2008 in Review

My family is amazing, because look at what they accomplished during 2008- Porter learned how to sit up, walk, crawl, and pull himself up all during 2008! Genius! ;-) Jared benched over 400lbs for the first time since High School. He hired his 1st employee and mastered Google. I lost 20lbs during 2008, and finally found balance between mom/wife/housewife/woman. (It took me a little while to figure out how to do all simultaneously.)
Here's what I am looking forward to doing with my family in 2009:
1. Hearing my little boy talk to me.
2. Taking a vacation.
3. Watching Porter play indoor soccer when he turns 2. How cute will that be?
4. Achieving my "personal goals".
We rang in the New Year at Darron and Jamie's house this year. We enjoyed playing some indoor soccer, and then pigging out on junk food, and going crazy on the Nintendo Wi. Porter almost made it to midnight. He crashed at 11:30PM so we headed home. We heard the countdown through the radio station on Center Street, and shared a New Years kiss right in front of Target. Ha, we're boring old people.

Dear Mom,

I made your homemade macaroni and cheese for lunch. It tasted just like I remember, so I would call it a success. I hovered over the stove the entire time focusing on each step. I only made one mistake. See below:
1. I know, you're wondering, "What were you thinking? A whole stick of butter??" No, mom, I only used three tablespoons. I'm checking the ground. No dice.



















2. I know, I can't believe it either. And that little "pea sized" piece was all that was left to take away from him.

3. Here you can see it was just in too close of range.

4. But the macaroni was delicious. Thanks for sharing the recipe.

Camera Fun

Today I took Porter out so we could try out our new camera. It was fun. I'm all signed up for the UVU Photography class that starts in a few weeks, so hopefully I will develop some mad skills.

Sale - Bath & Body Works

Bath and Body Works is having a big sale right now! Their Signature Body Lotions, normally $10 are $3/pc right now. You can snatch them in stores or online. They also have their Home Scented Oils for $3, which I love. Enjoy!

More Christmas...

Sorry - PICTURE OVERLOAD (once again). ITS CHRISTMAS! Here are some more fun pictures of Christmas morning. Porter prefers his dump truck upside down so he can spin the wheels. It took him a second to realize how to use the baseball toy. And as usual, he LOVES LOVES his blankie AND breakfast. I have a sweet angel and a wonderful husband what more can I ask for!

Other Family Members on Christmas

Thank you Rob and Jen for hosting Christmas at your home this year! All of Jared's family gathered together in Highland this year for a yummy Christmas dinner and lots of fun. The kids enjoyed playing together in the snow and exchanging "cousin" Christmas gifts. I am grateful and blessed to have a wonderful family and wonderful in laws that I get to see often. I had a perfect Christmas and I hope everyone had an enjoyable day also. Happy Holidays!

A White Christmas

Yay -- we had a white Christmas. All the kids (and adults) bundled up in snow gear and went out to play in the snow. Robby and Darron pulled everyone on the sleds around Robby and Jen's neighborhood. It was loads of fun. Two of Jennie's kids fell asleep during their rides. Porter was ready for nap, and opted to come out of the cold before falling asleep. Ha. He and Ryan followed each other all afternoon - I still can't get over how cute they are, and I'm sure they'll be good buddies.

Christmas Morning

It was so much fun waking up Christmas morning and bring Porter down stairs to see what Santa had brought him. His sleepy eyes lit up when he saw the V-Tech Dancing Tower set up next to a big pile of presents. He did at opening the first, oh, three presents? Then he was too entertained spinning wheels and playing the fun toys that he had already opened. I'm a little bummed because the pictures I took of the 1st half of our morning got erased when I put my SD card into my new camera. I have to admit, Christmas is a lot of fun with kids.

Feeling Jolly

I love Christmas time. I love the winter white weather, and watching the snow fall. I strangely love all the crowds in the stores and watching people Christmas shop. I love trying trying to come up with the perfect gifts for my loved ones. I love the peaceful Christmas tree lit up in my family room. I love Christmas music and the way it warms my soul. I love Christmas lights and how they have a beauty of their own. I love having a precious child to introduce Christmas to. I love the spirit of Christmas and how this world is a little more kinder this time of year. I love all of the Christmas cards from old friends and acquaintances. I love that more people take time to remember our Savior and his life. I always feel like the world is a better place during this time of year, and wish it always felt this way.

Deals

If you haven't discovered Slick Deals yet you are missing out! It is basically a forum that lists crazy good deals that are online right now. Because of them, I scored all of these Christmas presents for Porter for only $30 including shipping. Most of them are selling for that in stores right now. For this score purchase I get to thank Amazon. The deals are different every day, so check it out!

Fun Day w/ Ward Friends

Porter and I had fun visiting with the other young mama's in our ward. They are all so cute and have the sweetest little wee ones. It is always fun to chat with other girls, and I loved getting to know all of these cute ladies better. I can't wait to get together again soon.

Snow & Other "Fun" Happenings

I'm elated to have my camera back and to catch this little stinker and all the fun things he is up to. Here is what we've been up to this week!














I decided to try and save a penny and cut Porter's hair myself. I've watched the girl's at Great Clips do it, and it seemed so easy. Oh my poor child, now we need to go have someone fix it. At least he is only one right? He doesn't care.

Playing in the SNOW! Yay!



















It snowed a ton yesterday so I bundled him up and let him run around. It was cold, and his cheeks were rosy which made him look even more cute, if that is possible.



















He stood in one place for like 5 minutes before he started trudging through it. Then he walked across the street and around the culdesac.














This may not be funny to anyone else, but Jared hates the Beyonce video - I don't even know what the name of the song is, but the one where she has a leotard on and is dancing around like a ferocious animal?? Well every morning I have the music channel playing while I clean and play with Porter, and he has certain songs he apparently likes. (He stops and watches the entire video - right now Human, and Hot & Cold) So this morning when I caught him mesmorized by Beyonce and dancing along, I thought it was so stinkin funny. I had to catch it on camera, I wish Jared could have been there so I could have watched the horror on his face. Hehe.

Great Christmas Gift Idea!

So I feel super domestic this year as I made all my little nieces their Christmas gifts! I am not a crafty person by any means, but I was able to make this EASY and they actually turned out adorable. If I can do it, anybody can. This ended up only costing about $3-$4/piece. If you have little girls you are shopping for this season, consider this. Since they are selling for $25 in the mall and boutiques, I feel like I am giving out a secret. Tell me every little girl won't love this adorable tutu!!

All you need is some elastic, scissors, and a 6-inch roll of tulle (my roll had 65 yards).






1. Use your sewing machine to sew a 1-inch band of elastic into a circle. Then put your sewing machine away, that is the only sewing you have to do. No joke.
2. Cut the tulle into 21 inch strips until it is gone. (21 inches makes a shorter tutu - for like 3 and under. If you are making it for an older girl I would do 23-24 inch strips.)
3. I put the elastic band around my thigh, and then I take a strip of the cut tulle and place it under the elastic so that there is an equal amount on each side of the elastic. Then I tie a double knot.
4. Then continue to tie each strip of tulle, keeping them close together until you have a full tutu. (You can do multi-colored, I did some cute two-colored ones, like the 1st picture. If you want, on the last tie, you can string some ribbon through the knot and make a cute little bow to top it off.)

I'm excited to see all my little nieces running around like the little princesses they are, and thought some of you might want to join in on the fun. Merry Christmas.
PS: I buy the roll of tulle from WalMart in the wedding section near the floral. It is $5.95 and makes 2 tutu's. And total project time is about 20 minutes per tutu.