly faces. Enjoy!

Finally a Fall Day!

Fall Photos

October Day

Yesterday was a very good day....

I cooked, I cleaned, I laughed and I cleaned some more.....changed diapers, did laundry, washed dishes...made a really good dinner

and a yummy dessert that tested my patience...

Minus the mint...but still very good.
But I'd have to say my favorite part was making this:

Amy came over for our annual "let's make Ella's Halloween Costume" get together. It was so much fun! We looked at the poodles in Joann's and weren't very impressed so Amy suggested we make our own. So we did, well really Amy did and I'm so glad. It turned out very cute.

I also made a big mess...it really was a good day!

Happy October!!!

First Time for everything

Steve wasn't feeling very well, so I thought it could be fun to make Chicken Noodle Soup.

I used my new favorite pot and got to work. It ended up being very easy to make and the best part...it actually tasted good...YAY!

I usually go back and forth about cooking....sometimes it's really fun other times it's just one more thing I HAVE to do on top off all the other stuff I HAVE to do. But I think this new little pot Steve brought home has given me some cooking ambition. So here's to cooking and trying new recipes.

It's True

Seven years:

then

now
We celebrated our anniversary today. Saw Julie and Julia, ate pizza and a great cake!

So happy, so true.

Many Happy Faces

I finally finished making this dress. It's a size 4 and a bit big but Gabriella was so excited to wear it.

BABY STEPS

Summer won't last much longer so in a last ditch effort Gabriella and I went to the Home Depot and here is our result

Nothing too amazing but if those plants survive they will grow and hopefully be easy to maintain. She was so cute stomping on the mulch and trying her best to help her mommy. She is such a joy to me.

2005 is done!

A while back we did an update to this website that unfortunately ruined all of the links to our pictures. I have been gnawing away at it today, and 2005 is up to date. We'll continue to work on it, though 2006 is going to take some time--a lot happened that year. :)

I know that blogging is somewhat self-serving (enjoy our opinions!), but I'm so thankful for this family journal. It really helps me to remember such wonderful times--I hope we continue this tradition for many years!

Steve

Roaring Twenties

I have this tendency to worry...or get depressed....or think about what ifs.
I remember one particular time about a year ago when I was feeling really down, I was sad about not using my degree, I felt lonely, I thought I just didn't fit it. It was a nice pity party. So Steve, being the great guy he is saw my fear and disappointment and made me a list with categories, leaving it up to me to fill out. I had forgotten all the amazing things I have done in my life so far. I made a list of old and new friends I had made, trips I've taken, concerts I've been to, Hawaii, people I've met, the Olympic Torch Run. I've coached YW basketball, interviewed an apostle and an Osmond, learned how to sew (sort of), learned how to deal with "not so nice" people in a working environment, gained new hobbies, learned more about who I really am, been sealed in the Temple to a loving spouse, graduated from college and experienced motherhood, and have felt true charity in my life. The unconditional love I have for my daughter is beyond anything I can describe.
I was having that depressed feeling again recently and needed to remind myself that getting older isn't really that bad. I'm still alive and I have the chance to keeping on truckin. Life continues on and my journey is far from over.


Overall I think I did pretty well for my twenties...next up, fabulous thirties.