Belated Posts

I was looking through our photos and I realized that I simply forgot to post about my birthday celebration and Valentine's Day, and Luke did such a fabulous job with both, he deserves a little bragging time. For my birthday, I opted to stay home and celebrate, so Luke made a four course dinner including my favorite entree, Salmon with Lemon Sauce, and for my birthday cake he made (from scratch) a double layer white cake with raspberry sauce and white chocolate! He slaved away in the kitchen all afternoon and it was amazing. I am very, very spoiled.







For Valentine's Day, we were thinking about going out to eat, but around here it would be next to impossible to get into any restaurant on Valentine's Day, even with reservations, so unless we wanted to eat at Jack In The Box, we decided it would easier to eat in.
Again, Luke slaved away in the kitchen and made an incredible steak dinner. It was fabulous! After dinner Luke surprised me with tickets to a play that I had been wanting to see called, "The Importance of Being Earnest." I had read the play for an English class in college and remembered really liking it, so I was hoping the live performance would be even more fun, and it was. It is silly English comedy, but was very entertaining.

Thank you Luke, for being such a great husband!

What? No Blizzard?

Barely escaping the blizzards and closed roads in Idaho, Dad and Bethany arrived last Friday night to a little warmer weather down here in Houston. We had a fabulous week together and I've included a few pics of the week.


We introduced everyone to the game Bocce, aka Lawn Bowling, and we had a good time playing in a local park:




Dad and Eva cuddling at the park:


Luke and I on the Tram at the Houston Space Center:


Posing with the giant chess set in Galveston:




The ice cream parlor in Galveston:




Galveston Harbor:


Playing disk golf:


Playing Bocce at the beach:


Even though the water was COLD, we still had the crazy idea to put on some swimming suits and jump in the ocean. We found that once your bottom half numbed up, you stopped involuntarily gasping for air and screaming when the waves splashed above the waist. We had a lot of fun in the water, but some hot, hot showers were in order as soon as we got home!

Dad and Luke catching some waves:


Bethany and I:


Bethany looks like a regular beach bum:

Christmas Highlights

It has been quite a while since the last time we have posted, but that's because we've been with most of you! We had quite the whirlwind trip and we arrived home exhausted, but we had a fabulous two weeks! Thanks for all the fun everyone! Here's a few pictures we accumulated along the way:


- AT THE WERRETTS -


Bowling a few days before Christmas:


Making gingerbread houses:






Opening the jacket Luke gave me for Christmas:



-AT THE HOOPES' -


A big welcome home from Matthew and Jadie:


Meeting little Jadie for the first time:


Luke and I were a little tired that first night in Idaho:


Trying out the "big swing":




Christmas for the Grandkids:


Isn't that a big bat for such a little kid?


The rush for the loot:


Whitney making sure her pockets are packed full:


Snowmobiling:




Luke's snowball fight with Matthew:


Matthew and Eva:


Happy New Year Everyone!

Black Friday

For those unconcerned with the financial statements of huge department stores, would understandably deduct that the name "Black Friday" was coined by observing the moods of shoppers and those dragged along with said shoppers as stress levels spike and people find themselves going to extreme methods to save a few bucks on sweaters they would never be caught dead in. We found ourselves in the mad rush this morning -- not quite along with the crazies (the 4 AMers) -- but just behind -- and as soon as we took the exit towards Pearland we wondered what on earth possessed us to leave our nice warm beds on a vacation Friday to shop. Yes, to shop.
We had a mission though. Luke and I needed one thing and the newspaper ads promised us that we would get the best deal of the year if only we would drag ourselves out into the madness for just a little while. Our mission? A Christmas Tree. I was hit with the "Christmas Bug" this year and I have found myself more excited for Christmas this year than I can ever remember -- and I convinced Luke that our Christmas season cannot begin without a tree. I figured with only one thing on our list, we could be in and out, right? Little did I know, that "in and out" simply does not exist on Black Friday. The term ceases to have meaning on this one day.
After treking all over town looking for a tree that didn't look too fake or wasn't too expensive or wasn't too tall or too short (it was like the city version of our tradition of looking for the perfect tree behind our house, only a lot less fun) we finally ended up with the very first tree that we looked at 5 hours previously.
As we tiredly returned home, Luke and I made a vow to each other that next year, no matter what, we will wake up on the fourth Friday of November at a very late hour, make ourselves some pancakes and pity all the pathetic shoppers who just could not resist a few terrific marketing schemes.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hi Everyone! We just wanted to wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving today. Heather and Troy came over for our Turkey Day celebration and we had a great time. We miss you, but only a few weeks until we get to head your way!
Have a fabulous week.

Eva's Blessing

Luke and I were happy to be there when Troy blessed little Eva Madeleine. Heather was a little stressed because the member of the bishopric they told they were going to bless her forgot and went right into testimonies, but they got it in at the end. Better late then never, I guess.
Here's an adorable picture of her in her blessing dress:

Spooky Bash

Luke and I decided to celebrate Halloween a little early this year with a carmel fondue and pumpkin carving party. We invited a few friends from the ward and Heather and Troy and had a good ole' time. The pumpkins were pretty impressive -- especially Luke's as always...I was just happy I didn't have to make mine a pirate to cover up a crappy eye like last year... :)

- Luke looks pretty intent on his pumpkin lobotomy -



- Eva is probably wondering why her dad is wielding such a big knife -



- Wait, it's just a little knife... -



- Some of the crew -- Kenny and Texas Adams and Glen Barney -



- Our very scary bunch -

Answers to Some Pressing Questions

So, I have decided to be a good sport and answer the questions that Melanie "tagged" Emily and I with. So without further ado . . .

1. Best thing you cooked last week.
Emily and I made a pretty sweet spinach and tomato pizza, but I think some ice cream with magic shell chocolate that I had on Thursday is right up there.

2. If money and time were no object, where would you go and with whom?
I would go on a world tour with Emily, ski all the best places to ski, stay in all the coolest cities, and find out where the best place to be a beach bum is.

3. When was the last time you cried?
Seriously, you expect me to answer this?

4. 4 things you were doing this month 10 years ago.
This month, ten years ago, I was a punk 15 year old in my freshman year of high school. I would have been just finishing up football season, I would be practicing and preparing for basketball tryouts, sitting in the back of Algebra two with the seniors and making fun of my teacher, and probably going to a stake Halloween dance sometime around now.

5. 5 things on your to do list today.
I have no to do list on Saturday, I do whatever I want; after grocery shopping, cleaning the bathroom, cleaning the kitchen, patching holes in the wall (don't ask), and moving furniture.

6. 6 favorite snacks:
1. nachos
2. cheese and crackers
3. cheese (sliced or in stick form)
4. ice cream
5. licorice
6. chips and salsa with orange juice

7. 5 bad habits:
1. leaving my shoes wherever I decide to take them off
2. going outside with socks on
3. procrastination
4. dessert first
5. missplling wrds juust to drive Emily crazy

8. 5 favorite foods:
1. cheese
2. steak
3. kung pao chicken
4. salsa
5. cafe rio chicken salad

9. 5 places I've been:
1. On the hood of a stranger's car (accidentally nearly causing an older couple to die instantly, and their little dog too)
2. Top of Mt. Hood
3. Whistler, Canada
4. Top of a 120 foot distillation tower
5. a lion costume

10. 6 favorite memories:
1. Wedding day
2. Last month of my mission, it was way fun
3. Camping on labor day
4. Going to DC with Em
5. Building "huts" in the forest behind the house
6. Renting out a cabin on Mt. Hood with the family for a few days.

Tagged!

Melanie has "tagged" Luke and I, which I've figured out to mean that we answer the questions and then tag someone else to answer the questions on their blog...
We decided that we are going to answer the questions separately because we have very different answers (and because Luke doesn't post blogs very often, so this is the perfect opportunity), so here goes:

1) What was the best thing you cooked this week?
I made Luke and I's original "gourmet pizza." We experimented one night with various crusts and toppings and came up with a recipe that's sooooo good. We are hooked -- and the best part is that it is a lot healthier than normal pizza.

2) If money, time and babysitting were no object, where would you go and with whom?
If money and time were no object, I think Luke and I would go to New Zealand, Australia, Tahiti and then to Hawaii for about a month each. Then I think we'd head out for a European Tour that includes London, Paris, several spots in Italy, and a few in Germany, the Scandinavian countries, etc.

3) When was the last time you cried?
I think I got a little teary when we watched "Freedom Writers" about a week ago.

4) Four things you were doing this month 10 years ago?
Let's see, it would have been 1997 and I was in 7th grade. Yikes, that was only 10 years ago?? I was playing basketball, probably taking some pretty boring classes and trying to survive the very awkward and horrible time of a pre-teen.

5) What are five things on your to-do list today?
Go grocery shopping, clean the bathrooms, vacuum, get prepared for our Halloween get-together, and have some fun with a few friends tonight.

6) Six favorite snacks?
Licorice, chocolate-covered cinammon bears, Quakes, pretty much chocolate anything, string cheese and jerky.

7) Five bad habits?
I leave my hairdryer and curling iron on the bathroom counter and it drives Luke crazy, procrastinating unpleasant projects, perfectionism, avoiding awkward situations at all costs, and talking too quiet on the phone (at least this is what everyone tells me, even though I think I'm talking normal...)

8) Five favorite foods?
Center cut fillet steak from Outback Steakhouse, Kung Pao Chicken from PF Changs, Cafe Rio (especially the chicken salad and the pork salad), Chocolate, and Salmon (the way Luke makes it).

9) Five places I've been?
Washington D.C., Seattle, Southern California, Calgary, and Orlando.

10) Six favorite memories?
1) My wedding day, of course. Everything was perfect, all the way down to the weather. I wouldn't have changed a thing.
2) The day I went paintballing with Luke and some friends in the morning, then went skydiving and then had a second date with Luke and found out he was definitely a keeper.
3) Mom, Dad, Bethany, Neal and I's trip to Orlando right after finals my sophomore year of college. We had such an awesome time together!
4) Going to Washington D.C. with Luke for our second anniversary -- what a cool city...
5) Working for YCC the summer between my sophomore and junior years of high school --- what awesome memories! We had so much fun!
6) Buying my first house with my fabulous, cute and wonderful husband.

Now we tag...Paul and Betsy!

Beach adventure

We finally made it out to the beach and now we are wondering what took us so long! We had a fabulous time.
Unlike the icy coast of the Pacific Ocean, the water is perfect! It isn't too warm, but warm enough that even I can stay out there for a good chunk of time (and we could even feel our legs after...)
The excursion was Eva's first adventure and even though she slept the entire time, I think she enjoyed it. (Maybe she had better dreams or something.)



- Relaxing and getting some sun -


- Luke. Just plain Luke. -


- Sweet dreams -