Fun over the Break!

The day after Christmas we left to go to Utah for a visit. The flight was a rough one for me. I was very sick on the way to the airport and felt like I was going to lose it at any second. Every smell was getting to me and I was able to wait until we got to our gate. Once there I ran to the bathroom and vomited. After that, I felt much better but once we got on the plane....it hit me again and I couldn't get up because we were taking off. There was so much turbulence because we were flying into a storm that once it started I grabbed my barf bag and lost it. I can now say I know someone that has had to use a barf bag on an airplane.....Me! It was pretty embarrassing but thank goodness it was noisy because no one heard me. Ryan couldn't even hear me. I was miserable for 24 hours but then was much better. It was great to see my family and be with them. While we were there we were able to see some of our dear friends that we love and miss so much! We had a great time. Rafe got to ride on the tractor with Pa and plow lots of snow with him. He even fell asleep on the tractor. We had such a fun time and it was a great break for both of us. I have been very spoiled these past 5 months. I have been able to see my family each month since September. We have been lucky enough to find some cheap airfare and Rafe is still free so we've been taking advantage of that. From this point on, it will be few and far in between with my visits to my family. But Rafe and I have been blessed to see them as much as we have.
Ryan started school this past Monday and so far so good. So now it's back to the grind. I am so extremely proud of him and his hard work. He is doing a great job in school and has balanced his time very well to be able to spend time with Rafe and I. He is an amazing man and I am so lucky and blessed to have him in my life.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

Christmas Eve we had a nice time. We had some friends over and had yummy finger foods and played games until it was time to get ready for Santa to come. After they left we had Rafe open his Christmas pajamas. Rafe got Super Hero jammies and he loves them. Once we got him all ready for bed we read the Nativity story from the scriptures and then it was time for bed. Christmas morning about 7am we heard from the family room, "Mama, TRACTOR!" We got out of bed and went in to see what Santa had brought Rafe. It was his very own tractor that he could ride. He was sitting on it in the tree because it was so close to the tree. He was so excited!! He got so many neat things from Santa, Mom and Dad, and from other family members. He got giant building blocks, lots of puzzles and books, a race track with cars, a space backpack, lots of clothes, and CANDY from his stocking. He had so much fun playing with all of his toys. He would put them in the scoop and/or trailer of his tractor and haul them all over the house. It was so fun to watch him. His nap was so short because he was so excited to play with his toys. Ahh Christmas as a kid.....what great times.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Rafe loves Gin-gi from Shrek as well as all of the other characters and I love gingerbread men and have since I was a little girl so I thought it only appropriate to make them and decorate them together. Rafe did a great job helping Mom decorate them and then would immediately lick their faces off and eat them. We had so much fun together making our Gin-gi's. And the cutest part was Rafe in one of my aprons. So stinkin cute!

More Twilight!!.....I just can't get enough.

La, me, and Amanda with our goodie bags. As happy as little clams in our Twilight world.

Jess and I, dressed to impress.......uh.....Edward?.....Nope, not so much.

My sister-in-law, Amanda, and I anxiously awaiting the time we get to go into the theater.

Catching up...

Since my last entry Rafe and I took a trip to Utah in November. For my Birthday this year, my La (aka Mom) bought me a VIP ticket to the Red Carpet Premier of "TWILIGHT"!! We went to the Preshow party at 9:00pm on Nov. 20th. It was a formal event and it was a BLAST!! They had a live DJ, dancing, drawings for prizes, a buffet, and a red choc. fountain and treats. At 11:00pm we lined up and got our gift bags and headed down to our theater where we walked through a mob of fellow Twilight fans waiting to get into their theater. They gave us free refreshments and once we were seated they open our theater up to the general public. We had so much fun and the movie was FANTASTIC!! Ryan joined us in Utah for Thanksgiving on the Tuesday before and we were so happy to be with him. We had a great time with family and friends.

Dec. 7th.....Today is my birthday and it was a good day. We went to church and then Ryan had his Military Symposium from 1-5 and then a dinner at 6pm, which I went to with him. Dr. Lt. Andy Baldwin of the US. Navy was a guest speaker and a guest at the dinner. Now for those of you that don't know, he was a Bachelor a few years ago on the Reality show, "The Bachelor". I was excited to meet him because I watched his journey to find love. He is a very genuin down to earth guy and has great passion for the humanitarian work that he does. Ryan got to meet him and talk to him for a little bit and we were able to get a picture with him. He is a very nice guy. So that's all for now. Oh and there's a picture of our new condo family room all decorated for Christmas. Will post more pictures of our condo soon.