Fun in the Snow

"Yummmm...tasty snow."

Is that not the cutest snow angel you've ever seen?!

Don't eat the yellow snow!!

I Wish I Had A Good Excuse

I really do wish I had a good excuse for not blogging in awhile, but I don't. Other than the fact that I have been enjoying every minute of having Mike out of school. I swear that Jack and I will have withdrawals once he goes back. Thankfully we still have another full week.

Anyhoo, that is why I've been missing in action the last little bit. We've had a fabulous Christmas. It was white and everything! Jack loves the snow and Mike and I wonder if he would actually ever let on to the fact that he's cold, or if he'd just stay out there until he died of hypothermia and frostbite. Mike...my sweet Mike...taught Jack that you can eat the snow. Now every time we go outside Jack has to stick his hand in the snow and lick it off.

I've been trying now for 3 days to post some pictures with this post, but my computer will NOT cooperate. So, I'll get them up ASAP.

Christmas Party

Mike and I decided to attend the Gold's Gym Christmas party for my Birthday. Okay, I decided that we should attend the party. I know, that doesn't sound like the ultimate Birthday date, but I was convinced by some of the other instructors that we MUST attend. I'm actually quite glad that we did. Not only is the entire event catered by an amazing cook, but they provided free babysitting right there on-site (the event was held at the Gold's Gym tennis club so they made the tennis courts all fancy and held the party there). You can't beat that.

I must admit, however, that the real draw was the talk of all of the gifts given away. They weren't kidding. Let's see, they gave away Kitchen Aid's, iPod's, Laptops, 35, 40, and 50 inch LCD TV's, new beds, memory foam pads, a pool table, Rolex watches, and various other gifts. You ask, did we win anything? Unfortunately, no. However, I have only worked for Gold's gym since the beginning of October so I'm not too heartbroken about it. There's always next year, right?

All-in-all, it was a fun night out with great food, great company, some scary (but entertaining) wardrobe selections, and babysitting...all for FREE. Have I ever told you how cheap Mike and I are? This is a such a treat for cheap skates like us.

P.S. Jack was way too distracted by the balloons to look at the camera.

Great Picture

For a great picture you have to go visit Reed & Megan's Blog (link is on the left). It's classic. Sorry, I haven't figured out how to add a link in!

A Chocolate Tradition

I have vivid memories of my Mother's annual chocolate dipping extravaganza. No, she didn't call it an "extravaganza" but she should have because it was! Every year at Christmas my Mother and her friends would get together for a night of serious chocolate dipping. They would make everything: caramels, cream candy, almond roca, chocolate dipped cherries, orange sticks...the list goes on and on.

As I grew up I was allowed to help more and more with the event. This afforded me the opportunity to learn how to make many of these delightful treats. As an adult, the few years that I have been fortunate enough to live close to my mother at Christmas time, we have gathered all of the "Bell Girls" to recreate the 'extravaganza.' I don't think we've ever done all of the treats that were done back in the day, but it was still always so much fun to get together and dip our little hearts out.

Obviously, this year is not one of those fortunate years that I, nor any of my blood sisters, live close to our mother. So, I got together with my good friends Erin Allen and Melissa Miller to have our own 1st Annual Chocolate Dipping Extravaganza. We had such a great time, even though our first batch of toffee ended up in the garbage (we burned it), and quite a few of the caramels were eaten by Melissa's dog while they were outside cooling. But, what's a night without a little excitement, right?

We've already decided that we'll be getting together next Christmas to do it all again. I can hardly wait. So Mom, I just wanted you to know that the tradition lives on! And it's all thanks to you that we were able to do any of it because if you hadn't taught me how to do this stuff I'd simply be remembering those crazy nights of chocolate dipping madness that you and your friends had years ago.

York Peppermint Patties

A wide variety of treats we made. I forgot to take pictures of the chocolates in progress so this is the finished array.

My Friend Carol

Carol and I met just over a year ago when both of us were living in Oregon. She was living there temporarily while her husband was doing some training at Intel, and we just so happened to be in the same ward. Have you ever met someone that you became fast friends with? Almost as if you'd known them forever? Okay, that sounds so "Saturday's Warrior-ish," but seriously, Carol and I were instant friends.

Well, she went back to Arizona and I moved to Utah. We were hopeful to see each other again, but weren't sure when, or if, that would happen. Come to find out there is a guy in Carol's ward who owns his own plane and flies up to Utah every other week or so. Carol jokingly mentioned one day, "Hey, if you ever need a flying buddy I've got a friend in Utah I'd love to see." Joel asked Carol when she wanted to come up. How cool is that?!

So, Carol and I spent Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday this week enjoying some of our favorite past times. Eating, Working out and shopping! The time went by way too fast, but I was so grateful to even get to see Carol again. Thanks for coming and playing with me Carol, I can't wait to do it again!


Carol and I shopping at the Outlet Malls in Park City. Carol used her mad skeels to con some poor bloke into taking our picture.

Carol and I on the streets of Park City. Do you see that huge rice krispie treat in my hand? It was a krispy treat drizzled with chocolate, white chocolate and caramel. Don't you worry, we finished the entire thing by the time we got home. Boy was that good!

ALOOOOOOHA

Well it's about time...that's all I have to say. Grandma LaFawn bought this onesie for Jack over a year ago, she actually bought it when she and Reed (Grandpa) were vacationing in Hawaii. It's a bit of a touchy subject because G&G Smith had their trip to Hawaii all planned out to be the week after Jack was born. Yeah...Jack wasn't exactly on time (I was induced 9 days late to be exact, but who's counting?). So, they ended up missing Jack's arrival altogether. This was a particularly big deal because Jack is the 1st Grand baby for the Smith's.

I digress. The point of this post is to show Grandma LaFawn that the onesie now at least kinda stays on his body. Still a little big, but we had to pull it out and feel a bit of that Aloha spirit 'cause it's freezing cold here and one can't help but wish for a little Hawaiian sun right about now.

Baldies

Mike and his brother Cody finally got around to shaving their heads in honor of their Mother, LaFawn. It's too bad we couldn't donate their hair because they both have so much hair it's ridiculous!!

So far the only complaint from Mike and Cody is that it feels much colder outside with no hair on their heads. Oh, and that their ears seem to stick out a little more than normal.

Here are a few more shots. Mostly for LaFawn's sake so she can see the whole process. It was quite humorous to watch Mike shaving Cody's head and vice versa. They were cracking up at how funny the other looked with half a bald head, or a shaved-on mullet. Jack was a little taken back by Mike at first and he kept wanting to touch Mike's head.

Rise & Shout Our Cougars Are Out!!

Okay, so if you don't follow college football let me fill you in. BYU vs. Utah is what we call a rivalry. It is the most highly anticipated game for the BYU and Utah fans. This year the game was in Provo so Mike and I were sure to attend. We were able to get a sitter for Jack which was really good because it was so freezing I know he wouldn't have made it the entire game.

As always, it was a great football game. BYU won so how could it not be good? The fans rushed the field after the game and it was such a fun time.

Impromptu Thanksgiving Trip

For Thanksgiving this year Mike and I were planning on staying in Utah while his parents and siblings (that don't already live here) traveled down to spend the holiday with us.

That all changed last Saturday. We got a call about 7:00 a.m. Saturday morning from LaFawn stating that Grandpa Smith had suffered a stroke and things were not looking good. They were getting in the car to drive to Seattle where Grandpa was in the hospital. We received another call that afternoon saying they would be taking Grandpa off of the life support that evening. Sunday morning we were in the car and on our way.

There was a funeral Tuesday morning on Whidbey Island (where Grandpa and Grandma Smith live). Mike had the opportunity to share a memory of his Grandpa at the funeral and he did a great job. Grandpa was buried in a small cemetery not far from his home.

Since the entire family was already up on the Island we decided to stay there for the Thanksgiving holiday. Plus, Grandma Smith requested that we all stay. We had a great time, despite the circumstances. Truthfully, it's a wonderful reminder of how grateful I am for the gospel. We all know that we'll see Grandpa again and that makes it so much easier to bear.

P.S. If you didn't know, you can click on any picture to see it close up.

The Car Ride

The car ride up to Washington was LONG to say the least. It took about 15 hours each way. In an effort to get everyone up there for the funeral we had to cram Mike, Cody, Anna, Jack and me all into our Subuaru. It's a good thing Cody and Anna are family, and that they like each other because they basically had to sit on each other's laps the entire way there. It didn't help that Jack's car seat is comparable to the size of a King's throne.


Jack really was a trooper though. So were Cody and Anna. It was a long time to be strapped into that car, but we didn't hear a word of complaining. Okay, that's not entirely true. Jack had his moments, but Cody and Anna were rock stars the entire way there and back.

Around the House

Mike's Grandparent's have an absolutely beautiful view of the Puget Sound from their back porch. It is commonplace to see huge freight ships, cruise ships and even submarines coast by. The submarine was particularly interesting. I think Mike took about 10 pictures.

The sunsets are also completely breathtaking. The entire time we were on Whidbey we had blue skies and sunshine. I didn't say it was warm...I don't think I've ever felt so cold in all my life, but it was gorgeous the entire time.

This is Jack and Grandma LaFawn. I was realizing a couple of weeks ago that I don't have any pictures of Jack with his Grandma! We were quick to remedy that problem as soon as we could.

Fort Casey

Fort Casey is an old inactive army fort located on Whidbey Island. Mike and I were anxious to get out of the house so we drove out to the fort to look around. It was actually quite fun, there were all kinds of ladder that went from the underground rooms to the outer deck. The cannons were absolutely HUGE. We were a little disappointed that we couldn't find any kind of historical description of the fort, but enjoyed the scenery none-the-less.

Mukilteo Ferry

To get out to Whidbey Island you, obviously, have to take a ferry. This is us on the Ferry ride back home. We left Thanksgiving day and some of the ferry's had shut down, thankfully this one was still running as it would have taken us ages to get off that island if we would have had to take the bridge and drive around the Puget Sound.

Jack loved looking out the window as we were moving. I think he would have stood there the entire time if I hadn't moved

I'm It...

I've seen this happening on some of my friends' blogs, but didn't really think it would happen to me. I'm not that cool. :) But, alas, it has: I've been tagged. And since my life is so completely uneventful right now I suppose I'll take the time to actually follow through. I'm suppose to come up with six habits/traits/things about myself and share them with you. I can tell already that this is going to be a struggle.

1. I love to cook and bake. I find true joy experimenting in the kitchen and trying new things. I even like to make things up on my own. As of late I'm a huge fan of The Food Network and draw much of my inspiration from there. If I don't have the crazy ingredients they call for...I improvise. My dream is to someday have a kitchen with ample counter space and all of the fun kitchen utensils needed for creative cooking and baking.

Mike actually is very grateful for this. You see, Mike is so not your typical man. He hates fast food and greasy food, and he insists on getting his 5 servings of veggies per day. This is glorious for me because I love to make everything low-fat. However, over time I've realized that you can't mess with desserts. If the recipes calls for 4 sticks of butter...use all 4. It tastes so much better!

2. Hip Hop music makes me happy. I don't know why, and Mike frequently teases me about being an "Uh-Oh" Oreo (chocolate on the inside, vanilla on the outside), but I love hip/hop, and even the occasional rap song. Eminem has some of the best beats. He's a total potty mouth, so I don't actually listen to anything that's not heavily edited, but daily I'll pop in a CD with some phat beats and Jack and I will dance around the house. Nothing like a good booty shakin' to put a smile on your face.

3. The Biggest Loser is my favorite show. We don't watch a lot of TV around our house, but I love watching the Biggest Loser. Maybe it's because I'm an active part of the fitness world, but I find myself feeling so connected to the people on that show. I'll even go so far as to cry with them if they've lost a ton of weight. Mike thinks I'm crazy and he'll just laugh at me if I start tearing up, but I can't deny it, I'm proud of those people and all of their hard work. I tear up just thinking about it... :)

4. Dental hygiene is of uttermost importance. There is nothing quite like a healthy, straight, white smile. I am borderline OCD about flossing and brushing. Thankfully Mike has accepted this and even jumped on the bandwagon. We floss together every night. I realize that Jack still only has 4 teeth, but don't you worry...those 4 teeth are flossed and brushed too! And let me tell you, that is the quickest flossing job ever: in-between the two front teeth, and in-between the two bottom teeth. DONE!

5. Hooray for sports! I find true enjoyment attending sporting events. Football games make me feel all giddy and excited inside. Especially when my team is winning. I don't enjoy watching sports on TV as much as I do live, but I will if I must. I find college football and basketball so much more entertaining than pro sports. I have often felt that I will be a mother of all boys, and I look forward to being at every one of their sporting events cheering my heart out.

6. Fitness is life. Moving and being active is what I live for. If I ever broke my leg or arm I might die. I shouldn't say that because now I'll probably fall down the stairs on my way to teach Turbokick tonight. I imagine I would live through a broken bone, but every day I thank Heavenly Father for the gift of health I have been blessed with. I swear that teaching aerobics is my calling in life. I actually think it's one of the few things I do well. But even outside of the gym I love to move: dancing, wakeboarding, snowboarding, hiking, walking...anything that allows me to be outside and makes my heart pump.

Whew..I made it. Now, Becca, Danielle, Mary, Carol, Libby and Jamie. If you so desire, it's your turn.

Christmas Music

So, as most of you already know we live in Utah now, and I just have to say that Utah is interesting in so many ways. While it would take a novel to explain all of the ways in which Utah is interesting, I'd like to focus my efforts this morning simply on the fact that 2 radio stations here in Utah are already playing Christmas music 24 hours a day. Jumpin' the gun, wouldn't you say? Do you want to know the sad truth...I LOVE IT! Why should we only get to listen to Christmas music from Thanksgiving Day until Christmas Day? I, for one, am all too happy that someone else was wise enough to start a little earlier. My Father would be appalled!

Forgive Me

I didn't really feel like the other pictures did the cut any justice. They were too far away. Not that I enjoy close-ups of myself, but here are some slightly better shots of the new do...if you care to see.

Before

Okay, I finally did it...I cut my hair off today. I was so ready to get rid of my long mop that I wasn't even nervous about cutting it. Here are the before shots. We took these exactly 1 week ago.

The Final Product

Ta Da!!! 16 inches later, this is what I came away with. A big shout-out to Amy Dover for giving me her sister-in-law's name, Megan did an awesome job and I love the cut!

The Morning After

Well, it's bright and early the day after Halloween and Jack found his candy bag. Mind you, there are only about 10 pieces of candy in the bag, but Jack seems to know he wants to eat all of them. How is that possible? How do kids know these little chunks of mass are edible...and sweet at that? Thankfully he hasn't figured out how to open any of them, but I suppose it's just a matter of time before that happens.

Happy Halloween

I realize that Jack doesn't have any idea it's Halloween, but we had to put his costume to use (thank you Grandma LaFawn for buying it for him). I have to say that Jack was the cutest bumble bee ever! We only trick-or-treated to about 10 houses, but every house we went to ooh'd and aah'd over our little bee. It was really fun and if nothing else I think Jack enjoyed sucking on the end of a package of smarties.

Pre trick-or-treating photo shoot. "Oooh, this is going to be so fun!"

"Hmm, what did they give me?"

Jack on Mike's shoulders trying his best to get those smarties open!

Jack loving the leaves...and refusing to let go of the smarties.

Jack and Mom. And please, no comments on the ghetto trick-or-treating bag. I realized as we were walking out the door that I didn't have anything for Jack to put candy in.