New Year's Eve and the beginning of 2010

I woke up on New Year's Eve feeling horrible so I just lay on the couch watching football and coughing all day. When Jared got home from work, we both just watched TV and he fell asleep on the couch. I watched the ball drop, woke Jared up to give him a New Year kiss, then went and took a bubble bath and went to bed. Jared stayed asleep on the couch. Jared even had tons of fireworks that we were gonna do but we didn't even feel like going outside to do any. Party animals, right?

New Year's Day was even worse. Jared went into work and I stayed home sick again and watched football all day. I was sad, missing Kiki and her kids, then LSU lost their bowl game. Worst New Year's Day ever for me. I hope the rest of the year doesn't follow suit!

I'm still not feeling 100% but I do feel much better. I watched Belle and Brenna all day today and we had fun. The girls took a bubble bath in my jetted tub and didn't want to get out. I got some adorable photos (BTW, most of that is bubbles, not water--bubble bath + jets on = LOTS of bubbles!) :TTFN!

Second 1/2 of December part 2

Day 6 (12/26):
We went in the morning to the park and had family pictures taken. I posted some of the best ones on Snapfish, if you're interested: http://www2.snapfish.com/share/p=53221262487455087/l=5665624013/g=99876444/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB

Here are just a few of my faves:
We all went and ate at IHOP afterwards. Later that afternoon, I took Wyatt outside to play and got some really cute shots of him:
That night, Brenna and Wyatt played the most adorable game of Connect 4--like they knew what they were doing!:



Carma cuddled up with Jared on the couch for a while:


Belle kept turning on the dancing Santa and we were getting sick of hearing it, so Dad went to turn it off and this is what he saw, so he didn't have the heart to turn it off just yet:



Day 7 (12/27):
Jared and I and Kiki and her family went to Albany ward at 11:00 (Mom & Dad went to Hammond ward at 9:00), then we went home and started watching the Saints game while waiting for aunts, uncles, and cousins to arrive for a get-together. We had lots of snacks, watched the Saints game and played Wii fit and Wii bowling (Belle played with Dad, Mike and Jeff and only Dad beat her, ha ha).

{Dad and two of his brothers, Jeff and Mike}:

{All of the cousins who were there (3 of the 6 families were in attendance)}:

Day 8 (12/28):
I went to breakfast with my friend, Beth, and Kiki and Nikki and we went to see Beth's remodeled house. Nikki flew back to Utah that afternoon; Kiki and I played on the trampoline with the kids again.

The kids watched the first Alvin & the Chipmunks movie that afternoon--the little ones loved dancing to the music:



That night, Becky and I took all the kids except for Wyatt to see Alvin & the Chipmunks the Squeakquel. The 5:00 show was sold out! so we bought tickets and went back at 7:30. The kids LOVED it! Brenna was dancing to all the music, Belle was giggling, Carma was bouncing in her chair from excitement, and Judson was laughing throughout. They were all telling us their favorite parts in the van on the way home (like when Theodore was stuck under the blanket when the guy farted and he was trying to get out and was yelling, "It burns, it burns!" They loved that!).

Day 9 (12/29):
I went with Mom, Dad, and Kiki and her family to Jackson, MS to visit Aunt Patty, Raymond and Maw-maw; they weren't able to come to the family party because Maw-maw had been sick. We ate at Santa Fe steakhouse on the way there. We had a great visit at Patty's. When we got home that night, I went with Tim, Chad, Kiki & Michael to get shrimp po-boys. Yum!

Day 10 (12/30):
I had been sick since Christmas day with a sore throat, stuffy sinuses, and cough. By this day, I had fever and was really feeling miserable but it was Kiki's last day so I tried my best to act like I wasn't sick. I went with her and our friend, Sonya, out to lunch then we drove to my house later that afternoon and just hung out that evening. I had a REALLY hard time saying goodbye to Kiki and her kids! I miss them so much and already can't wait to see them again!

Second 1/2 of December part 1

Christmas was great and I enjoyed having Kiki and her family and Nikki here! I stayed nine nights at Mom & Dad's house on an inflatable mattress and didn't get much sleep but it was worth it. We hung out at the house a lot and played games on the Wii and watched a lot of football. Here's some of what we did:

Day 1 (12/21):

{Even Wyatt got in on the action of Guitar Hero--so cute!}:

{Judson helped me make some oatmeal/M&M bars. They were so yummy!}:

Day 2 (12/22):
I helped Judson & Carma do some artwork.

{Carma painted some Princess & the Frog pictures for me, Kiki, and Maw-maw & Paw-paw}:
{That afternoon, Kiki and I jumped on the trampoline and played trampoline dodge ball with Judson and Carma. I couldn't resist taking this hilarious picture}:
{Brenna LOVED Wyatt but he wasn't always so thrilled to have her following him everywhere and being all over him, ha ha}:

Day 3 (12/23):
We all went to a park and had lunch and I got some great pictures (SO many great ones, there's no way I can even post half of them):
After playing in the playground, we went over to the pond to feed the ducks but it started raining right when we got to the pond, so we waited under a little gazebo until it stopped raining; we saw a rainbow while walking back to the cars:
Day 4 (12/24):
I went and saw "The Princess and the Frog" that morning with Kiki, Carma, Nikki and Mom. It was really cute. Carma loved it. When we got home, Dad and I watched all of the kids while everyone else did some last-minute Christmas shopping. Jared came over after work and stayed the night. We played hide-n-go-seek and Wii Fit that night. My fave was Dad doing the ski jump:

Day 5 (CHRISTMAS DAY!):
Ben & Becky stayed home and opened their gifts before they came over so we all opened gifts once Kiki's kids all woke up. The kids loved the toys Jared & I gave them:

{Two Beanie Baby dogs for Carma}:

{A Disgusting Science kit for Juddy}:

{An Elmo remote for Wy-wy}:

We gave dad a Windshield Wonder and a Saints shirt, Mom a laptop cart, and Kiki & Michael and Wii Cooking Mama game and utensils. Mom & Dad and Nikki gave us Best Buy gift cards and Kiki gave us a picture book of their family pictures and a collage photo frame.

Jared made me promise to only get him three things but he got me a bunch of stuff, the stinker! I got him a Wii Monster Truck game, an electric Shiatsu foot massager with heat, and a Snuggie (since he kept using the LSU one he bought for me a couple of months ago). Here's what he got me: 2 sets of 30 piece Rubbermaid containers with lids, an LSU keyring thing with an LED light, a Victoria's Secret gift card (need new bras), a Hobby Lobby gift card, an LSU Christmas ornament, a pair of purple and yellow fuzzy slippers, an LSU license plate cover, and a certificate to get any Guitar Hero game I want.

Ben and Becky arrived around noon.

{We gave Brenna Leap Frog Learn & Groove maracas}:

{and Belle a Barbie that included two extra outfits}:

We ate a big Christmas dinner that evening that consisted of smoked turkey, ham, artichoke casserole, green bean casserole, stuffing, homemade mac & cheese, yams, rolls, etc. Wyatt entertained us by dancing to "Jingle Bell Rock":

It was a great Christmas!!

First 1/2 of December

So far in December I/we:

• Sold my old car (2000 Oldsmobile Intrigue); it was a great car for me (after Jared totaled my last car with me in it) but Jared wanted me to get a new one
  
• Got a minuscule amount of snow on the 4th--only snowed for a couple of hours that night and melted at our house by midnight (some people in neighboring towns still had some snow on the ground the next morning but not for long)
• Have been busing decorating, online shopping (I love Amazon.com!!), wrapping gifts, making cookies and all of the other Christmas to-do list stuff
  
• Went to Lafayette with Jared to eat and see the Daughtry concert!
• Played piano for the youth's Christmas play at our ward party--the kids did great!
• Went caroling and handed out gifts at a nursing home with some friends
• Am anxiously waiting for Kiki and her family and Nikki to fly here next week!!! I CAN'T WAIT!!!!

{Me & Jared eating at Prejean's in Lafayette before the Daughtry concert}:

Up on the schedule for this weekend: Jared is a groomsmen in a friend's wedding (Wendy Barker, for those of you from Hammond) and we have the rehearsal dinner Friday night, the temple sealing Saturday afternoon and the ring ceremony and reception Saturday night, after which we will run home and watch what's left of the Saints game. GEAUX SAINTS! WHO DAT?! Sunday, I am playing the piano (for all the congregational hymns and special music #'s) in sacrament meeting for our Christmas program. Monday, I will head to my parents' house and wait for Kiki & her family to get there from the airport. WOOHOOOOOOOO!!!! I will probably stay most of next week and the week after that at my parents' house and Jared will come and stay when he can (he still has to work, dangit!). If I don't post before Christmas, I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas with your family and friends!

November update

Some things I did last month:

• Temple night with the youth (Jared was released as YM president, BTW)
• Bought a new car! A 2009 Toyota Camry LE--I love it!
• Dinner and midnight showing of New Moon with friends
• Lots of Saints games, mostly at home after church but one Monday night game at my parents'--they are still undefeated! WHO DAT?!
• LSU games with family--we ended up 9-3 and are headed to the Citrus Bowl vs. Penn State on New Year's Day. GEAUX TIGERS!
• Went to Albany Ward to see Belle in her first Primary program, then had dinner at Becky's parents'
• Went shopping at the French Market in New Orleans with my mom
• Thanksgiving at my aunt's house in Jackson, MS (I missed Ben and his girls but it was nice hanging out with my aunt, uncle, parents, brother Tim, Maw-maw and some distant relatives. And AWESOME food (fried turkey, smoked turkey, ham, artichoke casserole, mirlinton/shrimp casserole, sweet potato casserole that tasted like praline, homemade mac & cheese, my ambrosia plus other stuff)!!!!
• Bought a TV for my scraproom
• Went shopping and to lunch and a movie with Jared on Black Friday (no, we didn't do the early morning thing)

Some pics:

{Jared hanging out with the guys outside on Thanksgiving}:

{The Gold Guy in the French Quarter on the day my mom and I went shopping}:

Some home decor additions:
{Curtains in the TV room (as opposed to the flannel blanket that was hanging up)}:

{Vinyl words (cut with my Wishblad machine!)added above the tub in the master bathroom}:

{Vinyl fleur de lis added above the toilet in the guest bathroom}: