December in a nutshell

Please tell me you saw these at Costco right before Christmas..... Seriously? do you SEE the price tag? that is correct- $164.99. I'm sorry- who in their right mind, or even in their wrong mind would even think about purchasing this beauty for that much! I think I would barely take it off their hands for free, They'd probably have to pay me to take it. In my professional opinion- those who are actually crazy enough to make such a transaction- have more money than brains.

About the middle of November we found out that we were not drawn in the lottery to go to the David Archuleta Mormon Tabernacle Choir concert. I was in mourning for the next month, everytime it was brought up- I would get very sad, and quite frankly pretty upset, especially at those who were lucky enough to get tickets. I was half tempted to get on ksl classifieds (my favorite site) and think about purchasing tickets from the stinkin people who were lucky enough to get tickets- and were SELLING them! thank heavens i did not. Wednesday December 15, I was at home doing my usual stuff, and I got a text from the hubster saying "babe, go make a sandwich" (our sanwich makins are next to the fridge) and it was about 2 pm. I texted back saying- thanks for the reminder- but I already ate lunch today (so I did not go make a sandwich) about 20 mins later I got another text saying "babe. go make a sandwich wink wink." at that point I was really confused as to why he would be winking at a sandwich. Yet, I still did not go over and make one. Finally as Mr. S was on his way home from work, he called me and asked if I had made a sandwich, To which I replied no, and asked why he was so adamant that I make a freakin sandwich. He started laughing and said "go look at the bread why dont ya-". The densest person in the world replied " look at the bread." in the most sarcastic tone. " why are you acting so weird? Make a sandwich? look at the bread?" then I turned and saw this

in case you cant see it- but they are tickets to go see David Archuleta with MoTab.

I immediately freaked out, started laughing and kept saying oh my gosh! oh my gosh! needless to say- I was excited.

This is the first successful suprise he has done for me, and boy was it awesome, I think it was better that I am such a dense fool, and that he had to actually get me on the phone to look, that way he was able to hear my reaction.
this is us after the concert walking around to see the lights.

My sweet mother in law's brother is the head honcho at the Heber Creeper, So we got to go to

experience the Polar Express. I think our little lady was new or something- or had never read the story because, it wasnt really the polar express and she didnt really narrate anything... We got to have a cookie and hot chocolate- and sing Christmas songs the entire trip. At the very end- Santa came through each car and spent a little time with each child. It was fun nonetheless, especially being able to spend time with our family, our brother and sister in law had been out of town for what seemed like too long (for us, probably not them- im sure they wish they could have been in paris a bit longer- we missed them lots) we then got to have a sleepover weekend with them at our parents house.

not quite sure how little G thought of the whole train ride- just kidding he actually had a ball. he was so happy and sweet the whole time. except when he pooped all over me on the way to the car. (not a good day to remember an extra outfit- pants-check, jacket-check,socks-check. onesie.....anyone??? anyone? crap. literally. good one mom.)

this one is just for kicks - check out his awesome hair

so- im not very good about taking my camera along with me wherever i go- so this is one of the VERY few pics i got over the Christmas break- this is breakfast Christmas Eve with my cute mommy. We had delicious German Pancakes. Later that day was followed by family pictures with my dads family- which went suprisingly fast! then we headed to my dads for a late lunch then it was off to Rich and Joannes, for an amazing dinner. Joannes homemade rolls never cease to amaze me- (or stuff me) boy oh boy was it tastey. later that night- we enjoyed a little Wii action. Zack did the balance games on the wii fit- and was actually really good! then after Trent and Cristi left, i had to beat steve at some bowling, then he needed to redeem his pride a little- and completely show me up at golf.

Christmas Day let me tell you was nuts. we woke up and went to my dads at 7 am, had a great time with everyone opening all their gifts, then went up to Rich and Joannes at 1030 had a great time opening gifts there, then went to my moms at 130- and dinner at my grammys at 230 all in all it was not a relaxing day at all- but it was fun to be with family.
here are 2 of the few pics I got of G on Christmas because he was taking naps practically the whole day

Grampas little present

wearing a sleeper from Gramma J and a cute little hat from auntie mimi-

The Latest

What we have been up to:
Last week my brother and sister in law got to take their dream vacation to Paris where Trent served his mission. How awesome would that be?! One day maybe Steve and I will be able to make it over to Japan. Anyway, They left their 2 boys home, So Steve and I volunteered to babysit for them for part of their trip. So between the grandparents and us, it was a very busy week. We got the boys for 3 days- which was a lot of fun, but man I was ready to hit the sack at 9 pm every night! Then on sunday we got news that Steves grandma was not doing so well, and ended up going to her funeral on friday. It was a very nice service, and was So fun to hear all the stories of the life she lived. It was also great to be able to spend lots of time getting to know and meet a lot of steve's relatives i still hadnt met.
Saturday we had our best friends Dal and Beck come over for some yummy dinner and played a little Wii Fit. The balance games on that thing are hilarious to watch! Just ask Beck.
Sunday we got to go to Trent and Cristi's and celebrate Benny's first birthday. He is such a cute little guy and am so glad we are so close to this sweet little family.
Yesterday- I spent the day making neighborhood goodies to give for Christmas which was fun.
All of our Christmas shopping is done and they are all wrapped, and all of our Christmas gifts have been given out to our neighborhood friends. the only thing i need to do now- is send out our dang Christmas Cards. they should come in tomorrow so i can hopefully get them out by thursday! BAH next year maybe i can be more on top of things in that department.
Steve and I are currently addicted to Prison Break. We are almost done with the first season and are sitting at the edge of our seats! Every time we start it- we have to watch another,another and another...and another. Then at some point we decide that one of us has to be responsible and we have to go to bed. Usually that person isnt me. I just get SO into it! Have you ever been into a season series like this? I tend to get into them fairly easy. ie- lost. 24, gilmore girls, biggest loser now prison break! ah sometimes i wish i had a life so i could use that as an excuse to say im not addicted to tv series. oh well. who cares. but let me just tell you- i wont watch them on tv, i would die. so i wait for them to come out on dvd or netflix instant view ;) love love love it!
Anyway- Time is flying by! Seriously yesterday Gabe was 3 months old...i blinked and 4 and 5 months were gone. In a week and a half he will be 6 months old!!!! I cant even believe it. He is so much fun to be with- and lights up the room. He loves to play the tickle game and will laugh even before you touch him. He is loving to eat rice cereal, sweet potatoes and squash. Grampa Hale keeps trying to get him started on his favorites: cheese, diet coke and sausage or pepperoni. but i think those will have to come later... the diet coke- WAY later. I'm kind of a nazi about letting him eat things too early. Anyway- he is loving to play with his toes, loves practicing sitting up, Loves to snuggle in bed with mommy in the mornings, and daddy on the weekends. He makes us so incredibly happy. Sometimes I worry that he isnt doing things as fast as other babies his age- but i have learned not stress out about it. he will get things - honestly who cares if he doesnt learn to crawl or start walking exactly when other babies do. it doesnt say anything about his intelligence when he starts doing things that other babies may or may not be doing. I am so grateful for this little man. He is so good to me- i am so grateful he sleeps 13 hours every night, grateful he still will snuggle with me, grateful he is so happy,grateful he is mine, and grateful i am here to be able to raise him and enjoy his sweetness.
Here are a few pictures of my little G

He doesnt agree with his shirt. and doesnt think its funny either.

The other night I walked in his room to kiss him before I went to sleep and found him like this

and this


I made this aviation beanie for him the other night- and somehow I'm thinkin aviation will not be in the cards for him when he gets older. actually he is just terrified that this hat makes him look like he has girl bangs- i love to get pictures of him smiling, but i think later in his life he will look back at these pictures of his sad face and just giggle cuz he is just so stinkin cute.

Amazed

I heard about Bountiful baskets a few months ago from my cousin and finally I started participating. It is AWESOME
here are a few of the interesting things I got in mine this past week.... I had to get creative so this is what i made: brussel sprouts and carrots in a sweet and savory sauce

can you guess what fruit this is?

If you said Persimmon- you were right. What in the world are they good for? not eating plain thats for sure. so i tried a new recipe for these persimmon cookies.... delish

This is what i am amazed about. i LOVE Behr's primer paint. look what it can do!

I love this website.
it has definitely given me the decorating itch

Which looks better?

I got robbed. This little old lady sold this to me for 20 bucks. I think that was a little steep considering it was falling apart. Stevey and I had to basically rebuilt this beauty,

and added a few touches of our own, but i think it turned out pretty cute.

One mans junk.... is my treasure!

For the last several months I have been complaining about not having something to rest my feet on when we watch movies- and that we needed to get an ottoman (knowing we didnt have any money and it wouldnt be possible to buy one new) I decided to just check out KSL
I was cruisin KSL the other day and found this beauty for $5!
Isn't it awesome?

Just kidding, it is hideous I know. But wait til you see what we did with it!

As you can see- it has probably seen better days- try 1982.
But like I said- it is a TREASURE!
With a little bit of this and a little bit of that-

ya know- a little sanding, a little priming and a little spray paint....
let the fun begin!

a little bit o glazing and
bada bing bada boom baby- check out my find!

This my friend- is a sweet not ottoman- but coffee table! it will be great for all the coffee we dont drink. (sidenote: I bought some way cute fabric, badding and foam to make it a tuffeted ottoman-in case the top part looked hideous- but since it looks so amazing we will use that for my next project.... a bench!) stay tuned for my next KSL find!

Laughter is the best medicine.

So today was one of those days- we all have em. I just feel like, for some reason, I tend to have them on a more regular basis than say, the average Joe. Well, for one my name isnt Joe- maybe thats why. On with the story- G was havin a rough day- he refused to sleep through his whole morning nap- so from 9:45 til 1:30 he was a inconsolable. Naturally we went for a walk to the grocery store, hoping he would calm down. Not a chance. Still crying once we got to the store- I took him out of the stroller, (I'm a mom now and that means you are good at multi tasking right? well- again let me remind you- my name aint Joe.) and proceeded to carry G doing the whole bounce and sway bit, push the stroller, and get groceries. We might have ran into a few bags of chips sending them down the aisle, and witnessed a few packages of pampers takin a dive off their respective shelves. Guess I've got a ways to go to be a "mom". Anyway- on the way home guess who got to push the stroller while holding a crying baby the whole mile home- thats right. yours truly. At least my arms will be super tough- hes turning into quite the chunk. However, tough arms and all, I may have started get a little frustrated because nothing I could do would calm him. Finally- 1:30 rolls around and it was quiet! for 2 whole hours! (his naps usually go from 9-11 and 12:30 -3.) but hey-today i'll take it. During that 2 hours I decided I would make some cookies. Bad idea,Still a little flustered, I found myself dropping stuff and spilling stuff all over the place, I have the worst OCD's when im cooking- so that made me pretty mad. As I was pushing the button to disconnect the beaters, I accidentally pushed the button forward instead of in,to full speed ahead-not losing my cool at all I calmly decided it wasnt such a bad thing to have pumpkin painted cabinets and flooring. Once the cookies were in the oven I decided to "take a breather" to calm down- as I was taking a drink from my water bottle - the lid popped off and sent a liter of water down my front. seriously? still somehow controlled my furious rage that was threatening to send fire out my eyes. Last but not least- it is laundry day, so I'm changing it out, and as I'm unloading the dryer- my arms are full and a sock fell out- so I lean down to pick it up and 3 more drop. repeat, repeat, yes repeat once more.Getting more and more furious each time I leaned down- I finally just chucked the whole armful . I dare you to act like you've never done such a grown up thing. Perfect. The baby was somehow still sleeping so I decided I needed to lay on the bed and was out for an hour! Bliss
When G woke up, he was pleasant as can be- and this

is what made today all in all seriously a GREAT day. apparently he thinks its hilarious to have socks hit him in the face. what a weird kid.

I Love him

dont you?

Halloween Extravaganza

This years Halloween party was a blast. I think the best part was the spook alley- put on by all the younger kidlins for the older people. Good job Rachel for your awesome planning! It was GREAT!
Unlike last year we decided that the chickens did not need to be dressed up in their halloween garb.
But don't worry, there was plenty of good treats to be had :)

Amanda made her delicous cookies and beautiful caramel apples which were a definite hit
Jenny made her awesome chili
Malia mom made a mad beef and barley soup- oh. my. gosh.
Alana- which is I- made some creepy looking little cake balls- but were quite tastey, and i made cupcakes and the white soup- its a secret- but everyone loved my progresso-modified a bit ;)

And now for the awaited costumes- this year to try and stiffen up the competition- we decided to do a prize worth winning ( nothing against the toilet paper flowers we made last year for the winner)
Side note- I feel super bad i didnt get any pics of the Diotanootie cousins.

Emma the wicked witch of the west (a dead one)
Angela the ninja turtle
Rachel makes a beautiful cleopatria ;)

Laura is a creepy little swamp creature
i feel a song coming on for this one- Shawna was-"my name is stegasaurus.. im a funny looking dinasaur...."
I feel Steve made a perfect "thumper" what a great sport G was the most adorable little "flower" , and I,dont worry, found my costume at the DI-pretty sure the donor was a ten year old boy who, for some reason wanted to be a beaver. with a few modifications, we turned it into Bambi. 2 points for creativity right? right?

Amanda made a beautiful Cinderella- we keep telling her blondes have more fun-i think she may believe us now
Alan Ginger Gerald and the Magnet were a clever bunch of grapes, from the looks on this pic- a confused little bee and the cutest little punkin
Spencer showin a little belly skin-came as either a stripper or a cop. you decide. And Morgan came as a cool lookin pirate-I for one loved his boots.

Little Ann was the stinkin cutest litte witch
Lady Liberty was played very well by Lindamom
Craig and Maliamom were perfectly dressed cruisers.
And now by popular vote - the best costumes went to
the strippercop, the very clever black eyed "p"s, my name is stegasaurus, and lady liberty
1st place went to Shawna the Steg. She won a gift card o a pretty prestigious restaurant- you may have heard of it- they are well known for their meals created by sandwich artists. Go SUBWAY

Thanks to all the wonderful family members who participated in the costume contest, to the awesome/very scary actors in the basement who made the spook alley down right scary that was the best part of the night!, and to everyone for making the effort to make the halloween party a success. Due to difficult scheduling we were very sad to be missing The beef, my man Mason.

Fundraiser

They're back!


remember when they looked like this?

well i've brushed up on my skills.
And- It is almost that time of year again, where we start thinking about others and what to give what to give..... Well, I am starting a fundraiser, I am making and selling beanies - that will fit all ages from 0-3 months to 90 years old. They make perfect gifts for those little nieces and nephews, brothers and sisters, your kids, or grand kiddies, moms,dads etc. you get the idea. All the proceeds will go to the medical bill foundation for people that cant afford to pay them because they had a stupid arrogant doctor, who caused a lot of problems.

covered ears beanies-$15(specify stripe/fringe ball at the top/tie strings)

The girly beanie $8 they come without the flower too for boys

The boarder beanie with a bill $10

add a flower to any beanie to girl it up- $1
here are some of my models:

If you would like to participate in this fundraiser (or if you just want to buy some beanies):

Methods of payment accepted: Paypal, Mastercard, Visa, Check, Cash

1-3 beanies I will ship for $3

4 + beanies will be $4

To order, please email me with the age of the person, specify the color/s, type of beanie, and number of beanies you would like. alana.nelson86@gmail.com

Park City and Stats

This little Mister just had his 4 month appointment! I cant believe how fast time is flying by. He has grown so much- I cant believe he was so tiny when he was born. He is now in the 90 percentile for his height (he has grown 3 inches since his 8 week appointment) he is still in the 50 percentile for his weight- but is turning into quite the chunk he is a whopping 14 pounds now. Last but not least- His noggin is still in the 90 percentile. He is healthy and well- a GREAT sleeper, predictible nap timer, drooling all over the place, rolling over now, laughing, still loving his baths, and constantly making mommy and daddy the happiest people alive.

This past weekend my parents took us to park city for a weekend of awesomeness.

This is where we got to stay

Not only was there this awesome tub- in the shower there was a steam room thing- so while you were showering you got to be mistified by heat that gave you chills. SO AWESOME

This is the view from our room

And there was WAY too much sweetness to be had... I think I came back a moose

We got to ride some bikes at the park -as you can tell by the look on my face- the seats werent that comfortable

Lots of swimming and games with awesome cousins

G was sportin his new swimming suit auntie mandy got him for 99 cents! what a steal

As you can tell by the look on his face- G thought the hot tub was just alright

actually he told me he loved it.

we stayed up late playing games and watching undercover blues- if you havent seen it- do. its a great flick. and quite hilarious actually. All in all a wonderful weekend! Thanks mom and Craig