25!

I turned a quarter of a century in December, I can hardly believe it!

Dave treated me like a princess, and surprised me with a one hour massage at a neat little health and wellness center.  And while I was getting pampered he finished the house chores! It was awesome.

Then he took me to dinner at The Bamboo Club in Scottsdale. I highly recommend it. Great Asian food, with a twist.

My actual birthday was on a Sunday so we had dinner at my parents, and Dave made his family’s traditional birthday dessert-Boston Cream Pie, yum.

My parents surprised me with this.

It is so beautiful! And now my Christmas decoration collection is complete!

And my mom wrote this sweet post all about me.

Yes I know It's Almost Christmas

Christmas is almost here, so before it gets here I have to have to finish my Thanksgiving day post. For the third year my friend Brad and I ran the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning. And it sure was a good thing I did, because later that day (like most of you) I eat a ton. My favorite was the pumpkin cheesecake that I made the day before. It was my first cheesecake ever, and it proved to be quite the ordeal, but it was all worth it in the end.

The day after Thanksgiving my family went bowling and to the Mesa Temple lights. It was so fun to all be together, I'm so glad Jason was able to come home from BYU.

yummy

Strike! Go, Preston.

Never Too Late

It's never too late to post pictures from November..right?

I had a wonderful time in Ohio visiting my sister and brother-in-law, and getting to see Amelia for the first time.

... Or October?

Elle made and excellent hot dog!

In my defence I left my memory card in Ohio, and only recently got it back.

Thanksgiving

HaPpY ThAnKSgiVinG EveRyONe!

I am thankful for all of you. I am thankful for this wonderful season in which we pause, reflect, and put our grateful thoughts into action.

Absent

10 Ways to know if you have been absent from regular life...

1. You have clothes in the dryer that you washed a week ago.

2. You open up your google reader to see that you friend (Kayla) has posted 25 times since you last logged on.

3. Your fridge is completely empty of anything that could be called food.

4. Your toilet bowls have rings inside them.

5. You have an ironing pile as tall as a small child.

6. You have 10 unheard messages on you answering machine

7. There is something that reeks in your pantry but you haven't had a chance to investigate it.

8. You call your husband by your boss' first name.

9. You can't remember the last time you cooked a meal that didn't come out of a box, or cooked anything for that matter.

And the #10 reason to know if you have been absent from regular life

10. Your husband is doing the grocery shopping!

Life has been just a little busy since Labor Day weekend, at which time I began taking an accelerated anatomy class online through Rio Salado. It ended on Halloween weekend with a whopper of a final, but I am proud to announce I pulled off an A!

Since the conclusion of my class I have been out of town every weekend. With a last minute trip to Las Vegas, and a wonderful visit to Ohio. And then just when I thought things were settling back into the old routine, I got sick, and regular life was put on hold again.

This weekend was my first weekend at home, since Labor Day, that I was able to be home and not worry about homework. It was amazing! My home is clean for the first time in 12 weeks, and there is food in our fridge (if only I could muster up the courage to tackle the ironing).

Thank you so much Dave for putting up with my crazy schedule and pitching in on all the house work! You are the best!

Coming soon... posts on Halloween, our trip to Vegas, and my visit to Ohio.

My Little Puppy is All Grown Up

Tonight we celebrated Elle's first birthday ("Why?" you ask, maybe it's because we like to spoil her, or maybe it's because we have no life, or maybe it's because she is just so darn cute! It was also a good excuse to make some really cute cupcakes.)

I love making cupcakes! They turned out pretty great if I do say so myself.

Our next door neighboors absolutley adore Elle, (how could you not?!) and came over for the celebration and cupcakes. Riley really liked his cupcake.

Dieter (my brothers winner dog) spent all night getting ready for the party. Elle was so impressed, but luckily she didn't eat him.

Instead she went to town on the new toy she pick out at PetsMart last night.

We are so glad to have Elle fill our house with joy everyday since we brought her home. I can't believe how big she has become.

Toyota Commercial Isn't Dog Friendly

While watching our prerecorded version of the Office, "Jim and Pam's Wedding" (which ended up being a bit disappointing) a Toyota commercial featuring a squeaking dog toy, similar to many of Elle's toys, came on and had Elle running in circles. We couldn't stop ourselves from playing the commercial again and again as she continued to run in circles looking for the toy.