White Christmas

Boy was it ever white! Let me start at the beginning of our trip to Utah...

We were supposed to fly out of Baton Rouge on Sat., 12/20. We were to go through Memphis, then Minneapolis, then to Salt Lake City. Weather was extremely bad in Minn. so we wouldn't have made our flight from Memphis to there. Instead of flying to Memphis and getting stuck there, we decided to go and sleep at our house and try again the next day. We were able to fly the next morning to Houston, then SLC. Once we got there, we hung out at Jared's mom's house, had a ham dinner, Jared went for a ride with his dad and Jason while the rest of us watched some Christmas movie with Ben Affleck and, of course, we played with our niece a whole lot.

Monday, we went with Jared's sister and niece to an appt. in SLC. We also went shopping at Sam's Club, ate at Winger's and went and visited a cousin, Craig, and his wife and baby. It snowed the whole way there and back:
Tues., we had wanted to drive up to ID to see Teresa & Michelle's families but the weather was just too bad so we stayed home; I watched "27 Dresses" with Laura & JaNene, Jared went to Wal-Mart with his dad, then we watched "Made of Honor"; we went and visited Aunt Wilma that evening, then came home to watch movies (but I fell asleep and went to bed at ~9:00)

Wed., 12/24--We (including Laura, Daisy & JaNene) went to Grandpa Ted's for a while, then we stopped at a diner for lunch; Jared, Jason & I went to a convenient store and talked to some people (Wilma's brother and niece) for a while there then went home and had dinner; Jared, JaNene & I took Jason to Hennefer to see a girl and give her a gift (we had to wait in the car the whole time); we came back and did fireworks out in the freezing cold & wind, then hung out for a bit; everyone went to bed except Jared, Jason & I--I got on the computer and they played games on the XBox. Then they went and slept outside in the snow!!!

{Snow pics}:"

{Jared & Jason setting off fireworks}:

Thurs., Christmas Day: slept in, had Christmas breakfast, opened presents later, went and exchanged gifts wtih Norman (in the car in front of Cindy's), visited with Cindy, Jim and Tyler's fam for a bit, went back to the house and got ready, went to Grandpa's, drove home, hung out (cousin Spencer came home with us) and I went to bed after a short while. Here are pics from the day:

{Christmas breakfast--German pancakes, sausage, oven-baked sausage)}:

{The LSU earrings and necklace from Jared}:

{Road conditions on the drive to Grandpa's that evening}:

{Deer we saw on the way to Grandpa's}:

Fri. 12/26--had crepes for breakfast, stopped to say bye to Norman, drove to Kiki's; Nikki and Levi came over and brought Cafe Rio for our Christmas lunch then we opened presents; they left and Jared and I hung out at Kiki's until he left to drive back to Hoytsville

{Leaving Hoystville}:

{Jared & Carma}:

{Jared, Judson, Carma, Me}:

{Carma opening the present from us}:

{Judson opening his gift}:

{Nikki opening part of our present to her & Levi}:

{Jared & Judson with the Lego things they put together}:

{Jared & Wyatt}:

Sat. 12/27--We just hung out at the house until ~noon when we went to Michael's parents' house; we stopped at Beto's and got lunch to bring there; we played games and hung out, had turkey & ham subs with chips and soda for dinner

Sun. 12/28--Went to church (9am), came home and had lunch and lounged around, went to Michael's parents' again for dinner

{Wyatt in his church suit, how cute is that??}:

{Carma in her church dress}:

Today (Monday), Nikki came over in the afternoon and had pizza with me and Kiki. I watched Carma while Kiki went to the chiropractor (Judson went to play with his cousins). Kiki and Michael went back to his parents' house for dinner but I stayed here by myself and am getting this blog post done. :)

I wish Jared could still be here but I'm having fun. I also am very sad that we weren't able to go up to Idaho to see the SIL's and the 7 nieces and nephews up there. I hope we get to see them all soon.

Oh, here are two really funny videos of Carma:
{"Georgie Pordgy"}:

{"Frère Jacques"}:


I'll be here at Kiki's until Jan. 7. I'm sure I'll have tons more pics to post when I get home!

HAPPY NEW YEAR, Y'ALL!!!

Our Gift Exchange

Jared & I exchanged gifts last night, since we are flying to Utah tonight and don't want to pack more than we absolutely have to. Jared got a pretty little red bag filled with.......coal. Bwahaha!


He gave me a new LSU bumber sticker:


I also gave him a cell phone charging station:


And he also gave me an LSU 2007 National Championship wooden football to match the 2003 one I already have in my scrapbook room:


A few minutes ago, I was wrapping a small present we'll be taking with us to Utah and Chloe decided to jump right in and "help me"; she's so funny!:


I'm so excited to go to Utah tonight! There is lots of snow in the forecast, including snow on Christmas Day! Woohoo! One problem: I left my big snow coat at Kiki's and we're not going to her house until Friday. Ooops! Guess I'll freeze to death in the little fleece jacket I'm bringing!

I'm most excited to see the nephew (on my side) and niece (on Jared's side) that we haven't been able to see yet. I'll have to wait 'til Friday to see the nephew and next Sat. to see the niece. Unfortunately, Jared was asked by his company to cut his trip short so he'll be leaving Utah next Sat. and won't be able to see the niece in Idaho (they're not coming down for Christmas, so I'm going with Jared's mom and brother up there). So sad that Jared won't get to see the 7 nieces and nephews who live in Idaho! But I'm sure we'll have a great time on our trip and I can barely wait!

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!!!

Another Epidural Steroid Injection

I had one this morning (Wed.), this time in my neck. It went OK, they did things a little bit different this time. I had to change into scrub bottoms and a gown and put paper booties over my socks (last time I didn't have to take any of my clothes off, not even my shoes). Another difference was that they put an IV in me, whereas last time they just did a local anesthetic, then administered the epidural. They gave me some meds (Elavil, I think, and some other stuff to calm me and make me forget); I was still awake but I don't remember anything between the time that they gave me those meds and the walk back to the changing room. They administered a local anesthetic and the epidural after the meds (or so they said, ha ha). They helped me change back into my clothes and I was outta there! Thanks to my mom for taking me and making sure I was taken care of when I got home.

I came home and rested all day today. I was in quite a bit of pain once all the pain stuff wore off. I did take a couple of Lortab throughout the day but they barely helped at all. It's just really sore and stiff, hurts to look around (especiall down!) so I'm keeping my neck pretty straight. It will be well worth it if it helps in the long run--please pray that it does! I finally got tired of just resting so I decided to come and blog. I'm almost sweating from pain so I think I'll go to bed now--plus it's almost 1am, yikes! TTFN! And Happy Holidays!!!

Our weekend in Georgia

A tidbit on the snow first--it actually covered the yards until after 1pm (have pics to prove it) and it was finally gone by that evening. It was so great to see snow again! But, then again, I didn't have to drive in it.

We went to Georgia to visit my SIL, BIL and a new nephew this past weekend--they just adopted him in Aug. and this was our first time getting to see him; Jared's Mom and aunt were also there visiting from Utah. The baby is such a cutie! Poor thing is starting to teeth or something, though. We left after Jared got home from work and I finished up wrapping presents we took with us--at 6pm. We stopped for dinner at Waffle House, ha ha, and drove all night to get there at, I think, 6am their time. We stayed up for a tiny bit with them and the baby, as he had just woken up to be fed, then we went and slept for 3 hours.

We woke up to the smell of breakfast cooking (hash browns and French toast, yum!) and hung out for a bit then we went to a Cabbage Patch Doll Hospital, Nora Mill grain mill (can buy really good grits, biscuit mixes, grains, all kinds of awesome baking goods there) and an antique store. We had a ham dinner that night and played some games.

Sunday morning, we went to church then ate a roast dinner (the roast cooked in the slow cooker while we were at church and it was so good); the roast was part of the Christmas present we got from Jared's company--I think we got a whole mess of beef. We just hung out the rest of the day then Jared and I left at 9pm their time and got home at 6am our time. I drove the last 5 1/2 hours and went to bed as soon as we got home; Jared had to go into work. I got up about 3 1/2 hours later and worked on Christmas stuff, even though I felt really crappy all day from lack of sleep all weekend.

I also spent some of Monday learning how to use CVS bucks--my SIL gets TONS of free stuff from there and she told me how to do it. Go see iheartcvs.com for details if you have a CVS nearby. I went and bought $41 of stuff, used $8 in coupons and got 20 extra bucks (can be used like cash at CVS). Woohoo!

Anyway, here are pics and video from the trip:

{James in a very cute hat}:

{Jared holding a "baby" at the Cabbage Patch Hospital}:

{A "baby" in the nursery--there were babies EVERYWHERE throughout the place!}:

{A sign that cracked me up}:

{Me and a baby girl}:

{We even got to see one delivered}:

{Silly pics taken outside the hospital--Natan & Carrie}:

{Me & Jared}:

{Jared's aunt and mom}:

{James' naptime with Uncle Jared}:

{Two cute boys!}:

The Cabbage Patch Hospital was hilarious--especially since it was us 6 adults and one sleeping baby, ha ha! The place was filled with all kinds of Cabbage Patch babies and kids. It's pretty funny. We had a great time in GA and can't wait to go visit again!

Hell froze over!!!

It snowed here in south Louisiana today!!! Jared woke me up at 5:30 this morning as he was leaving for work because there was already a small amount of snow on the ground:
The snow kept coming and here's what the pond looked like at 7am:
And our street at 7am:
The backyard at 7:30am:
The woods in the back of our house at 7:30am:
Praia playing in the snow at 7:45am (she was probably thinking "Hey, I remember this stuff!" since she lived in Utah her first 6 1/2 years):
The pond at almost 8am:
The street at almost 9am:
Our house after it mostly stopped snowing around 11am:
Here's a quick video of the snow, so you can see just how much was falling. Every few minutes, I'd hear the crackling of branches snapping of their trees as they gave way to the heavy snow. I wanted to catch the sound of the snapping of branches but I wasn't able to.


It is now 2:30pm and here is what it looks like now:
It's 42* right now and the sun is coming out, so I'm sure the snow will melt almost completely by this evening. It was beautiful while it lasted and I loved it--especially since I didn't have to drive in it--well, I was supposed to drive to Hammond for a doctor appointment but I skipped it. I'll be looking out my window, as I have been all day, enjoying the snow until it's all gone. I'm definitely in the Christmas spirit now! :)

Early Christmas and Babysitting

That's what I've been up to the past few days. We went to my parents' house Sunday after church and had Christmas dinner with them and exchanged gifts. They gave me a soft, fuzzy LSU blanket and Jared a shake/smoothie blender. We gave my mom a picture book I made at snapfish.com and my dad a microfiber car detailing kit and a auto car kit (car wax, tire foam, interior wipes, etc.). Tim came over later, after we had eaten. Ben and his family didn't come because Ben was sick.

I spent Monday working at Jared's office, then I taught a couple of piano lessons that evening.

Tuesday, I got up at 5am and was at Ben's house by 6:15 to babysit the girls. Brenna woke up at 7am and I fed her. I woke Belle up at 8 and got both girls ready to bring Belle to pre-school. I took Brenna Christmas shopping with me after we dropped Belle off. Brenna was so good; she was actually sleeping when I got there, so I just kept her in the car seat and put her in the back of the cart. When she woke up, I sat her in the front of the cart and she was so happy, fascinated with everything in the store and playing with whatever I gave her. We went back to Ben's house and she mostly played (except for feeding times) while I worked on Christmas cards. We picked Belle up at school and went back to the house and played. Ben had gone to Texas for work and Becky usually gets home between 8 and 8:30 but it was crazy in her hospital ward so she didn't get home 'til 10. BTW, the electricity went out at 8 and still wasn't on when I left--just my luck!

I had told Belle all day that they could open their Christmas presents from us when her mom got home. As soon as Becky got home from work, she ran and got the present and tore it open--before I had time to grab my camera and before Becky was able to wash up and change out of her scrubs. Here are the pics I got of them opening presents (the are SOC, I'm too lazy right now to edit them):

{We gave Belle some pajamas (balled up around her feet)--the all-in-one with footsies kind--and a shirt with a matching hat}:

{I made a mini "Baby's First Christmas" scrapbook album for Brenna but she enjoyed the wrapping much more!}:

{I made Ben & Becky a LSU post-it note holder}:

Here are some pics/videos of Brenna eating baby food. I hope you find them as cute and amusing as I did:

{This one gets really cute just before the 1 minute mark}:

{This one is hilarious--I tried to tease her with the food but she is one smart baby!}:

{Here's one in which I made Brenna laugh a little bit}:

Smart Shopper

So, after I finished watching Ellen while I was eating lunch today, I was just about to turn the TV off when I heard Bonnie Hunt talking about a new product, the Smart Shopper. So I went and looked it up and I am totally coveting this gadget! It's an electronic grocery list/organizer. It has a voice recognition system so all you have to do is speak the name of a grocery item and it adds it to your list (it comes with 2,500 items already entered and you can enter new items, as well). THEN, it will print your list, organized by item type, from the gadget's internal thermal printer! No ink required, just thermal paper rolls. I doubt that I will actually spend the money (close to $100--found it for $79.99 at Amazon) to get this but I really want it! This just shows you what a complete housewife I've turned into that I'm so excited about a product that would make grocery shopping easier, ha ha! You can check out the product here: Smart Shopper.

I'd better go practice--I'm playing a piano solo at our Relief Society Christmas party tonight. Wish me luck!

Thanksgiving

So I'm finally posting about Thanksgiving. Jared had to work that day so I met my mom and my brother, Tim, at my parents' house (Dad had to work, too) and we drove up to my Aunt Patty's house in Jackson, MS. We met up with Ben, Becky and the girls on the way there. We stopped at Wal-Mart on the way to get a few things. It started raining about halfway through the trip and I got a little freaked out from being scared (started crying) but we made it there safely (obviously). Besides our crew, there was Aunt Patty, Uncle Raymond, Katie, Raymond's mom and one of their neighbors. Here is the menu of the feast:

• Turkey
• Ham
• Homemade macaroni & cheese
• Oyster & shrimp stuffing
• Green bean casserole
  
• Another kind of casserole
• Ambrosia (made by me)
• Artichoke casserole
• Rolls
• Sweet potato souffle
• Pumpkin pie
• Pecan pie
• Cupcakes

We hung out, ate, and played a game of Pictionary--I was on a team with Ben, Becky and 13-year-old Katie. The other five adults were on a team and we beat them, heh heh! Here are some pics from the day:

{Mom chowing down}:

{Becky, Ben, Tim--notice Ben talking to his food, sweet-talking it, saying something like "no, I love you!" What a funny dork!}:

{Belle & Katie--this is the only pic I got of Belle the whole day. She was really tired and wouldn't take a nap so she was kind of grumpy the whole day and wouldn't cooperate for pictures}:

{Ben, Brenna, Tim}:

{Me, Brenna, Tim}:

{Here is everyone playing Pictionary}:

{Tim fell asleep on the couch with Roxie, one of Patty's really cute, sweet dogs}:

Ben & Becky left around 9:00 and Mom, Tim and I were supposed to leave shortly after but we kept talking and talking with Patty and Raymond and finally, when we went to leave, it was really foggy and Patty told us we should just spend the night there so we did. Tim fell asleep on the couch and Raymond and his mom had both gone to bed while my mom, Patty, Katie and I stayed up talking until after 2am. When we finally did go to bed, my mom and I kept each other up because we are both really light sleepers and every noise or movement the other made (even though were were in separate beds but in the same room only a few feet apart) woke each other up all night. I was still exhausted when I finally decided to just go ahead and get up at ~9am.

Patty made us breakfast and we kept saying we were going to leave soon to make it home in time for the LSU game but we kept chatting and didn't leave until after noon, I think. The game started while we were on our way back and we had to wait until we got closed enough for the LSU sports radio channel to come in so we could listen to until we got to my parents' house. I stayed there and watched the pathetic game, which we really should have won but gave it away to them in the last minute and lost by 1 POINT!!!! Aaaaah! What a sad ending to a disappointing season--at least it wasn't as bad as when I went to LSU, though! Anyway, after the game I headed home and pretty much just vegged the rest of the night.

Not much going on since then, just church, a couple of piano lessons, and helping out at Jared's office again today. The stake Primary president was called as our ward Relief Society president on Sunday so I'm wondering if I'll be released as stake Primary 2nd counselor. No one from the stake has even called and asked for an interview yet so I'm sure they are still deciding what to do. I'm kind of on pins and needles to find out if I'll be released or not. I just hope I get to continue teaching my class in my ward. Well, it is 1:20am here and it's getting a little chilly in the house, so I'm gonna go snuggle in bed with Jared now. I put him to bed a while ago (I always go lie down with him and read until he falls asleep, then I usually get up and come scrapbook and stuff unless I'm really tired and actually think I could fall asleep that early). OK, I'm just babbling now 'cause I'm tired so I'm really gonna go now....