Gingerbread houses

For family home evening last night we invited friends over to make gingerbread houses. 

Here is what Shawn and Nicole built together.

Jordan went for an adobe style house.

And I built an A-frame style house.

Happy holidays!

The Mesa Temple Christmas Lights

The Mesa Arizona temple Christmas lights were beautiful.  We went with friends this weekend and surprisingly I was the only one who had never been before. It reminded me of the Christmas lights on temple square in Salt Lake.  They had a life size nativity around the grounds that told the story of Christ's birth.  They also had a concert playing Christmas music while we were walking around and nativities from around the world displayed in the visitors center.  They say about one million visitors come through each year and I would believe it.  It was crowded!  It was hard to truly appreciate the beauty and true spirit of Christmas when running into people, weaving your way through the crowds and trying not to get lost from the group.  Next year we may try going during the week.

       

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree...

Jordan surprised me when he brought home a live Christmas tree after work.  We realized it was the first time we had decorated our own Christmas tree together and soon discovered that we don't have very many decorations.  Its pretty bare but we love having it up in our apartment. It makes it feel like the holidays and smells amazing.        

 

Right before we left the resort I bought this Christmas ornament. 

I wanted to have something that would remind us of where we met and fell in love.  It was really fun to hang it on our tree this year.   

I also made some salt dough ornaments and added cinnamon and cloves to the dough.  They smell amazing.  I am going to paint and hang them on our tree with ribbon.

This week also came with a lot of excitement.   After an intense interviewing process I accepted a job at Ebay.  I will be working with paypals new pay ahead program.  On Monday I start four weeks of training and then will work part time four days a week.  It is the perfect job for me and I feel so blessed to have found it.         

Jordan and I were also called to be the CTR 4 teachers in our ward.  We had substituted in nursery and primary a few times and knew it would only be a matter of time before we were called to be teachers.  They told us that they thought we were so confident, loving and great with the kids and that they had wanted to call us into primary since we moved in.  Jordan and I laughed at that because we have no idea what we are doing.  It will be quite the experience but we are excited for the challenge.    

Our Thanksgiving Weekend

Our Thanksgiving weekend started out Wednesday.  I got up early and began my morning by making sugar cookies.  This quickly became a very large project.  Let me explain why.  Last year I burned out the motor on our hand mixer and we just never got around to buying a new one.  Why?  I have no idea.  So anytime something needs mixed,  I grab a sturdy spoon and start stirring.  This morning trying to make a triple batch of sugar cookies with a wooden spoon was challenging to say the least.  But after hours of baking.  I had enough cookies for Thanksgiving and was even able to put some in the freezer for Christmas.     

Jordan had gone into work and was sent home early and told to enjoy his holiday.  So we went to the movies and saw the new Russell Crowe movie 'The Next Three Days'.  We thought that the acting was good but that the story line was depressing and didn't flow very well.  It was OK.  After the movie we came home and I started making frosting for the cookies.  (For future reference making frosting without a mixer is way more work than cookie dough.)  I mixed all the colors and filled my frosting bags.  Picked out the tips I wanted to use to create cute turkeys on circle cookies.  I started with the feathers and realized right away that they were not going to work.  The looked horrible.  I had to start all over.  I made another batch of frosting and went for a more simple look of frosted circles. 

We were invited to spend Thanksgiving with Shawn and Nicole's family. The idea of going to a strangers home for the holidays, knowing very few people, felt a little strange.  But once we got there it felt like Thanksgiving.  They were so welcoming and friendly and within minutes we felt like part of the family.  We had such a great time and although we missed spending the holiday with our families we couldn't have asked for anything better.  They had a traditional Thanksgiving feast with two turkeys, a ham, potatoes, green bean casserole, homemade rolls, stuffing, and cranberries.  They also had a snack table set aside for those waiting in line which I thought was so smart.  It was full of cheeses, a vegetable platter, crackers, and olives.  After dinner we had my cookies, pumpkin, blackberry, chocolate and key lime pie especially made for Jordan.  Then began the afternoon of Bang.  Bang is a wild west card game that Shawn and Nicole introduced us to and we LOVE playing this game.  There is a lot to grasp when you are just learning but once you have the rules of the game down and can come up with strategies it gets fun, really fun.  It took awhile to teach everyone the game, but once they had it down they were hooked and we spent hours playing. 

Right before we left Nicole asked if we wanted to go shopping at Target in the morning.  We got online checked out what was on sale and what did I see.... a $3.00 hand mixer!!!  We were going black Friday shopping!   At 3:00 A.M. the alarm goes off.  We roll out of bed, throw on some shoes and a coat and are hit with a blast of cold air.  Luckily Shawn and Nicole had arrived earlier and had saved us a spot in line so we only waited for about a half hour in the cold.  It was crazy.  Hundreds of people were waiting in line.  They handed out maps showing where in the store the items on sale were.  Right at 4 A.M. the doors opened.  Jordan headed to the movies with Nicole while I went to find my hand mixer.  I turned down the aisle where the mixers were and there was a woman using her cart to block the mixers on sale.  Much to her dismay I politely moved her cart and started handing out the mixers to everyone around me.  It felt a little like Santa Claus and I left with last mixer in the store!  We ended up getting five new movies, the games connect four and battleship and my hand mixer all for $30.00!  Not too bad.  It was a crazy experience. I am not sure that I would want to do it every year but it was fun and worth it this year.

I am thankful for Jordan, his job and the move we made to Arizona. 
I am thankful for our families and the love and support that they give us no matter where we live. 
I am thankful for the gospel. 
I am thankful for science and the hope it gives us that someday we will be able to start our own family.
I am thankful for friends who have welcomed us into their lives and made our move so easy.
I am thankful for the uncountable blessings we have been given this year.

Happy Thanksgiving!     

Harry Potter and the ticket thieves

A month ago Jordan won a gift card at work and surprised me with tickets that he had bought online to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part1 at the Imax. 

Last week we were anxiously awaiting the opening night of the movie and decided to go pick up our tickets a few days early.  We got to the ticket booth with our printed receipt and were politely told that we had to have the exact card we made the purchase online with in order to retrieve our tickets.  We explained that we had paid for our tickets with a gift card and after the card was used that we had thrown the card away, like most people do.  They told us that they were sorry but that there was nothing that they could do.

Frustrated we walked back to our car and I decided to call the customer service number on the receipt.  We explained the situation and were told the same thing.  Very frustrated we went home. 

The next morning I did some research online and found their corporate customer service and sent them an email.  The response we got back told us that we should have read the policy and agreement before making our purchase.  There was nothing that they would do for us.  It was simply our mistake and not theirs.  This response well...brought out the feisty side of me.  I called customer service and demanded to speak to a manager.  I told them that we had paid for a product and that regardless of their retrieval system that we wanted either the tickets we paid for or our money back and that they had one day to figure it out before the movie opened.  

The rest of the afternoon was spent sending emails back and forth and ended with the same statement.  They would not give us our movie tickets and they would not give us our money back.  We were so frustrated!!

I filed a complaint with the better business bureau but in the meantime we missed the movie.  Jordan and I talked about when and where we wanted to see the movie and decided to wait a few days.  We instead spent the night watching the Boise State broncos play a great game against Fresno State (51-0).  Although we missed the opening night of the movie we were glad that we didn't miss out on such a fun game.

This afternoon Jordan surprised me again when he came home from work early to take me to see Harry Potter.   Five days late and $50 later we finally made it to see the movie and LOVED it.     

  

 


  

The Phoenix Sun's Game

Jordan won tickets at work to the Phoenix Suns/Denver Nuggets game. 

Not only did he win tickets to the game but they gave us tickets to the club annexes that included leather seats and an all you can eat buffet during the first half of the game. 

 

Jordan and I finally went to the eye doctor and both got new glasses.  Here are my new glasses.  I went for a more square shape and brown color.  I can still wear my black frames, so now I have two choices which will be so nice.  (Jordan got glasses as well but would not wear them in the picture.  He is still getting used to wearing them.) 

Jordan and I are not huge basketball fans but we like going to an NBA game every once in awhile.  The Suns game was fun and we really enjoyed the first class treatment we received.  The suns won 100-94.

After the game we had a long trip home.  The city offers free rides on the light rail to the games so we thought we would try it.  It was great to just be able to hop on the light rail after the game and not have to deal with traffic.  We did however have to deal with some questionable people.  (The guy sitting next to us proudly announced that he had just been released from prison and how he couldn't wait to take a shower and eat real food. I will admit it he made me a little nervous.) It seemed to take forever to get to our stop where we had parked our car.  An hour and a half after the game we got home.

I would probably ride the light rail again if we were going to another game. A little longer commute home for convenience and cost.  Its a decent trade off.

We love having the benefits that come from a good job.  Jordan has needed glasses for years and finally with a great health plan we were both able to get new glasses.  And this last week alone Jordan won tickets to the game and a $25 gift card to Barnes and Noble.  It is allowing us to be able to do so much.  We feel so incredibly blessed and are thankful every day for this job.        

ASU-Stanford game. Not quite the same.

Jordan and I were able to go to an Arizona State game against Stanford.  I believe that it is always good to cheer for the home team so we are slowly trying to become ASU fans.  It just so happened that my Dad was in town for work so he came with us to the game. 

The sun devil stadium was amazing. 

It is huge.  Our seats were up pretty high but we still felt like we could see everything. 

I liked the pitch forked field

Jordan liked that they had won the salad bowl in '50 and '51.

I loved being able to see my Dad and especially going to a football game with him.  That has always been one of my favorite things to do.

Jordan couldn't quite make the adjustment to be being an ASU fan.  He proudly wore his BSU sweatshirt the whole game. 

After each touchdown they had fireworks instead of the confetti we are used to at the Boise State games.  The crowd was great.  No swearing or yelling which we appreciated. 

It started out as a good game with a close score.  The defense was good but the offense just wasn't playing very well.  The came the fourth quarter.  We intercepted the football from Stanford, made a pretty good drive down field, got a holding call, turned over the ball to Stanford and then one of our players gets a personal foul.  What does he do?  He starts yelling at the ref resulting in a second personal foul.  That one play lost the game.  17-13

The crowd starts booing and yelling to bench the player.  The player comes off the field yelling and then throws a punch at one of the coach's who was upset with him! What does the head coach do? Puts him in the next play.  I was so disgusted.  All I could think was what Boise State's coach Peterson would have done in that situation.  That player would not have only been benched but probably out a few games with behavior like that.  And throwing a punch at a coach. He would have been thrown off the team!

There is a lot of talk about ASU firing their coach after this season.  Until then I may be only cheering for Boise State. 

We had a great time with my Dad and after the game he took us to dinner at P. F. Changs which was good food and good conversation.  It turned out to be a late night for us but well worth the time we could spend with family.       

Some days are just like that..

I woke up this morning tired from a restless night, watched the morning news and decided to make breakfast.  Just as I had started putting together a yummy cheese and ham omelet Jordan called to say good morning. I talked to him for a few minutes, not realizing that the pan was getting hotter and hotter by the moment.  I got off the phone, put the eggs in the pan and BAM, smoke and fire alarm blaring.  I pull the eggs off the stove, get the fire alarm to turn off and turn the fan on to help get the smoke out of the room.  Breakfast ruined. 

I got ready for the day and headed to the fabric store and Target.  While at the store I found the perfect fabric for my next project but decided it was just too expensive.  It was just going to be one of those 'wait for a sale or coupon and hope that the fabric is still there' days.  I stopped by Target and bought a new mascara, calender and hairspray and headed home.

I was at home for awhile when I decided to pull out my new calender and write our meal plan and events for this month on the new calender when I realized that the hairspray bottle had unscrewed and the bag was completely full of an entire bottle of hairspray.  It was such a mess.  Calender and hairspray ruined.

Luckily I had made dinner the night before and it was in the fridge just waiting to be cooked.  Jordan came home from work and we decided to eat dinner a little early so I pulled out dinner from the fridge and put it in the oven to cook.  30 minutes later and its still cold, 40 minutes later and its still cold, an hour later and its still cold.  I probably should have allowed it to come to room temperature before I put it in the oven to cook.  Dinner heated in the microwave and yum!  Dinner saved.

Some days are just like that. 



     

Ewwww!!

Our apartment complex sent out a notification that they are having cockroach problems and sent out a list of things to do in order to keep roaches out of your home. 

SICK!!!

I have never had to deal with cockroaches before and do not want to start battling those nasty bugs.  With me at home we are able to keep our apartment clean which is key to keeping them away; still I was bothered by the idea that bugs of any kind might be crawling around in our cupboards without my knowledge. 

I went to the store and found some glass containers that were on clearance and then bought some stickers to label the jars.  I put anything that was not in a can or a box into the jars.  

Not only do they make our cupboards look organized but they are keeping the food that we don't use very often, like sugar, bug free.    

So stay away cockroaches!!  You are not wanted here.

Halloween at Schnepf Farms

Jordan surprised me with a date night to Schnepf Farms with our friends Shawn and Nicole. 

Schnepf Farms is a working farm that has events throughout the year to teach the public about agriculture.  In the fall they have their annual pumpkin party.   

One of the things I liked about Schnepf Farms was that once you had paid admission everything is free once inside.  Intermingled between the gardens and orchards was so much to do!

We went on a hay ride.

The hay ride took us to the start of a 10 acre corn maze! 

I have been through corn mazes many times in my life but this was a whole new experience.     

 Once inside we quickly became lost. 

We walked around in circles, hitting dead end after dead end for what seemed like hours. 

Jordan has the best sense of direction and he was able to get us back on the right track many times.

 It was dark and you often felt the corn stalks hitting your arms, legs and face.  I was so glad we came before the maze turned haunted.  It would have been terrifying being lost in such a huge maze with people scaring you.  It was spooky as it was and I was glad to have Jordan by my side.

 Half way through the maze we saw a little girl who had gotten lost from her group.  She was about ten and the poor thing was sobbing.  We helped her find her family and afterwards talked about how scary it is to be lost to begin with, let alone being ten in a huge dark corn maze!

We made it through the maze in about an hour.  To be honest I don't think we actually went through the entire maze.  I think we got so turned around that we came out the same way we went in. 

After finishing the corn maze we went to check out the carnival.  They had a small roller coaster, a giant slide, carousel and swings.  We decided against the rides because of the long lines and instead headed to the petting zoo. 

 

Jordan had a pet goat named Cosmo growing up.  He was much more comfortable around the goats than Nicole or I was. 

 Next we tried our luck at the straw bale maze and then headed to watch the pig races.

They had bon fires where you could roast marshmallows, a puppy pen for kids to play with puppies and small dogs, a rock climbing wall and fireworks.  I loved everything!  It was such a fun thing to do with friends and we cant wait to bring our children in the future.  A Halloween tradition may have just been started. 

We decided to leave a little early,  (We weren't anticipating all the walking we would be doing and none of us wore great shoes.  Something to remember for next year.) and stopped at Nielsons for ice cream on our way home.  

After church we were invited to have dinner with Shawn and Nicole.  We are going to play games, watch a movie and hand out candy together.  Its nice to have friends in Arizona.

Happy Halloween!  

       

Trunk or Treat

For our ward 'trunk' or treat this year they had a chili cook off, carnival for the kids, candy and of course costumes.  

I have a love/hate relationship with dressing up for Halloween.  I have always loved creating characters, dressing up and over the years have come up with some really great costumes. I also love blending in with the crowd and not being the center of attention.  This creates my yearly dilemma about dressing up for Halloween.  Dress up and be the center of attention or not dress up and become another boring adult who just showed up to the event.

Jordan and I decided to go for it and picked characters from the pixar movie "Up".  The morning of the trunk or treat I woke up to finish my costume and hated it.  I needed something else.  So I headed to the dollar store and bought a blue t shirt.     

Came home and hand drew Carl and Ellie's house on a piece of freezer paper.  

 Cut the picture out with an exacto knife to create a stencil.

Ironed the freezer paper templates onto the shirt. 

Painted the house and clouds. 

After it dried for a few hours I pulled the freezer paper off and..... 

Carl and Ellie's house!

Add balloons and perfect! A costume for me that is basically a t-shirt and jeans.   

Jordan dressed up as Carl and I went as the house. 

It took a few of the kids a minute to figure out what we were, but as soon as they got it they loved it!  Especially Jordan.  He was the hit of the night making quite a few friends with the kids in our ward.  We had so much fun!  We met more of our neighbors and spent the night laughing, handing out candy and glad that we were one of those who dressed up.     

Pumpkins, pizza, and a patchy football game

Last night Jordan and I invited our friends Shawn and Nicole over to watch the Boise State game and pizza.  Although the game wasn't perfect it was still a lot fun to watch.   The game ended with a win 49-20.  

The national championship game is being played in Phoenix this year so Jordan and I are very excited at the chance that Boise State might have at playing in the championship game.  We will be there.  Go Broncos!      

After the game we carved pumpkins.   

My pumpkin started out as an owl in a tree.  Halfway through carving, it caved in leaving me with not a lot of options to fix it.  So I created a person.  If you use your imagination you will see a large forehead, two small eyes, an ear and a large smile.   

When in doubt add BSU to the side and it becomes a great Halloween pumpkin.

Jordan was much more patient and created a spider web.   

Nicole with her spooky ghost pumpkin and Shawn with his bat pumpkin. 

We always have a good time with the Echols and this was no exception.