Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving went really well this year. We, still being new into the whole visiting the in-laws thing, try to see everyone. We had great success this year. We were able to go up and see Nelson and Deann on Wednesday. The whole family was there, G and G Sagez, Uncle John, Brian and Karen and Amanda and Dan. The only one we were missing this year was Cody. It was nice to get altogether. We ate dinner, a pot luck of Hawaiian Haystacks, visited and even played some card games. We all had a blast. Then on Thanksgiving we spent the day with my family. We all took part in the meal and brought something, so mom wouldn't have to worry about cooking it all. Grandma Shupe came up and even my mom's sister, Cindy, and her husband came up from Sandy. We had a very good lunch with plenty left over to have dinner again when dad got home. Dad had to work until 7, but when he got home, the fun for the kids began. Dad loves playing with all the grand kids. After eating we played many games on the xbox and the wii and even played some board games. There was even a puzzle being built in another room. It was a lot of fun. We pretty much played all day there. Then on Saturday we spent the day with Ben's mom, Angela and Mark. We all brought stuff to this dinner as well, it makes it easier when it's not all on one person. So we all visited while we waited for the lunch to be done. Then we ate and the big thing for Ben's mom is going to the Ogden Christmas day parade and the lighting of Christmas Village. They go every year and this year was no different. We got there in enough time to get a spot for the parade and we enjoyed seeing the floats all decked out in Christmas lights. Even the marching bands from all the different schools had lights on their instruments. Gabbi had a blast watching the parade go by. Then when the parade was done, we all went up on top of a parking structure over looking the amphitheater on 25th street. That is where the Christmas Village is. We all got situated, had some hot chocolate to warm us all up and then you could hear the count down. When the count down is done a canyon goes off and all the lights in the village are lit up. It's pretty cool to see all the lights go on at the same time. We covered Gabbi's ears so the canyon sound wouldn't hurt her ears, but the only thing she didn't like about that was the fact that we were covering her ears. Then they had fireworks go off and it was so much fun to watch Gabbi just stare at the fireworks. She must have thought those were the coolest thing. She wouldn't take her eyes off of them. We had a great Thanksgiving this year and a blast with all of our families. Sorry, no pictures. Dummy here forgets that we own a camera some times.

2 years and going Strong

I almost forgot. Ben and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary. I'm a little behind, our anniversary was on the 18th of November, but because of our busy schedules with work and church callings and the holiday that followed, I didn't have time to post until now. I decided to surprise Ben with a weekend alone, without Gabbi. Mom is great, she had no problem taking Gabbi. Thanks mom. The only thing I told Ben was that he had to think of two things to do while on out get away. We scheduled out get away for the weekend following our actual anniversary date, (21 and 22). We started out that morning at the doctor's office. Gabbi had one of her check ups and we like to have them as early in the morning as we can, so Ben can go with me and still be to work on time. We were lucky that she didn't have to have shots, because of our timing, she just has to get an extra shot in two week when we have to go back. Poor her. Well, then we went and got some breakfast and then headed to the junction. We clean my mom's dentist office and then do a lot of work with a very popular orthodontist, the one Ben just happens to go to, Dr. Pobanz. Well Dr. Pobanz rented out a theater at the Junction for the Twilight opening. Everyone who works with him was invited, and because we work at the office to, as cleaners, we were invited too. So we met my mom and my sister there for the movie. I was really glad that we had an end row seat because we had to take Gabbi with us. No one was home during the day to watch her. But lucky us, we got her up early and kept her awake, that she fell asleep and only woke up for a mere second. I was thankful for that. I was worried she would be a problem. The movie was pretty good, but what I had pictured in my head was better and they cut a lot out, but I guess if they followed the book completely the movie would have been 5 hours long. After the movie Dr. Pobanz had a drawing for Twilight merchandise, I actually won something. My ticket seat was called and we won a free Twilight CD. The Cd's not that bad. After the movie we handed Gabbi off to my mom and off we went. We went and checked into our hotel, the same place we stayed before we left on our honeymoon, and then we left to go and get some lunch. We had a picnic in the park, so to speak; well at least over looking the Ogden area from the mountain's above Weber State. After that Ben had decided that we wanted to go to Antelope Island. I had never been there before and both Ben and I like to visit museum's and the history type places, so we headed that direction. When we got there I was surprised that they charge so much to see so little. The visitor center was pretty cool and I did get to see a few buffalo up close, they were right in front of our car. Dummy again has no camera. Then after seeing all we could decided that we were going to go look at some trucks. Ben wants to turn our car in for an extended cab truck. Better in the snow at least, is the only thing I wanted. We went to a few places, saw some trucks that we liked, but we didn't jump on anything yet, we are still looking and deciding. Then we headed up to Weber High School. I love to watch plays and because I couldn't get tickets anywhere else for big shows, we went to their production of Peter Pan. A couple of the kids in there our friends of ours as well, so it was fun to go and see them in it. They did such a great job. The sets were immaculate and everything was very well done. They even had a rig that made them fly. The girl that played Peter Pan could easily got to Broadway, her voice was just gorgeous. When the play was done, we headed to Chili's one of our favorite places to eat. When we finally got done, it was late, almost 11:30, so we headed back to the hotel for the night. When we got up in the morning, Ben had planned what he wanted to do. We went to the Union station and went through their many exhibits. It was pretty cool to see all of the stuff they have there and Ben just loved it. They even had a special old car exhibit going on that weekend and I just love old cars. We then headed over to the train station and took the Front Runner to Salt Lake. The train was pretty cool. It was fast and easier then driving, ex specially not having to find a place to park. When we got there we took the trax to the Gateway. We stopped at the Hanson Planetarium to look at some of their space exhibits and then walked around, window shopping. We then caught the trax again and headed to Trolley square. The whole time on the trax and the train you saw people dressed in blue and red for the BYU and UofU football game, it was crowded. We walked around trolley square for more window shopping and then we stopped in and ate at the Spaghetti Factory. It's a fun place to eat and it was pretty good too. We then walked slowly, hand in hand, back to the trax station hopped on to go back to the train stop. We got back on the Front Runner and headed back to Ogden. Ben couldn't wait to get home, he missed Gabbi and was excited to see the look on her face when we walked in the room. When we got home, we went upstairs and sneaked as quietly as we could and then popped up to say hello. Gabbi had a huge smile on her face and was really excited to see us. It was a nice get away, but we were both glad to be home. I am so grateful for Ben and all that he does for me, I truly don't know where I would be without him. I love him so much. Thanks for a bright two years, Ben and I can't wait to see what the future brings.

Hair Cut

I hadn't had a real hair cut in a long time. When ever I go, I just get the usual trim and leave it at that. But I became very brave. I have been wanting to cut my hair for a long time and I was just debating whether or not Ben would like it. He said once that he liked long hair, so I never cut because I thought that was what he wanted, but he convinced me, that he would like short hair and that I should go for it. So I went with him, because he needed his cut for his upcoming drill next weekend and we both got our hair cut. I chopped it. I haven't had it this short since 7th grade. I really like it. I thought I would have a hard time with it being too short, but the lady did a great job and I just love it.

I'm so close

Gabbi is so close to crawling, it's scary. Everyone we talk to says "No matter how excited you are now, you will regret it as soon as the are mobile. They get into everything, you can't find them because their hiding, etc." We think it's pretty cool that she is so close. Her doctor even says she is advanced for her age. She's pretty smart, and I know she didn't get it from me, so it is pretty exciting. She can get to her knees and starts to rock hoping that she will move forward and then she will fling up and be on her toes and hands, kind of like the yoga pose "downward facing dog." Then she falls back onto her knees and starts to rock again, but can't quit get her arms to move. Ben likes to show her how to move her arms in the right motions, she just hasn't got it quit yet. She will soon though. The farthest she has gone forward has been about 2 to 3 inches, but backwards, she is all over the place.

Saturday the 1st

I had to get up early and go to the Primary Carnival. The young men and young women were in charge of the activities, so us leaders, of course, have to be there to make sure it all runs smoothly. I wanted Ben to bring Gabbi, but she was sleeping and neither Ben nor I wanted to deprive the beauty queen of her sleep. So I went alone, I got my activity ready (cake walk, but he handed out stuffed animal prizes instead, they already have enough sugar from the night before) and awaited all the primary kids. There were more there than I thought there would be. All the kids had a blast. 

We had five activities for them, plus a costume parade to start it all off. Once my activity was done, I cleaned it up as quickly as I could, with the help of some on-lookers and then I headed out the door. 

My sister, brother, and I were taking our families up to Orem to go and see Grandma Shupe, we hadn't been up there in a long time and it was time for a visit. Well, Jenny and Jeff had left an hour before we did (because of the carnival, we didn't leave with them) and they even made a stop at some new store in Lehi, or around there. But by the time I got home and got Ben and Gabbi in the car and on the freeway, they were just getting to the store. I was just hoping that they would stay a while at this store because I didn't want to miss arriving at Grandma's with them. Luckily the traffic wasn't bad and we pulled up just as Jenny and Jeff were getting their kids dressed in their costumes. Perfect timing. 

So we dressed Gabbi up yet again and rang one last doorbell. Grandma was so happy to see us all. We really haven't seen her in a while because she lives so far away, but it was great to be able to go up there. The kids all played with Grandma's toys, while we adults visited and we even had a picnic lunch on Grandma's floor. The kids thought that was pretty cool. 

After lunch, we played a few card games with Grandma (a loved pastime), and then it was getting time to go. Jenny had to leave to get her ward bulletin board done, so she left first, 30 minutes later Jeff left because JD was getting really tired and he was done. Ben and I stayed a while longer to visit with Grandma. Ben enjoyed the conversation about books. Grandma loves to read all sorts of books and so does Ben, so they had a good conversation. I'm really glad they get along. After they were done, Ben looked at her DVD player to see if he could get it working, no luck there, the cords or the jack was fried, I don't remember which, and then it was time for us to go home. We said goodbye and took the long drive home. 

It was a very busy day and we still had other things to do. Shopping, cleaning the office, etc. But we got it all accomplished. So as you can see it was a very busy Halloween week, but it was a very fun week. The best part, was Gabbi didn't mind being in a big bulky costume at all. I think she kind of enjoyed it. Now that I can dress her up, maybe I will start to like Halloween. It will never be as good as my sister, who loves Halloween and it is her favorite Holiday, but I will at least enjoy it a little bit better now.