Merry Christmas

So I was on top of the Christmas card thing this year. I had it made and saved on my computer while I gathered current addresses. Well, Christmas snuck up on us quickly and I didn't get them all sent. I know this isn't as good as the real thing, but we are leaving tomorrow and it's the best I can do. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas.

The Magical Forest

We had our first experience at the Magical Forest. We wanted to go last year, but didn't think Abby was quite old enough. It is a forest of lights, with rides, music, hot chocolate, etc. We had told Abby on the way there that she could ride the horses first so that is where we started. She didn't want to get off, but when I told her she could go ride the train she was okay with it. We then got on the train that takes you around the forest to see some of the lights. While waiting in line we got a little clip of how excited she was about the rides.




I really wasn't expecting her to sit on Santa's lap. Last time she did it it took a lot of talking her into it. This time she was so excited I was surprised. She told me in line that she was going to ask him for a dog....yes she is still asking for a dog. I thought she would forget, but I believe she is going to have to get a dog. She walked right up to him all by herself (Ashton was there for moral support). She climbed up on his lap, and just started talking to him. I about fell over in shock. She hopped off his lab, and turned around and said "Merry Christmas Santa." Then she walked over to Mrs. Clause to get her candy cane. Mrs. Clause hands it to her and she says again to Mr. Clause "Merry Christmas." I was about to die she was being so friendly. At least we know she isn't afraid of Santa anymore.


After the rides we walked through the Magical Forest. There were tons of lights. Companies from around Las Vegas all come and put up their own display and decorate a tree. There were also blow ups which are Abby's favorite. She was loving the candy cane forest and enjoying the candy cane she got from Santa at the same time.





It was so fun to have Ashton there to enjoy it with us. He has been so busy studying for his National Board Exams that we have missed him. Now that they are over it really feels like the holidays are here. We had a great time at the Magical Forest, and I think Abby will be talking about it for days.

Cinderella Ornament

Thanks Grandma & Grandpa Prince for the Cinderella ornament. Abby loves it. She was so excited first of all to open a present because I keep telling her she has to wait to open the ones under the tree. When I actually said yes, you can open it her face lit up. Then when she got inside to see Cinderella and her picture from Halloween she was so happy. I loved watching her pick a place on her Christmas tree to put it. Thanks again, we love you!!!

Live Nativity

We took Abby to the live Nativity that one of the stakes here puts on. It was a little cold so we bundled up. Well, even when it is not cold Abby wants to wear her hat and gloves. The Nativity was fun. She loved to see all the animals. After it was over the kids got to go up and touch all the animals and see the baby Jesus. It was fun to do something to feel the true spirit of Christmas. Abby keeps talking about the manimals and baby Jesus. She has an ark with Noah and the animals. For some reason now Noah has become baby Jesus. I keep telling her it is Noah, and she knows that it is, but she is determined to make him baby Jesus.
So we got home from the Nativity and she was willing to take all her clothes off and put her pajamas on, but the gloves and the hat had to stay. I just had to take a picture. I thought for sure they would be off by morning because she would get too hot, but when I went to get her the next morning she still had them on. Kids do the funniest things. Hope you all are enjoying your holiday season. I know we are!!!

Abby playing airplane with her dad!!!

A GREAT DAY!!!

First, Abby slept in today. Not much, but a little more than normal. We got up and took our time getting ready. I usually get up and start calling all the stores to see if anyone has any Wii's or I have been running to stores to wait in line before they open. Last night I was up watching the ebay auctions and Craig's list. I just couldn't bring myself to pay MORE than double for the stupid thing. This morning I was sick of it and decided to take a day off. Abby and I had fun getting ready together. She even combed her puppies hair (she takes these puppies with her everywhere we go). Once we were ready I had some things to get at Walmart so we jumped in the car. Well, game stop is in the Walmart parking lot so I thought I would just walk in and see what they had. When I got in the door there were four people just kinda standing there, not shopping or looking around at all. That is when I said, "so the shipment hasn't came in today right?" I was about a half hour before they expected it to come and they weren't even sure they would get any. I thought what is a half hour after all I have done. So Abby and I waited. She was so good the whole time and just enjoyed looking at all the games. She found a little toy and would hide it in the games and then cover her eyes and count to ten. She would then look for the toy like she wasn't the one who hid it and get so excited when she found it. She was some good entertainment for all those waiting for the shipment. We were all laughing. Anyway, the UPS man finally came, and my luck had turned. He brought SIX of them and I was number five. I called Ashton so excited and he didn't believe me at first because I had called him many times before and said I had one (when I really didn't). Once I convinced him I had one he asked if he could play it tonight. Sorry Ashton, that is not how Christmas works.
Thanks to all those that were looking and helping me find one. I really didn't think we would get one before Christmas. I know that some of you may still be looking. I will continue to keep my eyes open and snag one if I get the chance. Happy Shopping!!!

The Big Parade

We decided to take a break from our Wii hunting and go to the Boulder City Electric Parade. Ashton is in California at the UCLA vs USC game (they won yeah!!). So our friends Brett and Katie asked me to go with them. We first went to H&M to get Abby a coat. Not a new coat, just a coat. She has never owned more than a jacket, but I decided that now it is cold and she is still asking to go outside it was time for a coat. We found this cute pink puffy coat and she loves it. She wanted to wear it around the store. I had to distract her with a treat so she would let me buy it. Anyway, then we all ventured out to Boulder City. Abby loved all the lights and was most impressed with Frosty the Snowman. She got so excited when Frosty's float came by. Some of the floats threw candy. Every time she would run out looking for a sucker. Finally, one of the last floats threw a sucker. She was then okay for the parade to end because she got her sucker. Thanks to Brett and Katie for inviting us. It was a fun night!!!

Day Late and a Wii Short

I swear I have had the worst luck this week. We decided that it would be fun to just get a Wii for the both of us for Christmas. Little did I know when I said this to Ashton how hard it would be to get one. I knew they were hard to find, but not this bad. So Wednesday after work (my first mistake calling so late in the day) I called all the Costcos. Most were sold out and not getting more until after Christmas. But there was one that just had to share the news that they got some in that morning but were sold out. If only I would have searched in the morning. Okay so Thursday morning I was out shopping and not really thinking about it. There is a game stop right next to the Walmart that we were at. I forgot it was there and thought nothing of it. Once I got to work I had a break and thought I should call all the game stops. Come to find out four, of the twenty eight in vegas (yes I called almost all of them), got them in that morning and were all sold out. So I thought, I am going to be on top of this now and call first thing in the morning. So that is what I did this morning for about a half hour to fourty five minutes. After hearing most of them laugh at me like I was crazy to think they would have any I gave up. My only hope now is that target and toys r us are both getting another shipment in. Too bad it is this SUNDAY morning!!!! How bad is my luck? I think Ashton may be enjoying Christmas this year without a Wii. Even if we do find one I am going to hate the thing because of the stress it gave me. Happy Shopping!!!!

A Little Late Thanksgiving

So I have been slacking. I have had a hard time getting back into my routine after such a nice vacation. We spent Thanksgiving in St. George. We had a lot of fun. It has been unusually warm for November until the day before Thanksgiving. It was so fun to have it cool down so it actually felt like fall. We had a wonderful dinner with Ashton's family. After, there was no missing the USC football game. (Ashton's dad is USC alum.) Because of the win the family was in a great mood. So all in all it was a great day. Abby loves playing with her cousins and can't wait every time we tell her she is going to see them. So she was in heaven to see them five days in a row. We took the time to play in the leaves since in Vegas all we see is palm trees so no leaves. Her and the boys had a great time.
She thought it was great to put the leaves on Ashton's head. Being the good sport he is, he just took it and laughed as she did it.


Taylor was at school so just the younger kids played. Abby has three boy cousins, and wouldn't have it any different. Kristin (my sis in law) just found out that her fourth is also a boy. It will be lots of fun since we are also having a boy and she is due about 2 weeks after me. Abby will be a little out numbered, but I don't think she would know what to do if there was another girl in the mix.

We also had the annual family pictures. Ashton's dad found a great spot. The kicker is that it was about a 15 minute hike, and yes it was not warm. For those of you up north it probably would have felt like a heat wave though, so I shouldn't complain. Once we got to our photo spot Abby was not having it. So our pictures don't have any of her smiling. She rode on Ashton's shoulders the whole time and Grandpa had to give her his coat. We will be shopping for one this weekend, it got cold so fast we weren't quite prepared and she doesn't own a coat.

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. I know I am so thankful for so many things in my life I don't know where to start. My wonderful husband and daughter are two of many blessings. I don't know what I would do without them. Thanks to Ashton for all that he does for me!!!

Our Little Elf Family

Thanks to all my friends I found this cute website. Check out Ashton's moves, he needs a little work. Enjoy your holiday!
Sorry you will have to copy and paste this because my link isn't working for some reason.
http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9568609953

Visit to Santa

Again, sorry it's still November, but we went to a craft fair today and Santa was there. At first Abby just wanted to watch all the kids sit on his lap. When they were all gone and we were the only ones in there Santa started talking to her. He coaxed her over with a candy cane. Once she was in arms reach he tried to get her on his lap. I think she thought, "well, he gave me candy. He can't be that bad." She first made me sit with her on his lap. Poor Santa! I think he was dying because then he said, "can you sit on my lap by yourself Abby." In other words your fat prego mommy is killing me. To my surprise she said yes. I put her on his lap and he asked her what she wanted. This is the bad part because she asked him for a dog. Though we would love to have one, we just don't have the room for it now. He then proceeded to ask her what color and everything. THANKS Santa!!!! I thought maybe she would forget about it, but when we got home Ashton was asking her about it. She told him that she sat on Santa's lap, and asked him for a dog. Maybe she will get a really big stuffed one or something. I liked it when she was little enough (which I thought she still was) to just get her what I wanted her to have.

I also had to add in this cute picture. She is so proud of her little Christmas tree. She keeps taking the ornaments off and putting them back on. And if we are awake, the lights have to be on or she freaks out. She even got mad when we turned them off to leave the house today.

Crazy Frog

My wonderful husband introduced Abby to this new song. She now asks for it every time she wants to dance. The first few times it is not so bad, but just listen to the binging of the frog and you'll know what I mean by, "CRAZY". That really is the name of the album when you get it on itunes, but they weren't kidding when they named it the Crazy Frog. I think I am going to go crazy. Why she likes to dance to weird songs I will never know (remember America the Beautiful?). This video isn't the best dancing. It was like the fifth time we had listened to the song so she is a little worn out and not dancing much, but I had to get the song so you could hear it. It's a little long, but the binging frog will probably get you dancing.

Christmas ALREADY???

Okay, so I know that we still have to do the whole Thanksgiving thing, which I love. Well, we will be leaving on Wednesday and will not be back until Monday. Then Tue-Thurs I will be working so I thought to myself, "If I don't put up Christmas decorations now then I will not be able to even enjoy them before we leave again for Christmas." Not only that, but for some reason Abby has wanted the Christmas tree that is in the garage on for the last week and a half. I haven't moved it. It has been there all year in the same place. The only thing I can think is that she has seen them up in all the stores. So I gave in and we put it up today. She loved every minute of it. She just kept saying kissmus? Man, she is excited for Christmas and I don't even think she knows why. There is no way she remembers that Santa brings presents. She knows who he is and points him out in the stores, but the whole concept is going to be like Halloween. Going door to door and people give me candy!!! She will wake up Christmas morning and wonder who in the world left all this fun stuff at my house.

Anyway, she found all the stockings and brought them too me not really knowing what they were. I told her they were our stockings and showed her which one was hers. I turned around to hang some more decorations. When I turned back around this is what I found.

I was laughing so hard. She would try to get up and walk. It was way too slippery on the wood floors. I talked her into taking it off and putting it above the fireplace. I then explained what our stockings are for. She gets it now and points to her stocking above the fireplace now instead of putting it on her foot. I love Christmas, but I am sure that I will be ready to take these decorations down by January. Heck, it is only the middle of November right now!!!!

Any Good Ideas???

So I have a friend coming over tonight and she wants to make a calendar for her dad for christmas. She is bringing over all her digital pictures and then we were just going to make some cute layouts for the different months. Does anyone have a good website that you can upload something like that and have them make a calendar and then send it to her???? Anything will help. I haven't had time to look around much but I thought I would get some good ideas before looking too hard. Thanks all!!!

Happy Birthday Ashton

We have had such a great couple of days. First, we found out we were having a boy which was the greatest birthday present Ashton could have gotten. He is so excited to have a boy, as am I. Ashton's family came down for a celebration/birthday dinner last night. Abby loves her cousins and couldn't wait for them to get here. Quick side note: She hasn't gotten out of her bed since she moved from the crib in early September. We still have to use the monitor because she just sits in her bed and talks waiting for us to come get her. I don't know what we did to deserve her. Anyway, she didn't want to go to bed on Sunday night so we had to tell her that Taylor, Nate, and Jacob were coming to see her tomorrow if she would go to bed. This got her into bed quickly. The next morning (Monday) she woke up ran out of her room for the first time and just started yelling Taylor, Nate, Jacob. It was so cute, but
I felt so bad because they wouldn't be here until that night. It is amazing what little kids remember. She probably dreamed about it all night.
Okay so on with the celebrations. We had a great dinner with Ashton's family and were sad to see them leave so soon. Tonight, we went to dinner with Brett & Katie some good friends going to med school down here. After, we came home and Abby was so excited to make Dad a birthday cake. She put the candles in, and then helped dad blow them out. She was so excited that it was his birthday. Happy birthday Ashton! We love you and appreciate all that you do for us. You are the best dad and husband that I could ever ask for.

Abby and her awesome cousin Taylor!

Taylor and Uncle Ashton

Proud father of our little baby boy!

Abby with dad and her cake that she was so proud of.

Happy Birthday Ashton. We love you!!!

What are we having???

All morning we were asking Abby what she wanted, a baby boy or a baby girl. She just kept saying "boy." A couple times we asked her she said "no boy." So then I would say, " so you want a girl?" She would then say, "no girl, no baby!" It's a good thing we are having a BOY because she either wanted a boy or no baby at all. It is pretty much a 100% by the look of the picture. I don't have a scanner so this is a photo of a photo. Sorry it's a little blurry. I think you can still tell that all the right parts are there. We are very excited, and have a lot of shopping to do!!!

Girls Weekend

I just wanted to tell Shelly and Steph thanks for such a fun weekend. It was so nice to get some christmas shopping, along with a lot of fun shopping, done with good friends and no kids. We had tons of fun! We even stayed up late enough to get to the giggley stage which I haven't done in a long time. We missed you Tal, but a trip home to see family is fun too. I hope you had a good trip! Thanks again girls for such a good time! I miss you already!!!

The Damages!!! We found some good sales, and got a little out of control.

Cafe Rio Pork Salad

Jan had this recipe posted on her blog so I thought I would try it yesterday. I started the pork before going to work and when I got to work one of the girls had a recipe for the rice and dressing. Cafe Rio salads are the best, for any of you that have never had Cafe Rio. I usually get the chicken but this pork was pretty good. I haven't tried it yet with chicken but I am sure it would be just as good. Here is the pork recipe from Jan's blog and then I will add the ones that I found. It turned
out so good I thought I was at Cafe Rio.

2 1/2 lbs Pork Tender thawed (roast style)
Mix:
1 1/2 C brown sugar with
1 1/2 C salsa
1 can coke
(just do equal parts of brown sugar & salsa - how ever much you think you need/want)

Put pork in Crock-Pot and pour mixture over it. Cook it on low for 7 hrs (or until meat is cooked). Shred pork and cook an additional 30 min minimum. The pork will absorb all the juices.



Cafe Rio Rice

3 cups rice
4 cups water
4 tsp. chicken bouillon
1 Tbs. butter
1/2 onion chopped
4 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 can diced green chilies
1/2 tsp. salt

Saute onion and garlic with the butter until the onion is soft. Add the rice and water and all other ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover with a lid, and simmer for about 15-20 minutes.


Creamy Cilantro Tomatillo Salad Dressing

1 package dry Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing
1 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 cup cilantro, chopped
2 cloves garlic
3 tomatillos (skin off)
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Put all ingredients into a blender. Chill before serving and it will thicken.


For those of you that haven't had a Cafe Rio Salad.......
Serve in a bowl with warm tortilla. Layer rice, beans (I don't like beans so just what ever kind you prefer I think cafe rio does black or pinto) pork, romaine lettuce, crushed tortilla chips, and dressing.

Enjoy!!! I will for sure make this again. It was very good, and made plenty for left overs with my little family.

Weekend With Grandma & Papa

My parents were here this weekend. They came for Halloween and then stayed trough the weekend so Ashton & I could go to California. We had a lot of fun with them. Abby was in heaven. She loves when they come to visit. We went to the Bass Pro Shop because Abby loves to see all the animals. This time we got to see the little mermaid swimming in with the fish. On our way out she found these two benches with a fox and a fish. She just kept running back and forth to sit on both of them. And of coarse she made us sit right by her.


Sorry, she flashed me in this one!!!


We always have to see the gardens and the water show at the Belagio. It is our favorite! This wooden guy behind us was awesome. He had arms and legs, with fingers and toes. It looked so cool, but you can only see his head in this picture.



Thanks mom and dad for the fun time and for watching Abby for us. It was a great weekend and we miss you already!!!

Pickleville Christmas

For those of you in Cache Valley or visiting for the holidays, my family and I are going to this show while we are up there for Christmas. I am so excited I had to share the news. You may have already heard about it, but for those that haven't I have put a link to their website on my sidebar. I may be wrong, but I believe that T.J. Davis is the writer and producer. Not only that but it is Pickleville so it is going to be a great show no matter what. It also looks super cute for the little kids. I hope you all get a chance to see it. I am so excited and Thanksgiving isn't even here yet!!!!

Halloween

So I have the best husband in the world. Abby dressed as Cinderella, and Ashton and I were the step sisters. He looked awesome, high heals and all!!!! We had so much fun at our ward party. Abby loved the trunk or treat. She even said trick or treat to every car and then would tell them thank you. As we walked away she had to check out what they put in her bag. Once we got home she picked out all the peanut butter cups, and suckers. Not only are Grandma and Grandpa in town to keep her going, but I think she is on a sugar high right now. I hope you all had a happy Halloween!!!

Had to add in Grandpa painting Abby's toes.  What a good Grandpa!